That would be 1999 but if things continue to build in 2004, I might be looking back at Musicology as the "Return Of Prince". Not that I would ever think it's a better album than 1999 but I never thought I'd see him back in the mainstream pop world like this. Musicology would be the symbol of that comeback and as a 25 year prince fan would make that a very special album.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 22 13:32:08 2004 by intha916]

Diaomonds & Pearls, its my favorite album ever and turned me into being a part-time Prince fan to an obsessive one.

The Beautiful Experience TV special, actually.

Not an album, but it could have been...

lovesexy for my own personal reasons and purple rain for nostalgic reasons.

sorry, i have to pick two.

I am listening to LOVESEXY right now and still trying to figure out what is so spiritually profound about it. HELP ME! I mean...great album. Don't get me wrong. But I really want to understand why it's so many of your #1 choice "for your soul." I would think that an album like Rainbow Children or even Emancipation would more directly address matters of the soul, so I'm really wanting to understand this.

Is it just that Lovesexy was his current album at the time that some of you were going through something important in your lives? I mean, that I can understand.

I suppose from the standpoint of pure art, I would have to say that PARADE means the most to me. It was the album that made me realize that Prince was going to be more than just a passing enjoyment for me. It was so different from everything else I was listening to...I knew I was heading off on a journey...a new direction with that one. SIGN O THE TIMES might be my favorite, but it was not as out there coming on the heels of PARADE. Love it!

Keith/Kacey

Kacey725 said:

the lovesexy trip represents the realization that the proper balance between love and sexual energy can take u to a "higher" self.

"this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip this is not music this is a trip"
[This message was edited Thu Apr 22 16:08:25 2004 by speculator3m]

LOVESEXY IS THE 1.

For me, it's undoubtedly SOTT. I made a copy for a friend of mine who loved it, esp. "Dorothy Parker". My friend committed suicide about a year later. I still think of her when I hear that song.

Albums? I'm not too sure, although I have a soft spot for Diamonds & Pearls and since I went to loads of concerts and listened to loads of bootlegs around that period. However, Diamonds and Perals is full of great hits and loads of fluff. has no truly outstanding tracks, but is a fairly solid album.

Anyway, my one Prince 'moment' came a year later in September 1993. I'd just left home, and my parents had dropped me off at Uni 500 miles away. I met my two new flat mates (and I didn't like either of 'em), I was miles away from the main campus, I was missing my girlfriend, and I just thought I'd made a terribly big mistake. My first morning in my new environment I asked someone in the street the way to the University. I put on my Walkman, feeling quite depressed and my mood lifted completely within 10 seconds.

The track? In A Word Or 2, Prince and Monie Love. It startes with a drum machine then the track starts properly (before the Jamaican rap). OK, it's probably a Clare Fischer sample only produced by Prince. But it's the sound we know and love - and all of a sudden everything was right with the world and I knew I was going to be OK. I remember the street and the moment vividly to this day.

Lovesexy plain and simply.

I wont go into details because they're too personal but even now, I am listening to the cd because it is the only way I can cry and know in the end the sun will shine again.

SteamForest said:

ditto, Parade, but purple rain is just as descriptive.

i have memories associated with every Prince album. In large part, i almost categorize and associate past events with what Prince album was out at the time.

For me, it has to be Lovesexy. That was such a huge record for me. I've never listened to an album that much. Never before, and never since. What an incredible record. I was just starting high school... i went from a small rural Jr. High to a fairly large high school, and i did NOT fit in. Very scary time... only a couple friends, and my books and music. Lots of problems at home. Lovesexy was an escape for me in a lot of ways. It was this bigger than life, colorful, funky, spiritual fantasy world.

say YES!

Kacey725 said:

lovesexy is just one of those records that speaks to me. i was only 12 when the record came out and its brilliance was lost on me. i mean, i liked it but i preferred sott or parade over it anytime. one day, i was listening to it (about 8 years later) and i "got it." maybe it was a combination of maturity and what life had to offer at the time...who knows. not to mention the music. the layer upon layer of musical skin. 16 years later there are still times when i hear something in there i've never notice before...and i listen to this record at least once a week! when i'm down, lovesexy is the disc to bring me up. its so celebratory. for me, it really is the sound of hope...recognizing your mistakes and using that recognition as power to achieve a (morally and spiritually) higher place. there's nothing better than something that causes introspection. well, unless that which caused the interior peek-a-boo provokes positive change. for me, lovesexy was one of those things that caused me to look at things differently. it still does.

oh yeah...and it ROCKS!

Hey ya'll. As the originator of this thread, I've really enjoyed reading your stories. I still get a thrill out of internet technology --being able to connect with people from all over the world like this is 2 cool.

I think it's fascinating how "Lovesexy" seems to be the overall personal favorite. I think it's one of his best albums, no doubt. Production wise, it's his cleanest---super tight. And spiritually, his most focused. Of course, "Lovesexy" got me equally into the BLACK ALBUM at the time.

Aside from "Graffitti Bridge" my other odd personal favorite Prince album might be the BATMAN soundtrack. Man, I remember listening to it over and over again. I remember when I was going to college in Hartford, CT, and sitting in my car after purchasing a cassette of, I think "Arms of Orion", which had "I Love U In Me" on it. Or was it "Feel U Up?" I can't remember. But even the song "200 Balloons" reminds me of the girlfriend I fell in love with that summer. The day I bought the Batman Soundtrack, she had left purple balloons at my door.

Purple Rain - 14 years old in 1984. Besides Street Songs (the incredible album by Rick James) PR brought out my bad side, plus with the movie and exposure Prince received it was real cool to be down with Prince and I was a huge fan. To this day (like many of you) I can still put in the PR DVD and watch certain scenes over and over.

UTCM...then TRC!!

I have been equally fascinated by this thread as well. Thanks, everyone.

I am still not fully "feeling" some of the explanations about what makes LOVESEXY so spiritual, but that's just what spirit is...it can't always be defined, explained, described or put in a box.

And THAT...I'm feelin'

Keith/Kacey

1999. Something about the image of this lonely genius creating a totally personal and unique yet accessible work of art by himself in his basement spoke to me as a teenager who felt a little strange and out-of-step among my "friends" in school.
After that, I might have to say Lovesexy. I was feeling good that summer and it was a feel good album with a structure that struck me as orchestral.
I still love both of these albums.

Kacey725 said:

It's a good question. Now that you ask, I'm not sure specifically why so many of us look at Lovesexy as "spiritual". Probably most people would say it is the emotional crux of the album, "Anna Stesia". I might agree, but I would also say that the title track has an orchestral feel to it that takes you on an emotional ride. Overall, the album was personal to me because it sounded like nothing else I'd heard (the same could be said for most of Prince's 80s output) and I was loving it.