Rank Prince Albums:

1) Purple Rain
2) Sign "O" the Times
3) Around the World in a Day
4) Parade

These are the Prince albums to own, plus a handmade compilation of the best of the rest.

This is why the whole exercise is so pointless. Prince = God.

Aside from a few obvious clunkers ("Chaos and Disorder"/turkeys) trying to rank Prince is like tring to rank life - so much good and bad and ultimately as essential and ungraspable as the air we breathe to live.

or its like paying 7 bucks for a used CD when you were in high school, later seeing Hits 1 and realizing that you already own the full-lengths of the songs you'd actually want to hear and not feeling like coughing up a lot of cash to get the B-Sides (which is only available with the full 3cd set). Hits 2 gives me some radio edits of tracks I have the LPs for and choice singles from his lesser albums. Plus "Peach" and "Pope."

Erotic City
Shockadelica
Irresistable Bitch
Scarlet Pussy
La,La,La, He, He, Hee
She's Always In My Hair
17 Days
How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore?
Another Lonely Christmas

and its more consistent than any patch on either Hit cd

after that, it's spotty. There really should be a CD of the extended-mix B-sides. "Love or Money" has always been my fave of those, actually.

1. Purple Rain
2. Sign "O" The Times
3. Parade
4. 1999
5. Around The World In One Day
6. Controversy
7. Dirty Mind
8. Lovesexy
9. Diamonds And Pearls
10.Come
11.Emancipation
12.Black Album
13.(Symbol)

99.Batman

Although I still thing Illusion, Coma, etc is better than anything on Batman.

**if any of you kind gentlemen or ladeez has an extra copy for whatever reason, email me!!

Race to the bottom...

as far as batman being half decent as it was recorded in a few weeks all by prince on his lonesome, isnt that how most of his albums were made?

1. Purple Rain
2. Sign "o" Times

But maybe this thread will help me decide which one to get next.

I'm going to change my mind as soon as I post this.

Embarrassed to say I skipped 3121 until now, not having been a huge fan of "Black Sweat." It's good! I've decided I've got to reconsider every single album.

Anyone have a comprehensive ranking? (Calling Matos!)

However I would rank them, Parade and Sign O' The Times would be at the top and the two new ones MPLSound and whatever the other one was) would be at the bottom.

SOOT
Dirty Mind
Parade
Controversy
Purple Rain
Emancipation
The Gold Experience
Symbol Album
3121
Musicology

The rest

oops: slip 1999 b/w Controversy and Purple Rain

Have always loved Christgau's running overview and Harris's Blender guide, though the online Blender no longer links to the actual blurbs (which you can search out individually):

http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=1095
http://www.blender.com/guide/back-catalogue/66639/every-original-cd-reviewed-prince.html

1) Sign o' the Times
2) Emancipation
3) Love Symbol
4) 1999
5) Controversy
6) Lovesexy
7) Gold Experience
8) Graffiti Bridge
9) Purple Rain
10) Dirty Mind
11) Parade
12) Around the World in a Day
13) Diamonds and Pearls
14) Batman
15) Come

However I would rank them, Parade and Sign O' The Times would be at the top and the two new ones MPLSound and whatever the other one was) would be at the bottom.

― ah ah oh ooh ooh oh ah ah ah ah ah oh ah ah aha ooh (HI DERE), Friday, January 8, 2010 7:14 PM (13 minutes ago)

Pretty much this, although on certain days I may be inclined to stick Dirty Mind above SOOT. Lotusflow3r/MPLsound was quite heartbreaking in how weak it was ;_;

1999
Sign O The Times
Purple Rain
Parade
Dirty Mind

The first album and the rest of the 80's stuff are tied for 6th.

1 Black
2 Sign
3 1999
4 Purp
5 Contro
6 0->
7 World

I'm ashamed at how little I know of the post 80's stuff.

I know I like "7" and "Pink Cashmere"

Oh yeah, I forgot to rate the Black Album, I guess I'd put it between Parade and AtWiaD.

highly controversial:

1) dirty mind
2) purple rain
3) sign o' the times
4) 1999
5) disc 3 of the hits/the b-sides
6) 3121
7) love symbol
8) lovesexy
9) parade
10) controversy
11) emancipation
12) rainbow children
13) lotusflow3r
13) planet earth

shamefully, although 'i wanna be your lover' is one of my fave prince jams, i've never heard the debut album as a whole

i have some 94 East shit if that makes up for it