Prince Rogers Nelson quietly celebrated his 50th birthday over the weekend by having a cocktail with friends, going for a casual stroll down Hollywood Blvd., and meeting up with some lady friends at a Los Angeles hot spot. In contrast, we blasted all of the Minneapolis funk icon’s albums from beginning to end, had a movie marathon that started fabulously with Purple Rain and ended with the not-so-hot Graffiti Bridge, and wore lots of purple and lace–all so we could come up with this definitive list of 50 things we love and hate about him.
The 5 Classic Albums
Purple Rain (1984)
Sign O’ The Times (1987)
1999 (1982)
Dirty Mind (1980)
Parade (1986)
. . . and The 10 To Avoid
N.E.W.S. (2002)
Come (1994)
The Rainbow Children (2001)
Chaos and Disorder (1996)
New Power Soul (1998)
Crystal Ball (1997)
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (1999)
The Gold Experience (1995)
Musicology (2004)
Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
The 10 Essential Downloads
“When Doves Cry”
“Let’s Go Crazy”
“Purple Rain”
“1999″
“Little Red Corvette”
“I Would Die 4 U”
“Erotic City”
“Sexy M.F.”
“Kiss”
“U Got The Look”
. . . And 5 To Skip
“Cream”
“Gett Off”
“Adore”
“Uptown”
“Do Me, Baby”
The 10 Best Prince Sidekicks, Associates and Men in Surgical Masks
The Time
Sheila E.
Wendy and Lisa
Apollonia
Vanity 6
The Family
Mazarati
Maceo Parker
Chaka Khan
Doctor Fink
The 5 Best Prince Covers
“Nothing Compares 2 U by “Sinead O’Connor
“Manic Monday” by The Bangles
“Darling Nikki” by Foo Fighters
“Kiss” by Tom Jones with Art of Noise
“I Feel For You” by Chaka Khan
His 5 Best Career Comeback Moments
- Topping the pop charts with the 3-million-selling 1999 album after getting pelted off the stage while opening for the Rolling Stones
- Winning over the critics with the double-album Sign O’ The Times following Under The Cherry Moon’s box office bomb
- Getting admitted into the Rock ‘N’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, after a decade of putting out unlistenable muzak albums
- Winning over a new generation of fans with his Super Bowl halftime spectacular shortly after giving away his most recent album, Planet Earth, in a British newspaper
- Playing a 21-night residency at London’s O2 Arena with Amy Winehouse and Elton John