I find this difficult to answer, because I'm very aware that "greatest" doesn't always equal "favourite".

My favourite album is The Gold Experience. In saying that, 1999 and Purple Rain are obvious masterpieces, probably stronger in terms of material. SOTT is an obvious choice as well.

I'm surprised, though, not to see The Rainbow Children on any lists. I know it caused some controversy among Prince fans, but I think musically it's one of his best, and possibly even lyrically as well despite my complete lack of religiosity.

1) Dirty Mind

2) S.O.T.T.

3) Parade

4) 1999

5) Lovesexy

6) Controversy

7) Prince

8) Chaos & Disorder

9) N.E.W.S

10) For You

alxndrstff said:

I find this difficult to answer, because I'm very aware that "greatest" doesn't always equal "favourite".

great (grt)adj. great·er, great·est

8. Superior in quality or character; noble: "For he was great, ere fortune made him so" (John Dryden).

When most music magazines make greatest lists, they're usually going by the #6 definition.. which would make PR or SOTT his 'greatest'.

Exactly. Failure to place Purple Rain at number one shows a misunderstanding of the question. Or an incorrect choice of word within the question.

Prince's greatest song? Purple Rain. Jackson's greatest song? Thriller. Free? Alright Now. Floyd? Brick in the Wall. Nirvana? Smells Like Teen Spirit. Tom Jones? Delilah. Ricky Martin? Livin' la Vida Loca. The Firm? Star Trekkin.

You get my point.

[Edited 4/30/12 2:28am]

^ Yes I do, but they're not neccesarrily answering the question wrong, if you go by this definition:

8. Superior in quality or character

I could, and would argue that Purple Rain is not superior in quality to all of his other albums.

1. Purple Rain

2 SOTT

3 1999

4 Come (test pressing version)

5 Controversy

6 Dirty Mind

7 Lovesexy

8 Prince

9 ATWIAD

10 3121

And yes it's tough to choose between PR and SOTT...and 1999 is a very close #3.

.

[Edited 4/30/12 4:24am]

I can´t do a ranking of albums because it changes from time to time depending on my mood.

My top 5 without a definite ranking are:

SOTT

Purple Rain

Lovesexy

The Gold Experience

1999

If i consider not only the album but the whole period including the corresponding tour

i´d definitly choose

Lovesexy

which was the peak of Prince´s creativity imo.

Last but not least i wanna give some credits to TRC, which could be my No.6 after the above mentioned albums.

[Edited 4/30/12 5:12am]

irreverence said:

Yeah, sorry about that. I can respect other people's taste, but understanding it is sometimes a bit difficult.

I guess I'm just worried that as fans get younger, the genious - groundbreaking genious - of Prince's 80s albums may be lost...

I understand. Though my favorite Prince albums are all post-80s, it doesn't mean I don't love the 80s albums, too. I think almost all of his 80s albums are great, but I prefer music I can relate to, and I don't love sex, partying and the bible as much as Prince does. His later music, when he started talking about other topics more often, and his sex songs became more subtle and classy, connects with me more.

[Edited 4/30/12 5:19am]

1. Purple Rain

2. Around The World In A Day

3. Parade

4. 1999

5. Sign O The Times

6. Black Album

7. Prince

8. For You

9. Controversy

10. Lovesexy

Jeez...Not suref the order now? Those albums are ALL damn good!

1. Sign o The Times - The quisessential Prince album. Has everything I love from the guy. It's insane how many times I have listened to this album since the day it came out in 87 and it still gets played on a regular basis. I love the b-sides, the overflow from Crystal Ball, the movie, and the overall look from this era. Ok...this is going to sound REALLY hokey but its part of the soundtrack of my life. My only gripe is I wish I was able to experience the live show first hand.

