# If you had to pick one Prince album... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 26, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215 "2016-04-26T20:52:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/1 "2016-04-26T20:52:23Z")
I know, another Prince thread. But in reading the other threads two things occurred to me 1. Prince has a vast catalog that extends well beyond his hits, and if you are only familiar with the hits you don’t know his music very well. With full disclosure I would place myself in this category. I maybe have a little more familiarity with non hits, but they are all from the Dirty Mind or 1999, because those were the two albums I actually owned. Beyond that I only know the hits. 2. unless you have a subscription to Tidal it is now cost prohibitive to go out and get familiar with his catalog. So, that being said. If you had to pick one album that was the most representative of who Prince was as a musician, what would it be? No cheating and picking 2 or 3. I will allow one traditional album and a seperate compilation album, but only because I know Prince was against the modern push toward music being consumed as songs rather than albums. Remember this is not your favorite, that’s another thread :D. This is the one album you would give to someone who said that they were sort of familiar with Prince, but wanted to find out more what he was all about outside the hits. Someone who doesn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars buying albums only to find out he doesn’t like the music. I’m curious to see if a consensus develops quickly. I would pick 1999 personally but I’m not the best judge. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/2 "2016-04-26T21:02:24Z")
Prince made albums that had inner consistency, so you can’t find one album that would give someone a complete picture of his music. But I’ll be surprised if the consensus isn’t _ **Sign o’ the Times** _. It has songs with varied styles, a few hits, songs that could have been hits, and songs that would never be radio hits but are still brilliant. Take a look at some of the critical response to it from the [Wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sign_o%27_the_Times#Reception). ---
**Author:** ![NAF1138](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naf1138/32/3245_2.png) [@NAF1138](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NAF1138)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/3 "2016-04-26T21:05:36Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Prince made albums that had inner consistency, so you can’t find one album that would give someone a complete picture of his music. I’m weird, but that’s sort of why I thought this would be fun. What I think of as fun may not be fun for everyone though, which I why I gave the out of also allowing a good compilation album (though I think that’s less fun). ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/4 "2016-04-26T21:55:01Z")
I like the symbol album, aside from the silly dialogues with Kirstie Alley, as a showcase. I’m not sure why those ever became a trend in pop CDs. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/5 "2016-04-26T22:20:05Z")
It may not qualify because if you get it on CD, its a boxed set - and some of the songs are edited, so if you were a huge Prince fan with unlimited cash it wouldn’t be a good bet, but The Hits/ The B-Sides get you an overview of the first fifteen years. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/6 "2016-04-27T16:45:52Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > It may not qualify because if you get it on CD, its a boxed set - and some of the songs are edited, so if you were a huge Prince fan with unlimited cash it wouldn’t be a good bet, but The Hits/ The B-Sides get you an overview of the first fifteen years. I am a **Sign o’ The Times** guy. But yeah, the Hits/B-sides has How Come You Don’t Call me Anymore, 17 Days, She’s Always In my Hair…so good. Dirty Mind for what it represents and how damn listenable it is. So many more… ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/7 "2016-04-27T17:28:18Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > It may not qualify because if you get it on CD, its a boxed set - and some of the songs are edited, so if you were a huge Prince fan with unlimited cash it wouldn’t be a good bet, but The Hits/ The B-Sides get you an overview of the first fifteen years. _Ultimate Prince_ has fewer tracks, but it covers the same highest-radio-peaks, and more importantly it has the 12" mixes of several songs. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2016, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/8 "2016-04-27T17:59:02Z")
Of the work I am familiar with, it’s hard not to go with **Sign O’ The Times.** ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/9 "2016-04-28T03:18:17Z")
I’d like to see his photo album. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2016, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-pick-one-prince-album/753215/10 "2016-04-28T03:20:34Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > I’d like to see his photo album. I want to change my answer now.