imho:

crystal ball

the truth

the symbol

chaos and disorder

I would start off with "The Gold Experience". It's his (arguably) best record from the 1990s.

I didn't like it when it came out, apart from the obvious songs such as Endorphinmachine and The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. In a musical landscape where post-grunge ruled, The Gold Experience just seemed too produced and constructed (check out the mindnumbingly irritating segues). But years on I've learned to love it. If you want to get into his 90's, then this is your best launching pad.

And then, if you like P Control the best, I'd move on to Come

An album I think is really close to the status of The Gold Experience. It's a sort of Dirty Mind for the 1990's, but this time sex is not just dirty, it's also crawling with neurosis. I imagine (privately for myself, that is) that Prince wanted to battle with Madonna's Erotica, and won.

But if you prefer the more rocking tunes, such as Endorphinmachine, you should let Chaos and Disorder be your next purchase.

Not that I particularly like this record, but many do apparently, and maybe you will too.

In general I'd say, that you can buy blindly from his discography up untill The Gold Experience, because after that each album becomes 15-20 years of arguing online on prince.org on whether they are crap or ahead of their time. I personally like half Emancipation just as much as anything from The Gold Experience - which at the price it's going for in most places, is not exactly a bad deal.

But start with the best, familiarize yourself with the sounds, textures and beats, and work your way into the more obscure. I promise you, you won't be bored doing it.

(all covers, including those from his smoking duck symbol days, are sketched to avoid copyright riots and are not the property of anyone)

[Edited 7/7/10 2:14am]

^ whtf.

those cover pics...

Ah well, we wouldn't want any cease and desist Prince letters, now would we?

Oh, and no-one's mentioned The War. It's not an album, but definitely worth checking out...

Spinzilla said:

So, far I only own Emancipation (which, I absolutely hated for a while but it's grown on me a bit), but I haven't heard really anything from this decade aside from the two Come singles I accidentally bought off itunes. I will say as a starting point for suggestions, I'm really not a way into Prince's ballads (I think they're way too many on Emancipation) and prefer his upbeat stuff.

Thanks guys. :]

I think I've got all the main albums (minus Emancipation):

-The Gold Experience is Prince's most energetic 90's album. It's cornball and silly, but a lot of fun.

- is similar, but heavier, funkier, darker, and more hit and miss in its vast variety. One of my personal favorites though.

-Diamonds and Pearls has some masterpieces and some... er... not so great songs.

-Graffiti Bridge is one of Prince's worst IMO. It's really forced in terms of melody and generic in overall sound. Overall, bleh.

-Come is filler material. Very bland, even if some say that's the point.

-Chaos and Disorder is a hard southern rock outing that I really enjoyed. It's cool so see Prince just pick up a guitar and let 'em have it.

-Good luck finding Crystal Ball/The Truth. There are moments of greatness in that set, but mostly, it's another mixed bag.

[Edited 7/7/10 14:44pm]

I think (1992) is Prince's best work of that decade. Highly eclectic, running the gamut from dark to light in subject matter, it's his SOTT of the 90's. The energy on this album is off the charts as Prince practically creates his own "wall of sound" within. While I don't think the album is commercial in the traditional sense, the songs here are catchy as hell and I can easily see that a great number of them could have been hits if marketed properly.

The Gold Experience (1995) sort of continues the energy of . I don't think it's quite as solid but it *IS* less meandering, more commercial, and shorter so I think that's why it's generally considered as more satisfying.

I think Come (1994), also, deserves special mention as it was seemingly made up of tracks created during the time period of the above two albums. It's very dark, more experimental, and probably his most cohesive release of the decade. I think this is one of those rare albums where the effect of listening to it as a whole is actually better than the mere sum of its parts would logically indicate.

Everything beyond those 3 is, I think, rather spotty.

Graffiti Bridge (1990) is a good album if you remove the tracks sung by others.

Diamonds & Pearls (1991) is one of Prince's rare, focused attempts at making a commercial album. Some stuff works brilliantly and some verge on the embarrassing.

Rave (1999) is similar to D&P in nature, but not sound. Rave sounds like the lost 4th disc to Emancipation, almost literally.

There are, also, harder to find minor releases like Chaos & Disorder, The Vault, New Power Soul, Crystal Ball/The Truth/Kamasutra but I wouldn't waste time hunting those down until you've digested most of the above.

If you like Prince's more upbeat stuff then and TGE are really the way to go.

errant said:

Don't start with the Gold Experience, because you'll be disappointed afterward. take them in the order they were released starting in '91 and move forward, so you can hear the evolution (and later, the de-volution, I guess).

exactly. as much as people shit on his 90s output, all those albums are still good, at least to me.

you'll appreciate them the most if you buy them in chronological order.

not sure if you're gonna download them somewhere or buy them in a store but by now most of

those albums are going at pretty low prices so gathering them all up shouldn't set you back all

that much but they will give you many hours of listening pleasure now and in the future.

i'd also read up on the albums a bit, so you know the history and the stuff going on at the time

of release in prince's life regarding WB, his marriage etc.

and yes, some of the later 90s albums do get spotty or, dare i say it, sub par, but there are at

least 3 excellent songs on all of them that you will return to over and over again.

having said that, i consider "the truth" which was released in late 1997/early 1998 one of his

all time best albums. so even amongst the patchy releases there were truly amazing discs.

graffitti bridge

new power soul

come

old friends 4 sale

billymeade said:

You should start with the 90s Holy Trinity: Come/Gold/Exodus

The symbol album is pretty darn good, too.

Stay clear of New Power Soul until your absolutely ready.

Actually, it's pretty much all good until 1996 (the post-WB years), then it's a bit more hit-or-miss.

Gosh I did not like most of this era..but its is feesible to have this material to understand the recent Prince music because it was a VERY hard time in Prince land being a fan.

Spinzilla said:

'I want more of Prince's 90's material, where should I start?'

Dumpsters and garage sales.