Jason truly is one of a kind. Perhaps the greatest music contrarian of all time. It’s equal parts perplexing, frustrating and fascinating. He cares and looks for things that maybe one in a million people look for. Wish I could borrow his music mind for a bit and see how it works. For the record, he might be the only person in existence that would rank Sign at #29. Just utterly stops you dead in your tracks
He chooses the most obvious number one and is basic in thinking The Beatles are the greatest band of all time, BUT is totally contrarian with everything else
Incredibly impressive feat to go through this whole discography. I can’t imagine how much time you have spend to do this. I don’t particularly like Prince but I’m still spending two plus hours of my life listening to your comments. Keep up the good work!
If you do not see the humor in Prince's lyrics, they are not going to work for you. Re: 1999 - This was the era of 12" Singles and long repetitive dance mixes. We were young and we loved them. I promise you that no one was saying, "Why is this song so long?" The songs were long because it was the coolest thing to do at the time. Even Yes did them.
Sign at 29 is a crime against humanity. Couldn't bring myself to sit through the NPG stuff in 2024. May have a few holes I need to fill in after watching this video. Realizing that I've only heard about half his stuff and I consider him among my favorites is crazy. 5 stars: 1. Purple Rain 2. Sign O the Times 4.5 stars 3. 1999 4. The Gold Experience 4 stars 5. Controversy 6. Dirty Mind 7. Come 8. Parade 9. Around the World in a Day 10. 3121 11. Musicology 3.5 stars 12. Prince 13. Lovesexy 14. The Rainbow Children 3 stars 15. For You 16. Batman 17. Planet Earth
Love checking the obscurities you guys point out in these massive discographies that I most likely would have never known about. Good to see you guys back doing your thing 👍
The weirder and more different that a ranking gets from general consensus the more I like it. Jason's one in here has lot of numbers to be the most bizarre and hilarious one from out the whole channel. Love people with all that boldness and honesty. U guys are both great and make a perfect combination.
I'm only 12 minutes in. Either it's been a really long night, or I just saw an upside down Kramzer photobomb the video during the phrase "sexy sensuality."
Forget my last post .. youve only gone and done it !!! Cant respect you or thank you enough . Truly exceptional as usual . You really go far and beyond the exctra mile. The dedication and the seriousness you put into this is quite frankly overwhelming. We all may disagree on this or that but its a spectacular channel . Have a restful weekend but never feel under-appreciated . see you on Patreon or whatever .
First off, thank you guys SO much for pulling off this massive task, and for getting through the editing while Jason was sick. I've been watching the channel since the beginning, and this has got to be the most daunting artist you've covered. (Yes, Bob Dylan has more albums, but Prince has several triple and double albums, as well as many 60+ minute single albums.) I was looking forward to this video for a while, and it didn't disappoint. Also, let's just take a moment to admire Jason's audacious choice at putting Sign O' the Times as low as he did. It takes guts to have a music review channel and publicly place such a highly regarded album so low. I don't agree with that ranking personally, but everything you said made sense, and I commend you putting your integrity first and giving your honest personal opinion rather than falling back on established expectations.
I've considered myself a pretty big Prince fan for a long time but like Joe I didn't really venture too much past a certain point in the 90s. I knew a few songs and albums here and there but knew enough about some of the stuff to say "eh I dunno if I reallly need to hear that". And for some of it I was right but there was also some stuff in the latter half of his career that surprised me too so that was nice. I never got to the level of appreciation I have for the 80s again but better than I expected at some points. I did come out of this with the conclusion that albums overall were not really his strong point. Of course he struck gold on some occasions but there was a lot of stuff I probably never need to hear again too, but I guess when someone has 40 albums over the course of less than 40 years with two triple albums that is be expected. It's been an interesting journey and at points made me question my feelings about him but I still love my favourites. I just may need a bit of a Prince break after this for awhile. 40) The Slaughterhouse - 2.5 39) Hit N Run Phase 1 - 2.5 38) The Black Album - 2.5 37) The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale - 2.5 36) The Truth - 2.5 35) Xpectation - 2.5 34) N-E-W-S - 2.5 33) Graffiti Bridge - 2.5 32) The Rainbow Children - 2.5 31) Crystal Ball - 3 30) The Chocolate Invasion - 3 29) One Night Alone… - 3 28) Emancipation - 3 27) Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic - 3 26) 20Ten - 3 25) Plectrumelectrum - 3 24) Welcome 2 America - 3 23) Planet Earth - 3 22) MPL Sound - 3 21) Batman - 3.5 20) Chaos and Disorder - 3.5 19) Come - 3.5 18) Hit n Run Phase 2 - 3.5 17) Love Symbol - 3.5 16) ArtOfficialAge - 3.5 15) Lotusflow3r - 3.5 14) 3121 - 3.5 13) Musicology - 3.5 12) Controversy - 4 11) The Gold Experience - 4 10) Diamonds and Pearls - 4 9) Prince - 4 8) Lovesexy - 4 7) For You - 4 6) Around the World in a Day - 4 5) 1999 - 4.5 4) Parade - 4.5 3) Sign O the Times - 4.5 2) Dirty Mind - 5 1) Purple Rain - 5
An enlightening discussion. Thanks for the time and work you both put into this. I've now started sampling a few albums from his later period that sound pretty good to me (including N.E.W.S.). Lots of great music still to discover. I was lucky to see him live and it was a total show! It was easy to take him for granted... until he was gone. A massive loss.
I literally spit out my drink like an old school comedy skit when Sign O the Times was ranked #29, 😅😅😅. Love you guys; you need to do a Michael Jackson one at some point.
Glad you finally got around to his discography. I was sort of a casual fan before I saw his Musicology tour and then became a huge fan. Gone too soon obviously. He could have been an enormously important figure during these times as he was so far ahead of his time in the 80s.
Prince’s music left the biggest impression on me between 1984-1992. The nostalgia is strong and I’m happy he was part of the soundtrack for my childhood and early teens. He sparked something. When I entered high school, a wider musical world opened up, and I left Prince behind. He’s popped up again several times since then, and I’m always grateful for the reintroductions when they happen. It’s difficult to believe he’s been gone for nearly a decade. Listening to his entire discography never occurred to me, and frankly it doesn’t for many artists. A completist I’m not. I prefer buffet style listening. I respect the time and dedication it took for you two to give us this video. I’ve come to admire Joe’s colorful, descriptive language and Jason’s steadfast commitment to speaking honestly.
I only ever bought one of his albums and that was around the world in a day, I liked the single Paisley Park, the Album to my surprise was awesome. Not a fan but I like this record
Jason that really is a mental list but hey each to his own 😂 But kudos 2 to both of you. That’s a lot of music to listen to. Massive Prince fan but his output was so variable from genius to utter dross. As you guys said he needed a Producer to push him and filter out the crap and get a cohesive sound.
Brilliant, watched live last night . Had greatly anticipated you doing the Prince catalogue. I hope you do Manic Street Preachers someday - Blur, Oasis and Suede are there, time for Jason & Joe to delve into the Manicsworld!
Great job. Very interesting to get both opinions. I love every album aside from the NPG club releases. Lucky enough to see him several times in England. I give 4 and 5 stars to every release up to and including gold experience and come (two underrated albums) 1 purple rain, 2 1999, 3 sign of the times, 4 around the world, 5 dirty mind, 6 Gold experience, 7 Parade, 8 diamonds and pearls, 9 Batman, 10 controversy. Bob George also one of my guilty pleasures
before watching, i already know purple rain is your no1, which is understandable, but i like the more intimate experience or sign o’ the times. i am curious about the 90s albums which I haven’t even heard yet cause I am a new fan, but a lot of fans love the gold experience from what i’ve seen
Well hell, I watched the whole damn video (I knew once I started I'd have to go all the way. That's the only way Prince would have it.) Glad I did though! Very entertaining. Joe, with his completely rational, properly rated, mostly conventional but nonetheless insightful ranking and commentary. And Jason! Yes! Unorthodox. Borderline blasphemous. But entertaining as hell and insightful too! I love that you have an appreciation for Jazz Prince. I've heard NEWS once and liked it. Now I need to revisit it. I'm a hits-Prince fan and don't know much else from his catalog, but I got lots of great tips on where to dip in next from both of you. Well done! 👏
So here's my ranking of all studio albums (non-compilation) that Prince made more than half of the songs on. Overkill? Yes indeed. From top to bottom: ★★: 64) Kamasutra. 63) Carmen Electra. 62) 20Ten. 61) MPLSound. ★★½: 60) May 19, 1992. 59) PlectrumElectrum. 58) Hit n Run Phase One. 57) For You. 56) Child of the Sun. 55) NEWS. 54) Sheila E. 52) Times Squared. 53) One Night Alone... ★★★: 51) Planet Earth. 50) The Voice. 49) Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. 48) Elixer. 47) Xpectation. 46) Time Waits for No One. 45) Come 2 My House. 44) Musicology. 43) Lotusflow3r. 42) 3121. 41) Diamonds and Pearls. ★★★½: 40) The Truth. 39) Exodus. 38) Newpower Soul. 37) Art Official Age. 36) Apollonia 6. 35) Madhouse 16. 34) Around the World in a Day. 33) Welcome 2 America. 32) Prince. 31) 1-800-NEW-FUNK. 30) Ice Cream Castle. 29) Chaos and Disorder. 28) Goldn***a. 27) Madhouse 8. ★★★★: 26) Romance 1600. 25) The Chocolate Invasion. 24) Graffiti Bridge. 23) Controversy. 22) The Black Album. 21) Hit n Run Phase Two. 20) Jill Jones. 19) Come. 18) Vanity 6. 17) The Slaughterhouse. 16) Emancipation. 15) The Time. 14) The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale. 13) Love Symbol Album. 12) Lovesexy. 11) The Rainbow Children. 10) The Glamorous Life. ★★★★½: 9) Batman. 8) What Time is It? 7) Parade. 6) The Family. ★★★★★: 5) Dirty Mind. 4) 1999. 3) The Gold Experience. 2) Sign 'o' the Times. 1) Purple Rain. Purple Rain in my mind (just) edges out Rumours for the title of "Best album of all time".
