1. Parade / Charade

2 . SOTT

3. 1999

4. Dirty Mind

5. Purple Rain

6. Gold Experience

7. Controversy

but i would REALLY miss BATMAN.. i love that album.. lemon crush is my JAM!

Dirty Mind

Controversy

1999

Puprle Rain

Around The World In A Day

Parade

Sign O The Times

controversy99 said:

The first seven.

only 7, impossible for me to choose....but I'm going to sleep on it and see what I come up with.

I see a lot of people love SOTT, me too

What this thread is fundamentally different from a top 5 favorite albums that we did recently? figure?

but okay.

1. Purple Rain
2. Sign O' The Times
3. Lovesexy
4. 1999
5. Controversy
6. Dirty Mind

7. Parade

Dirty Mind

Controversy

1999

Parade

Sign o the Times

The Gold Experience

3121

jaawwnn said:

stillwaiting said:

Not on the list, but...

Most overrated: Dirty Mind- yes, it's a landmark album, that you can argue is where Prince really found his sound. The songs itself....some great. Does anybody really listen to Do It All Nite or Partyup everyday? The keyboards sound really cheesy at times...like a mix of the Doors and the Munsters theme. Great Album, but can't possibly list it in a Top 7. Top 15 for sure.

I LOVE Do it All Night, i'd play it most days.

So anyway mine is straight up Dirty Mind to Sign O the Times. Not the most original of choices I know but I wouldn't be willing to swap them for any of his others.

I don't think Do It All Nite is a bad song by any means. I know I'm odd by not having Dirty Mind in my Top 10 at least. By calling it a Top 15 album, I am in the minority. Of course, I like just about every single Prince album an awful lot. MPLSound may be the one exception, but some good songs there too.

TheEmperorofFunk said:

EyeJester7 said:

TODAY....I'll go with these 7

The Rainbow Children

Xpectation

LoveSexy

One Nite Alone..Piano

Chaos & Disorder

LotusFlow3r

COME

For the most part, I'll take these albums any day. Never get enough of any of them!

BONUS: EXODUS

Hey whatsup? question 4 u, how do you get yourself past "the voice" when you listen to TRC? Just curious as I too enjoy that album but felt it was completely ruined by the voice. I would love to get my hands on a copy with the voice omitted but thats just me. ur thoughts?

Although I didn't rank TRC in my top 7, it's probably somewhere around 14-20.

I have to admit, the "Darth Vader on Steriods" voice takes away from my listening experience with the album. It just gets old really quick. It's like anything with interludes....the first time or two you hear them, it might sound cool or ok, but it gets old, and sometimes like in the case of Jughead, puts a very smelly stamp on a recording. Just reading my signature shows my dislike of spoken word interludes, as the stuff at the end of Gold is so cheesy and cringe worthy.

TRC is still a great album. If I could edit Vader out, I would. Still, even though it detracts from my listening experiece, it's still a fun album to listen to.

EyeJester7 said:

TheEmperorofFunk said:

Hey whatsup? question 4 u, how do you get yourself past "the voice" when you listen to TRC? Just curious as I too enjoy that album but felt it was completely ruined by the voice. I would love to get my hands on a copy with the voice omitted but thats just me. ur thoughts?

Seriously? A copy without the voice! HAHA; that sounds intense! THE VOICE...(Honestly, and don't kill me for this) allows the Narrative to Flow so much better.

When I first heard the album, it was the voice, that prepared me for the sound adventure I was not expecting! It was just a DARK surprise, that made me question whether or not I had an authentic copy of the album. LOL

Prince has used this effect various times as a narrative. It is just a darker decibel deeper than ' The Exodus Has Begun; and that track is funky!

SO, when listening to this album, the voice does not shake me. I mean, it is a bit slow but it's not everywhere in the album! SO when listening to this album, I always listen to it like a movie. It has great story telling, and while the story kind of gets lost towards the end, it flows quite well. What elements most ruin it for you? Any particular song? OR better yet, could you imagine Prince using another voice on the album?

