I was listening to a compilation I made of all of Prince's singles today, and thinking about how much he's changed over the years. This got me thinking about which songs/albums I heard first, and when. Part of the fun of discovering an artist is in checking out everything you missed the first time around, and being exposed to different things out of chronological order can be an interesting experience!

So, here are my first few Prince albums, in the order I got 'em. Albums written in purple were bought at/around the time of release:

1. Purple Rain
2. 1999 (I actually stole this one, like, the day after seeing Purple Rain)
3. Controversy
4. Around the World in a Day
5. For You
6. Parade
7. Dirty Mind
8. Prince
9. Sign o' the Times (and so on, as each album was released)

I'd be interested in hearing your order, if you remember!

The first Prince album I ever bought was the self-titled Prince album. I bought it brand new on vinyl for really cheap at this little music store I used to go to. Next was Parade &....WOWZERS! Purple Rain was actually one of the last Prince albums I got because I already knew what was on it from watching the movie many times....

1. Ultimate Prince
2. The Gold Experience
3. 3121
4. Planet Earth
5. Musicology
6. LOtUSFLOW3R
7. Diamonds And Pearls
8. Controversy
9. Sign O' The Times
10. 1999
11. Around The World In A Day
12. For You

[Edited 11/4/11 20:48pm]

1 purp rain

2 1999

3 controversy

4 dirty mind

5 for you

6 prince

7 atwiad , and then every album on first day of release

Dirty Mind was first, then got For You and Prince, then all the rest in the order they were released.

1 PRain-got promo copy before release date

2 1999

3 Controversy

4 Prince

5 Around-day 2 of release

6 Parade-day 3 of release

7 SOTT-skipped school on day of release

8 Dirty Mind(had a taped copy in 84, bought in 87)

9 For You (had a taped copy in 84, bought in 87)

The rest, day of release or before. (20Ten took around 8 days to get here.)

That's a difficult question.

I know the first thing I bought was the Hits/B-Sides set. So that meant I didn't have to buy PR or SOTT until long afterwards.

Second CD I bought was Come.

That all happened early '04 so I'm guessing Musicology would've followed. After that, I can't remember.

All I know is that I got Diamonds and Pearls first for Christmas, then possibly the Batman soundtrack. It's so long ago that I can barely remember. My first memories are playing Sonic the hedgehog on the megadrive, with D & P's playing on my walkman!

Ultimate was my first. After that I got Purple Rain, and then Diamonds and Pearls, Controversy, Lovesexy..etc

My first was Sign O' the Times... I actually bought it for my sister's birthday, but ended up taking it.

I bought each subsequent release in order.

I got 1999, Purple Rain, and Controversy on vinyl because my Mom worked at the Mall information desk and someone turned them into lost anf found. When no one claimed them, she brought them home for me.

I filled in the other previous albums on my own.

ATWIAD, then back to For You, then chronological order as best I could.

Around The World In A Day 1985 a few months after it was released.

Then in November 1985 1999 from Harrods in London. I remember that day well.

Then for Christmas 1985 I got Controversy, Dirty Mind And Purple Rain.

Then Parade when released and all others on release day.

I can't remember when I got For You And Prince.

The black album I first got a copy of this on cassette 31st October 1989.

Easier just to put your age and colour and let people fill in the rest. 40 and white = Purple Rain'ish followed by the next few and then the back catalogue and then the 90s stuff just because you should and then the more recent stuff because you've become a completist. Which would be me.

On a side note Prince (on that live album) says "Yeah, I can play country too.", so with that in mind if he released a country album...

I think Sign O' The Times was first, after that, no idea.

1983 - 1999

1983 - Dirty Mind / Controversy (2-in-1 cassette... remember those?!?)

1983 - Prince

1984 - Purple Rain

1985 - Around The World In A Day

1986 - For You

1986 - Parade

the rest in chronological order

1999

Purple Rain

Controversy

Dirty Mind

Around the World in a Day

For You

Parade

.......the rest in order of release

Parade

1999

Purple Rain

SOTT

Dirty Mind

After these, I can't remember anymore.

1. graffiti bridge

erotic city is my earliest prince song memory

I can only guess at the order. I do know that I got The Hits 1 & 2 and Chaos and Disorder simultaneously. I think it goes something like this:

The Hits 1/The Hits 2/Chaos and Disorder

Come/The Gold Experience

1999/Purple Rain/Diamonds and Pearls

Batman

Dirty Mind/Controversy/Around the World in a Day/Parade

I'm pretty sure that the above order is correct, after that it gets a bit sketchy.

