80s had the hairbands, the cheesy synth bands, and the awful boybands but they also gave birth to great post-punk bands, r&b artists, and electronic bands whose influence is still felt today.

Pop music was important in the 80s and it clearly defined the era of insane excess.

However, musically, I don't think ANY artist accomplished as much as Prince. He kept his street cred, fused so many different styles of music, made a hit movie, and defined the role of a producer/musician to the fullest.

With that said, I don't think any band/artist matches up to him in the 80s. MJ is a different breed of an artist and he's first an entertainer, then a musician. But even if we don't look at it that way, he only released two classics, Off The Wall and Thriller. Metallica were dope in the 80s, but their music didn't influence as many people as Prince's music has. I can say that The Cure and The Smiths had incredible music as well, but their depression only appealed to certain audiences. Prince had everyone rocking out to his music and he had every critic eating out of his hand. Depeche Mode was dope in this era too and so was Kate Bush, but they come short I believe. Hip-hop had Eric B & Rakim, Grandmaster Flash, BDP, and others, but this was still a baby genre.

Dirty Mind, 1999, Purple Rain, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Sign 'o' the Times and Lovesexy. What a fuckin' run! I'll even include the self-titled album in this as well, because I Wanna Be Your Lover, Sexy Dancer, Bambi and I Feel For You are still larger than life.

Prince appealed to the hipsters, those who loved the night life, gays, straight people, black, white, Asian, Latino, men, women, kids, and every critic and musician on planet Earth!

80's were singlehandedly dominated by Prince and if you don't think so, please explain yourself!
[Edited 1/6/08 15:00pm]

I couldn't agree with you more. AcclaimedMusic.net has him listed as the #1 artist of the '80s, too.

There were several great groups that pushed the boundaries of music in the eighties, too. The Police and U2 come to mind, almost forming their own subgenres of music. But none of them had as varied an output as Prince did, I think.

Question. How come when people today generally talk about some ruling the eighties, they say MJ? I'm not saying ur wrong (I was born in 91, what do I know?) I'm just curious as to why MJ is considered the big ol eihgties icon? I hear alot of people saying that.
[Edited 1/6/08 15:08pm]

I already know what this thread is gonna turn into

As fair as musical creativity and influence goes, Prince was the '80's equivalent of the '60's Beatles.In no other decade since the '50's has an act/artist so influenced and reigned supreme musically as those 2 acts.

At best Michael Jackson was The Monkeys to Princes Beatles. Madonna was Abba.

Jesus.....stop trying to re-write the 80's!

Michael Jackson is said to be the artist of that time by most people because that was indeed the case! I witnessed that whole era....evey which way you turned it was just Michael, Michael, Michael! He was the top male artist of that time to Madonna as the female top artist. Both these two were talked about and dissected like no other.

With that said, prince WAS NOT the top 80's male artist.

ReggaeQueen said:

I assume you like Micheal Jackson then





PS not sure about the reggae thing with MJ though

The 80's spotlight was shared by Rick James, Michael Jackson, Madonna, AND Prince (with a handful of other artists scattered around the perimeter, threatening to step up to the plate). As I remember The 80's, you couldn't be certain which direction music was going to turn to next.
"I want The Bomb, I want The P-Funk: Don't want my Funk stepped on!"

---

PDogz said:

I'd add Kool & the Gang, Diana Ross and the Cars.

and dont forget:

Bruce Springsteen
U2
Lionel Ritchie
The Cure
The Smiths
Whitney Housten
Duran Duran
Billy Idol
David Bowie
Van Halen
Dire Straits
ZZ Top


and that is just to mention a few, but Prince stole the show

The 80´s would have been a musical void without him

komputerbleu said:

he was a part of the reason why the 80s was a hot era for music.however,he was oalso one of the most irresponsibe artist in the 80s with his lyrics and image.

I thought the 80's was a great time for music, as is every decade in it's own light. Prince in the 80's was special and youthful.

Prince was nothing short of amazing during the 80's.



Madonna, George Michael, and MJ all had their slice of the pie too. But , MJ, George Michael and Madonna, regardless of their talent (or lack thereof depending on who you ask), are as much about product as they were about anything else. And Springsteen lacked much of the pop sensibilities of Prince--Prince was the perfect pop crafstman--remember strings of years where if he didn't have a hit out, somebody had a hit out that he wrote, and often both were occurring at the same time

You had terrific song writers like Elton John doing their own thing too. But Princes musical landscape just dwarfed everybody elses, and the speed with which he "re-invented" himself and released material was staggering. I remember after Parade, realizing that he was going to spoil me with something new and different every year.


I miss those days.

If you take into consideration that at one point several of the top 40 albums were all written by him (Purple Rain, The Time, Appolonia and others) I think he was more influential than people realize.

Imago said:

Perfectly said!!!

I spent the entire 80s emerged in rap and R&B.
Everyone one of my friends did the same.
Prince was the biggest artist throughout the entire decade. There was always new Prince music to buy and listen to. I can't remember not having a Prince album at hand during the entire 1980s.

komputerbleu said:

81-85 yes 86-89 ahh hell no!