Well here's the thing, I really enjoy every song on there, i absolutely love the jazz sounds in that album, but the voice element takes me out of it completely. I find it to be distracting and I usually get tired of it quickly and then find myself shutting it off. in other words the voice actually makes me give up. However, I'm glad I asked this question b/c the way you told me that you listen to this album with actually LISTENING to the voice as a narrative (something I never did when I attempt to listen to the album) maybe this will change my view of the voice. I'll listen to it again but this time I'll "listen to it like a movie." I hope this works because I've always liked the music in this album and always found it frustrating that I couldn't enjoy it because of the voice. Lastly, I can't say that I could imagine prince using a different voice but I can imagine how great it would sound (IMO) without any voice at all. Keep in mind however, I dont find Prince's altered voices in songs annoying or agitating across the board. It's honestly just with this album and maybe at the end of Breakfast can wait LOL. other than that I thoroughly enjoy when he manipulates his voice.

TheEmperorofFunk said:

EyeJester7 said:

Seriously? A copy without the voice! HAHA; that sounds intense! THE VOICE...(Honestly, and don't kill me for this) allows the Narrative to Flow so much better.

When I first heard the album, it was the voice, that prepared me for the sound adventure I was not expecting! It was just a DARK surprise, that made me question whether or not I had an authentic copy of the album. LOL

Prince has used this effect various times as a narrative. It is just a darker decibel deeper than ' The Exodus Has Begun; and that track is funky!

SO, when listening to this album, the voice does not shake me. I mean, it is a bit slow but it's not everywhere in the album! SO when listening to this album, I always listen to it like a movie. It has great story telling, and while the story kind of gets lost towards the end, it flows quite well. What elements most ruin it for you? Any particular song? OR better yet, could you imagine Prince using another voice on the album?

Well here's the thing, I really enjoy every song on there, i absolutely love the jazz sounds in that album, but the voice element takes me out of it completely. I find it to be distracting and I usually get tired of it quickly and then find myself shutting it off. in other words the voice actually makes me give up. However, I'm glad I asked this question b/c the way you told me that you listen to this album with actually LISTENING to the voice as a narrative (something I never did when I attempt to listen to the album) maybe this will change my view of the voice. I'll listen to it again but this time I'll "listen to it like a movie." I hope this works because I've always liked the music in this album and always found it frustrating that I couldn't enjoy it because of the voice. Lastly, I can't say that I could imagine prince using a different voice but I can imagine how great it would sound (IMO) without any voice at all. Keep in mind however, I dont find Prince's altered voices in songs annoying or agitating across the board. It's honestly just with this album and maybe at the end of Breakfast can wait LOL. other than that I thoroughly enjoy when he manipulates his voice.

Awesome! Maybe, that will change it for you! I too, love when he manipulates his voice. It's always a surprise the first time, it would be cool to see the faces of everybody when they heard this album for the first time. Because; I think Prince knew he was going to shock people there. Haha

I know this this album was suppose to be a documentary or some kind of movie; according to Kevin Smith. It has that feeling, and if it was played out like a movie, it would probably not bother many as much. TO be honest though, whenever I listen to this album, I love listening to it as a whole. As I mentioned; the story kind of gets lost towards the end. IMO; which I why I can usually listen to the remainder of the album at random. Such as Last December, Everlasting Now, She Loves Me 4 Me etc. BUT tracks 1-7 I seem to rather listen to them in order, because they fall into each other quite well. IF you just shuffle, the music and the 'Rainbow Children' (title track) is somehow in that mix, it always sounds off. It's really an album that works better as one track, the same direction he did with LoveSexy. BUT yes, the music is great.. I love the jazz and distorted guitar sounds. I wonder how it would sound without the voice? The narrative helps make sense of the title, and story...BUT I would die if he finally released the documentary of the movie! That is what I want to see, I wonder if it somehow emerges the themes out in video. OR maybe it just discusses the controversial themes he presented at the Celebration> I don't know! Haha

AND Breakfast can wait, makes me laugh! If he added the vocal effect that he used on PFUNK, it would have flowed much better. Haha

stillwaiting said:

TheEmperorofFunk said:

Hey whatsup? question 4 u, how do you get yourself past "the voice" when you listen to TRC? Just curious as I too enjoy that album but felt it was completely ruined by the voice. I would love to get my hands on a copy with the voice omitted but thats just me. ur thoughts?