My Top 10 Prince Albums 1. Purple Rain 2. Sign O The Times 3. Chaos and Disorder 4. 1999 5. Diamonds and Pearls 6. Musicology 7. Batman 8. Around the World in s Day 9. Rave Un 2 The Joy Fantastic 10. Hit n Run( phase 2 )
Have to repost my comment because of a weird edit. Love the boldness in these rankings!! As a lifelong prince fan some of this was very painful ngl. But I appreciate the honesty. Can tell you guys gave his work a solid listen. As for love symbol that’s hands down my fav P album of the 90’s. Parade and 1999 are in my top 3 Prince albums ever, behind SOTT.
Bravo, gentlemen on undertaking such a momentous discography with grace and honesty 👏 I thoroughly enjoyed what you both had to say - discovering your respective thoughts and feelings on The Purple One’s studio albums - and you have encouraged me to return to some of my all-time-fave Prince LPs 💜🙏 Sending best wishes from the UK, Christian
@@michelewiese48 Hiya, Michele! Lovely to hear from you and thank you so much for the good wishes 😊🙏 Wow, my top 10 of Prince songs? That’s so, so tough! I’d need some time to flesh the list out, but my number 1 is well and truly cemented - always has been, always will be. Care to guess what it might be?
@@michelewiese48 Yes, I know you know what my fave album is - 😉 - but the song may prove to be a bit more of a challenge to guess… Take all the extra time you need, Michele!
I would happily say that Prince as a recording artist was very spotty throughout his career, some stellar moments mixed with some average and poor stuff. However his live show was always unbelievably good, really showed his genius on the stage I believe. Guitar playing was fabulous, and then you just add all the other elements to his performances, band leading and choreography means he was the complete package as a live performer.
Sign of the Times is a stunning album. I must explore more of his discography; along with Bowie, the greatest musical chameleon of all, and equally charismatic.
It's taken me a while to truly absorb all this content and again super impressed by the monumental effort you put in . Initial reactions are that I'm more team Joe than team Jason . Not at all surprised by Number 1 .. but surprised by the love for Dirty Mind (will re-evaluate) .Also surprised by high showings for Musicolgy and Around the world in a Day. Shocked by low scores for Sign o The times, Love symbol and diamonds of Pearls from Jason.. but pleased that you both scored the under-rated Gold Experience ( in my Top 4). Ive combined your scores and positions .. wont bore anyone with the full list but your combined top 5 is 1) Purple Rain, 2 Dirty Mind, 3 4 and 5 ties 1999, Controvery and Prince, and the bottom five were Slaughterhouse, Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic Hit and Run 1 Artoficial age and Love symbol. . You did 3 more albums than I did so to tuly compare i need to do the two instrumental albums and the posthumous one which i tend not to do . I additionally did the B-sides aklbum from the hits the B sides which has some cracking tracks Shockadelica .. i Love you In Me etc . anyway you have given me some work to do lol x
wow well done guys. always loved your channel.. Prince is my fav artist by a mile.. waited for this for years. Its obvious from the beginning which of you likes prince. its ok.. its good to hear someone dismantle prince for once. I entirely disagree with one of you.. its extremely hard to rank a 40 album discography. you should have included the b-sides album 1993 which is a top 10 ranking. but thanks again for doing this
2:31 I've never understood how people can be upset or mad at another person's personal opinion. Music is subjective. Great video, as usual, guys! I'd love the two of you to tackle the KISS discography (including the four solo albums some time).
Happy you guys are stilll going been with your channel for awhile now. Im doing my own list with the band gong right now. Thought about doing prince next
Only half way through and am loving it…poor Joe 😢 made me laugh though after Jason’s review of Around the World in a Day!Very interesting take from Jason so far, yeah will be an interesting top ten. I kinda like that Jason is taking a different road so to speak. He will ofcourse back it up with his reasoning. Btw what an effort guys, that’s a lot of listening and noting and ranking. Great work 👌 Can’t wait for the second half!!!
What a massive discography! Impressive! Joe's list seems to make the most sense... You should allow yourselfs to do a couple of shorter ones so you don't get burned out on Listography - or the channel. Some fun New Wave bands would be great.
Joe Nails it on Emancipation, disc 2 alone is top 5 of everything he's done. Other note, for me Parade was the hidden gem of the whole discography, lot of interesting mixes and production decisions on that one, good headphones album.
The Prince montreux 2009 live show has the rock and heavy guitar sound and opens with “when eye lay my hands on u” performed the way it should have been-with a building sexual tension as the song builds with guitar.
Wow, that was a lot. This was fun to watch. I've been buying Prince music off and on for the longest time and I guess I would say that I fall somewhere between Joe and Jason in my estimation. Probably most people do. Purple Rain was out and on the charts my first year in college. I have a memory of the dormitory I lived in where it seemed like the opening of "Let's Go Crazy" would begin in someone's room somewhere constantly. "Dearly beloved...." over and over again. Jason is correct that this is the one great album Prince made; but it is of course a five star affair. The others are all a mixed bag, some very good and others hardly listenable. Prince certainly suffers from producing too much music, and the guys are correct that occasional outside influence could have had a real positive impact on his music. I did get to see Prince once, on the Musicology tour. We were all handed copies of the CD walking in. The show was really amazing, sort of in three different and distinct parts, all of them great. Sadly he is gone, but lots of music is left behind.
My favorites are Sign O' the Times, 1999 and the often overlooked Around the World in a Day. Another one I truly enjoyed is The Rainbow Children, another album that's pretty divisive. I personally loved it. Could care less about all the Jehovah Witness stuff...still great.
I believe Parade is #2 (to #1 Purple Rain). Parade is interesting and unique. I love how Prince did not put any bass on Kiss and the record company didn't like that and Prince did not compromise and stuck to his guns and it became a #1 song. It is fascinating how Prince listened to the song and decided it didn't need any bass. Somehow he just knew, had that intuition. I guess that is part of the definition of genius. Nice ranking guys!
I was expecting Jasons dislike of the 90s stuff and prepared for some odd choices but it still came as a shock to see SOTT that low (and Musicology that high). Other than that I enjoyed the analysis and great to see NEWS, Dirty Mind and 3121 high on your list
Too many subscriptions, so little time, I will say that when I watch an artist's video, TH-cam very often recommends one of these to go with it. So, the algorithm (or your "search engine optimizations) is working, I think.. I mean I watched a video of Barbara Eden dancing to "I Want To Put On My Dancing Shoes" twice -5 stars. And that autoplayed 2 songs later to Prince live doing "play that funky music white boy" And when that ended, this popped up in my recommendations, so at least the search engine hasn't been corrupted by big money.. I had Purple Rain stuck in my car's cassette deck for the whole summer of '84. I would push the eject button on the pioneer super tuner, but Purple Rain wouldn't eject, so it got to where whatever the line that was going to be sung when I shut my car off would loop through my head all day at work and afterwards I would crank the car back up and already be singing about masturbating "in" a magazine. I always check out you guy's bottom picks (it's how I discovered "North" by Elvis Costello, which is now the one album I would take on a space journey if I could only take one due to weight considerations, thanks Jason, I think it was, for bottoming that one out😊) Yet I always thought there was something missing with Prince..a bass guitar on "When Doves Cry," or one key change in any of the 5,300 songs he wrote. Modulation, which Stevie Wonder does almost as a trademark, might have been too cerebral for Niles, who seemed to grove more from the crotch, and double down on "the feeling." Imo, of course... Well, I'm off to listen to your worst ranked one's.. Jason don't fail me now...
Not sure if it is considered unreleased or what but there's a CD Prince dropped called The Undertaker. It reminds me of 90s version of Band Of Gypsies. Killer stuff
My Top Ten Favorite Prince Songs 1. Let’s Go Crazy 2. Little Red Corvette 3. When Doves Cry 4. Peach 5. I Like It There 6. Alphabet St. 7. Rasberry Beret 8. Musicology 9. Fury 10. Money Don’t Matter 2 Nite
Really enjoyed this guys. Jason is obviously a product of his era, preferring Prince's most boring albums (Musicology and 3121) over the stylistic detours into other territory (Parade and second sides of Dirty Mind/Controversy). He's young and I can understand why those would be the choices of someone who didn't really live those 80's records. He is uber-unbiased (but doesn't seem to like late-80's keyboard sounds much), and I do respect that. I think Gold Experience and Come are the 2 albums that tend to be generally underrated, although now more people know Gold and seem to finally get it. That title track on Come is worth the album alone...10 minutes of such great horn arrangements, and Prince seems to find endless ideas from that groove (I love "Loose" too! Every time Prince does a crazy techno track...take note). I guess I was surprised Love Symbol didn't rate higher...a pretty great album with an amazing guitar track in "3 Chains of Gold". It's another wildly diverse tour de force. So much great music to explore and he is so dearly missed. There is so much more vault music left to be released...The estate needs to get more involved, but now his sister just died...
