You can see this is where the real fans are

most people who purchased the official very best of wouldn't have a clue about these gems

theartistirl said:

I would have to release a new version everyday...impossible for me to pick but I'm going to give it a go later.

Agreed. I look back at my submissions a few days ago and I have different one I would like to add and move around.

Adorecream said:

I would need 17 songs for each decade except the 1970s! or maybe 4 albums

1. 1978 - 1985

2. 1986 - 1995

3. 1996 - 2005

4, 2006 - 2015

.

First 17 song album

.

1. Sexy Dancer

2. Do Me Baby

3. Automatic

4. The Beautiful Ones

5. When Doves Cry

6. Mountains

7. Girls and Boys

8. Adore

9. 4ever in my life

10. Annastesia

11. Cream.

12. Damn u

13. Pheromone

14. Beautiful Strange

15. Black Sweat

16. Way back home

17. Revlation

.

Prince extended

Early years rise to fame 1978 - 1985

1. In Love

2. I wanna be ur lover

3. Bambi

4. Sexy Dancer

5. When u were mine

6. Uptown

7. Head

8. Controversy (Xtended)

9. Do Me Bbay

10. Sexuality

11. LRC

12. Automatic

13. WDC

14. Beautiful ones.

15. Raspberry Beret

16. She's always in my hair

17. 17 days

.

2. From the top to the abyss 1986 - 1995

1. Mountains

2. Girls and boys

3. Anotherloverholenyohead

4. Sometimes it snows in April

5. Play in the sunshine

6. Housequake

7. 4eva in my life

8. Adore

9. Annastesia

10. Alphabet street

11. Electric Chair

12. Scandalous

13. Cream

14. Damn u

15. Space

16. Pheromone

17. Endophinmachine

.

3. From the wilderness 2 maturity 1996 - 2005

1. Zannalee

2. I like it there

3. I will/into the light

4. The Holy River

5. In this bed eye scream

6. The love we make

7. Don't Play me

8. Come on

9. The one

10. she spoke 2 me

11. Beautiful strange

12. 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

13. Last December

14. She loves me 4 me

15. Gamillah

16. Underneath the Cream

17. The Marrying kind/Mna in yo life

.

4. Elder stateman of funk 2006 - 2015

1. SST

2. 3121

3. Black Sweat

4. The Dance

5. Pfunk

6. Lion of Judah

7. The one u wanna c

8. Guitar

9. Crimson and Clover

10. No more candy 4 u

11. Futuresoul song

12. Beginning endlessly

13. Rocknroll love affair

14. Fixurlifeup

15. Time

16. Way back home

17. Revelation

BONUS TRACKS FOR DISC 4

18. Sometimes its snows in April

19. Black Muse

20. Free urself.

Love it. Presented in a very Prince manner.

This is hard! But fun!

1. Alphabet Street

2. The Beautiful Ones

3. Cream

4. Gett Off

5. Diamond and Pearls

6. Circle of Amour

7. Do You Lie?

8. 1999

9. Rasberry Beret

10. Little Red Corvette

11. If I Was Your Girlfriend

12. Anna Stasia

13. The Question Of U

14. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

15. When You Were Mine

16. And God Created Woman

17. When Doves Cry

Edit: I had to take out "Eye Know" and replace with "The
Question of U."

[Edited 5/19/16 5:58am]

sideeye said:

Love it. Presented in a very Prince manner.

Thanks, I was worried I was going to get blasted for doing more than 17 songs. Anyone else here got up to like Track 15 and realised, they were still sometime in the mid to late 80s around Sign or Lovesexy?

I think I can do this:

.

When You Were Mine

Controversy

1999

Little Red Corvette

When Doves Cry

17 Days

Let's Go Crazy

Purple Rain

Paisley Park

Raspberry Beret

Sometimes it Snows in April

Sign O' The Times

If I Was your Girlfriend

I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man

Money Don't Matter 2Night

7

White Mansion

.

.

The current 'Very Best of', though, is already a pretty good introductory single disc. As I said somewhere before, I think what should happen eventually is a 4-disc compilation album -- budget-priced, of course -- with discs divided like this:

Disc 1: 1978--1984

Disc 2: 1985--1990

Disc 3: 1991--1997

Disc 4: 1998--2016

.

Something like that.

