Prince Albums Ranked
Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016) was an American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. A multi-instrumentalist who was considered a guitar virtuoso, he was well known for his eclectic work across multiple genres, flamboyant and androgynous persona, and wide vocal range which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams.
Prince’s innovative music integrated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, psychedelia, pop, industrial, and hip hop. He pioneered the Minneapolis sound, a funk rock subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s. He was also known for his prolific output, releasing 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased projects left in a vault at his home after his death; it is believed that the vault contains dozens of fully produced albums and over 50 music videos that have never been released, along with various other media. He released hundreds of songs both under his own name and multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made famous by other musicians, such as “Nothing Compares 2 U” and “Manic Monday”. Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000.
In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He sold over 130 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. He was honored with special awards including the Grammy President’s Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, and the Billboard Icon Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016. Rolling Stone placed Prince among its list of both the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. He is also ranked on the Top 100 Artists of All Time list by Billboard. Here are all of Prince’s albums ranked.
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10. Prince (1979)
“The King of All Kings. So many hits! The guitar riff on Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad is enough to make even the coldest heart want to learn to play the guitar. I Feel For You was great even before Chaka Khan made it her own in 1984. If you want to just jam, Sexy Dancer is soooo dope. And of course, I Wanna Be Your Lover. What can I say? I’m crying as I type this. There will NEVER be another Prince.”
9. Diamonds And Pearls (1991)
“I have to admit that when it was released, i did not pay much attention to this album since it took me time to assimilate the fact that Prince had to evolve and do things differently form what he had done previously in the 80’s where every release was a jewel. but boy, what a mistake. This is an incredible album! It is probably his best album in the 90’s. We all learn from our mistakes, and I can tell hard core Prince fans that they will not be disappointed if they give the album a try like a finally did.”
8. Controversy (1981)
“This album is a lot better than it largely gets credit for. Prince is all over the place musically, and this album ends up working as a pretty strong, rebellious statement about liberation (both in the boundary eschewing music and the lyrics). The title track starts things off, hitting us with a dose of hard electrofunk. The clever lyrics are a mixture of the social and the deeply personal, with non-comformity being the constant theme. The New Wave-ish, industrial Funk of “Sexuality” is one of my favorites on the album (here, the focus is on the themes of liberation and elevation, encouraging a new, more educated and more accepting phase in society) “Do Me Baby” is one of the best slow songs that Prince has ever done, though I personally can do without the monologue, etc., in the last half. “
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7. Lovesexy (1988)
“Prince charms us again! He keeps us wondering what sexy lyric will lure us into the next song, as he flows from funky danceable tunes like “Positivity” and “Alphabet Street” to slow and dreamy tunes like “I Wish U Heaven” and “When 2 R In Love.” His eroticism is highly present (when isn’t it?) as is his religious/spiritual side– see his new cupid look on the album cover. Don’t miss the happening funk that gets you up and dancing!”
6. Around The World In A Day (1985)
“This is a wonderful grouping of songs by Prince, and I think he was heavily influenced by his new discovery – at the time – of music by the Beatles. You can hear that sort of 60s pop, Beatles feel in these songs. (My favorite being “Paisley Park.” And it’s wonderful to see that, posthumously, his dream of such a place is now a museum where everyone can experience Paisley Park and have it ‘in their hearts,’ like the song says.) And my second favorite song is “Temptation.” It’s hilarious and shows his fun, silly, goofy side. Some people took it seriously and trashed it. But they missed that it was a silly song that he did because it was fun and because, well, he could. ‘Nuff said.”
5. Dirty Mind (1980)
“This is an amazing Prince album. I’ve had the vinyl album for years but this is my 1st time listening to it on CD. To me Prince came into his own on this album as the 1st two albums were basically R&B albums but this is the beginning of Prince to me. This is the New Wave Punk Funk Rock Soul album. On this album Prince sings about everything and truthfully because some of the songs are XXX rated i wouldn’t let very young listeners listen to this album. This is definitely an ADULT album by Prince. I have been a Prince fan for 37 years and this is one of my favorite albums but 1999 is the best Prince album to me. “
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4. Parade (1986)
“Prince is one of my favorite Artists ever the man is a musical genius Parade is the soundtrack to his second film Under The Cherry Moon which is a very underrated film but it was overshadowed by this great soundtrack which are some of Prince best songs ever “Kiss” was a big hit when it came out it gave Prince his 3rd #1 song on the Billboard charts “Mountains” was a moderate hit and also had a video featuring The Revolution “Girls And Boys” another moderate hit that underperformed but still a good song “Under The Cherry Moon” a nice Prince Slow jam over a piano beat very underrated song “Sometimes It Snows In April” the album closer is forsure to have anybody in tears it’s a very sad and emotional song and a great one to end a great album any Prince fan would enjoy this album I recommend listen for yourself and hurry and purchase this classic album.”
3. 1999 (1982)
“How can you even put into words the sheer brilliance of Prince’s music? That was a rhetorical question because you can’t 🙂 . Prince’s iconic fifth studio album (the precursor to the legendary Purple Rain) was earth shaking upon his release (37 years ago) and it still holds up to this very day. The Minneapolis sound oozed out of every pore, with its heavy synth-pop and new wave elements that is guaranteed to get you moving on your feet. I’m glad I finally got my own vinyl to honor the legacy of an unparalleled artiste like Prince.”
2. Sign ‘O’ The Times (1987)
“Prince’s finest album. The mix of styles is astonishing. From the electronic beats of the title song to the funk of Housequake & Dorothy Parker. and that’s just side 1. Prince never wrote a better rock song than I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man, and he adds a brilliant instrumental jam to end the whole thing. The soulful Forever In My Life is effective, but If I Was Your Girlfriend pairs a clever lyric to an almost trip hop beat to be one of Prince’s best songs (if not the best). Despite the eclecticism of the music it all flows very well. Hot Thing & It’s Gonna Be a Beautiful Night are the weakest tracks, but are still better than anything Graffiti Bridge or Diamonds & Pearls (his early 90’s albums). Adore rounds off the set and remains my favourite Prince ballad. It’s not as commercial as 1999 or Purple Rain, and it needs time to get under your skin, but any semi-serious Prince fan always has Sign’ close if not top of his albums.”
1. Purple Rain (1984)
“In my opinion this is one of the greatest albums there has ever been by one of the most talented musicians. The packaging looks nice especially the front cover. Slight downside is the way the discs can be tricky to get out. The second disc is only a snippet of the ‘unreleased’ music recorded during the period the dvd really should have been blu ray and the quality should have matched the first two discs but that is the only minor gripe I have with an amazing set. Here’s hoping they do it with more Prince albums.”