Emancipation

Graffiti Bridge

Girl 6

Prince/Lovesexy

Sign 'O' the Times

For You

I think that is about right but it is possible I made some mistakes. I was caught up by mid 1997 and after that I got everything either the day or the week it was released.

For some reason I had a very difficult time finding Graffiti Bridge and Sign 'O' the Times and I remember paying what at the time seemed like a small fortune for Graffiti Bridge, maybe about $25.00. I know that I had Girl 6 before Sign 'O' the Times as that was the first time I heard "Hot Thing," "The Cross" and the full version of "Adore." For You was definitely the last "old" album I got.

Man, I've been a fan since the summer of 1996, that's over fifteen years, and you guys always make me feel like a newbie!

December 1989 - "Pump up the Hits 89" this collection tape of hits had Partyman on it and probably constitutes my first ever Prince song purchase. But I mainly bought for such great songs as "Pump up the Jam", "Girl I'm gonna miss you"," Ghostbusters Rap (I think we're in control". and Ride on Time by Blackbox (Hey I was 13 and in your equivalent of Grade 7 at the time).

Nov 1991 - Diamonds and Pearls (Became a fan of Prince in November 1991)

March 1992 - Purple Rain

Oct 92 - Symbol

Jun 93 - 1999

Oct 93 - The Hits B Sides

Nov 94 - Come/Black Album

Dec 94 - 4U, Prince

Feb-Mar 95 (When I went wild) Dirty Mind, Controversy, ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, Lovesexy, Batman, GB,

Sep 95 TGE

1996 - Chaos and Disorder, Minneaplois genius

Xmas 1996 - Emancipation

1997 - 2 or 3 bootlegs including Live in Syracuse

1998 - 2005 Went off Prince

early 2006 Musicology, SST single

22-3-2006 Remember it well - 3121 (First Day)

later in 2006 TRC, Rave, NPS, ONA

2008 - Planet Earth, Indigo nights and that book

2009 - July Lotusflow3r

Thats all of them I think

Some of the early albums I have on Tape and Vinyl too, or they are the CD's and Parade and Lovesexy are Itunes purchases now, so my dates are date of purchase of my first permutation of the album (Usually a CD, although D and P and Purple Rain were cassettes, my first proper CD was Symbol)

Purple Rain 84

1999 84

ATWIAD 85

Parade 86

Prince, Dirty Mind, Controversy (all 3 in 86)

SOTT 87

Lovesexy 88

Batman 89

Graffiti Bridge 90

Diamonds and Pearls 91

For You 91

92

Come 94

Black Album 94

Gold Experience 95

All other in the order of their release. Miss the days of an album each year.. You could count on Prince every year for new music.

[Edited 11/5/11 15:11pm]

[Edited 11/5/11 15:12pm]

Diamonds & Pearls (Aug '92)

Purple Rain (Sep '92)

(Oct '92)

1999/Around The World In A Day/Parade/Sign 'O' The Times/Lovesexy/ Batman/Graffiti Bridge - all on the same day (Oct '92)

The Hits 1 & 2 (Sep '93)

Come (Aug '94)

The Black Album (Nov '94)

For You/Prince/Dirty Mind/Controversy - all on the same day (Dec '94)

The Gold Experience (Sep '95)

Chaos & Disorder (Jul '96)

Emancipation (Nov '96)

The Hits/The B Sides (Dec '96)

Then the rest on the day of release.

Cloudbuster said:

Then the rest on the day of release.

Oh yeah, with the exception of Lotusflower 'cos the dipshit didn't bother giving it an official release in the U.K.

Cloudbuster said:

Cloudbuster said:

Then the rest on the day of release.

Oh yeah, with the exception of Lotusflower 'cos the dipshit didn't bother giving it an official release in the U.K.

Don't feel bad, he did the same to us Westerners the following year!

I still don't have 20Ten yet...

eyewishuheaven said:

Cloudbuster said:

Oh yeah, with the exception of Lotusflower 'cos the dipshit didn't bother giving it an official release in the U.K.

Don't feel bad, he did the same to us Westerners the following year!

I still don't have 20Ten yet...

yeah isnt that why he did 20ten like that to make up with europe?

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

eyewishuheaven said:

Don't feel bad, he did the same to us Westerners the following year!

I still don't have 20Ten yet...

yeah isnt that why he did 20ten like that to make up with europe?

Whatever his reasons, he needs to get his screwy distribution deals sorted out.

N