Prince albums discography

Prince albums discography
Studio albums	42
Live albums	5
Compilation albums	9
Video albums	17
EPs	13
Special editions	6
Posthumous albums	3
Internet albums	13
Madhouse albums	2
New Power Generation albums	3
NPG Orchestra albums	1

Prince's albums discography consists of 42 studio albums (including four soundtrack albums), four live albums, nine compilation albums (including one soundtrack album), 17 video albums and three posthumous albums. See Prince singles discography for his singles and extended plays, and Prince videography for his music videos and video albums.

Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide,^[1] including 36.5 million certified units in the United States, and over 10 million records in the United Kingdom. Rolling Stone ranked him at No. 27 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.^[2]

Overview[]

Prince's music career began when he signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1977 at 18 years of age. In 1978, he released his debut album, For You. He followed the release with Prince (1979), Dirty Mind (1980), and Controversy (1981), three albums that were certified platinum and shifted from For You's disco/soul route and instead blended New Wave, rock, pop, R&B, and funk, building up his success.

His 1982 album 1999, credited for being an enormous influence on the next few decades of dance, electro, house, and techno music,^[3] sold over six million copies worldwide and became the fifth best-selling album of 1983.

The next album, Purple Rain, the first of three credited to Prince and The Revolution, was the 1984 soundtrack to his film-debut of the same name. In a runaway phenomenon of success, it sold over 22 million copies around the world and at one point, Prince had the number-one song, album, and film in the United States, a feat matching The Beatles' 1964 achievement with A Hard Day's Night. Soon tiring of the project's enormous success and consequent over-exposure, he and the band recorded throughout touring and planned a change of image and musical direction by means of a quick follow-up. 1985's Around the World in a Day released within a year of its predecessor and days after the lucrative Purple Rain tour was curtailed, had no lead single nor advance promotion. It inaugurated his own Paisley Park record label, and eschewing Purple Rain's rock and metal elements, headed off into psychedelic influences and instrumentation.

Prince and The Revolution continued multi-platinum success with the soundtrack to his second movie Under the Cherry Moon, 1986's Parade. It showed further expansion of his musical palette, in ongoing collaboration with band members Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman and composer Clare Fischer. The film and album brought into play Broadway-style orchestration and French-influenced chanson arrangements but, like its predecessors, it also included tracks written, performed and produced entirely solo by Prince.

Following disputes about musical direction and a new style of presentation with an expanded 'soul-revue' flavor, Prince disbanded The Revolution at the end of the tour.

He resumed a solo career with 1987's Sign o' the Times, an experimental double album, which topped several critic end-of-year polls and was Grammy nominated for Album of the Year. The album's projected tour would largely be cancelled as Prince concentrated on developing the acclaimed concert film of the same name, filming in Europe and at his new Paisley Park facility in Chanhassen.

An untitled follow-up (eventually known as The Black Album), promotional copies of which were distributed before it was cancelled, became the most bootlegged album in the history of the music business to date. After a period in which he'd seemed more accessible and grounded, it also restored earlier enigma.

1988's Lovesexy (his first UK number-one record) built further on his mystique while recycling one of the Black Album tracks. During its subsequent tour, under some financial pressure, he suddenly became involved with production for a highly anticipated forthcoming Warner Bros. film production directed by Tim Burton, writing and producing songs for its soundtrack. His Batman album, inspired by the movie, ended his decade by selling 11 million copies worldwide as one of two soundtracks to Batman, the biggest-grossing movie in cinema history to that date.

Prince entered the 1990s with the soundtrack to his fourth movie, Graffiti Bridge. Its moderate success was dwarfed by his 1991 album Diamonds and Pearls which, mixing elements of new jack swing, R&B, jazz-soul, and hip hop and introducing his new band The New Power Generation, spawned several huge hit singles. In its wake, Prince signed what was touted as the biggest deal in music history, worth a reported $100m. However, after his 1992 follow-up, the Love Symbol Album, only scraped the five million copies he needed to advantage himself under the deal, he began to become dissatisfied with his record company, fearing they hadn't adequately promoted it, perhaps to disadvantage his side of the deal. Warner countered with requests for him to slow down on delivery of new projects and extend their term of promotion, a request denied by Prince. It was the beginning of a dispute which mushroomed rapidly.

By 1993, Prince had changed his name to an un-pronounceable symbol in order to escape the terms of his contract as the Warner-owned product, 'Prince'. He began demanding faster release by Warner of more projects than they were prepared to promote. In a growing effort to eject himself from his contract, his demands increased further to include ownership of his master recordings and he notoriously began to refer to himself as a 'Slave' to the company, wearing this word on his face in public and in negotiation with the label with resultant public embarrassment for both Warner's public image and his own. He also began to pursue erratic and unconventional promotional methods for his projects, whether under aliases or as part of projects by his band, now being planned under the auspices of a new label, NPG Records which Prince increasingly operated as if an independent venture using Warner as distributor.

