One of them

mzspongebob said:

What's wrong with that assessment. Call it what you like. We gonna call it how it be.

Prince is the best today... on 6/25th...Eh not really.

Yeshua4all said:

All I'm saying is that Prince is known for his music and not much else whereas Michael was known for his music and a whole bunch of non-music related things in the media. I used to discuss this with MJ fans before his death that all he needs to do is stop with the public appearances and go hole up in a sudio and let the music speak for itself and for him. I was never a MJ fan but I didn't knock the appeal he had or his status in the music world but he wasn't making any music lately for anyone to hear.

Paris9748430 said:

Hm, I guess

Clevelandgirl said:

I agree-but Prince is definitely #2 (yes I said it ) I me some Princey, but even he has to give MJ his props. MJ opened the door even wider so that other artist including Prince could do their thangs and not be limited just because of race. Now that MJ has left us-Prince is the man Rest in Peace MJ.

The argument of a billion people watching a memorial service does not equate to popularity. There is a morbid curiosity with MJs death over the pass 3+ weeks and it has lead to a boon in ratings for CNN and other stations who have devoted a bulk of their programming to the man.

His talents speak for itself, but if you want to look at the past 15 years of MJ's life, he was a tortured man and it is unfortunate because it affected his art considerably.His live shows became stale and his studio work became lazy and bloated. Sure he has the records, the fame, and the noteriety, but lets not get it twisted: He rested on his laurels over the past 15 years. With all that said, the man was magic in his peak years (1969-1991) and his popularity is based on his impact to the video era, the artists of the video era and his time with his brothers. Due to this, he will always be more "popular" than Prince.

Prince is also a victim of the past 15 years. After The Hits (1993), P had a few more moments of creative success (The Gold Experience, Emancipation, Rainbow Children, Musicology), but he was recycling Prince concepts(God,Love, and funk) from an earlier era, albeit much more subdued. He is far more interesting as a live performer now versus his studio work. He always struck me as a musician's musician who is gifted as heck, but his personality can be off putting. The public does view P as an enigmatic figure, but they respect his musicianship, especially after the RRHOF and Superbowl.

He has become like a Bowie, Mccartney, and Springsteen when people look at his body of work. I view him as a pop star with a cult following, similar to Bowie, who I think is the best parallel to draw him to. I personally think that Purple Rain was the exception to the general flow of Prince's career in terms of sales (similar to Bowie with Let's Dance).
[Edited 7/14/09 19:14pm]
[Edited 7/14/09 19:24pm]

Sandino said:

Thank you! This thread has gone on this long at it seems that everyone has forgotten about Stevie. Stevie's classic output from 72-76 is for all practical purposes even better than Prince's classic output in the 80's (and as we all know, Prince's 80's work was pure genius) I don't think you can have a "who's the greatest musician" of all time thread and not mention Stevie Wonder. IMO, he is the best artist of the past 50 years.
[Edited 7/14/09 23:18pm]

purpleworld said:

Stevie is a distant second, IMO...very distant...Prince had all the mojo working for him during the 80's, from the stellar music, to the visuals, to the cool as fuck clothing, to the mystique, to the women...all wrapped up in one individual...no one can touch him. MJ isn't even on my radar when it comes to the "best" discussion....check the sig.

the best what..?

Revolution said:

huh Bro, I think you have trouble differentiating between a pop star and a musician. Stevie Wonder was a popular guy but he wasn't a pop star, he didn't make a concerted effort to be a pop icon the way Prince & MJ did. And I bet if you put your criterion of what makes Prince the best of all time, and critiqued the likes of Beethoven(with his unkempt hair lookin ass ) amongst others they'd all be "very distant". Musically speaking-chords, chord progressions, instrumental & vocal technique, multi instrumental proficiency, idiosyncrasy, songwriting, melody, harmony, arranging, composing, producing, etc please explain how Prince trumps Stevie in any of these categories.

