Here are EW’s picks for the best of the best.
It’s tough to weigh the catalog of the Purple One.
But it all began with his first record, 1978’sFor You.
Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
92 on theBillboardHot 100 in late-1978 but it established his knack for groove and melody out of the gate.
It worked, the song cracked theBillboardHot 100’s top 40 and topped the R&B singles chart.
“Little Red Corvette”(1983)
Sex is like a ride in a limousine!
Sex is like horse racing!
1 hit with the lead single from his opusPurple Rain.
1, but it didn’t take long for him to earn his second.
Madonna, “Love Song” ft.
Even his delicate harmonies can suck the air out of a song.
His soaring, playful reimagining of the iconicBatmantheme hit No.
Campbell would use the Prince-penned song on his platinum-selling debut the next year.
“Cream”(1991)
Prince scored his final No.
in a computerized drawl.
“The Work, pt.
At the turn of the century, he releasedThe Rainbow Children,and, in “pt.
It includes one of his most sultry songs, the bossa nova-inspired “Te Amo Corazon.”
Even at 57, he sounded just as vital as when he burst on the scene.
