I could easily say Purple Rain since it is still his greatest work and highest selling album to date. But that's too easy, and plus he's been making great stuff before that. I'd like to say Dirty Mind too, but he was still trying to find himself by that point. So I'm going to have to go with 1999.



It was that album that put Prince into the mainstream and beyond. It helped him cross over to being a true pop artist and not just a soul artist. And even though it was still a pop album it was still so revolutionary and so different and so ahead of its time. It also pretty much defined the sound of R&B in the 80's. I think after that album, more soul and funk artists moved into more electronica. Maybe he wasn't the first to do it, but he utilized it effectively and created that "Minneapolis Sound" that other artists picked up on. He also added elements of Funk, Electro, Rock, Pop, New Wave, and Soul and just created something totally fresh.

He also broke the rules, which was great, since no artist had the audacity to do that at the time (except for maybe Punk bands ).
He wrote lyrics about sex, sex, and.....MORE SEX! He really found his calling with "1999", and it's still great to listen to even today.

Someone prove me wrong.

Sign 'O' The Times

both those albums

lilgish said:

Ditto

All of his albums slowly added up to him becoming a legend..but "Sign O the Times" was the clincher.

liz5353 said:

Spot on!

His albums became more complex and varied up to SOTT. But for me that album cemented his reputation with critics and fans alike. It is the work of an artist at his creative peak with the confidence to make any genre he touched his own.

You may prefer other albums (Parade is actually my favorite) but the artistry of Sign can't be denied IMO.

liz5353 said:

I think SOTT will ALWAYS be the critics choice. That's not saying it's the best or my personal favourite, but it will always be seen as Prince's artistic peak.

i dunno.....i think New Power Soul was the one.

Produced, Arranged, Composed, and Performed by Prince -- before turning 20 yrs old

SIGN 'O' THE TIMES

Milty said:

No no no, Rave is the one!!!



But seriously, of course the momentum (from reviewers, etc.) is behind SOTT, and that's a great album, but there's a lot to be said for 1999 as well. For one thing, it was the album that spawned the big pop hits that first drew mass attention to him, setting the stage for the huge success of PR. And no one becomes a "legend" without huge commercial success. Musically, it was a big step forward; he was developing a signature sound and he became familiar to seemingly everyone via hits such as the title track and especially LRC (witness hordes of "casual" fans singing along with it at the Musicology shows). Oh, and with the lyrics, etc., the Prince = sex association definitely took root in the public mind.

purple rain ,.... hardly anyone outside of usa knew who p was b4 that album .