1. Diamonds And Pearls

2. She's Always In My Hair

3. Thieves In The Temple

4. Erotic City

5. Computer Blue

6. The One

7. The Morning Papers

8. Letitgo

9. Crystal Ball

10. Future Soul Song

11. The Holy River

12. Alphabet St.

13. Electric Chair

14. Mountains

15. Empty Room

16. Groovy Potential

17. Gold

postiepaul3 said:

You can see this is where the real fans are

most people who purchased the official very best of wouldn't have a clue about these gems

I know when im playing prince song's in my home, my friends and family are like "How is it Ive never heard this??" ....happened the otherday when i was playing Exodus album.....

monkeytennis said:

I'd have to have 'I am the DJ' Just love this song.

thank you for the heads up...never heard of this song....until u got me curious....and ive now found it and am listening to it now as im typing this ......is it an unrealeased song??....sounds like an "Emancipation" track

1. Shhh

2. Revelation

3. My name is Prince

4. I hate U

5. Dreamer

6. Colonized mind

7. I wish U heaven

8. Human body

9. Underneath the cream

10. A love bizzare

11. Something in the water

12. Wasted kisses

13. DMSR

14. The Dance

15. Scandalous

16. Electric intercourse

17. Clouds

Love the lists, all are great. I guess an ideal list is one with a lot of the better hit singles like WDC, LRC and Kiss rather than Batdance and My name is Prince.

.

I agree that the very best of Prince is a great introduction and even did a video about it on my channel. But it leaves a lot of gaps. This is the list of trax.

.

1. I wanna be your lover (Ok good start, most true newbies think Prince starts with 1999)

2. 1999 (Edit)

3. Little Red Corvette (album mix at least, you really need to hear the 12 inch, but better than the 3.08 mix on the original single)

4. When Doves Cry - Its a given, but this song is essential and has the goods.

5. Let's go crazy (As above, but you need to get the 12 inch version too)

6. Purple Rain (It actually has the full 9 minutes of it, very good for the newbies to understand the concept of extended songs Prince does)

7. Iwould die 4 u (Okay 4 songs off one album now,but it is Purple Rain)

8. Raspberry Beret - Essential but edited

9. Kiss - Of course

10. Sign o the Times - great to see it here, even if a single edit

11. U got the look - as above and an edit for the 7 inch

12. Alphabet Street - Album version, 5.38 of joy

13. Thieves in the Temple - 7 inch edit

14. Gett Off - great to see these 2 here, even if editted

15. Cream - of Course

16. Diamonds and Pearls

17. Money don't matter 2 nite - Okay 4 songs off D and P

.

Good points are at least they have a full purple rain and a few decent mixes of some other hits, and it covers his 1979 - 1991 period well. the packaging is quite decent too. I have the original 2001 version, and I know the cover was redesigned a few years ago, but I am sure it is the same album.

.

Bad points

1. There are 4 songs each from Purple Rain and Diamonds and Pearls, these are 2 albums out of 40 or so or at least the 17 WB they could have chosen from.

2. There are no songs at all from For You, Dirty Mind, Controversy, Batman, Lovesymbol, The hits, Come, TGE or Chaos and Disorder. Batman has some copyright brouhaha, but the rest could have songs. It is not a complete over view.

3. No songs post Warners (Understandable, but the newbies will know nothing about the last 20 years of his career, and not even know he has made about 30 albums more of official and less offical music.

4. Even for Warners material, this one stops in 1991, at elast the others go to Lovesymbol or the new songs on the Hits (1993). Did Prince's 1992 contract ban any songs going on hits sets.

5. Too many edits, 3 minute versions of songs that sound better at natural length (Like 1999 and Lets go crazy).

.

What we need is a greatest hits set of the Post Warners material, especially as so many of these albums are out of print, I never knew that the TGE was hard to get and I guess most of us only have these 1990s and 2000s albums, because we bought them when they came out.

Disc 1 - The Funk

1. When Doves Cry

2. Kiss

3. I Wanna Be Your Lover

4. Raspberry Beret

5. Controversy

6. 1999

7. Little Red Corvette

8. The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

9. Let's Go Crazy

10. If I Was Ur Girlfriend

11. Head

Disc 2 - The Ballads/Slow Jams

12. The One

13. Scandalous

14. Do Me Baby

15. Diamonds & Pearls

16. Adore

17. Purple Rain

Truth b told, 17 songs is NO WHERE NEAR ENOUGH - try 30 maybe, or a solid 3 Disc 12 Songs per disc set like Emancipation. But here is an interesting one to try on 4 size.

[Edited 5/19/16 17:37pm]

[Edited 5/19/16 17:40pm]

sideeye said:

Adorecream said:

I would need 17 songs for each decade except the 1970s! or maybe 4 albums

1. 1978 - 1985

2. 1986 - 1995

3. 1996 - 2005

4, 2006 - 2015

.

First 17 song album

.

