David Bowie plotted his departure from this world. He designed his final album, Blackstar, as a farewell, and he left his estate with blueprints for a reissue series that began with the discharge of Five Years (1969-1973), a box that appeared mere months prior to his death in January 2016.

Moonage Daydream wasn’t a part of Bowie’s posthumous plans. A movie by Brett Morgen, the director of the exceptional Robert Evans 2012 documentary The Kid Stays In The Picture and 2015’s Cobain: Montage Of Heck, Moonage Daydream tells the Chameleon of Rock’s story through a kaleidoscopic mashup of sound and vision, all enhanced by rare footage from the official Bowie archives.

During his five-decade profession, Bowie released 26 studio albums in addition to seven official live albums plus a bunch of compilations. His discography has greatly increased within the years since his 2016 death, with archival live sets, box sets, and such scrapped albums as The Gouster and Toy seeing the sunshine of day. It’s rather a lot to sort through and there are pitfalls: the sparkling swagger of “Blue Jean” continues to persuade listeners there could also be something else of price on 1984’s terrible Tonight. But here, just in time for the September 16 release of Moonage Daydream, The A.V. Club has chosen 20 records that capture Bowie at his peak, whether he’s honing his craft, striving for a latest sound, or mustering the total strength of his artistry.