2. Parade - Like Sign this one still gets played a LOT. It's getting better with age...and the songs I was sort of ok with are now becoming faves as the years go by (Do U Lie? Christopher Tracys Parade, and Venus De Milo). The reason it doesn't tie with Sign is its too short. We all know the fab outtakes from this time and wish at least a couple were included (Old Friends 4 Sale and All My Dreams).

3. Purple Rain - His most commercial and most rockin album. A PARTAY from beginning to end. Includes 2 of my all time faves (Computer Blue and Beautiful Ones). The only (minor) complaint, I am tired of the big hits, so don't really play this one as much as the two listed above.

4. The Black Album - Sign's funky step-cousin. I Loved this one back in the day when I had a 5th gen cassette tape (horrible recording but I swear that just made it funkier), that when it was finally released I was slightly disapppointed as the CD sounded a bit thin compared to that cassette. But now its one of my faves from any artist. Only Prince could make an album like this...funky, funny, and totally original...and only hardcore Prince fans get this one imo.

5. Lovesexy/Around the World in a Day - I get in moods when the only music I want to hear are these albums from beginning to end. I'll do this for about a couple weeks, then put them away for awhile, until the mood strikes again. Like TBA, only us hardcores get these...

Cloudbuster said:

This one!

Poplife88 said:

3. Purple Rain - His most commercial and most rockin album. A PARTAY from beginning to end. Includes 2 of my all time faves (Computer Blue and Beautiful Ones). The only (minor) complaint, I am tired of the big hits, so don't really play this one as much as the two listed above.

I think all of us are, Purple Rain is great, but listening to Purple Rain, When Doves Cry and Lets go crazy for the 1000th time does sound tedious. Great songs but they have become part of the Prince cliche. Telling my workmates - "I'm off to see Prince next month", and their response is oh "You you mena the Purple Rain guy, didn't he change his name?"

^^

Greatest, not biggest.

1999

come because it has consistancy each track blends into the other, it comes together as a whole which not many can do like that. and i find the sex theme somewhat comical like he is doing it on purpose. and just the simplicity of the word come, it is very poetical. also n.e.w.s. is up there as a compliment to come because you can listen to it in front of others without having an awkward moment like you would with any other album. followed by symbol, emanicipation. my ear is very rnb and jazz orientated.

CrabalockerFishwife said:

irreverence said:

Yeah, sorry about that. I can respect other people's taste, but understanding it is sometimes a bit difficult.

I guess I'm just worried that as fans get younger, the genious - groundbreaking genious - of Prince's 80s albums may be lost...

I understand. Though my favorite Prince albums are all post-80s, it doesn't mean I don't love the 80s albums, too. I think almost all of his 80s albums are great, but I prefer music I can relate to, and I don't love sex, partying and the bible as much as Prince does. His later music, when he started talking about other topics more often, and his sex songs became more subtle and classy, connects with me more.

[Edited 4/30/12 5:19am]

yes those songs were groundbreaking and genius we are aware of that, post 80's for me all the way, after D&P really to be exact. i was born in 1984, and i appreciate his music in 80's. just not into the pop mainstream so much.

Apart from the live stuff the album I listen to the most (to do housework to etc) is

D&P

Sorry.

Cloudbuster said:

^^

Greatest, not biggest.

Purple Rain then. His bank balance, fame and ability to still sell out stadiums is solely based on that one album and film. Which makes it his greatest if not necessarily his best.

iloveannie said:

Cloudbuster said:

^^

Greatest, not biggest.

Purple Rain then. His bank balance, fame and ability to still sell out stadiums is solely based on that one album and film. Which makes it his greatest if not necessarily his best.

I was referring to the size of the pic.

jpnyc said:

10 Graffiti Bridge

This was a better movie than Purple Rain, and Purple Rain was better than 1999, so obviously this shit is off the hook.

9 N.E.W.S

Everybody with a grad degree in music theory dreams of a conceptual live jazz album!

8 Come

Some of his best drum programming.

7 Batman

Batdance is the best dance track of the 80s.

6 Chaos and Disorder

Prince saved the best for last at Warner Records.