Hi, i've never been into Prince that much, i enjoyed the Kramz cameo, i'm curious about Jason decision of putting sign o'the times at 29, i've always heard it was one of his best, anyway, it is a personal list, i respect it I've grown fond of your videos over the years
As I’ve stated previously ‘1999’ is his overall greatest work for me with ‘Around The World In A Day’ coming in a close 2nd, ‘Parade’ 3rd, ‘Dirty Mind’ 4th and ‘Sign Of The Times’ 5th, ‘Self Titled’ 6th, ‘Controversy’ 7th, ‘Lovesexy’ 8th, ‘Purple Rain’ 9th and ‘Diamonds & Pearls’ comes in 10th place…the debut ‘For You’ is just outside the top ten in 11th place
Prince is in intriguing proposition. He probably has at least 100 truly amazing songs - maybe more than anyone else in popular music - but he released SO MUCH music - a lot of which was mediocre - that it might be easy to forget that he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
@@TastesLikeMusic Jason, I respect you immensely, in part because you are the bravest person in the world of music criticism! Bravo sir! The most unpredictable music taste on the internet! If I had thrown his records up into the air and based my prediction of your top 40 on where they landed on the floor, I think that would have been as accurate as any other method of trying to guess it! 😉😂👏
1 Prince - Sign 'O' the times 5 2 Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain 5 3 Prince - Dirty Mind 5 4 Prince - 1999 4.5 5 Prince - Lovesexy 4.5 6 Prince And The Revolution - Around the world in a day 4.5 7 Prince And The Revolution - Parade 4.5 8 Prince - Prince 4 9 Prince - Controversy 4 10 TAFKAP - The Gold Experience 4 11 Prince - Batman OST 4 12 Prince - 3121 4 13 Prince & The NPG - Diamonds And Pearls 4/3.5 14 Prince - Graffiti Bridge 3.5 15 TAFKAP - Crystal ball 3.5 16 Prince - The Black Album 3.5 17 TAFKAP - Chaos and Disorder 3.5 18 Prince - Come 3.5 19 Prince - NEWS 3.5 20 Prince - Lotusflow3r 3.5 / MPLSound 2.5 21 Prince - ArtOfficialAge 3.5 22 Prince - Hit And Run 2 3.5 23 TAFKAP - Emancipation 3 24 Prince - For you 3 25 Prince & The NPG - Love Symbol 3 26 Prince - Planet Earth 3 27 Prince - Musicology 3 28 Prince - Hit And Run 1 3 29 Prince - Xpectation 3 30 TAFKAP- Rave in2 the joy fantastic 3 31 Prince - 20ten 2.5 32 Prince - Welcome 2 America 2.5 33 Prince - The vault: Old friends 2.5 34 Prince - The Truth 2.5 35 Prince - The Rainbow children 2.5 36 TAFKAP - Rave unto the joy fantastic 2.5 37 Prince - The slaughterhouse 2 38 Prince - The chocolate invasion 1.5 Prince written/produced/Paisley Park/NPG label: 1 The Family - '' 4.5 2 Jill Jones - '' 4 3 The Time - '' 4 4 The Time - What time is it 4 5 Madhouse - 16 4 6 Vanity 6 - '' 4/3.5 7 Apollonia 6 - '' 3.5 8 Sheila E - '' 3.5 9 Eric Leeds - Times squared 3.5 10 Mavis Staples - Time waits for no one 3.5 11 Madhouse - 8 3.5 12 The Time - Pandemonium 3.5 13 Chaka Khan - Come 2 my house 3 14 The Time - ICC 3 15 Ingrid Chavez - 1992 3 16 Sheila E - Sheila E 3 17 Mavis Staples - The voice 3/2.5 18 Sheila E - Romance 1600 2.5 Best Prince posthumous release : Originals 4 Best Prince live : Small Club Second Show That Night 5 (The Hague (NL) - Paard van Troje 1988) Unofficial Soundboard Recording - is on Prince official TH-cam channel though Prince is my alltime favorite artist ahead of Bowie, Roxy, The Stones. I became a fan in 1988 after the broadcasted Lovesexy Dortmund show and bougth the album on cassette. Prior i had bought the Kiss and A love bizarre (Sheila E) singles in 1986 (i was 10 y/o) Over the years I bought all the previous albums, maxis, protege acts and some bootlegs (inc The Black album, Im sorry) I was very dissapointed with the 1992 Love symbol album (in my list of most anticipated and dissapointing albums along with Bowies Hours and NINs The Fragile) I liked Come but by then i was more into alt rock, grunge and UK dance stuff All the while i kept following him though and I loved that he was having hit albums again with Musicolgy and 3121 in the 00s.
Tbh, i'm not a huge fan of the post-Purple Rain albums (its decent stuff but not as great as everything late 70s-mid80s) but he is one of the most influential artists ever, here's my top 10: 10. Around the World in a Day 9. Parade 8. Batman 7. For You 6. Sign o' the Times 5. Controversy 4. Purple Rain 3. Dirty Mind 2. 1999 1. Prince
1. Purple Rain (1984) 5 2. Sign 'O' the Times (1987) 5 3. Dirty Mind (1980) 4.5 4. 1999 (1982) 4.5 5. Parade (1986) 4.5 6. Around the World in a Day (1985) 4 7. The Rainbow Children (2001) 4 8. 3121 (2006) 4 9. Love Symbol Album (1992) 4 10. Batman (1989) 4 11. Controversy (1981) 3.5 12. Diamonds & Pearls (1991) 3.5 13. Prince (1979) 3.5 14. The Gold Experience (1995) 3.5 15. Musicology (2004) 3.5 16. The Black Album (1994) 3.5 17. Lovesexy (1988) 3 18. For You (1978) 3 19. Come (1994) 3 20. Emancipation (1996) 3 21. LOtUSFLOW3R (2009) 3 22. MPLSound (2009) 3 23. HITnRUN Phase Two (2015) 3 24. Art Official Age (2014) 3 25. N•E•W•S (2003) 3 26. Crystal Ball (1998) 3 27. Welcome 2 America (2021) 3 28. Graffiti Bridge (1990) 2.5 29. Chaos & Disorder (1996) 2.5 30. Planet Earth (2007) 2.5 31. The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999) 2.5 32. The Truth (1998) 2.5 33. One Nite Alone... (2002) 2.5 34. The Chocolate Invasion (2004) 2.5 35. 20Ten (2010) 2.5 36. The Slaughterhouse (2004) 2.5 37. HITnRUN Phase One (2015) 2.5 38. Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999) 2 39. Xpectation (2003) 2 40. Plectrumelectrum (2014) 2 CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER: 3.0 For You (1978) 3.5 Prince (1979) 4.5 Dirty Mind (1980) 3.5 Controversy (1981) 4.5 1999 (1982) 5.0 Purple Rain (1984) 4.0 Around the World in a Day (1985) 4.5 Parade (1986) 5.0 Sign 'O' the Times (1987) 3.0 Lovesexy (1988) 4.0 Batman (1989) 2.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990) 3.5 Diamonds & Pearls (1991) 4.0 Love Symbol Album (1992) 3.0 Come (1994) 3.5 The Black Album (1994) 3.5 The Gold Experience (1995) 2.5 Chaos & Disorder (1996) 3.0 Emancipation (1996) 3.0 Crystal Ball (1998) 2.5 The Truth (1998) 2.5 The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999) 2.0 Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999) 4.0 The Rainbow Children (2001) 2.5 One Nite Alone... (2002) 2.0 Xpectation (2003) 3.0 N•E•W•S (2003) 3.5 Musicology (2004) 2.5 The Chocolate Invasion (2004) 2.5 The Slaughterhouse (2004) 4.0 3121 (2006) 2.5 Planet Earth (2007) 3.0 LOtUSFLOW3R (2009) 3.0 MPLSound (2009) 2.5 20Ten (2010) 2.0 Plectrumelectrum (2014) 3.0 Art Official Age (2014) 2.5 HITnRUN Phase One (2015) 3.0 HITnRUN Phase Two (2015) 3.0 Welcome 2 America (2021) Equal parts James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, and George Clinton, this musical polymath is one of the most self-contained artists who ever lived. Punk and indie rockers like to talk about DIY, well, Prince was the personification of DIY. Writing and producing all his own records, playing most (or all) of the instruments on many of them, and pioneering the Minneapolis sound, which had an impact on 1980s pop music that's hard to overstate. Prince's debut, For You (1978), is pretty standard funk-tinged R&B, with "Soft & Wet" being the most memorable cut. His 1979 self-titled LP is where the pop song perfectionism he's known for first appears, especially in the form of "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "I Feel For You," and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" 1980's disco-meets-synth-pop Dirty Mind imparts the full glory of Prince's lust-filled brand of woman-worship. Almost every track sizzles. "When You Were Mine" is the most immediate of his early-career classics. Controversy (1981) is basically Dirty Mind's younger brother- less consistent but no less randy ("Do Me, Baby," "Jack U Off"). His commercial breakthrough came with the double album 1999 (from 1982). "Little Red Corvette" and the title track made sure of that, but "International Lover" and "D.M.S.R." are the album's secret weapons. Purple Rain made Prince Rogers Nelson a household name in the summer of 1984. Everyone knows how great the hits are, but deep cuts like "Baby I'm a Star" and "The Beautiful Ones" are no less essential. I can still recall the day I (finally) realized there was no bass on "When Doves Cry"- blew my mind. Purple Rain's psych-pop follow-up, Around the World in a Day (1985), is powered by one of the greatest singles of the 1980s, "Raspberry Beret,” as well as one of the most underrated, “Pop Life.” Prince has downplayed the idea that this album was a response to 1960s psychedelia but, to my ears, it definitely cops that vibe. The holy triad of "Mountains," "Kiss," and "Sometimes it Snows in April" (from 1986's Parade) anticipates the wide-ranging ambition of 1987's double LP Sign 'O' the Times. I'm not head-over-heels in love with every last track on 'Sign,' but not many artists could pull off so many styles so effortlessly. Side 3 is perfection- "If I Was Your Girlfriend" might be the best relationship song of all-time. After the relative critical and commercial disappointment of Lovesexy (1988), he ended the ‘80s on a high note with Batman (1989). Prince doing the soundtrack to a Tim Burton film is an odd juxtaposition, but it proved to be fruitful- "Batdance," "Partyman," and "The Arms of Orion" are Prince at his dance floor best. Musically, the Love Symbol Album (1992) clocks in as his best LP of the 1990s (despite its inscrutable concept and cheesy rapping). It's buoyed by the boogie monster "Sexy MF," as well as the Middle Eastern influenced "7," which a lot of people consider his best song of the '90s. The silky smooth "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is a personal favorite. His much baleyhooed return to funk, The Black Album (recorded in '87 but released in '94), hits harder for the groovy playing than it does for the songwriting ("Cindy C" being the big exception). The rest of his output through the 1990s (when he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and became known simply as "The Artist") is pretty hit-and-miss. Most notable are 1995's The Gold Experience (mainly for "Shhh" and "Billy Jack B*tch") and 1996's Emancipation, which contains enough quality material to be a great single disc. However, as a 3-hour triple-LP extravaganza, Emancipation drags on way too long. It's fitting that Prince's biggest mid-career reinvention came with his first album of the new millennium- The Rainbow Children (2001). If you can get past his weird narration voice that makes him sound like he's in the witness protection program, 'Rainbow' is a loose, jazzy return to form that rewards repeated listens. Cuts like "Everywhere" and "The Everlasting Now" prove he still had some juice left. In terms of his mid-2000 albums, many people seem to prefer Musicology (2004) to 3121 (2006), but I'm the other way around. I find 3121 to be one of the most consistent LPs of his career. Musicology sort of peters out towards the end. His albums from 2007 onwards are not awful, but they're also not that memorable. I don't think that era's production values meshed too well with Prince's style of writing and performance. Prince was always maintaining his oversexed persona, which can make his lyrics a little one-dimensional at times. On the other hand, he deserves credit for tackling some important subjects, like poverty, AIDS, and police brutality. I love his guitar work, but if I had to pick only one aspect of his artistry to highlight, it'd be his incredibly versatile voice and wildly original phrasings. I'd always been a fan of The Purple One, but my appreciation was elevated after I saw him on the Jam of the Year tour in 1997. Watching him run through classic after classic, while hopping between instruments and shredding every one of them, was a humbling experience. For me, Prince doesn't get to 5 stars as often as some other classic artists, but he makes up for it with sheer volume. I have 16 of his albums rated 3.5 stars or better, and 27 rated 3 stars or better (and that doesn't include all the music he wrote for other artists). Even some of his forgettable albums contain a choice cut or two. His freestanding talent and old school work ethic make him one of the undeniable greats. In my book, he's the single best musician-songwriter in the pop/rock realm since 1980. Still, I struggle with how high to put Prince on my all-time list, as I think there are quite a few artists who came before him who were more influential than he was. But it'll be hard to keep him out of my top 40, which is about as high as I go for anybody who made their mark in the 1980s or later. MY RATING SYSTEM: 5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs) 4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both) 4.0 = great (a clear majority is worth revisiting and it's one of the best things for this artist/style) 3.5 = seriously good (half of the album is worth revisiting) 3.0 = nominally good (less than half is worth revisiting) 2.5 = fair (competent but uninspired, not worth revisiting) 2.0 = poor (difficult listen) 1.5 = awful (can't finish it) 1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse) ▪︎ "Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few duds if the rest of the songs are good enough. "Stratospheric highs" refer to albums that feature iconic songs or have an iconic sound. Albums I consider to be "perfect" can also reach 5 stars, even without containing legendary songs or being highly influential. ▪︎ I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible, I don't care to differentiate anymore. ▪︎ Anything I rate 3.5 stars or better is an album I'm enthusiastic about and would likely revisit at some point.
