When I was 16 after my dance teacher used Let's Go Crazy as the finale show. Bought The Very Best of Prince at a local Target and haven't looked back since

My first Prince album was the very first one that he put out: For You in 1978. I was 12 years old. I remember the single, Soft and Wet coming out in the summer before I went to 8th grade. The first time that I saw what Prince looked like was in a Right On! magazine. I remember thinking that he was the cutest guy.

GirlBrother said:

More like my mom's money. But I got 1999 when I was 12, on cassette and vinyl. Then thought how cool it was that Prince did a song for a movie, not knowing he WAS the movie. So got Purple Rain right after seeing the movie. Then For You and Prince, together. Then Dirty Mind. Then Controversy. The made my dad proud, I'm sure, when I asked him to buy me Vanity 6. Then the albums by The Time, Sheila E., Jesse Johnson, Apollonia 6, Vanity's Wild Animal, The Family, etc. And all the 12-inch singles I could from Prince and those artists. It was an amazing childhood.

1985. Parade. Vinyl.

My first album was "Batman", on a cassette. 1989 or 1990. I heard it so many times, the tape got pulled in to the cassette player one day, and I had to CUT IT .

I still have it, though.

I was 13 yo at the time

[Edited 5/4/16 1:50am]

1984

In 1986 an English friend started sending me mixtapes that included many Prince tracks - including Erotic City. First album I bought was Sign O' The Times when it came out and I immediately bought Parade and all of the other albums. Also realised that my dance teacher had been playing America during our routines for at least 2 years before I became a fan. I absolutely loved the song but I didn't know it was Prince up until about 2 years later when I bought Around the World in a Day, it felt like a revelation.

1984.

Batman in 1989. I was too young for anything prior to that.

1980. My uncle left the Prince album at my house When dirty mind came out it was an automatic buy. i've never gotten into buying mp3s or audio files but have a few CD's. Nothing like reading an album cover, I'll never sell my album collection . Even the rare promo and remix 12" I own..

I had a couple CDs that I bought before college (Purple Rain, Batman, Diamonds & Pearls), but I bought EVERYTHING else during a Tower Records "Stock Your Locker" sale at their Lincoln Center location, during my freshman year.

1984. When Doves Cry cassette single with 17 Days on the B-side.

1984.

When Doves Cry 7"

Damn fine taste for an 11 year old!

1979 and I have never stopped.

1982. 1999.

IstenSzek said:

1988. lovesexy album. first album i ever bought with my pocket money.

That is my favorite Prince album, it is simply wonderful.

I heard the song Automatic (from 1999) in 1982. A friend had the the double LP. At the time I had no idea who Prince was. I remember listening to the entire album that day in my friends living room. Later that day, as I was leaving to go home, my friend handed me the album and said,"since you really enjoyed this, take this home, it's yours."

I'm thankful to have parents who know good music! Therefore, his music has always been in my life. But I pretty much only knew "the hits" and what was popular, up until I was about 13 (2003-ish. I'm a younger fan, only 26). To this day I can't remember why, but I remember asking my Dad if I could listen to his Purple Rain record. Right there I was hooked. At the time he only had it on vinyl so I had to sit there with headphones and listen. I remember having a sea of his records surrounding me on the floor, and I couldn't wait to get home from school every day to listen more. Once I had gone through my Dad's collection entirely, I started buying my own. I needed more and I needed them all. The rest was history.

I was 13 when Purple Rain came out and I bought the album. After that I wanted everything Prince. My uncle had owned the 1999 album and I remember being fascinated with the picture of the guy with his booty peking out from under the covers, lol. Little did I know that he was also the same guy who sang I Wanna Be Your Lover and swinging around that hair in the video. It wasn't long after that that I started to buy all of his older albums and hide them from my parents since they were a little to grown for me. I sat many nights in the dark listening to those songs with headphones on. They really opened up my mind. Annie Christian used to scare me though....even after i grew up and bought every other album I would still skip over that song. Sorry for rambling...I miss him terribly.

I kinda inherited a HITS/B-SIDES cd set from my older siblings when i was 15 and pretty much completed my Prince official disography via. Colombia House 10 cds for a Penny LOL. and the rest was history... going to different record shops while on family outings and vacations searching for obscure releases throughout my teenage years up until now. and of course joining the Prince Mailing List, This Site, and NPGMC sometime along the way.

[Edited 5/5/16 17:50pm]