What era of Prince do you prefer? 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, or 2010s?

In my opinion he was at his best in the 2000s. He made songs like Cinnamon Girl, Call My Name, Family Name, Fury, And Guitar. That was my favourite era.

If you asked me my LEAST favourite era, it would be the 2010s. I mean, it was great, but it sounded like he was trying to sound relevant. But it’s still brilliant. I’m literally listening to HardRockLover when I’m typing this.

let me know in the replies!

80s, OF COURSE, no comment needed. Every other answer is bull.

80

90

70

00

10

[Edited 8/13/19 6:12am]

Top Tier: 1980s
Everything he touched was solid gold. If I was to list what I liked about the 80s we could be here a while.
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Second / Third tier: I can't decide between 1990s & 2000s. They are pretty evenly matched.
On the one hand, the 90s had the prolific Gold era (Come, Exodus, TGE, Chaos) with sensational songs like TMBGITW and Gold. Add to that the D&P era with songs like Diamonds and Pearls and Gett Off.
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On the other hand, 2000s features some of my favourite Prince albums (outside of the 80s), ie, One Nite Alone..., Xpectation, The Chocolate Invasion, The Slaughterhouse. Plus there was also the most beautiful version of Empty Room and 3121 was decent enough. I don't know what he was thinking when it came to The Rainbow Children, but whatever.
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Forth: 1970s
Not a bad era by any means, just the shortest. 'For You' is criminally underrated and who doesn't love 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'. Although unreleased he also did some beautiful work with The Rebels and some great disco tracks.
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Last: 2010s
I have to be honest. I can't name a single Prince song I like after 3121. I've listened to all the albums post 3121 once, and they left no impression on me whatsoever. Maybe I should go back and give them another chance, maybe something will grow on me? But right now I regard the 2010 era as simple 'Meh'.

80s . . . front and center. An album a year, (except for 1983) almost like clockwork. Like you said, everytihng was gold. Side projects were hot too, as well as the songs he gave away. Ended the 80s with a blockbuster soundtrack, not bad!

I hate to sound like a cliché, but the 80s really were his prime. The music, the look, the energy (on record and onstage). Some album runs were evolutionary (like Controversy/1999 and SOTT/TBA/Lovesexy) and some were radically different than the previous one (Dirty Mind, Parade).

Then, in order of decade preference . . . 90s, 10s, 00s, 70s.

80s is tops. The mid 90s, from about 93-97 is an incredibly prolific and funky time. The richness of those albums are solid and worthy of constant rotations. It's from Emancipation onward that gets iffy. The last 20 years certainly pales in comparison to the first 20.

MotownSubdivision said:

jaypotton said:

The order should be (IMO)... 80s 90s 00s 10s 70s But that is all about taste

Agreed. It has been amazing to see how he evolved over the years, always re-inventing himself.

80s

80's sure but I'll take any and all eras, i've said it before to some resistance, his prime was 78-16.

Assuming almost everyone would say the '80s (as I would too), the really interesting question is surely what everyone's second favourite decade is.

For me, that's a straight shootout between the '90s and the '10s; I love the '93-'95 Hits/Come/TGE and 2014-2015 AOA/HITnRUN eras pretty much equally. Whereas the 2000s was obviously a really accomplished and interesting decade, but I'm struggling to think of many albums during that decade that rank as massive personal favourites for me.

80s
00s (mostly for first half vs second half)
10s
70s

90s

80's only because i was a teen and young and impressionable, his 90's work showed growth as a producer and arranger certainly, and he was always improving as a musician and singer.

I've been following P since 1979, and have enjoyed every era, but....I am really into his 2010 music.

I feel sad for people stuck in the '80s.

For each decade Prince gave us some phenomenal music and live shows.

The '90s was amazing! So many gems are from that period.

In the '10s Prince was on fire and enjoying himself.

Prince's music spanned FIVE decades so I urge people not to be stuck in just one.

darkroman said:

I feel sad for people stuck in the '80s.

For each decade Prince gave us some phenomenal music and live shows.

The '90s was amazing! So many gems are from that period.

In the '10s Prince was on fire and enjoying himself.

Prince's music spanned FIVE decades so I urge people not to be stuck in just one.

Great advice!

WhisperingDandelions said:

80s
00s (mostly for first half vs second half)
10s
70s

90s

This is the correct answer.

Outside the 80s being the clear frontrunning, this is hard to break down. All the eras had some years of excellence and other years of material/concerts that were below his standard of excellence.

--mid 90s he was hot with Come, Gold, and the NPG Exodus, followed by significantly less exciting work.

--The early 2000s were great in terms of his One Night Alone tour and the brilliant Xenophobia concerts, easing into the early-mid period with his satisfying Musicology tour. However, the albums of this period and some of the concert tours of the later 2000 were missing some magic.

the 2010s - I really do think this period had the markings of something special that was cut short. Love AOA and really like HnR2 and love both the Plectum and Piano and Mic tours. The Plectum album and HnR1 bring the period down a notch.

All this to say

1. 80s

2. 10s

3. 90s

4. 00s - brought down by the albums not the live performances.

[Edited 8/14/19 19:53pm]

I like the Grown Man Prince music. "Originals' cd sounded like listenting to a kid. Give me some Mr GoodNight!

funksterr said:

I like the Grown Man Prince music. "Originals' cd sounded like listenting to a kid. Give me some Mr GoodNight!

good point, still, i was surprised by how mature some of the originals sounded, it's easy to forget that he was 23-28 or so when these tracks were done. The Glamorous life has more depth than you might expect from him in that era as far as story.

darkroman said: