The albums can be special release and/or commercial releases. (In no particular order of preference.)

I'll start:

5 Most Underrated Prince Albums:

1. Black Album (didn't get the props it deserved: funny, funky and fantastic!)
2. Crystal Ball (potential hit-haven; funny as shit)
3. New Power Soul (repetitive, but funky)
4. Sign O' The Times (way better production than Purple Rain, IMHO)
5. Parade (the forgotten gem in the pack, slew of hits)

5 Most Overrated Prince Albums:

1. Purple Rain (I know I'm gettin' flamed for this)
2. Lovesexy (Again, flames are a'comin')
3. Diamonds and Pearls (Tricks and Hoes! No seriously, Prince needs to dump the rapping and the awful dancers and hairdos...it's unnecessarily...but keep Rosie!)
4. The Symbol (other than BJB, IHU and Shhh...so fucking what?)
5. Graffitti Bridge (it just is...)

Oops...I realized I made a mistake. On the 5 most overrated, I listed the Symbol Album. I meant The Gold Experience. My bad. The Symbol album was actually pretty decent (MNIP, SMF, TCOG)...

laylow03 said:

not really. most folks here know how much that album's been overplayed and overdone.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

does one tire of seeing a great piece of art?
when listening to this album it resurrects feelings, that music for years, has suppressed.
its in the classic graveyard with many other artists

spoida said:

it gets tiresome when it becomes super-commercialized.

I didn't realize that Grafitti Bridge was considered overrated.

Overrated: Lovesexy, Symbol Record, Dirty Mind, The Truth, Diamond and Pearls (runner up is Emancipation)

Underrated: Prince, Controversy, One Night Alone (piano), Around the World In A Day, Graffiti Bridge (Come is runner up)

minneapolisgenius said:

i thought it was just rated...as in low-rated.

lonelyxmas1 said:

have dm and ona swap places.

Underrated:
-Emanicpation (around this website anyway)
-New Power Soul
-Rave un2 the Joy Fantastic (people bitch about wanting that '88 or prior sound back and when he releases a song from that era as the title track people bitched about it being old and dated.)
-The Truth(the same man who does somethin' as funky Pussy Control can play this stuff too? I'd like to see any stool sittin' guitar player do Pussy Control)
-Chaos and Disorder

Overrated:
-Purple Rain (Believe it or not it ain't his best album)
-Dirty Mind (yeah yeah revolutionary and all that his 1st classic, but it always hit me as cheesy porno music, and I don't mean the lyrics. I like Controversy better.)
-Parade (I love this album, but it is not one of his 5 best)
-Diamonds and Pearls ( is better)
-The Rainbow Children (another one I love, but the lack of pop sensibility makes people think it's deeper than it is)

Well, I think we'll have pretty close lists...

Most Underrated:

5. Sign O' The Times - despite a shovel full of experimental tracks, it also had some wonderfully accessible ones. This disc should have sold AT LEAST double what it did.
4. The Black Album - If it had been release Dec 7th, 1987 as intended I think it would have rescued Prince from his commercial and critical free fall. The album itself is not especially commercial BUT it's a fabulous & funky party record that everyone seemed to be yearning for from him at the time. it's also dripping with an attitude that people would lick up off the floor.
3. Rave - I actually think this gets much more of a beating than it deserves. If it hadn't followed on the heels of Emancipation, both chronologically and style wise, then I think people would appreciate the solid tracks it has rather than looking at it as Emancipation Disc 4.
2. Parade - The height of Prince's experimental spirit and featuring the most cinematic music of his career. The fact that it's filled with several classic tracks doesn't hurt. It also showcases beautifully what Wendy & Lisa really brought to prince's work.
1. - This album should have been twice the hit that D&P was... Other than The Flow and Arrogance virtually every track could have been worked into a single. Even the rapping on this album is nicely integrated into the surrounding tracks, rather than sounding bolted on in earlier and later efforts. I think this stands as Prince last truly great album of the '90's. Everything after was a mixed affair that suffered from unevenness in one way or another.