5 20Ten

OMG GIRRRRL did you hear him call himself the Purple Yoda? HE SAY HE THE PURPLE YODA!

4 The Chocolate Invasion

This one is so great because the critics just never understood what he was doing and it derserves RESPECT.

3 The Slaughterhouse

Listening to this always reminds me of Bamboozled, and that movie was so much better than Do The Right Thing.

2 Kamasutra

I love this album because it always reminds me of the year I was blessed by Jehovah to have spent waiting for my copy of Crystal Ball to be delievered late by conspirators at the post office.

1 Gold Nigga

Tony M. just never got his due in Prince’s work. It’s so good that Prince could put his ego aside and let the real hero of the N P G stand out!

Trolololololol

10: The Gold Experience, A great album. Pussy Control is pretty funny the first time with that chorus busting outta nowhere, Dolphin is nice listening,Billy Jack Bitch is also good. Gold is good smaltz, it's daggy in an endearing way. The album version of TMBGITW is loaded with more fucked up sound effects than MathewBrodericks Inspector Gadget movie.

9: Musicology, My first P album, and the first album I bought with my own money. It was one of the best things I had ever heard at the time and blew my mind. Up until then my musical knowledge was limited to my dads taste. Neil Diamond, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Meatloaf and a touch of Dire Straits. I had never heard anything remotely funky in full until the title track hit me. It introduced me to a whole new world of music. Without it I would never have found out abput Princes earlier stuff, let alone James Brown or heck, even Chuck Berry. This is the album that got me into music and for that I am thankful.

8: ATWIAD, I really like the experimentation on this one, and it reminds me (in a good way) of the music from some crappy 70's sex ed videos I watched last year in Science. Condition of the Heart and Tambourine are stand outs.

7: Parade, It has Kiss, Girls and Boys, Mountains and Anotherloverholenyohead on it. That's enough to justify it's place. To add to that it has Eye wonder you, Under the Cherry Moon and the underrated (imo) classic Sometimes it snows in April, The first two tracks are a bit of a turn off and Life can be so Nice is pretty ordinary which puts it lower on the list than the rest of the tracks would have put it

6: Prince, This eponymous album (imo) started it all, it is less disco/RnB than For You and showcases Princes songwriting rather than just his playing. I Wanna be your Lover is (of course) great and Why you wanna treat me so Bad really sounds ahead of it's time. Bambi manages to sound almost like an AC/DC song despite the falsetto and Sexy Dancer was his funkiest number yet (at the time of release). the only dud is still waiting, which isn't bad.

5: Controversy, This choice might be coloured by the fact it is the first of his trilogy (Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain) which I think sound very similar, and also by the fact it sounds more like Dirty Mind. The title track deserved to be bigger and would have benefited greatly from MTV play, which was sadly not to be. Let's Work is pretty great, if monotonous., Private Joy would have been a hit if it was released as a single, and Ronnie talk to Russia and Jack U Off are unique in the fact they are the only (to my knowledge) rockabilly Prince songs. Do me Baby is musically not that interesting and mainly Prince putting his sex appeal in overdrive, which he can pull off. Sexuality is quirky and the falsetto screams at the start put me off at first, but the song is good enough. Annie Christian is a bizarre piece of album filler that doesn't flow at all. Special mention to theawesome guitar solo segue into Ronnie talk to Russia.

4:Purple Rain, his commercial blockbuster, his Thriller, his Born in the U.S.A. and Like a Prayer. This deservedthe recognition it got and outdoe it's the mentioned contemperies in the fact all the songs sound completely different, yet the same. They all have this signature "Purple Rain" sound which I can't describe. Listening to the album start to finish is a better listen than the individual tracks, hampered by the schmaltzy Take me with U it still manages to be a killer of an album

3:Dirty Mind, The second Prince album I bought, and the first pre Jehovahs witness one. Dirty Mind (the song) was good, but I find it hard to listen to know because of that drumbeat. Then When you Were Mine kicks in. Up there with the best songs he has ever written. Go listen to it now! Anything I can say won't be as good. Do it all Night didn't have the same "OMG" effect as WYWM and I confess I skipped it on my first listen of the album, but the bassline is very good and the song as a whole is pretty good. Uptown is the next highlight. A rocky song with cool guitar, I still like this one and the lyrics are pretty tight too "Are you gay?" Sister... Just when I was laughing my ass off that "I know what you want me to do girl" part kicked in. That part makes the whole song worth it.