1. Sexy Dancer

2. Do Me Baby

3. Automatic

4. The Beautiful Ones

5. When Doves Cry

6. Mountains

7. Girls and Boys

8. Adore

9. 4ever in my life

10. Annastesia

11. Cream.

12. Damn u

13. Pheromone

14. Beautiful Strange

15. Black Sweat

16. Way back home

17. Revlation

.

Prince extended

Early years rise to fame 1978 - 1985

1. In Love

2. I wanna be ur lover

3. Bambi

4. Sexy Dancer

5. When u were mine

6. Uptown

7. Head

8. Controversy (Xtended)

9. Do Me Bbay

10. Sexuality

11. LRC

12. Automatic

13. WDC

14. Beautiful ones.

15. Raspberry Beret

16. She's always in my hair

17. 17 days

.

2. From the top to the abyss 1986 - 1995

1. Mountains

2. Girls and boys

3. Anotherloverholenyohead

4. Sometimes it snows in April

5. Play in the sunshine

6. Housequake

7. 4eva in my life

8. Adore

9. Annastesia

10. Alphabet street

11. Electric Chair

12. Scandalous

13. Cream

14. Damn u

15. Space

16. Pheromone

17. Endophinmachine

.

3. From the wilderness 2 maturity 1996 - 2005

1. Zannalee

2. I like it there

3. I will/into the light

4. The Holy River

5. In this bed eye scream

6. The love we make

7. Don't Play me

8. Come on

9. The one

10. she spoke 2 me

11. Beautiful strange

12. 1 + 1 + 1 = 3

13. Last December

14. She loves me 4 me

15. Gamillah

16. Underneath the Cream

17. The Marrying kind/Mna in yo life

.

4. Elder stateman of funk 2006 - 2015

1. SST

2. 3121

3. Black Sweat

4. The Dance

5. Pfunk

6. Lion of Judah

7. The one u wanna c

8. Guitar

9. Crimson and Clover

10. No more candy 4 u

11. Futuresoul song

12. Beginning endlessly

13. Rocknroll love affair

14. Fixurlifeup

15. Time

16. Way back home

17. Revelation

BONUS TRACKS FOR DISC 4

18. Sometimes its snows in April

19. Black Muse

20. Free urself.

Love it. Presented in a very Prince manner.

I like this idea but get " Dinner With Dolores" On disk 3.

[Edited 5/19/16 17:49pm]

Well, if everyone else is breaking the 17-song rule...

I've given this 2-disc mixtape to untold numbers of new fans to great success.

Disc 1

1. Let's Go Crazy
2. Bambi
3. I Wanna Be Your Lover (edit)
4. Dirty Mind
5. Uptown
6. Controversy
7. Do Me Baby
8. 1999
9. Little Red Corvette
10. Delirious (edit)
11. How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore
12. Moonbeam Levels (from Blast From the Past 2.0 bootleg)
13. When Doves Cry
14. I Would Die 4 U (edit)
15. Purple Rain

Disc 2

1. She's Always in My Hair
2. Pop Life
3. Raspberry Beret
4. Kiss
5. Sign 'O' the Times
6. U Got the Look
7. If I Was Your Girlfriend
8. Alphabet St.
9. Partyman
10. Thieves in the Temple
11. Gett Off
12. Cream
13. Money Don't Matter 2 Nite
14. Diamonds and Pearls
15. 7
16. The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

[Edited 5/20/16 20:27pm]

First let me say thank you for this great thread--because we are given the opportunity to converse with one another while once again celebrating the life of the consumate artist and musician. But man oh man--this is such a difficult task. Not just because Prince was/is so prolific, but because there are certain songs that give you a totally different sound when performed live.


But I think most importantly, like most of you here I have such a deep connection to Prince through his music, that there is simply no way to recreate the emotions brought on by his work that I have had at different times throughout my life. Therefore, it's almost impossible to compare the songs that invoked those feelings.


For example, there's no way to compare wearing out the needle on "Song A" when I was sixteen years old to dating my future wife while listening to "Song B" in the car. Or maybe it was that connection I made with "Song C" while at one of his concerts.


Sorry for being so long winded, but these are just some of the thoughts I wanted to convey.

In No Particular Order:


She's Always In My Hair-12 inch version

The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker

Erotic City-12 inch version

Condition Of The Heart

Uptown

Joy In Repetition

If I Was Your Girlfriend

Electric Intercourse-Live 1983 Benefit Concert Version

Let's Pretend We're Married

Controversy

We Can Funk

Sometimes It Snows In April

Annie Christian

I Wanna Be Your Lover

Private Joy

I Would Die For You-12 inch version/live concert version

Anna Stesia


I followed the 17 song rule but there's no way this list does him justice. I had to leave off sooooo many songs that I will literally listen to ten times in a row on any given day. But thank you again for this thread--conversations like this one are very therapeutic.