Although I didn't rank TRC in my top 7, it's probably somewhere around 14-20.

I have to admit, the "Darth Vader on Steriods" voice takes away from my listening experience with the album. It just gets old really quick. It's like anything with interludes....the first time or two you hear them, it might sound cool or ok, but it gets old, and sometimes like in the case of Jughead, puts a very smelly stamp on a recording. Just reading my signature shows my dislike of spoken word interludes, as the stuff at the end of Gold is so cheesy and cringe worthy.

TRC is still a great album. If I could edit Vader out, I would. Still, even though it detracts from my listening experiece, it's still a fun album to listen to.

Haha, I feel you on that one. lol. Your signature is hilarious! Haha, I think the interludes really detract from the experience. I mean, on 'Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic' the Segue's are very embarrassing. Especially the third one..He mentions his websites, which of course are not in existence any more. It's like he knew, they would be removed because he says "Open ur mind, there isn't much time' LOL

And indeed, there wasn't because the phone and website are gone. Elements which are temporal should not presented as eternal, that is why I love themes that don't really change throughout the process of time. I don't mind the NPG references that was all over The Gold Experince..lol. BUT, when you name check what year it is, and stuff like that. It ruins the process for me, because then I can't listen to the song without thinking about the year and all. So, I understand where you are coming from!

EyeJester7 said:

TheEmperorofFunk said:

Awesome! Maybe, that will change it for you! I too, love when he manipulates his voice. It's always a surprise the first time, it would be cool to see the faces of everybody when they heard this album for the first time. Because; I think Prince knew he was going to shock people there. Haha

I know this this album was suppose to be a documentary or some kind of movie; according to Kevin Smith. It has that feeling, and if it was played out like a movie, it would probably not bother many as much. TO be honest though, whenever I listen to this album, I love listening to it as a whole. As I mentioned; the story kind of gets lost towards the end. IMO; which I why I can usually listen to the remainder of the album at random. Such as Last December, Everlasting Now, She Loves Me 4 Me etc. BUT tracks 1-7 I seem to rather listen to them in order, because they fall into each other quite well. IF you just shuffle, the music and the 'Rainbow Children' (title track) is somehow in that mix, it always sounds off. It's really an album that works better as one track, the same direction he did with LoveSexy.

I remember sitting with a group of friends listening to it in Paisley Park before it was put on the site as a download, and I really liked it, but the voice was like a foghorn in church. Everybody was quiet while it was playing, but the voice got a lot of negative comments right off the bat. The music was great to me, and most everyone else. Kevin Smith was a little too harsh on Prince in public about the documentary issue, even though he was probably right. He had to know going in, that working with Prince wasn't going to be like anyone else. He was also harsh on working with Bruce Willis, so Smith may just be as difficult as Prince, or working with me...lol.

I don't think Prince ever had any idea what to do with the footage. It was just a bunch of fans begging to be on camera. Had I been given a chance to be on the thing, I probably would've said some psycho babble just to try to sound intelligent and get on the film. It was a mess, but those sure were happy times back in 2001!

Omey said:

I am curious how different or the same the prince.org fans are as far as what they consider the best of the best. If you could only choose 7 Prince albums not including any Hits CD's which 7 would they be? You don't have to put your 7 in any specific order.

Here Are Mine:

1. Sign O' The Times

2. Purple Rain

3. Musicology

4. Parade

5. The Gold Experience

6. The Rainbow Children

7. 1999

The best I can narrow down would be:

1. The Gold Experience

2. Crystal Ball

3. Sign of the Times

4. Purple Rain

5. 3121

6. 1999

7. Lotusflow3er

Honorable Mentions: Emancipation, Prince, Controversy, 20TEN, Nupowersoul, Rave Un2 Joy Fantastic, Dirty Mind, Symbol, Musicology, and everything else

Purple Rain

1999

Sign 'O' The Times

Dirty Mind

Controversy

Parade

Around The World In A Day

1. Purple Rain

2. 3121

3. Parade

4. Graffitti Bridge

5. SOTT

6. O-I->

7. Lovesexy

Edit. *nevermind*

Can't do it. I had a list, and already wanted to change it 3 times.

