Hi everyone, I just became a Prince fan about a week ago. I've always known about him just never got into his music, really. I was watching VH1 and saw that 77 hours of Prince and it blew me away, I was like, "Why didnt I notice him before lol" And I became hooked. Well, I just wanted to know what album is the best and what should I buy first. Thanks for reading this

-Liza

Welcome! You are going to get about 200 replies, I'd imagine! Generally speaking, there is no consensus on what the best Prince album is, or even necessarily the best era. My favorite is 1999, but with a catalogue as wide and varied as Prince's, there are plenty of people here who will praise others.

I'd say these are the most beloved albums here, roughly in order:

Sign o' the Times
1999
Purple Rain
Parade
Dirty Mind
Lovesexy
Around the World in a Day
The Gold Experience
The Rainbow Children
Controversy

I'll probably get slaughtered for saying this, but you may want to try out a compilation and see what songs jump out at you the most, and go from there. If you want to go down that route, I would definitely recommend The Hits/The B-Sides, as it offers the best overview of his career. It's a 3-disc set: the first 2 discs are "hits" and the third disc consists of B-sides. You can probably find it without much expense, as other (weaker) compilations have come out since then.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

LizaWoman08 said:

Get "Sign o the times" as its very diverse and acclaimed by many as a masterpiece.

hi lizawoman08! glad 2 see u at the org!..
i was the same 1yr ago..'why didn't i notice him b4?' he is sooo fine!
things 4 u ain't EVER gonna be the same

i would suggest get hold of a recent album, ideally Planet Earth..i think if u fall in love with tht you'll just swoon over anything else he's done
if u can't get it, try '3121' or Musicolgy

Welcome to the Org.

You may want to start out with "The Hits/B-Sides" so you can get a feel for what Prince is all about, or you may want to get "The Very Best Of Prince", that's the first Prince CD I bought and I've been hooked ever since. You're in for one wild ride and a lot of fun on your journey to discover Prince's music!

depends on what Prince you like.
the funk,jazz, rnb rock.

Sign o' the Times
The Gold Experience
1999
Around the World in a Day
Parade

those are good for people who starting off as Prince fans. All good.Have fun.

LizaWoman08 said:

Welcome to the boards!
It's always great to have a newbie drop by. I was one myself a year ago. The SuperBowl performance ultimately brought me in, but I'd been noticing him for years. Just never gave him the chance as far as collecting his albums.

The first albums I purchased (after seeking the advice of people here) were:

Musicology
The Gold Experience
3121
also Purple Rain, but my dad already had the album. So I "adopted" it

Musicology & 3121, he released the most recently, so that was why I checked them out. Just to see where he is now, musically.

Purple Rain is awesome, no denying that
But the best, I can recommend

Sign o' the Times
Lovesexy
and Parade

I got "The Very Best of" to get me started, but I hardly listen to it anymore because I own all those songs on other albums.

Welcome to the dawn...

You have a long road ahead of you! So much to choose from - why not just try your luck, and enjoy the ride!

Oh, you poor thing.
Why oh why did you choose to come here?
I almost feel sorry for you.

As you will soon find out, you will get about a million different opinions from Prince fans answering that question.

skywalker said:

Wauw! I love your outfit!

I would start with the first album and work my way up. Listening to how he evolved and progressed as an artist and individual is a trip worth being on.

Start with the obvious, and work your way inwards. So that would be:

For starters: Purple Rain, Sign O' The Times, 1999, Diamonds & Pearls

Then everything else from the 70s and 80s. And then everything else.

Every post on this thread is a fine suggestion, noob.
I'd go with all of them, if I were you (which I ain't).

Better late then never! It doesn't really matter what you start with. Once

you're on the hook, there's no getting off and you'll end up (like me) on a

mission to have his entire back catalogue, and whatever collectable things you

can afford and fit into your house!!!! It feels never-ending but oh so worth it.

besides the music dont forget the Movies

Purple Rain
Under the Cherry Moon
GB
SOTT

and all the music videos

start form the begining

FOR YOU
PRINCE
DIRTY MIND AND WORK UR WAY UP U WILL ENJOY
[Edited 9/5/08 9:21am]

DAYDREAMER1 said:

What's SOTT? I'll probably realise as soon as i hit post, but my brain hurts so if you can save me thinking about it, please do!

