The Man Who Sold the World, for most intents and purposes, is the beginning of David Bowie's classic period.

The album was Bowie's first with the nucleus of what would become the 'Spiders from Mars', the backing band made famous by The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars in 1972.

NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have said of The Man Who Sold the World, "this is where the story really starts".

Much of the album had a distinct heavy metal edge that stands it apart from Bowie's previous releases, and has been compared to such contemporary acts as Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
The album has been cited as influencing the goth rock, darkwave elements of work by artists such as and science fictionalSiouxsie & the Banshees, The Cure, Gary Numan, John Foxx and Nine Inch Nails.