@@CanAlternateLostTape As has been discussed on this thread, Side 2 of Controversy kinda falls off a cliff. Both Batman and The Rainbow Children are more consistent to my ears.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 it’s all just opinions of course, my opinion is that Let’s Work is a total Prince classic and I personally rate Private Joy and Annie Christian highly so side 2 of Controversy is A-Ok with me. I’ll grant you that Batman and Rainbow are more consistent….as in, consistently mediocre 😁
Cool lists, was pleasantly surprised to see Graffiti Bridge so high for you both but confused at how weak the similar-but-better Love Symbol was, personally I think the latter is easily one of his top 10.
Agree - even though Kram's musical taste often differed from mine, I miss his sharp observations and eloquent reviews of artists and albums. He should really be back on the channel!
@@TastesLikeMusic Not blaming. Still love the content. Just feels like he would've been the creamy middle to your guys' polar takes on a big artist like this.
Excellent video gentlemen. Agreed for the most except I personally put Parade as #1 for me. A couple of questions. 1)Any plans to do one on MJ? 2)What happened to the other guy who used to be on the show(forgot his name)?
Top 10: 1) 1999 2) Purple Rain 3) Sign o' the Times 4) Art Official Age 5) Controversy 6)Around the World In a Day 7) Parade 8) Prince 9) Graffiti Bridge 10) Dirty Mind
40 albums ... My interest in Prince has waned quite a bit after Sign of the Times and like most I got disinterested after Diamonds & Pearls. Over the past years I've been filling in on the full catalog but there's not much change to that initial appreciation. Not going to publish my rank, just saying that SotT smashed all of us Gen X'ers when it came out, but nowadays Purple Rain carries the flag for me. Compared to the average rank, I probably rank Around ... higher, and Dirty Mind lower. BTW, with 2 of you left, an averaged list is going to be affected a lot by (Jason's) outliers. You can't really say that Sign of the Times is your averaged 13th. It's one of Joe's favorites and Jason hates it. Ending with a story: Sign of the Times, whether you like it or not, had Prince at the peak of his critical acclaim and popularity. At that point in time I would argue he was considered the greatest artist on earth. So, when his next album was about to come out, everyone was sitting on the edge of their chair to get ahold of it. This was pre-internet time. You either rushed to the shop to buy it, or radio stations had the first right and you would hear a single release or a sneak preview there. Anyway, the new album wasn't coming as expected and there was a lot of confusion about it. Soon enough, bootlegs were on the market. One friend of mine had a copy on cassette. We met "under the bridge" for an illegal transaction - lmao - that's how much of a vibe there was about it. The copy, a black cassette!!!, was "the black album". I listened to it and was even more confused. This was not the broad poprock palette that I was accustomed to. This was weird, impenetrable, noisy, sloppy ... even raw. But I immediately grew to love it, because of the secrecy, the lunacy, the excitement of it all. And when Prince finally follwed up with the lush "Lovesexy", I was somewhat disappointed. And it went downhill from there.
I can’t explain why but after watching TLM for so long I just knew in my heart that Jason would place The Truth dead last LOL. ‘Don’t Play Me’ is a cool song though
Joe, I don't know if I'll ever get over the blasphemous things you said about Tom Waits, but you came a long way toward making up for it this week. When I found myself being critical of you guys' rankings, I asked myself how I would rank these things and know that I couldn't possibly settle on one. Here's my stab at a top 10. Jason, I'll give those instrumental jazz albums another day in court. 10. Art Official Age 9. (The Love Symbol) 8. The Gold Experience 7. Come 6. The Black Album (mostly side 2) 5. Around the World in a Day 4. Parade 3. Lovesexy 2. Purple Rain 1. Sign O the Times
Jason truly is one of a kind. Perhaps the greatest music contrarian of all time. It’s equal parts perplexing, frustrating and fascinating. He cares and looks for things that maybe one in a million people look for. Wish I could borrow his music mind for a bit and see how it works. For the record, he might be the only person in existence that would rank Sign at #29. Just utterly stops you dead in your tracks
Honestly he probably understands music more than most which is why he's so divergent.
In other words I think he's just not as beholden to what critics and others think. If he likes something he likes it. If he doesn't he doesn't.
Joe immediately going into damage control at that moment made my afternoon 😂
you should be his agent I’m absolutely joking😂
He chooses the most obvious number one and is basic in thinking The Beatles are the greatest band of all time, BUT is totally contrarian with everything else
NFL executives discussing the Super Bowl halftime show with Prince: "You should definitely play Purple Rain."
Jason: "You should play News."
This might be Jason's most insane ranking yet.
That’s a high bar, but he clears it. - Joe
Incredibly impressive feat to go through this whole discography. I can’t imagine how much time you have spend to do this. I don’t particularly like Prince but I’m still spending two plus hours of my life listening to your comments. Keep up the good work!
If you do not see the humor in Prince's lyrics, they are not going to work for you.
Re: 1999 - This was the era of 12" Singles and long repetitive dance mixes. We were young and we loved them. I promise you that no one was saying, "Why is this song so long?" The songs were long because it was the coolest thing to do at the time. Even Yes did them.
Jason having Batman above SOTT 😂
Epic! Well done you guys for taking this on :)
Sign at 29 is a crime against humanity. Couldn't bring myself to sit through the NPG stuff in 2024. May have a few holes I need to fill in after watching this video. Realizing that I've only heard about half his stuff and I consider him among my favorites is crazy.
5 stars:
1. Purple Rain
2. Sign O the Times
4.5 stars
3. 1999
4. The Gold Experience
4 stars
5. Controversy
6. Dirty Mind
7. Come
8. Parade
9. Around the World in a Day
10. 3121
11. Musicology
3.5 stars
12. Prince
13. Lovesexy
14. The Rainbow Children
3 stars
15. For You
16. Batman
17. Planet Earth
Love checking the obscurities you guys point out in these massive discographies that I most likely would have never known about. Good to see you guys back doing your thing 👍
The weirder and more different that a ranking gets from general consensus the more I like it. Jason's one in here has lot of numbers to be the most bizarre and hilarious one from out the whole channel.
Love people with all that boldness and honesty. U guys are both great and make a perfect combination.
Around The World In A Day is a very underrated album. Time has been kind to it.
Agreed. On a related note, Raspberry Beret is an all time classic. Love that song.
Fun fact. Raspberry Beret was recorded before Purple Rain album and he almost put it on there!!@@SuperStrik9
I'm only 12 minutes in. Either it's been a really long night, or I just saw an upside down Kramzer photobomb the video during the phrase "sexy sensuality."
Purple rain and sign o the times are among my favorite albums of all time. Honestly, sign is my favorite (even better than purple rain)
Forget my last post .. youve only gone and done it !!! Cant respect you or thank you enough . Truly exceptional as usual . You really go far and beyond the exctra mile. The dedication and the seriousness you put into this is quite frankly overwhelming. We all may disagree on this or that but its a spectacular channel . Have a restful weekend but never feel under-appreciated . see you on Patreon or whatever .
First off, thank you guys SO much for pulling off this massive task, and for getting through the editing while Jason was sick. I've been watching the channel since the beginning, and this has got to be the most daunting artist you've covered. (Yes, Bob Dylan has more albums, but Prince has several triple and double albums, as well as many 60+ minute single albums.) I was looking forward to this video for a while, and it didn't disappoint.
