Aladdin Sane is the sixth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in April 1973 through RCA Records. The follow-up to his breakthrough The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, it was the first album he wrote and released from a position of stardom. It was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott and features contributions from Bowie's backing band the Spiders from Mars—Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey—with the pianist Mike Garson, two saxophonists and three backing vocalists. Recorded in London and New York City between legs of the Ziggy Stardust Tour, the record was Bowie's final album with the full Spiders lineup.

Most of the tracks were written on the road in the US and are greatly influenced by America and Bowie's perceptions of the country. Due to the American influence and the fast-paced songwriting, the record features a tougher, heavier glam rock sound than its predecessor. The lyrics reflect the pros of Bowie's newfound stardom and the cons of touring and contain images of urban decay, drugs, sex, violence and death. Some of the songs are influenced by the Rolling Stones; a cover of their song "Let's Spend the Night Together" is included. Bowie described the album's title character, a pun on "A Lad Insane", as "Ziggy Stardust goes to America". The cover artwork, shot by Brian Duffy and featuring a lightning bolt across Bowie's face, is regarded as one of his most iconic images.

Accompanied by the UK top-five singles "The Jean Genie" and "Drive-In Saturday", Aladdin Sane was Bowie's most commercially successful record up to that point, topping the UK Albums Chart and garnering him immense popularity there. It also received positive reviews from music critics, although many found it inferior to its predecessor. The popularity continued throughout the latter half of the Ziggy Stardust Tour, which featured various setlist and stage production changes. In later decades, Aladdin Sane has appeared on several best-of lists and is viewed as one of Bowie's essential releases. It has been reissued several times and was remastered in 2013 for its 40th anniversary, which was included on the 2015 box set Five Years (1969–1973).

Aladdin Sane was my idea of rock and roll America. Here I was on this great tour circuit, not enjoying it very much. So inevitably my writing reflected that, this kind of schizophrenia that I was going through. Wanting to be up on stage performing my songs, but on the other hand not really wanting to be on those buses with all those strange people. Being basically a quiet person, it was hard to come to terms. So Aladdin Sane was split down the middle.

David Bowie launched to stardom in early July 1972 through the release of his fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and his performance of "Starman" on BBC's Top of the Pops. He promoted the record through the Ziggy Stardust Tour in the United Kingdom and the United States, writing new songs on the road that would appear on his next album.

Aladdin Sane was the first album Bowie wrote and released from a position of stardom. Writing new material on the US leg of the tour in late 1972, many of the tracks were influenced by America and his perceptions of the country. The biographer Christopher Sandford believes the album showed that Bowie "was simultaneously appalled and fixated by America". The tour, combined with other side projects during the period, such as co-producing Lou Reed's Transformer and mixing the Stooges' Raw Power, took a toll on Bowie's mental health, further influencing his writing. Due to being on the road, Bowie was unsure of the new album's direction, believing he had said what he wanted to say about Ziggy Stardust, but knew he would "end up doing ... 'Ziggy Part 2'". He stated: "There was a point in '73 where I knew it was all over. I didn't want to be trapped in this Ziggy character all my life. And I guess what I was doing on Aladdin Sane, I was trying to move into the next area – but using a rather pale imitation of Ziggy as a secondary device. In my mind, it was Ziggy Goes to Washington: Ziggy under the influence of America."

Rather than continue the Ziggy Stardust character directly, Bowie decided to create a new persona, Aladdin Sane, who reflected the theme of "Ziggy goes to America" and, according to Bowie, was less defined and "clear cut" than Ziggy, and "pretty ephemeral". According to the biographer David Buckley, the character was a "schizoid amalgamation" that was reflected in the music.

Aladdin Sane was mainly recorded between December 1972 and January 1973 between tour legs. Like his two previous records, it was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott and featured Bowie's backing band the Spiders from Mars – the guitarist Mick Ronson, the bassist Trevor Bolder and the drummer Mick Woodmansey. The lineup also featured the pianist Mike Garson, who was hired by Bowie at the suggestion of the RCA executive Ken Glancey and the singer-songwriter Annette Peacock; he remained with Bowie's entourage for the next three years. The pianist came from a jazz and blues background, which the biographer Nicholas Pegg believes veered the album from pure rock 'n' roll and expanded Bowie's experimental horizons. Buckley called Aladdin Sane the beginning of Bowie's "experimental phase" and cited Garson's presence as "revolutionary". Scott noted that Garson added elements to the arrangements that were not there before, including more keyboards and synthesisers. Garson later said that Scott as producer "got the best piano sound out of any of his performances for Bowie." The pianist was given a lot of attention from Bowie in the studio, who mainly wanted to see what Garson could do. Other musicians hired for the album and tour included the saxophonists Ken Fordham and Brian Wilshaw; the singers Juanita Franklin and Linda Lewis as backing vocalists; and longtime friend Geoffrey MacCormack (later known as Warren Peace), who subsequently appeared on later Bowie records in the 1970s.