[Edited 5/20/16 0:11am]

Hi friends, here's a snapshot of what I consider the very best today. What a gift that with his body of work, this kind of list can change & reinvent itself constantly as new gems are discovered.

Love 4 one another

.

The Stick

Controversy

17 Days (Live, 1984 Birthday Show)

Erotic City

Pop Life

Mountains (Extended Version)

America (Live, Theatre de Verdure, October 27, 1985)

Strange Relationship (Sitar / W & L)

Adonis and Bathsheba

In A Large Room With No Light

Rebirth Of The Flesh

Bob George

I No

The Line #2

Love Sign (Ted’s Funky Chariot Remix)

F.U.N.K.

Black Muse

[Edited 5/19/16 22:08pm]

[Edited 5/19/16 22:08pm]

BoraBora said:

Sorry, but I need 170 songs max.

Yeah that!

Mine could look like this:

Purple Rain

The Most Beautiful Girl In The World

Gold

Anna Stesia

Raspberry Beret

Little Red Corvette

If I Was Your Girlfriend

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Sign O The Times

Future Soul Song

Anotherlove

Right Back Here In My Arms

Revelation

Time

Sometimes It Snows In April

Empty Room

Diamonds And Pearls

Bonus: Hardrocklover

[Edited 5/20/16 1:16am]

That would have to be done by genre, but I am just not ready to contribute yet. Making lists feels like finalising something. one thing I know, is that it would probably have 1 hitlist playlist and the other songs would mostly be unknown to the average fan.

This is fun. My quick (in no order whatsoever) list would be:

My Name is Prince

The Beautiful Ones

Eye Hate You

Adore

Purple Rain

Gett Off

Raspberry Beret

Ol Skool Company (very underrated)

Kiss

If I was UR Girlfriend

The Most Beautifl Girl in The World

When Doves Cry

Sexy MF

Lets Go Crazy

1999

Little Red Corvette

Come On

Wow, that is damn near impossible.

Sorry y'all but based on your choice of tracklist there ain't no way a Rhino Records would hire you

Adorecream said:

A nearly impossible task, because Prince was through and through an album artist. He put songs together on records that had a common sound and style. To me, they don't seem to work as well divided up. There's nothing any compilation can do to equal the sequencing of '1999-LRC-Delirious-Let's Pretend-DMSR...etc' That said, here's one for someone who is buying this record with little knowledge of Prince and this is the one shot to wrap them in. I went with the songs that all showcased his brilliance in an accessible way. Unintentionally, they're all from the 80s (though many personal favorites of mine go up through 2015). I also tried to pick songs that flowed into one another too, but chronologically:

1. I Wanna Be Your Lover (Single Version)

2. When You Were Mine

3. Controversy (Album Version)

4. Do Me, Baby (Single Version)

5. Little Red Corvette

6. 1999 (Single Version)

7. Erotic City

8. Let's Go Crazy

9. When Doves Cry

10. Purple Rain

11. Kiss

12. U Got The Look

13. If I Was Your Girlfriend

14. I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man (Album Version)

15. Adore (Album Version)

16. Alphabet St

17. The Future

[Edited 5/20/16 13:43pm]

[Edited 5/20/16 13:44pm]

[Edited 5/20/16 13:48pm]

Too freakin hard...but I'll try.

1. Soft and Wet

2. It’s Gonna Be Lonely

3. The Beautiful Ones

4. Computer Blue

5. Temptation

6. Slow Love

7. Lovesexy

8. Anna Stesia

9. The Question of U

10. Insatiable

11. Damn U

12. I Hate U

13. The Greatest Romance Ever Sold

14. In This Bed I Scream

15. Friend, Lover, Sister, Mother/Wife

16. Ripopgodazippa

17. The Dance

This order is designed to flow well rather than be chronological...

1. Let's Go Crazy (Album version)

2. 1999 (full album version with intro)

3. Little Red Corvette (no gap between 2-3)

4. Kiss (12" extended)

5. Uptown

6. Anna Stesia

7. When Doves Cry

8. I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man

9. She's Always In My Hair

10. I Wanna Be Your Lover

11. Raspberry Beret (12")

12. Alphabet Street

13. Shhh...

14. Erotic City (12")

15. Starfish and Coffee

16. DMSR

17. Purple Rain

Japan Bonus Track: Girls and Boys (LOL)