Also, let's just take a moment to admire Jason's audacious choice at putting Sign O' the Times as low as he did. It takes guts to have a music review channel and publicly place such a highly regarded album so low. I don't agree with that ranking personally, but everything you said made sense, and I commend you putting your integrity first and giving your honest personal opinion rather than falling back on established expectations.
I've considered myself a pretty big Prince fan for a long time but like Joe I didn't really venture too much past a certain point in the 90s. I knew a few songs and albums here and there but knew enough about some of the stuff to say "eh I dunno if I reallly need to hear that". And for some of it I was right but there was also some stuff in the latter half of his career that surprised me too so that was nice. I never got to the level of appreciation I have for the 80s again but better than I expected at some points. I did come out of this with the conclusion that albums overall were not really his strong point. Of course he struck gold on some occasions but there was a lot of stuff I probably never need to hear again too, but I guess when someone has 40 albums over the course of less than 40 years with two triple albums that is be expected. It's been an interesting journey and at points made me question my feelings about him but I still love my favourites. I just may need a bit of a Prince break after this for awhile.
40) The Slaughterhouse - 2.5
39) Hit N Run Phase 1 - 2.5
38) The Black Album - 2.5
37) The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale - 2.5
36) The Truth - 2.5
35) Xpectation - 2.5
34) N-E-W-S - 2.5
33) Graffiti Bridge - 2.5
32) The Rainbow Children - 2.5
31) Crystal Ball - 3
30) The Chocolate Invasion - 3
29) One Night Alone… - 3
28) Emancipation - 3
27) Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic - 3
26) 20Ten - 3
25) Plectrumelectrum - 3
24) Welcome 2 America - 3
23) Planet Earth - 3
22) MPL Sound - 3
21) Batman - 3.5
20) Chaos and Disorder - 3.5
19) Come - 3.5
18) Hit n Run Phase 2 - 3.5
17) Love Symbol - 3.5
16) ArtOfficialAge - 3.5
15) Lotusflow3r - 3.5
14) 3121 - 3.5
13) Musicology - 3.5
12) Controversy - 4
11) The Gold Experience - 4
10) Diamonds and Pearls - 4
9) Prince - 4
8) Lovesexy - 4
7) For You - 4
6) Around the World in a Day - 4
5) 1999 - 4.5
4) Parade - 4.5
3) Sign O the Times - 4.5
2) Dirty Mind - 5
1) Purple Rain - 5
An enlightening discussion. Thanks for the time and work you both put into this.
I've now started sampling a few albums from his later period that sound pretty good to me (including N.E.W.S.). Lots of great music still to discover.
I was lucky to see him live and it was a total show! It was easy to take him for granted... until he was gone. A massive loss.
Huge Prince fan. I’ve listened to them all and then some. Top 5: 1. Purple Rain 2. Come 3. 1999 4. The Gold Experience 5. Controversy
2 and a half hours? You guys are doing a ton of work!
I literally spit out my drink like an old school comedy skit when Sign O the Times was ranked #29, 😅😅😅. Love you guys; you need to do a Michael Jackson one at some point.
I would have put it lower. It was really hard sitting through it. A lot of skipping.
The Truth in last place... I almost fell over.
Jason and Joe I'm so excited to watch this multiple times through the years!! I appreciate the time you took for this legandary and massive catalog!!
Glad you finally got around to his discography. I was sort of a casual fan before I saw his Musicology tour and then became a huge fan. Gone too soon obviously. He could have been an enormously important figure during these times as he was so far ahead of his time in the 80s.
Prince’s music left the biggest impression on me between 1984-1992. The nostalgia is strong and I’m happy he was part of the soundtrack for my childhood and early teens. He sparked something. When I entered high school, a wider musical world opened up, and I left Prince behind. He’s popped up again several times since then, and I’m always grateful for the reintroductions when they happen. It’s difficult to believe he’s been gone for nearly a decade. Listening to his entire discography never occurred to me, and frankly it doesn’t for many artists. A completist I’m not. I prefer buffet style listening. I respect the time and dedication it took for you two to give us this video. I’ve come to admire Joe’s colorful, descriptive language and Jason’s steadfast commitment to speaking honestly.
@@michelewiese48 Beautifully stated, Michele 💜
@@christianewen3227 Thank you ☺️ 💜
Joe should be nominated for a daytime Emmy for his facial expressions as Jason deals dirty from the bottom of the deck :) priceless
Well listened Joe. Gold Experience is fabulous. Great ears on this man. 😂😊❤ The interludes do spoil it a bit I think
Took me 3 nights to get thru. Great stuff both of you. Thank you. ❤
I only ever bought one of his albums and that was around the world in a day, I liked the single Paisley Park, the Album to my surprise was awesome. Not a fan but I like this record
Jason that really is a mental list but hey each to his own 😂
But kudos 2 to both of you. That’s a lot of music to listen to. Massive Prince fan but his output was so variable from genius to utter dross. As you guys said he needed a Producer to push him and filter out the crap and get a cohesive sound.
Brilliant, watched live last night . Had greatly anticipated you doing the Prince catalogue. I hope you do Manic Street Preachers someday - Blur, Oasis and Suede are there, time for Jason & Joe to delve into the Manicsworld!
so glad you liked Gold Experience Joe! One of the best rice albums for sure. I loved this. 319 is super cool.
Great job. Very interesting to get both opinions. I love every album aside from the NPG club releases. Lucky enough to see him several times in England. I give 4 and 5 stars to every release up to and including gold experience and come (two underrated albums)
1 purple rain, 2 1999, 3 sign of the times, 4 around the world, 5 dirty mind, 6 Gold experience, 7 Parade, 8 diamonds and pearls, 9 Batman, 10 controversy. Bob George also one of my guilty pleasures
Damn! 40 albums. 2 and 1/3 hours. Do I really wanna watch this, but can I actually resist? Either way, chapeau, boys. This is an achievement.
Great video guys. Really enjoyed a listography. Your founded opinions draw me in. Keep em coming
before watching, i already know purple rain is your no1, which is understandable, but i like the more intimate experience or sign o’ the times. i am curious about the 90s albums which I haven’t even heard yet cause I am a new fan, but a lot of fans love the gold experience from what i’ve seen
Well hell, I watched the whole damn video (I knew once I started I'd have to go all the way. That's the only way Prince would have it.) Glad I did though! Very entertaining.
Joe, with his completely rational, properly rated, mostly conventional but nonetheless insightful ranking and commentary.
And Jason! Yes! Unorthodox. Borderline blasphemous. But entertaining as hell and insightful too! I love that you have an appreciation for Jazz Prince. I've heard NEWS once and liked it. Now I need to revisit it.
I'm a hits-Prince fan and don't know much else from his catalog, but I got lots of great tips on where to dip in next from both of you. Well done! 👏
Good job fellas....I was going to suggest Prince....after lovesexy I tuned out
Fair play to you both.. huge task. Any chance you can do some more deep dive years? They are my favourite videos.
Yeah, slowly but surely trying to hit them all. 1974 is recorded. It’ll be out soon
So here's my ranking of all studio albums (non-compilation) that Prince made more than half of the songs on. Overkill? Yes indeed. From top to bottom:
★★: 64) Kamasutra. 63) Carmen Electra. 62) 20Ten. 61) MPLSound.
★★½: 60) May 19, 1992. 59) PlectrumElectrum. 58) Hit n Run Phase One. 57) For You. 56) Child of the Sun. 55) NEWS. 54) Sheila E. 52) Times Squared. 53) One Night Alone...
★★★: 51) Planet Earth. 50) The Voice. 49) Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. 48) Elixer. 47) Xpectation. 46) Time Waits for No One. 45) Come 2 My House. 44) Musicology. 43) Lotusflow3r. 42) 3121. 41) Diamonds and Pearls.
★★★½: 40) The Truth. 39) Exodus. 38) Newpower Soul. 37) Art Official Age. 36) Apollonia 6. 35) Madhouse 16. 34) Around the World in a Day. 33) Welcome 2 America. 32) Prince. 31) 1-800-NEW-FUNK. 30) Ice Cream Castle. 29) Chaos and Disorder. 28) Goldn***a. 27) Madhouse 8.
★★★★: 26) Romance 1600. 25) The Chocolate Invasion. 24) Graffiti Bridge. 23) Controversy. 22) The Black Album. 21) Hit n Run Phase Two. 20) Jill Jones. 19) Come. 18) Vanity 6. 17) The Slaughterhouse. 16) Emancipation. 15) The Time. 14) The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale. 13) Love Symbol Album. 12) Lovesexy. 11) The Rainbow Children. 10) The Glamorous Life.
★★★★½: 9) Batman. 8) What Time is It? 7) Parade. 6) The Family.
★★★★★: 5) Dirty Mind. 4) 1999. 3) The Gold Experience. 2) Sign 'o' the Times. 1) Purple Rain.
Purple Rain in my mind (just) edges out Rumours for the title of "Best album of all time".
My Top 10 Prince Albums
1. Purple Rain
2. Sign O The Times
3. Chaos and Disorder
4. 1999
5. Diamonds and Pearls
6. Musicology
7. Batman
8. Around the World in s Day
9. Rave Un 2 The Joy Fantastic
10. Hit n Run( phase 2 )
Have to repost my comment because of a weird edit.
Love the boldness in these rankings!! As a lifelong prince fan some of this was very painful ngl. But I appreciate the honesty. Can tell you guys gave his work a solid listen.
As for love symbol that’s hands down my fav P album of the 90’s. Parade and 1999 are in my top 3 Prince albums ever, behind SOTT.
Well listened Joe. Gold Experience is fabulous. Great ears on this man. 😂😊❤
Bravo, gentlemen on undertaking such a momentous discography with grace and honesty 👏
I thoroughly enjoyed what you both had to say - discovering your respective thoughts and feelings on The Purple One’s studio albums - and you have encouraged me to return to some of my all-time-fave Prince LPs 💜🙏
Sending best wishes from the UK,
Christian
@@christianewen3227 Hi Christian! Hope you’re well. Are you making a Prince songs list? 10 isn’t nearly enough.