I started with Purple Rain... it's his "signature" album... it has that perfect balance between accessibility and creativity . 1999 is also a great album to start with .

Also "The Hits/The B-Sides" is a very comprehensive collection of his works during his prime .

And InsatiableForP : SOTT = Sign O' The Times, in case you're still wondering .

Zeezow said:

Of course! Thank you. MAJOR brain fart there but in my defence it is late on a Friday and I am STILL at work. I never really think of that as a film either. Thanks again for helping me with that!

Welcome LizaWoman08! It is always great to see new Prince fans.

If it is at all possible, I think that you should get all of Prince's albums. If you are interested in Prince as an "artist." Of course, I know that it might be difficult and expensive to do. However, I think that you have to listen to all of Prince's albums to truly appreciate his evolution as an artist and man. I look at his albums as steps in a journey. They each reflect where he is in his life. Therefore, no one album truly depicts the whole of the journey. His catalog is so vast and varied that the diversity cannot be fully captured in a few albums.

Surely people will suggest their "favorites," which are obviously subjective and will vary based on personal tastes. My "favorites" are somewhat fluid and change based on where I am in my life, though I do have some mainstays.

That said, if you are more interested in the "vibe" of the music, you might want to stick with the era that matches that vibe and start with albums from that time. In that case you might want to indicate which songs you already dig and people can help point you to something "similar." Either way, you're in for a wonderful trip! Enjoy!!!

Thank you everyone for your replies. It blows my mind how many people are on this site, this is a happenin' place . I was just watching some of Prince's live concerts on the web and oh my goodness is it awesome, I've honestly never seen such talent before. I was an Michael Jackson fan for years and I believe he is very talented but I dont think he really is giving his all to his fans anymore, I mean 1 album every 7 years kind of sucks in my opinion. Prince is truely amazing I can't believe how awesome his shows are. It was like he was born to be a star cause he really has such an incredible talent. I am going out to get some of his albums today. Thank you all for your replies

-Liza

bellanoche said:

wonderful post
I agree.
When I started, I wanted to know Prince as an artist and people kept telling me to get ALL of his albums. I still don't have them all and have no need for them all.
I've cut a lot of corners by not getting albums that aren't rated as good by the majority, but with Prince's catalogue (not counting the NPG albums), I have nearly all of them except for a couple albums and his Internet releases.

We all play favorites, but my favorites happen to have the "vibe" that screams "Prince" the loudest to me. That includes Purple Rain and his latest work (Musicology through Planet Earth) because early on, those were the first performances I saw him do. I saw him in the movie very early on (put him in my head for a couple of years b4 I gave in ) and I caught him on American Idol, GMA and the SuperBowl before I came here.

Pretty much every album I have has something about it that I like because its all from the same artist It's just a matter of finding the "Prince"ly charm within each of them.

Hi Liza and Welcome to the New Power Generation!!!!

I like others here would suggest that you start with "The Hits/B-Sides". You will here all the familliar songs as well as other songs from the eras where many of the most popular Prince album came from. It's a fantastic collection and it'll make you want more Prince. Then go with Purple Rain, 1999, Sign O The Times and all the others. This is going to be a journey like no other so have fun on your trip! Welcome to the Purple Family!!!!

Start with his last one and work your way back 30 years, I hope you're filthy rich!

dirty mind
1999
purple rain
sign o' the times
prince
controversy

Hi!, doesn´t matter where to begin... Every album... every song..are gold in your hands, don´t forget movies, your ears and eyes will help your heart to choose the way.
U got a long way to discover, much of us we will 2

Hey welcome to the org, this is for sure the best place to learn all you need to about prince, all of his albums are pretty great, today i started listening to parade, it had been a while since i listened to it and i just love it, you really are in for a treat, be sure and let us know how you get on collecting the albums, i still haven't got them all yet, let us know what you think of them. Enjoy

wrong question
cuz everyones guna give you a different answer...
listen to different tracks , the ones you like the most , buy the albums.

purpleworld said:

I agree. been a fan for 1 year started with the hits and b sides then I just got one at a time then i started to buy 6 at a time they are all brilliant, you might wanna take a look at the cd singles as well for remixes and extded versions, hope you got plenty of credit cards. Welcome.

Welcome to the org. Pick an album and jump in...You have the choice to start at the beginning, and climb the years, however if you can't do that, whatever record you start with will only be a little bit of the Love Prince music has to offer you.