I'm terrible at lists.

[Edited 3/4/13 8:17am]

stillwaiting said:

Most overrated: Dirty Mind- yes, it's a landmark album, that you can argue is where Prince really found his sound. The songs itself....some great. Does anybody really listen to Do It All Nite or Partyup everyday? The keyboards sound really cheesy at times...like a mix of the Doors and the Munsters theme. Great Album, but can't possibly list it in a Top 7. Top 15 for sure.

It's raw energy and rough sound, and sometimes great songs on this album that makes it great. He had the attitude that often many of his later albums lacks. It's not one boring moment.

My list:

Dirty Mind - The album with the perfect flow. All songs are not perfect songwriting or melodies. But he does well with what he has, and the attiude, performance and sound is just the way I like it. It does have alot of new wavish funk songs. But it also has some soft rock, rnb and almost punk kinda sound to some of it. He proved he could combine different genres seamlessly, and master different styles with ease. THis is the prototype of Prince.

1999 this album is where he defined the Prince sound to last for decades. In many ways it defined the 80s. This album gave birth to how we later would expect Prince to be. If Dirty Mind was the prototype, then 1999 was the definition of Prince.

Purple Rain - sometimes it sounds boring if it's too appreciated among the general public. But the fact is it's just a real great album. Though I find it a bit too "constructed" for the movie. It lacks the throughout personality of albums like Dirty Mind, Lovesexy. But it had the superstar qualities that made people immediatly addicted.

Around The World In A Day - is most spiritually exciting to me, but the sound of the album is still a bit riding his formula from purple rain and 1999, mixing it with some psychedelia. He had a better sound on parade. This didn't kill the inspired feel of it though, and is to this date still one that inspires me alot.

Parade one of his least "freaky" albums of the 80s. It does not scare listeneres away. But his visual style still does a bit. THe album is just great.

SOTT

Need I explain this? The album is close to perfect, and some of the live versions are as good as it gets. Even though I think the sound of the album is freezin cold at most places, it still is one of the best albums of all times. I gotta admit I feel the drum programming on this albums sound a bit datet mostley because they're som perfectly on time and stiff, while albums like 1999 kinda made the "cold" programmed drum sound feel like it was really supposed to be there. His drum programming sounded more inspired when he started using it with different effects etc. After Purple Rain I think he got a bit lazy with it. Instead of using it as an instrument, he used it just as a tool for layering other instruments upon.

Black Album or Lovesexy. This one is difficult. Black Album has the right attitude, but Lovesexy has probably better songs.

Sign Of the Times

Purple Rain

Musicology

Around the World in a Day

Parade

The Gold Experience

1999

1999 is my favorite album of all time, by any artist.

Anything else can fall in after that.

MadamGoodnight said:

Edit. *nevermind*

Can't do it. I had a list, and already wanted to change it 3 times.

I'm terrible at lists.

That's me all over. So you've got 99 at number one, six left...

mmm

1. The Gold Experience

2. Sign Of The Times

3. Dirty Mind

4. Lotusflow3r

5.

6. Lovesexy

7. 1999

1. Prince

2. Dirty Mind

3. Controversy

4. 1999

5. Rain

6. Parade

7. SOTT

Chronological order:

Dirty Mind

Controversy

1999

Purple Rain

Sign “☮” The Times

Lovesexy

The Rainbow Children

Sign O the Times

Purple Rain

Parade

Around The World in a Day

1999

Dirty Mind

Diamonds and Pearls

DM

SOTT

1999

PR

TGE

TBA

SIGN O THE TIMES

PURPLE RAIN

1999

THE GOLD EXPERIENCE

THE RAINBOW CHILDREN

LOTUSFLOW3R

ONA (PIANO), THE TRUTH, N.E.W.S (They tie for 7th...LOL)