@@michelewiese48 Hiya, Michele!
Lovely to hear from you and thank you so much for the good wishes 😊🙏
Wow, my top 10 of Prince songs? That’s so, so tough! I’d need some time to flesh the list out, but my number 1 is well and truly cemented - always has been, always will be. Care to guess what it might be?
@@christianewen3227 I’m gonna have to think about it…I know what your fave album is, but fave song is a wild card!
@@michelewiese48 Yes, I know you know what my fave album is - 😉 - but the song may prove to be a bit more of a challenge to guess… Take all the extra time you need, Michele!
@@christianewen3227 ⏲️😆
I would happily say that Prince as a recording artist was very spotty throughout his career, some stellar moments mixed with some average and poor stuff. However his live show was always unbelievably good, really showed his genius on the stage I believe. Guitar playing was fabulous, and then you just add all the other elements to his performances, band leading and choreography means he was the complete package as a live performer.
Sign of the Times is a stunning album. I must explore more of his discography; along with Bowie, the greatest musical chameleon of all, and equally charismatic.
It's taken me a while to truly absorb all this content and again super impressed by the monumental effort you put in . Initial reactions are that I'm more team Joe than team Jason . Not at all surprised by Number 1 .. but surprised by the love for Dirty Mind (will re-evaluate) .Also surprised by high showings for Musicolgy and Around the world in a Day. Shocked by low scores for Sign o The times, Love symbol and diamonds of Pearls from Jason.. but pleased that you both scored the under-rated Gold Experience ( in my Top 4). Ive combined your scores and positions .. wont bore anyone with the full list but your combined top 5 is 1) Purple Rain, 2 Dirty Mind, 3 4 and 5 ties 1999, Controvery and Prince, and the bottom five were Slaughterhouse, Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic Hit and Run 1 Artoficial age and Love symbol. . You did 3 more albums than I did so to tuly compare i need to do the two instrumental albums and the posthumous one which i tend not to do . I additionally did the B-sides aklbum from the hits the B sides which has some cracking tracks Shockadelica .. i Love you In Me etc . anyway you have given me some work to do lol x
wow well done guys. always loved your channel.. Prince is my fav artist by a mile.. waited for this for years. Its obvious from the beginning which of you likes prince. its ok.. its good to hear someone dismantle prince for once. I entirely disagree with one of you.. its extremely hard to rank a 40 album discography. you should have included the b-sides album 1993 which is a top 10 ranking. but thanks again for doing this
2:31 I've never understood how people can be upset or mad at another person's personal opinion. Music is subjective.
Great video, as usual, guys! I'd love the two of you to tackle the KISS discography (including the four solo albums some time).
welcome back Jason!
Prince: songs like I'm Yours, Bambi and Computer Blue are all standouts to me.
Is the water warm enough?
Yes, Lisa.
Shall we begin?
Yes, Lisa.
Computer Blue is awesome.
33:05 'I think this is the end of this channel' 😂
Happy you guys are stilll going been with your channel for awhile now. Im doing my own list with the band gong right now. Thought about doing prince next
We’re going to go foreverrrrrr. - Joe
Only half way through and am loving it…poor Joe 😢 made me laugh though after Jason’s review of Around the World in a Day!Very interesting take from Jason so far, yeah will be an interesting top ten. I kinda like that Jason is taking a different road so to speak. He will ofcourse back it up with his reasoning. Btw what an effort guys, that’s a lot of listening and noting and ranking. Great work 👌 Can’t wait for the second half!!!
What a massive discography! Impressive! Joe's list seems to make the most sense...
You should allow yourselfs to do a couple of shorter ones so you don't get burned out on Listography - or the channel. Some fun New Wave bands would be great.
Good to see my favourite Prince album - Dirty Mind - so high. Sign O The Times is an album i spend more time trying to like than actually liking.
Joe Nails it on Emancipation, disc 2 alone is top 5 of everything he's done. Other note, for me Parade was the hidden gem of the whole discography, lot of interesting mixes and production decisions on that one, good headphones album.
Can't wait to listen!!!!
I bought vanity 6 too lol. This was fun. Totally forgot about some prince stuff!
My top 5:
1. Purple Rain
2. Dirty Mind
3. Parade
4. Sign O’ the Times
5. Gold Experience
The Prince montreux 2009 live show has the rock and heavy guitar sound and opens with “when eye lay my hands on u” performed the way it should have been-with a building sexual tension as the song builds with guitar.
Jason, nice to hear you mention Candy Dulfer, she is a Dutch national treasure.
Wow, that was a lot. This was fun to watch. I've been buying Prince music off and on for the longest time and I guess I would say that I fall somewhere between Joe and Jason in my estimation. Probably most people do. Purple Rain was out and on the charts my first year in college. I have a memory of the dormitory I lived in where it seemed like the opening of "Let's Go Crazy" would begin in someone's room somewhere constantly. "Dearly beloved...." over and over again. Jason is correct that this is the one great album Prince made; but it is of course a five star affair. The others are all a mixed bag, some very good and others hardly listenable. Prince certainly suffers from producing too much music, and the guys are correct that occasional outside influence could have had a real positive impact on his music. I did get to see Prince once, on the Musicology tour. We were all handed copies of the CD walking in. The show was really amazing, sort of in three different and distinct parts, all of them great. Sadly he is gone, but lots of music is left behind.
Sign Of The Times is like the White Album, London Calling. Big swings and you love them for it.
Great lists! Sign o' the Times is Prince's last truly great album (and my personal favorite). Purple Rain and Dirty Mind are a close 2nd and 3rd.
My favorites are Sign O' the Times, 1999 and the often overlooked Around the World in a Day. Another one I truly enjoyed is The Rainbow Children, another album that's pretty divisive. I personally loved it. Could care less about all the Jehovah Witness stuff...still great.
I believe Parade is #2 (to #1 Purple Rain). Parade is interesting and unique. I love how Prince did not put any bass on Kiss and the record company didn't like that and Prince did not compromise and stuck to his guns and it became a #1 song. It is fascinating how Prince listened to the song and decided it didn't need any bass. Somehow he just knew, had that intuition. I guess that is part of the definition of genius. Nice ranking guys!
Jason loves "Eye Wanna Melt With U" but can't admit it.
Parade is his masterpiece and I wont hear otherwise tbh
I was expecting Jasons dislike of the 90s stuff and prepared for some odd choices but it still came as a shock to see SOTT that low (and Musicology that high). Other than that I enjoyed the analysis and great to see NEWS, Dirty Mind and 3121 high on your list
The labels blocked single release and videos from being released of any of the duets for the Rave album. Killing any momentum.
I enjoyed this. Do you guys think ya’ll can do a deep dive and ranking of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna or Bruce Springsteen’s discography ?
We did Bruce and Madonna already. We will get to MJ someday.
@ oh okay. Sorry for my innocent ignorance on the Bruce and Madonna (I’ll check those videos out)
Great ranking, guys! You all ever thought about doing a listography for The Black Keys?
Someday
@@TastesLikeMusic Would love Tom Petty from both you guys (only Jason did it before) and Van Morrison.
Too many subscriptions, so little time, I will say that when I watch an artist's video, TH-cam very often recommends one of these to go with it. So, the algorithm (or your "search engine optimizations) is working, I think..
I mean I watched a video of Barbara Eden dancing to "I Want To Put On My Dancing Shoes" twice -5 stars. And that autoplayed 2 songs later to Prince live doing "play that funky music white boy"
And when that ended, this popped up in my recommendations, so at least the search engine hasn't been corrupted by big money..
I had Purple Rain stuck in my car's cassette deck for the whole summer of '84. I would push the eject button on the pioneer super tuner, but Purple Rain wouldn't eject, so it got to where whatever the line that was going to be sung when I shut my car off would loop through my head all day at work and afterwards I would crank the car back up and already be singing about masturbating "in" a magazine.
I always check out you guy's bottom picks (it's how I discovered "North" by Elvis Costello, which is now the one album I would take on a space journey if I could only take one due to weight considerations, thanks Jason, I think it was, for bottoming that one out😊)
Yet I always thought there was something missing with Prince..a bass guitar on "When Doves Cry," or one key change in any of the 5,300 songs he wrote. Modulation, which Stevie Wonder does almost as a trademark, might have been too cerebral for Niles, who seemed to grove more from the crotch, and double down on "the feeling."
Imo, of course...
Well, I'm off to listen to your worst ranked one's.. Jason don't fail me now...
Not sure if it is considered unreleased or what but there's a CD Prince dropped called The Undertaker. It reminds me of 90s version of Band Of Gypsies. Killer stuff
You're awesome Jason, but could we have an edited video that is just Joe? 😂😂😂
My Top Ten Favorite Prince Songs
1. Let’s Go Crazy
2. Little Red Corvette
3. When Doves Cry
4. Peach
5. I Like It There
6. Alphabet St.
7. Rasberry Beret
8. Musicology
9. Fury
10. Money Don’t Matter 2 Nite
Really enjoyed this guys. Jason is obviously a product of his era, preferring Prince's most boring albums (Musicology and 3121) over the stylistic detours into other territory (Parade and second sides of Dirty Mind/Controversy). He's young and I can understand why those would be the choices of someone who didn't really live those 80's records. He is uber-unbiased (but doesn't seem to like late-80's keyboard sounds much), and I do respect that. I think Gold Experience and Come are the 2 albums that tend to be generally underrated, although now more people know Gold and seem to finally get it. That title track on Come is worth the album alone...10 minutes of such great horn arrangements, and Prince seems to find endless ideas from that groove (I love "Loose" too! Every time Prince does a crazy techno track...take note). I guess I was surprised Love Symbol didn't rate higher...a pretty great album with an amazing guitar track in "3 Chains of Gold". It's another wildly diverse tour de force. So much great music to explore and he is so dearly missed. There is so much more vault music left to be released...The estate needs to get more involved, but now his sister just died...
Jason doesn’t like funk, rap, r and b, jazz, or the 80s, so Prince not his fave. - Joe
It really comes through Ha! Nice sing list video too...Crucial rocks!