2: Sign O the Times, This album is one of the greats. Commercially underacheiving, partially due to Prince, it is top tier quality for any artist. The title track has a pretty unique delivery of the vocal and goes on without ever dragging. Play in the Sunshine sounds a bit daggy but has some good guitar work on it. Housequake is a very cool song, and hearing it was P doing James Brown got me listening to his stuff. Ballad for Dorothy Parker is reminiscent of Annie Christian, but it works. "It" is one of my favourites, I like his vocals onit and the drumbeat is catchy. Slow Love is autopilot, Hot Thing is brilliant, and unique. If I was Your GF has one of his best basslines. Simplistic and fnky. ICNTTPOYM is as close to when youwere mine he has ever gone back to(due to being written wround the some time if i'm not mistaken) and is great. I like Adore, but not as much as most people seemto. SOTT failing isit's incoherency as an album. It sounds like a Greatest Hits package, both in flow and quality, but it doesn't gel verywell.

1: drumroooooooooooll... 1999, this album is PurpleRain only morefunky, more dirty and more exciting. the title track is a killer opener,and I admit he outdit itwith LGC, but 1999 is still a good song. Little Red Corvette is a less cheesy counterpart to the Beautiful Ones. The girl he's singing about is also a more believable character in LRC than TBO. Slut? I can believe that. Psychotic cheating bitch who wants to destroy your life? er, not so much. He also soundsmore mature in LRC. Delirious is a great Elvis homage. Let's pretend we're married is an admittedly immature sexual romp and a fun track, DMSR is better live (imo) and sounds a bit empty on the record.

Automatic is kind of scary with the moaning and screaming. Something in the Water is Computer Blues Bigger Badder and better brother, thescreams on it are incredible. Free is a nice ballad but a bit forgettable, Lady cab driver is hardcore funk and one of the more tasteful examples of Princes sex sounds on tape. This album is his best to me at the moment, but who knows tomorrow I might prefer Dirty Mind or Parade.

Paragraphs added, wow, that post got awayfromme

also changed 10 from DnP to Gold Experience

[Edited 5/3/12 7:26am]

1999

It has everything (funk, rock, psychedelia) and captured Prince back when he was young and still hungry and earger to prove something. Also, unlike most Prince records, there's not a track on it I skip or am embarrassed for my friends to hear. PR also fills this description, but I like 1999 better because it's a bit more experimental.

^ Is my favorite, as well..

CrabalockerFishwife said:

1- Controversy (for it's rawness)
2- Sign o the times (for it's diversity)
3- 1999 (Lady cab driver is on here, my all time favorite Prince song, (I love all songs except for delirious/free/international lover, but I still like them)
4- Purple Rain (this just gives me so many memories, at the same time this album is the one I never listen to anymore)
5- Lovesexy (some great songs on here, just never cared for glam slam)
6- Parade (for the singles released)
7- Prince (I wish I was aware of his music when this came out, But I was only 4 years old)

-

-

-

iloveannie said:

Cloudbuster said:

^^

Greatest, not biggest.

Purple Rain then. His bank balance, fame and ability to still sell out stadiums is solely based on that one album and film. Which makes it his greatest if not necessarily his best.

With that logic you would have to rate Diamonds and Pearls as his second greatest album. It had the most sold albums next to Purple Rain. And Diamonds and Pearls, although fun, aint no Sign O the Times, 1999, or Purple Rain.