Most Overrated:
5. Batman - While it features a few decent tracks, it's also incredibly uneven. Without the supporting film this would have been a royal flop. Whenever you think Emancipation or Rave is bad, listen to this.
4. Lovesexy - While some look at this as a masterwork, it's always sounded very rushed to me. Take away Annasetsia and your left with another fairly run of the mill Prince album, though the sound is quite lush I must agree.
3. Purple Rain - Shot to the top with a lot of hype but the truth is that 1999 was better and the albums coming afterward were more interesting artistically. This was Prince crafting a record for the charts, don't think it ain't.
2. D&P - Out of all the albums from 1986 through 2004, this is the one that deserves to be thought of as his last real hit? BLAH
1. TRC - Take away the voice-overs and distracting musical noodlings and you're left with some seriously loopy lyrics and rather less than average and entirely conventional songs but for a few (Last December is the only real standout). The exceptional production and exuberant performance (which is probably better than anything since TGE) is the only thing holding this mess afloat.

overrated:

emancipation

purple rain

lovesexy

sott




underrated:

prince

dirty mind

for you

parade

controversy & 1999 (super-close tie)

How about most underated songs?

17 Days

1.Alexa de Paris-how bout just went unnoticed. Extended version is awesome.

2.Venus de Milo-beautiful piece but waaay too short

3.Another Lonely Christmas-yeah..i know..it get's played during X-mas.
Again..the extended version is hot.

4.She's Always In My Hair-Also..the extended version is hot!

There's more i'm sure but i'm at work. LOL

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

I know.

OOPs. sorry for the double post.

skywalker said:

In the words of Chaka Khan- COME TO MY HOUSE, Skywalker!

I do smoking solo acoustic versions of PUSSY CONTROL, GETT OFF, JOY IN REPITITION, LRC, STRANGE RELATIONSHIP, STARFISH & COFFEE, etc!!

It can be done if you feel it!!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

you'll be prince's best mate with an old skool selection like that, and also you like the sound of vinyl.
1999 is when he found his feet and distinctive sound and it will be 2009 until he produces another album remotely close to it on current form.

overrated i thought meant the amount of people praising a piece of work that wasnt worthy of it. so either those people cannot judge music critically, or dont appreciate prince the way that they do, or were sucked into the hype surrounding it to a certain extent. saying that, i like the black album more than it seems the majority do, meaning that it is underrated, and maybe an undiscovered treasure for some fans
[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 12:45:21 2004 by spoida]

Overrated:
Sign O' The Times (dont get me wrong..i love it..but it's not in the 1999, Purple Rain status)


Underrated:
Controversy
LoveSymbol
Emancipation

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

You didn't help by putting yours up for sale again.




.

skywalker said:

Either you've been watching too many cheesy porno movies or you've been listening to Dirty Mind when your thoughts were elsewhere.



.

Underrated:

1. N.E.W.S. - I'm sorry. I just don't understand why this album is dogged so much.
2. Lovesexy
3. Around the World in a Day - I distinctly rember citics slamming this because it wasn't Purple Rain pt. 2 and if it wasn't for Raspberry Beret, I doubt many would have known it existed
4. Exodus - Yeah, yeah. it is filed under NPG but you know it's Prince. Yep, sopme of the songs are cheesy but there are some jams on here that a majority don't know. Why did he promote Get Wild instead of Good life is beyond me.
5. The Vault/Old Friends for Sale - This cd has some great instant classics plus a couple of bootleg marterial.
5. Girl 6 - So it's a soundtrack and it isn't exclusively Prince with the exception every song was written by him. If you don't have this soundtrack, you are missing a collocetion of great, rare tracks.

langebleu said:

what?