09/18/24 -- you guys ever ranked Grand Funk Railroad 's discography? I just got into your channel. Thanks
Not yet!
Hi, i've never been into Prince that much, i enjoyed the Kramz cameo, i'm curious about Jason decision of putting sign o'the times at 29, i've always heard it was one of his best, anyway, it is a personal list, i respect it
I've grown fond of your videos over the years
As I’ve stated previously ‘1999’ is his overall greatest work for me with ‘Around The World In A Day’ coming in a close 2nd, ‘Parade’ 3rd, ‘Dirty Mind’ 4th and ‘Sign Of The Times’ 5th, ‘Self Titled’ 6th, ‘Controversy’ 7th, ‘Lovesexy’ 8th, ‘Purple Rain’ 9th and ‘Diamonds & Pearls’ comes in 10th place…the debut ‘For You’ is just outside the top ten in 11th place
Did you guys happen to notice the color scheme of his first two and last two albums is exactly the same?
I agree with Jason. If Prince had an Achilles Heel when it came to writing songs I feel like it was the lyrics.
There’s not a single song he wrote in the lyrics with bad lyrics. - Joe
@@TastesLikeMusic It's just a dumb motherfucking piece of pie - Don't play me
Impressive.
I wish I could've heard what Kramzer would think.
I'm willing to bet he's a big fan. I'd set the over/under at top 30 on Kram's all-time list.
I think we all would!
Prince is in intriguing proposition.
He probably has at least 100 truly amazing songs - maybe more than anyone else in popular music - but he released SO MUCH music - a lot of which was mediocre - that it might be easy to forget that he was one of the greatest songwriters of all time.
I struggled to come up with a top 10 that I think is deserving. I’m not forgetting, he just isn’t. -Jason
@@TastesLikeMusic Jason, I respect you immensely, in part because you are the bravest person in the world of music criticism! Bravo sir!
The most unpredictable music taste on the internet! If I had thrown his records up into the air and based my prediction of your top 40 on where they landed on the floor, I think that would have been as accurate as any other method of trying to guess it! 😉😂👏
1 Prince - Sign 'O' the times 5
2 Prince And The Revolution - Purple Rain 5
3 Prince - Dirty Mind 5
4 Prince - 1999 4.5
5 Prince - Lovesexy 4.5
6 Prince And The Revolution - Around the world in a day 4.5
7 Prince And The Revolution - Parade 4.5
8 Prince - Prince 4
9 Prince - Controversy 4
10 TAFKAP - The Gold Experience 4
11 Prince - Batman OST 4
12 Prince - 3121 4
13 Prince & The NPG - Diamonds And Pearls 4/3.5
14 Prince - Graffiti Bridge 3.5
15 TAFKAP - Crystal ball 3.5
16 Prince - The Black Album 3.5
17 TAFKAP - Chaos and Disorder 3.5
18 Prince - Come 3.5
19 Prince - NEWS 3.5
20 Prince - Lotusflow3r 3.5 / MPLSound 2.5
21 Prince - ArtOfficialAge 3.5
22 Prince - Hit And Run 2 3.5
23 TAFKAP - Emancipation 3
24 Prince - For you 3
25 Prince & The NPG - Love Symbol 3
26 Prince - Planet Earth 3
27 Prince - Musicology 3
28 Prince - Hit And Run 1 3
29 Prince - Xpectation 3
30 TAFKAP- Rave in2 the joy fantastic 3
31 Prince - 20ten 2.5
32 Prince - Welcome 2 America 2.5
33 Prince - The vault: Old friends 2.5
34 Prince - The Truth 2.5
35 Prince - The Rainbow children 2.5
36 TAFKAP - Rave unto the joy fantastic 2.5
37 Prince - The slaughterhouse 2
38 Prince - The chocolate invasion 1.5
Prince written/produced/Paisley Park/NPG label:
1 The Family - '' 4.5
2 Jill Jones - '' 4
3 The Time - '' 4
4 The Time - What time is it 4
5 Madhouse - 16 4
6 Vanity 6 - '' 4/3.5
7 Apollonia 6 - '' 3.5
8 Sheila E - '' 3.5
9 Eric Leeds - Times squared 3.5
10 Mavis Staples - Time waits for no one 3.5
11 Madhouse - 8 3.5
12 The Time - Pandemonium 3.5
13 Chaka Khan - Come 2 my house 3
14 The Time - ICC 3
15 Ingrid Chavez - 1992 3
16 Sheila E - Sheila E 3
17 Mavis Staples - The voice 3/2.5
18 Sheila E - Romance 1600 2.5
Best Prince posthumous release :
Originals 4
Best Prince live :
Small Club Second Show That Night 5
(The Hague (NL) - Paard van Troje 1988)
Unofficial Soundboard Recording - is on Prince official TH-cam channel though
Prince is my alltime favorite artist ahead of Bowie, Roxy, The Stones.
I became a fan in 1988 after the broadcasted Lovesexy Dortmund show and bougth the album on cassette. Prior i had bought the Kiss and A love bizarre (Sheila E) singles in 1986 (i was 10 y/o)
Over the years I bought all the previous albums, maxis, protege acts and some bootlegs (inc The Black album, Im sorry)
I was very dissapointed with the 1992 Love symbol album (in my list of most anticipated and dissapointing albums along with Bowies Hours and NINs The Fragile)
I liked Come but by then i was more into alt rock, grunge and UK dance stuff
All the while i kept following him though and I loved that he was having hit albums again with Musicolgy and 3121 in the 00s.
Tbh, i'm not a huge fan of the post-Purple Rain albums (its decent stuff but not as great as everything late 70s-mid80s) but he is one of the most influential artists ever, here's my top 10:
10. Around the World in a Day
9. Parade
8. Batman
7. For You
6. Sign o' the Times
5. Controversy
4. Purple Rain
3. Dirty Mind
2. 1999
1. Prince
1. Purple Rain (1984) 5
2. Sign 'O' the Times (1987) 5
3. Dirty Mind (1980) 4.5
4. 1999 (1982) 4.5
5. Parade (1986) 4.5
6. Around the World in a Day (1985) 4
7. The Rainbow Children (2001) 4
8. 3121 (2006) 4
9. Love Symbol Album (1992) 4
10. Batman (1989) 4
11. Controversy (1981) 3.5
12. Diamonds & Pearls (1991) 3.5
13. Prince (1979) 3.5
14. The Gold Experience (1995) 3.5
15. Musicology (2004) 3.5
16. The Black Album (1994) 3.5
17. Lovesexy (1988) 3
18. For You (1978) 3
19. Come (1994) 3
20. Emancipation (1996) 3
21. LOtUSFLOW3R (2009) 3
22. MPLSound (2009) 3
23. HITnRUN Phase Two (2015) 3
24. Art Official Age (2014) 3
25. N•E•W•S (2003) 3
26. Crystal Ball (1998) 3
27. Welcome 2 America (2021) 3
28. Graffiti Bridge (1990) 2.5
29. Chaos & Disorder (1996) 2.5
30. Planet Earth (2007) 2.5
31. The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999) 2.5
32. The Truth (1998) 2.5
33. One Nite Alone... (2002) 2.5
34. The Chocolate Invasion (2004) 2.5
35. 20Ten (2010) 2.5
36. The Slaughterhouse (2004) 2.5
37. HITnRUN Phase One (2015) 2.5
38. Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999) 2
39. Xpectation (2003) 2
40. Plectrumelectrum (2014) 2
CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER:
3.0 For You (1978)
3.5 Prince (1979)
4.5 Dirty Mind (1980)
3.5 Controversy (1981)
4.5 1999 (1982)
5.0 Purple Rain (1984)
4.0 Around the World in a Day (1985)
4.5 Parade (1986)
5.0 Sign 'O' the Times (1987)
3.0 Lovesexy (1988)
4.0 Batman (1989)
2.5 Graffiti Bridge (1990)
3.5 Diamonds & Pearls (1991)
4.0 Love Symbol Album (1992)
3.0 Come (1994)
3.5 The Black Album (1994)
3.5 The Gold Experience (1995)
2.5 Chaos & Disorder (1996)
3.0 Emancipation (1996)
3.0 Crystal Ball (1998)
2.5 The Truth (1998)
2.5 The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)
2.0 Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
4.0 The Rainbow Children (2001)
2.5 One Nite Alone... (2002)
2.0 Xpectation (2003)
3.0 N•E•W•S (2003)
3.5 Musicology (2004)
2.5 The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
2.5 The Slaughterhouse (2004)
4.0 3121 (2006)
2.5 Planet Earth (2007)
3.0 LOtUSFLOW3R (2009)
3.0 MPLSound (2009)
2.5 20Ten (2010)
2.0 Plectrumelectrum (2014)
3.0 Art Official Age (2014)
2.5 HITnRUN Phase One (2015)
3.0 HITnRUN Phase Two (2015)
3.0 Welcome 2 America (2021)
Equal parts James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Sly Stone, and George Clinton, this musical polymath is one of the most self-contained artists who ever lived. Punk and indie rockers like to talk about DIY, well, Prince was the personification of DIY. Writing and producing all his own records, playing most (or all) of the instruments on many of them, and pioneering the Minneapolis sound, which had an impact on 1980s pop music that's hard to overstate.
Prince's debut, For You (1978), is pretty standard funk-tinged R&B, with "Soft & Wet" being the most memorable cut. His 1979 self-titled LP is where the pop song perfectionism he's known for first appears, especially in the form of "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "I Feel For You," and "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
1980's disco-meets-synth-pop Dirty Mind imparts the full glory of Prince's lust-filled brand of woman-worship. Almost every track sizzles. "When You Were Mine" is the most immediate of his early-career classics. Controversy (1981) is basically Dirty Mind's younger brother- less consistent but no less randy ("Do Me, Baby," "Jack U Off").
His commercial breakthrough came with the double album 1999 (from 1982). "Little Red Corvette" and the title track made sure of that, but "International Lover" and "D.M.S.R." are the album's secret weapons.