Sandino said:[quote]

Revolution said:

huh Bro, I think you have trouble differentiating between a pop star and a musician. Stevie Wonder was a popular guy but he wasn't a pop star, he didn't make a concerted effort to be a pop icon the way Prince & MJ did. And I bet if you put your criterion of what makes Prince the best of all time, and critiqued the likes of Beethoven(with his unkempt hair lookin ass ) amongst others they'd all be "very distant". Musically speaking-chords changes, chordprogressions, instrumental & vocal technique, multi instrumental proficiency, idiosyncrasy, innovative ideas, songwriting, melody, harmony, arranging, composing, producing, etc please explain how Prince trumps Stevie in any of these categories.

I can't imagine how anyone, who is genuinely into music, could entertain such an absurd question as '..who is the best of all time?'.

I've said it before, but those that do, treat music more like sport than art.

Silly.

The problem with this discussion is that "best" is not defined. Are we talking about best in terms of talent or popularity? If its talent then its Prince and Michael if popularity. Michael is the King of Pop and and a great entertainer whereas Prince is a genius musician who is skilled in different genres of music. Prince's music is more complex and you often have to listen to it more than one time. My mother told me that when she first started to listen to Prince that she didn't understand a lot of his music but she would play it over again and understand and like it. Michael, on the other hand, made music that the average listner could gravitate towards without much thought, as a consequence his songs became bigger hits. Now, I'm in no way implying that MJ wasn't talented because he was, but I have to place Prince higher because of his musicianship. Musicianship is the ultimate foundation of music because without it there would be nothing for a singer to sing to and a dancer to dance to.

candy2277 said:

Stevie wonder could do both though . Average ppl could get down and shake that ass to the latest SW single and musicians could joy the complexities of his music.

Sandino said:

I hear what you're saying but I purposely left Stevie out of this discussion because this thread would really get crazy. Most of these best discussions always indirectly refer to Prince and MJ because its the org and we tend to love this topic If you really want to get deep, why not have a Prince vs MJ vs Stevie vs Quincy Jones discussion.

nurseV said:

How can a Prince fan on a Prince site say that Prince is #2

I love both, but:

MJ >>> 3-4 great (solo) albums - 2 in the 1980s.
Prince >>> 10-12 great albums - 10 in the 1980s.

I judge both artists on the quality of their work, not sales.


[Edited 7/16/09 3:35am]

thedance said:

And not commercial or popularity vote either!

thedance said:

Lol.....
Prince = Ferrari
Mj = Porcshe

YES!

.
[Edited 12/14/09 8:06am]

Rather than say he's the best, I'd rather just say there is no one else like him because that is pretty much indisputable.

DesireeNevermind said:

IF YOU LOOK AT PURE numbers, he's not, it's Micheal Jackson, if you look at pure creativity, he's not, Wonder, Bach, Beethoven are his equal. I love Prince to death, but I'm not one to over emphasize how many instruments he play because he really only play piano, drums, bass and guitar and different variations of these four instruments: percussion, clavinet, mini moog and so on. Anyone in here, take a look at his first album and look at the instruments on there and do your research on how many of those instruments are in the same families. Jimi Hendrix only put his energy into one instrument, just like Miles Davis: One instrument. Look at the band Phish, they all play a ton of instruments good. Look at Andre Cymone, he plays alot of instruments also. So that's not really impressive to me anymore, heck, I personally know people who can play the crap out of alot of different instruments.

Prince is not the best, but he will be ranked with the best when it's all said and done.

curioso said:

I disagree:

Let's Go Crazy
I Would Die 4 U
When Doves Cry
Purple Rain

Are just as good if not better.

thedance said:

Because it's true

JayJai said:

However you choose to roll the dice Prince comes in #2 and I've been listening to both as long as I can remember. He is my fav, but MJ still comes in at # 1. Love it or leave it

nurseV said:

I wasn't takin a jab at your opinion...I didn't even kno wat your opinion was
I bolded the part of thedance's post that I agreed wit and added to it.
I was jus makin the point that it's not logical reasonin to judge how great someone is just by how much they're commercialized...
which in turn gains popularity votes...
which is wat alot of ppl are doin here.

.
[Edited 12/14/09 8:06am]

nurseV said: