25 essential albums produced by Tony Visconti

If only for his lifelong collaboration with David Bowie, Tony Visconti would be among the greatest record producers of the rock era. Visconti and Bowie bonded early in the singer’s career and, together, they assembled an adventurous and enduring catalog anchored by such classics as Low, “Heroes,” and Blackstar.

Visconti, who turns 80 on April 24, has a legacy that extends far beyond Bowie, though. He was instrumental in the creation of glam rock, producing every one of T. Rex’s great albums. He proved himself equally adept at delicate folk-rock and thunderous hard rock. He adapted to the new wave, dabbled with alt-rock on both sides of the Atlantic, helped worldbeat singer Angélique Kidjo win a Grammy, and hasn’t rested on his laurels in recent years, either, making memorable records by Esperanza Spalding and Perry Farrell.

Visconti’s 80th birthday gives us the perfect opportunity to look back at his prodigious career. Not every great record he made can be found on this list of 25 albums, but this selection gives a good idea of the range and depth of his remarkable body of work.

1. David Bowie—Low (1977)

Strung out and at rock bottom, David Bowie decamped to France with Iggy Pop in 1976, starting a process where the pair cleaned up as they embarked on musical explorations that would eventually take them to Berlin’s Hansa Studios. There, Bowie began what became known as his “Berlin Trilogy,” working with his trusted producer Tony Visconti as well as Brian Eno, a pioneer in ambient and electronic music. Low, the first record in the trilogy, is divided between cacophonic avant-rock and immersive electronic instrumentals—complementary sides that illustrate how adventurous the collaboration between Visconti and Bowie was.