1. Emancipation

2. 20Ten

3. LOtUSFLOW3R

4. Planet Earth

5. HitnRun Phase Two

What do you guys think?

- The Truth

- ONA piano

Underrated by who? From what's been listed so far, I'd say Lotusflow3r, 20Ten, HitnRun Phase 2 and, in particular, The Gold Experience and Come all get a lot of love here.

Emancipation really splits opinions. I can't quite believe it now, but I had it once and threw it out. I guess it's time I gave it a reappraisal. I've never given the Love Symbol album much time either.

Love Symbol, Emancipation, New Power Soul, One Night Alone

The Truth

The Rainbow Children

ONA Piano

n.e.w.s.

Emancipation

Oh and the Chocolate Invasion too!

Given that anything post-eighties by Prince is often described as subpar, all of the albums are potentially underrated. Here are the ones I feel the general public need to (re)discover:

Graffiti Bridge: Aside from the too-sweet closer, this album is full of essential Prince songs alongside less compelling material by associated artists that still mostly hit the spot. The overall atmosphere reminds me of those travelling soul revues from the sixties where you'd hear definitive classics along with less stellar, but still fun songs.

Diamonds and Pearls: hardcore fans tend to view it as a very commercial effort and they are right that Prince is mostly in his comfort zone here (raps aside), but it was the last time one of his albums clearly hit its target audience and it's easy to see why: Prince the pop melodicist is center-stage, accessible and very memorable. It may not please the hardcore much, but play it to more casual fans or even friends and family members, and they'll connect. Mission accomplished (ps: skip Jughead).

Come and The Gold Experience: the last two great Prince 1.0 records before he started marketing himself for a more general, PG audience and mostly stopped being "raunchy". While the classic persona that startled audiences in the eighties was now tame compared to what could be heard from hip hop comtemporaries at the time, the songs themselves are emblematic of his legacy, minus a few clunkers here and there.

The Truth: Prince up close and personal, mostly stripped down -- this is a record he made for his own satisfaction and it qualifies as one of his most personal statements. He wasn't trying to sell 5 million records with this one but chances are good it will grow in importance over the years as a key piece of his legacy because of its intimate format.

Musicology: After years of alternating between albums intended to be crowd pleasing and others clearly made for an extremely specialized audience, Prince finally finds a satisfying balance. He doesn't overreach to crowd please (save for Life of the party) by trying to chase a trend. His idiosyncrasies are in full display but are accessible. The record is well titled as it's truly a distillation of everything that makes his music so "Prince", like a textbook record for a Prince U. course.

ArtOfficialAge: his last artistically successful concept album, this record represents a stylistic triumph because it succeeds at something Prince had failed at so often: incorporating trends and updating his sound for the age. Rather than reluctantly chase trends in an half-hearted manner to reach new audiences, Prince is embracing the various styles he uses here to deliver something unmistakably personal. Working with Janelle on Electric Lady, he had an opportunity to truly absorb a more modern process and it pays off here, admittedly with a bit of help in the drum programming department. Chances are good that this album will keep being rediscovered as it succeeds at its ambitions so well. For me, it's a bit of a 21st Century Lovesexy with its melancholy tones, themes of rebirth and party tracks.

Hit N Run Phase Two: The last released album during his lifetime, this is meant more as a great sequence of songs than an actual capital P Prince album. As such it has no right to be this good and we are fortunate he decided to release it despite all the qualms about some tracks having been around for years. It's not Black Star but it sure is worthy of his legacy.

Rave and Art Official Age.

Come

Rainbow Children

ONA Piano

Planet Earth

Musicology

N.E.W.S

Chaos and Disorder

"Chaos And Disorder"..."N.E.W.S"..."Xpectation".."Exodus"...."The Undertaker".

Most of them to be honest. He certainly didn't get the attention he deserved for his post '80s output.

1. LotusFlow3r

2. The Gold Experience

3. 3121

4. AOA

5. N.E.W.S.

20ten

Planet Earth

are both maligned by many fans but in my opinion both have an incredibly strong sequence of songs opening each album. Each song a pop gem that sound nothing like one another. That's what I always looked for first and foremost within a Prince album. I love "Compassion" as an opener.

Both album also disintegrate into songs I don't get much out of. Although I do appreciate the left turn into early 70's sitcom themesong with "Everybody Loves Me" and the sentiment of "Laydown" on 20ten.

i should have put 20Ten, too

on the strength of 'Sticky Like Glue', and 'Lavaux', alone

The Gold Exprience

LotusFlow3r

Love Symbol

3121

AOA

ONA

[Edited 5/14/16 11:18am]

My list goes like this:

The GOLD Xperience

Love Symbol

Emancipation

The Rainbow Children

Lotusflow3r

The Truth

.

[img:$uid]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/99/Prince_Come.jpg[/img:$uid]

.

No doubt about it, a Top 3 Prince album.

.

Please, put it on today and listen straight through (it's a short album).

- What a wonderful bass line and what an amazing vocal in "Space."

- Put on "Loose!" and hear ripping guitar on a techno song?

- One of the best grooves in Prince history..."Pheremone"...I dare you to stand still when that comes on.

- And all musicians know that what you don't play is just as important as notes you do play...well just listen to those spaces on "Dark." Prince at this time (Gold Experience) was cluttering up every song with everything including the ktchen sink; but on "Dark" he does the opposite -- he gives that song so much space, so much room to breathe. The silent spots in that song are so fantastic.

.

Just play the darn album and see it is a masterpiece.

The only one I'm still ambivalent towards is Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.

Others often considered as some of his worst but I have grown to love are:

1. Chaos and Disorder

2. New Power Soul

3. HitnRun: Phase One

4. Planet Earth

One I've loved from the beginning: 20Ten

The others I've no need to defend because they've received ample love, though as mentioned, Prince's output post-80's is generally underrated.

RAINBOW CHILDREN

"Planet Earth" is THE most underrated Prince album. Period. It amazes me so many fans rate it so low. Philistines!