I was putting some stuff on my Ipod earlier today and realized that most of my favorite P albums are the shortest ones.

For instance:
Dirty Mind 30:10
Parade 40:52
LoveSexy 45:02
Purple Rain 43:47

Even Sign of the Times and 1999, which at their time were double albums, would be able to fit on 1 cd by today's standards.

On the other hand, some of my least favorite Prince Albums try to fill up a lot of time:

Graffiti Bridge 1:08:23
Rainbow Children 1:09:58
Emancipation 3:00:00

While obviously SOTT and 1999 are exceptions, As a general rule of thumb I feel that the shorter a Prince album is the better it's probably going to be.

So I guess the ideal Prince album would be a fifteen minute funk jam
Just thinking out loud
[Edited 6/12/09 14:46pm]

i'm with you. the early stuff is not only shorter but less complex musically (and has more raw feeling, in my opinion).