For me, it's easy: "Sign 'O The Times."

Of all the "highly acclaimed" albums of his, this is probably the one where my tastes just don't allign.

It might've started even before the album came out because by then I already had many of the songs on tape in their demo version. So, right from the get-go, I thougt songs like "Strange Relationship" were better in the forms I've already had.

Next, was the format. I bought "Sign" on cassette; not really ideal for a "lengthy" album like that; sonically, the length of the tape didn't real bring out the best audio.

Then, maybe it was Jon Bream's review where he said "Play in the Sunshine" was like a (paraphrasing) another version of "Let's Go Crazy;" for some reason that always stuck with me.

But, then the songs themselves.

The opener never really did it for me. Nor do "It," "Slow Love," "Ballad of Dorothy Parker," etc.

Loved "If I Was Your Girlfriend" and others, but it never really coalesced into a perfect Prince album.

Then, I thought maybe it's because I never had a great format to listen to it; but with the remastered set I still have the same opinion.

BTW, I love, love, love the outtakes on the Special Edition.

What acclaimed album has never done it for you?

GTFOOHWTBS!!

djThunderfunk said:

GTFOOHWTBS!!

As Jar Jar would say, "How rude!"

What exactly is your problem?

ShellyMcG said:

Lovesexy. I've seen people on here and elsewhere talk about Lovesexy like it's this great masterpiece but it's just not my kind of thing. It starts off ok with Eye No but it goes downhill quickly from there. Also, it's got the 6 words I fear the most in all of Prince's catalogue. "Cat, we need you to rap". No Prince. No we didn't. We didn't need that at all.

Lovesexy was like my religion for a certain period of time, including the extended and live versions.

But...I can certainly understand how it wouldn't be everyone's cup of tea.

Certainly, a radical departure from where he was at.

Today, I would love, love a remastered Lovesexy, but truth be told, I don't listen the album very often these days.

Musicology.

TheFunkyNewAlbum said:

djThunderfunk said:

GTFOOHWTBS!!

As Jar Jar would say, "How rude!"

What exactly is your problem?

No problem at all. Just my honest reaction to Prince fans on a Prince fan site not digging SOTT or Lovesexy. Musicology? Sure, that makes sense. But SOTT? Lovesexy? These are quintesential. Just sayin'...

BTW, quoting Jar Jar Binks doesn't help.

1999. A lot of the songs on that album are incredible at their core, but most of them honestly go on way longer than they need to. It also has "Free" which is hands down one of the worst songs Prince recorded in the 80s, so that knocks it down a few pegs for me

3121

The Rainbow Children

Art Official Age. It's good but it's not a top 10 of his entire discography masterpiece like I've heard some people claim.

BridgeofGraffiti1220 said:

Art Official Age. It's good but it's not a top 10 of his entire discography masterpiece like I've heard some people claim.

Unpopular opinion: He didn't have a full on masterpiece in the 2000s and onward.

djThunderfunk said:

I'm not sure which of his non-80's albums are considered acclaimed. If I had to pick one that seems to get a lot of love from Prince fans that never clicked with me, I would say The Gold Experience. To my ears, it's not a very good album. I like a few tracks - Gold (the last track) is probably my ultimate Prince guilty pleasure. I always wished that Endorphinmachine sounded more guitar driven, like when he played it live on some VH1 awards show (I think before the album was released). The album version of TMBGITW is annoying. And I have never ever liked P Contol. Lastly, the between song segues were, as they say, cringe. From Graffiti Bridge through Musicology, I bought every Prince album on release day. I wanted to love them all. But I just couldn't convince myself to enjoy TGE.

ShellyMcG said:

djThunderfunk said:

No problem at all. Just my honest reaction to Prince fans on a Prince fan site not digging SOTT or Lovesexy. Musicology? Sure, that makes sense. But SOTT? Lovesexy? These are quintesential. Just sayin'...

BTW, quoting Jar Jar Binks doesn't help.

If all of Prince's albums sounded like Lovesexy, I wouldn't be a Prince fan. Quintessential or not

I can see that. I actually love the album myself, but I completely understand it not being for everyone. Some of the production can strike me as overly dense, but somehow I love it regardless.

sahara said:

sahara said:

Today, I really like Lovesexy and Parade, but it took me a long time to get into them.

Prince once described Lovesexy as "a mind trip".It's an album that alot of people didn't get.It's a vibe,a feeling,a trip....you have to open your mind to understand I think it's absolutely brilliant.

TrivialPursuit said:

BridgeofGraffiti1220 said:

Art Official Age. It's good but it's not a top 10 of his entire discography masterpiece like I've heard some people claim.

Unpopular opinion: He didn't have a full on masterpiece in the 2000s and onward.

It might be true. Still, he released a lot of brilliant stuff during that period (IMO).

Actually, when you release 70-80 albums over a 38-year period (including The Time, Sheila E., Madhouse, and many more), a lot of excellent albums won't even be in the "top 30" (whatever it is).

[Edited 5/27/24 0:00am]

olb99 said:

TheFunkyNewAlbum said:

For me, it's easy: "Sign 'O The Times."

I can understand this. As a kid, I didn't like a lot of it. Crazily enough, I didn't even like Adore. But the stuff I did like, combined with the SOTT concert film, set the stage for my superfandom that exploded with the Lovesexy era.

I'm not sure how acclaimed they were but I still haven't properly gotten into the first 2. Dirty Mind kind of feels like the first Prince album for me.

paraded said:

The only one that still fits this bill for me is Around the World in a Day. Always leaves me cold.

Try an expanded playlist:

ATWIAD

Paisley Park

Condition of the Heart

She's Always In My Hair

Hello

4 The Tears In Your Eyes

Raspberry Beret

Girl

Tamborine

America

Pop Life

The Ladder

Temptation*

* I use my own edit of this one. It's slightly sped up, and that talking-to-God ending is gone.

paraded said:

The only one that still fits this bill for me is Around the World in a Day. Always leaves me cold.

Was it acclaimed though ?

paisleyparkgirl said:

paraded said:

The only one that still fits this bill for me is Around the World in a Day. Always leaves me cold.

Was it acclaimed though ?

By who? Who's doing all this acclaiming? Critics? Fans? Some intern making up a list at Rolling Stone or Apple Music? Some TikTok yokel who sits around and yammers about shit? Who, exactly? And why does their opinion count more than anyone else's?