Purple Rain made Prince Rogers Nelson a household name in the summer of 1984. Everyone knows how great the hits are, but deep cuts like "Baby I'm a Star" and "The Beautiful Ones" are no less essential. I can still recall the day I (finally) realized there was no bass on "When Doves Cry"- blew my mind.
Purple Rain's psych-pop follow-up, Around the World in a Day (1985), is powered by one of the greatest singles of the 1980s, "Raspberry Beret,” as well as one of the most underrated, “Pop Life.” Prince has downplayed the idea that this album was a response to 1960s psychedelia but, to my ears, it definitely cops that vibe.
The holy triad of "Mountains," "Kiss," and "Sometimes it Snows in April" (from 1986's Parade) anticipates the wide-ranging ambition of 1987's double LP Sign 'O' the Times. I'm not head-over-heels in love with every last track on 'Sign,' but not many artists could pull off so many styles so effortlessly. Side 3 is perfection- "If I Was Your Girlfriend" might be the best relationship song of all-time.
After the relative critical and commercial disappointment of Lovesexy (1988), he ended the ‘80s on a high note with Batman (1989). Prince doing the soundtrack to a Tim Burton film is an odd juxtaposition, but it proved to be fruitful- "Batdance," "Partyman," and "The Arms of Orion" are Prince at his dance floor best.
Musically, the Love Symbol Album (1992) clocks in as his best LP of the 1990s (despite its inscrutable concept and cheesy rapping). It's buoyed by the boogie monster "Sexy MF," as well as the Middle Eastern influenced "7," which a lot of people consider his best song of the '90s. The silky smooth "Money Don't Matter 2 Night" is a personal favorite.
His much baleyhooed return to funk, The Black Album (recorded in '87 but released in '94), hits harder for the groovy playing than it does for the songwriting ("Cindy C" being the big exception). The rest of his output through the 1990s (when he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and became known simply as "The Artist") is pretty hit-and-miss. Most notable are 1995's The Gold Experience (mainly for "Shhh" and "Billy Jack B*tch") and 1996's Emancipation, which contains enough quality material to be a great single disc. However, as a 3-hour triple-LP extravaganza, Emancipation drags on way too long.
It's fitting that Prince's biggest mid-career reinvention came with his first album of the new millennium- The Rainbow Children (2001). If you can get past his weird narration voice that makes him sound like he's in the witness protection program, 'Rainbow' is a loose, jazzy return to form that rewards repeated listens. Cuts like "Everywhere" and "The Everlasting Now" prove he still had some juice left.
In terms of his mid-2000 albums, many people seem to prefer Musicology (2004) to 3121 (2006), but I'm the other way around. I find 3121 to be one of the most consistent LPs of his career. Musicology sort of peters out towards the end.
His albums from 2007 onwards are not awful, but they're also not that memorable. I don't think that era's production values meshed too well with Prince's style of writing and performance.
Prince was always maintaining his oversexed persona, which can make his lyrics a little one-dimensional at times. On the other hand, he deserves credit for tackling some important subjects, like poverty, AIDS, and police brutality. I love his guitar work, but if I had to pick only one aspect of his artistry to highlight, it'd be his incredibly versatile voice and wildly original phrasings.
I'd always been a fan of The Purple One, but my appreciation was elevated after I saw him on the Jam of the Year tour in 1997. Watching him run through classic after classic, while hopping between instruments and shredding every one of them, was a humbling experience.
For me, Prince doesn't get to 5 stars as often as some other classic artists, but he makes up for it with sheer volume. I have 16 of his albums rated 3.5 stars or better, and 27 rated 3 stars or better (and that doesn't include all the music he wrote for other artists). Even some of his forgettable albums contain a choice cut or two. His freestanding talent and old school work ethic make him one of the undeniable greats. In my book, he's the single best musician-songwriter in the pop/rock realm since 1980.
Still, I struggle with how high to put Prince on my all-time list, as I think there are quite a few artists who came before him who were more influential than he was. But it'll be hard to keep him out of my top 40, which is about as high as I go for anybody who made their mark in the 1980s or later.
MY RATING SYSTEM:
5.0 = major classic (consistently great *and* stratospheric highs)
4.5 = minor classic (consistently great *or* stratospheric highs, but not both)
4.0 = great (a clear majority is worth revisiting and it's one of the best things for this artist/style)
3.5 = seriously good (half of the album is worth revisiting)
3.0 = nominally good (less than half is worth revisiting)
2.5 = fair (competent but uninspired, not worth revisiting)
2.0 = poor (difficult listen)
1.5 = awful (can't finish it)
1.0 = historically awful (musical apocalypse)
▪︎ "Consistently" does not mean "flawlessly." I allow for a few duds if the rest of the songs are good enough. "Stratospheric highs" refer to albums that feature iconic songs or have an iconic sound. Albums I consider to be "perfect" can also reach 5 stars, even without containing legendary songs or being highly influential.
▪︎ I don't go below 1 star because once I'm in the realm of the truly terrible, I don't care to differentiate anymore.
▪︎ Anything I rate 3.5 stars or better is an album I'm enthusiastic about and would likely revisit at some point.
Batman above Controversy? And Rainbow Children above both? Hmmmmm
@@CanAlternateLostTape As has been discussed on this thread, Side 2 of Controversy kinda falls off a cliff. Both Batman and The Rainbow Children are more consistent to my ears.
@@AbbeyRoadkill1 it’s all just opinions of course, my opinion is that Let’s Work is a total Prince classic and I personally rate Private Joy and Annie Christian highly so side 2 of Controversy is A-Ok with me. I’ll grant you that Batman and Rainbow are more consistent….as in, consistently mediocre 😁
I'm going to read this later lol Thank you!
@CanAlternateLostTape Some people don't get jazz music, and that's okay.
Really amazing you became experts on so many catalogues.
I don’t know about experts, but we’ve heard them
Cool lists, was pleasantly surprised to see Graffiti Bridge so high for you both but confused at how weak the similar-but-better Love Symbol was, personally I think the latter is easily one of his top 10.
Way more rap and contemporary r and b on Love Symbol. - Joe
Sign o times at 29 whattttt the actual hell
This seemed like a perfect opportunity for Kram to jump in. Either way glad to see you guys doing listographies again
Technically he did make an appearance
Agree - even though Kram's musical taste often differed from mine, I miss his sharp observations and eloquent reviews of artists and albums. He should really be back on the channel!
He’s the one who quit so I’m not sure what you want us to do
@@TastesLikeMusic Not blaming. Still love the content. Just feels like he would've been the creamy middle to your guys' polar takes on a big artist like this.
This is the jam of the year 🎵🎶🎵🎶🎵
What are the best guitar rock albums by PRINCE
Purple Rain. Gold Experience. For You. - Joe
Excellent video gentlemen. Agreed for the most except I personally put Parade as #1 for me. A couple of questions.
1)Any plans to do one on MJ?
2)What happened to the other guy who used to be on the show(forgot his name)?
We will do MJ eventually. Kramzer quit. Just not enough time. - Joe
Top 10: 1) 1999 2) Purple Rain 3) Sign o' the Times 4) Art Official Age 5) Controversy 6)Around the World In a Day 7) Parade 8) Prince 9) Graffiti Bridge 10) Dirty Mind
Top 10:
1. Parade
2. Lovesexy
3.Purple Rain
4. Around the World
5. Dirty Mind
6. Sign of the times
7. Symbol
8. Controversy
9. 1999
10. Batman
Parade is the best Prince album yes.
@@cmonman3639 I agree. Its one helluva trip.
I think news is super underrated album im a huge fan of it
40 albums ... My interest in Prince has waned quite a bit after Sign of the Times and like most I got disinterested after Diamonds & Pearls. Over the past years I've been filling in on the full catalog but there's not much change to that initial appreciation.
Not going to publish my rank, just saying that SotT smashed all of us Gen X'ers when it came out, but nowadays Purple Rain carries the flag for me. Compared to the average rank, I probably rank Around ... higher, and Dirty Mind lower.
BTW, with 2 of you left, an averaged list is going to be affected a lot by (Jason's) outliers. You can't really say that Sign of the Times is your averaged 13th. It's one of Joe's favorites and Jason hates it.
Ending with a story: Sign of the Times, whether you like it or not, had Prince at the peak of his critical acclaim and popularity. At that point in time I would argue he was considered the greatest artist on earth. So, when his next album was about to come out, everyone was sitting on the edge of their chair to get ahold of it. This was pre-internet time. You either rushed to the shop to buy it, or radio stations had the first right and you would hear a single release or a sneak preview there. Anyway, the new album wasn't coming as expected and there was a lot of confusion about it. Soon enough, bootlegs were on the market. One friend of mine had a copy on cassette. We met "under the bridge" for an illegal transaction - lmao - that's how much of a vibe there was about it. The copy, a black cassette!!!, was "the black album". I listened to it and was even more confused. This was not the broad poprock palette that I was accustomed to. This was weird, impenetrable, noisy, sloppy ... even raw. But I immediately grew to love it, because of the secrecy, the lunacy, the excitement of it all. And when Prince finally follwed up with the lush "Lovesexy", I was somewhat disappointed. And it went downhill from there.
and thank you for ALL that, NO NOT really joking again!😂
I can’t explain why but after watching TLM for so long I just knew in my heart that Jason would place The Truth dead last LOL. ‘Don’t Play Me’ is a cool song though
Joe, I don't know if I'll ever get over the blasphemous things you said about Tom Waits, but you came a long way toward making up for it this week. When I found myself being critical of you guys' rankings, I asked myself how I would rank these things and know that I couldn't possibly settle on one. Here's my stab at a top 10.
Jason, I'll give those instrumental jazz albums another day in court.
10. Art Official Age
9. (The Love Symbol)
8. The Gold Experience
7. Come
6. The Black Album (mostly side 2)
5. Around the World in a Day
4. Parade
3. Lovesexy
2. Purple Rain
1. Sign O the Times
boy do I not agree with Sign O The Times. Probably one of my two favorite Prince albums a 5 star for sure.
I can listen to The black Album as I bought the CD when it was released back in 1994.