ReggaeQueen said:

No doubt that Michael Jackson was the "Biggest"(most popular)thing then ...BUT,Prince was the baddest,coolest,most creative & versatile & he didnt take the easy route by being too commercial(MJ).& he was the most hated & not PG like all the others(ruling out a massive potential fanbase).He was up against all odds!!!He took chances,defied conventional wisdom,gambled,challenged himself and kicked ass in the process."kiss"no bassline! "If i was your girlfriend"who else would've touched that song? "when doves cry"a song with only 3 instruments playing but funky like a septic tank! Who else on earth does rock,funk,gospel,r&b...play all instruments in each style better than many artiste who master just one???? Now tell something about MJ other than marketing !

Prince singlehandedly dominated the 80's? Please stop deluding yourselves. NO ONE apart from Prince fans would ever say that lol. Omg, I understand if you like the guy, I like him too, he's my second favorite artist after Michael actually but come on now! No one is denying that Prince is influential, he just might be the most influential artist of his generation but he was not the biggest anything of the 80's or any other time period for that matter. Get real .
[Edited 1/7/08 22:54pm]

ReggaeQueen said:

ridiculous isn't it? Next thing you know Prince fans are gonna start claiming that "Purple Rain" is the biggest selling album of all time .

But seriously I can see exactly where this thread is headed. Just another stupid endless debate about how Michael is nothing compared to Prince 'cause he can't play instruments and how Prince is God basically. Same bulls*it over and over. I'm bored with these comparisons already though which is why I usually try to stay out of Prince v. MJ threads.

3232 said:

Not to even mention how he had "The F-Bomb" hurled at him around every turn! Bitch dug them heels in and STILL made hits!

---

komputerbleu said:

In the 80s MJ brought out Thriller and Bad ( not off the wall ) also between these albums he did a movie called moonwalker and did anthor shot film called captain eo and he wrote a song for live aid with lional richie. He also did his bad tour in the 80s too.

Yep, that Anna Vissi and Chage & Aska sure released a lot of singles.

I had a dream we had an org 80's theme party.
It resulted in several break dancing casualties.
.

I see that we are still missing the point here. "M-U-S-I-C-A-L-L-Y"

N Sync was bigger than anyone in late 90's early 00's, but are they better than Radio Head?

Pfft. Muhfuckas.

3232 said:

Exactly as this poster said!! Earth to MJ fans - just because he sold the most, doesn't mean he was "musically" the best. The more you go on about how much MJ sold and was "everywhere", the more you distract from his music and, consequently, support the point that perhaps MJ wasn't really about music at all!

Cinnamon234 said:

"musically"

I completely agree with the author of this thread. Very well stated.

skywalker said:

Actually, its quite easy to define and a bit more difficult to quantify. To me (and, I would hazard a guess to the author of this thread), it means who was the most musically talented and proficient, who had the most impact, who did the most with music. It is none of those subjects you stated above (in fact, you seem to have deliberately picked subjects that are far removed from the subject of music!), moreover who had the more complete understanding of music and the talent to convey it. Whilst MJ and Madonna were massive pop stars, great entertainers and very, very popular, neither of them delved as far in to music as Prince. Madonna, in particular, never broke any new ground musically - yes, she was controversial, she was progressive with her image, but nobody would credit her with being a musical maverick. Ask any musician which of those 3 artist commands the most respect musically, and they will all, without exception, say Prince. Prince stretched himself MUSICALLY and, as a consequence, broke new ground with music. The depth Prince had, the risks he took and the impact he had on music as a whole (he defined the era and his influence is heard everywhere today, far more than the other 2), is what is being put forward here.

And, the reason it is being stated is because for anyone that is actually interested in music it is the most valid criteria by which a musician should be judged. A prime example would be motivation - sure, Prince wanted the fame that went with it, but his primary focus was always music - experimenting and crossing boundaries. What was MJ's driving force? "I want to be the biggest selling artist of all time"!!! That to me, as a musician myself, is not a musical aspiration. It doesn't mean that MJ was crap - far from it and he likely wouldn't have had the biggest selling album were it not any good.

The argument comes from the fact that people have far too much of a personal interest in their "hero" - MJ fans, in general, are extreme in this and won't tolerate any criticism of him whatsoever (and, its even harder for them, given that their idol doesn't make it easy to defend him!). He was the biggest star on the planet, he was a great entertainer, but is no more. He also wasn't as "musically" talented as Prince, just nowhere near as proficient and they know this deep down. Its why they always have to rely on him being the "biggest" and the "best-selling" - but, when it comes to subjects such as this, that is entirely irrelevant. Its the same with many of the great artists - David Bowie, Miles Davis...pick any genre and the best in that field was hardly ever the most popular or biggest seller.
[Edited 1/8/08 8:37am]
[Edited 1/8/08 8:40am]

why does everyone always compare MJ and Prince? they are both fanastic entertainers and thats all that matters, they are both there own person