People saying Purple Rain is overrated need to do a little better than "it's overplayed". Is it a great album or not? The answer to that is yes. It's Prince's first true pop record and it was meant to be so. That album (along with Thiller) is an 80's pop masterpiece. "Little Red Corvett" is one of the greatest pop songs ever written. "When Doves Cry", "Computer Blue", "Take Me With You" and "Darling Nikki" are all Prince classics. It's a near perfect POP album. What more could you want from a pop album? Is it his best album. IMO no, 1999 is but it sure is in the top 5. But damn, to call that album overrated is sheer madness. Me thinks it's just some peoples way of say "see how cool and deep I am". I'm sure others are just bored with it. But if you married the most beatiful womanin the world, you would get used to her at some point. Does that make her any less beautiful?
[This message was edited Fri Apr 2 13:11:17 2004 by intha916]

Overrated:

Musicology

The Gold Experience

Prince

The Symbol

Diamonds and Pearls


Underrated:

For You

Parade

Emancipation

Batman

ONA ( Piano)

intha916 said:

it really is hard to say that something is great when you keep having/seeing/hearing it over and over again. i don't say anything to make people think i'm great or hip--i've never liked the idea of puttin up a façade just to fit in, cuz then i'd be lyin to people, as well as to myself. if i have a strong opinion about something, damn right i'ma say it. pr is overkill--yeah, that's the album the press and the general public immediately think of and are familiar with when they hear the name "prince", but the cat has a lot more stuff out there. you think that the press would touch upon other stuff too, besides pr. teach a muh'fuh some other stuff, y'know, instead of briefly flippin past it all and gettin to the main thing.

intha916 said:

you mean the answer is 'yes' for YOU. It's not a great record to me It's an 'okay' prince record. It was good album when I first heard it. Actually at the time period of 84/85 I preferred ATWIAD. I always said that PR was great bait but it was ATWIAD that hooked me and Parade the reeled me in. These days I prefer PR to ATWIAD but it's nowhere near my top 5.



No, it's not madness. it's an opinion. My opinion is that PR is overrated. He had albums before and after that deserved more attention. As far as the beautiful woman comparison... I'm 'used' to 1999, Parade, and SOTT but I still consider them just as great as the year they were put out. PR hasn't worn it's years, as well. imo.... That doesn't mean it's bad.

Under-Rated

01. Newpower Soul - The 'Black Album' of the nineties;
02. Controversy - I think it often gets overlooked as a 'Dirty Mind Part 2' but its weirder and possibly his campest colection of lyrics;
03. Emancipation - It could have been a lot worse;
04. Prince - Its strange how music critics and journalists always cite 'Dirty Mind' as being the first Prince album to embrace sex and funk. I mean 'Dirty Mind' had that New Wave sound but this album already had that vibe going on. 'Sexy Dancer' is in my top twenty Prince songs;
05. For You - Imagine any other 19 year old writing, producing and playing all their own instrumentation... 'My Love Is Forever' is instant sunshine.

Over-Rated

01. N.E.W.S. - I'm sorry... They just don't sound like instrumentals. The tracks sound like songs that he couldn't be bothered to finish lyrics for;
02. The Rainbow Children - If I wanted to be preached at, I'd go to church;
03. 0(+> - Incessant shiny noise. Three or four good songs. Humourless posturing. Ugh;
04. The Gold Experience - I would be embarrassed if a friend wrote 'Dolphin' and made me listen to them play it on a guitar. I'd have to leave the room. The album sounds like a Hanna Barbera version of Prince;
05. Diamonds & Pearls - Soulless.

jtfolden said:

Yes, I agree! I never thought Purple Rain was the greatest album, artistically. Apart from Computer Blue and Darling Nikki, most of the songs were repetitive and bland. Good songs but very POP-ish. In my opinion, ARW, Parade and SOTT were better artistically AND lyrically. And I'm not just saying that because I wanna be anti-Purple Rain. I'm saying this because I really believe that PR is excellent but overrated. Prince has blessed us with a lot more creativity than that...

BinaryJustin said:

whoa. repeating backgrounds and crappy animation...only in musical form? interesting.