In return for co-operating with Warner's The Hits/The B-Sides compilation albums, Prince, under his new name, was granted the opportunity to trial-release independently of Warner on his NPG imprint using an external distributor and label. The one-off experiment, his single "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World", might have demonstrated that he needed the clout of Warner Bros. for continued success but the single instead became an international smash, his first UK number one single, and wrangles between the parties continued with Warner Bros. gradually coming round to the idea of ending their arrangement.

To this end, Warner released several 'Prince' albums in quick succession, including Come and the first official release of his funk 'bootleg' The Black Album in 1994. The rock-influenced The Gold Experience had been planned by Prince for release under his new name in competition with Warner's 'Prince' products but it was delayed by the label until 1995, losing the momentum of its hit single. By 1996, his sales were at a fraction of what they had been prior to the dispute and the final new album he delivered to the label, 1996's Chaos and Disorder, saw his lowest chart performance since 1980.

Prince then began an independent career, licensing to record companies on limited deals or self-distributing via a succession of online operations. The first project, Emancipation was a 3-LP set licensed to EMI later in 1996. He continued with a bootleg-style collection of outtakes, Crystal Ball, which sold initially via his website in 1998. Now taking 100% of retail minus costs, Prince found even reduced sales to be much more profitable than at his commercial peak with Purple Rain under his prior percentage deal with Warner. As news of his achievement began to circulate in the changing music industry, Prince's reputation and influence began to recover as his prior struggles were vindicated. His innovation was later rewarded when he received a Webby award, the first recognition of his stance against major record companies as prescient of changes to come later in the industry as a whole and of his own online retailing as visionary and pioneering.

In the meantime, Prince was not advantaged by being ahead of the times. The poppy Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic in 1999, under a one-off deal with Arista Records, failed to deliver an anticipated return to former mainstream chart success. In 2001, while Warner released another successful compilation The Very Best of Prince and now using his birth name again, put out the critically successful jazz-influenced album The Rainbow Children but it struggled to achieve more than cursory media attention and saw poor sales. A solo piano album One Night Alone, sold again via his online operation, gave its name under slight variation to his first live set, the box set One Nite Alone...Live, which saw the big hits of his past redeveloped in the jazz mode of The Rainbow Children alongside many of its tracks in live form.

Adapting to low-sales profitability and developing his hardcore fanbase, now in close contact with his online business Prince, during the early part of the new century, was releasing much more low-key albums via his websites developing a prescient subscription-model for user music purchases.

He was also optimising and downsizing his touring setup and taking much closer involvement with its administration and management which involved minimal contractual involvements and more spontaneous campaigning on promotion and live appearances. A major mainstream 'comeback' soon followed with 2004's Musicology tour, whose album garnered five Grammy nominations and, availing of a loophole (closed behind him), in chart regulations, embedded album sales within ticket sales for the tour which were among the strongest of that year. The result that the album peaked within the Billboard top 3.

These cutting-edge promotional tactics were extremely effective in restoring Prince rapidly to the commercial high ground, and 3121 (2006), became his first album to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The follow-up, Planet Earth (2007), licensed to record companies for the world was suddenly given away free as a cover-mount on a British newspaper, a very profitable exercise for Prince, particularly as in addition to providing an income from the paper equivalent to high sales, it also served to launch and promote a record-breaking single-venue booking in London, his 21 Nights residency at the Millennium Dome. Its follow-on live album Indigo Nights (2008), a collection of aftershow performances at the venue, was marketed within an expensive coffee-table book.

The three-disc 2009 set Lotusflow3r sold very well via the Target retailer in the US again seeing the inside of the top three in the Billboard 200. A further British newspaper cover-mount deal distributed 20Ten in 2010 although the exercise had reduced impact on the second outing and critical reception was poor. It was with the solo album Art Official Age and his new band 3rdeyegirl's debut Plectrumelectrum in 2014, that Prince finally returned to critical favour and headlines following the dynamic and spontaneous HitnRun tour which took London's media by storm and gave its name to the band's next album Hit n Run Phase One. First released exclusively on the new Tidal streaming service on September 7, 2015^[4][5][6] before being released on CD on September 15, 2015, by NPG Records.^[7][8] His final album before his death, Hit n Run Phase Two, was released on December 11, 2015, also through Tidal.

In the weeks following his death in April 2016, 19 different Prince albums charted on the Billboard 200 all at the same time, and he became the first and only artist ever to have 5 albums in the Billboard top 10 simultaneously.^[9]

Studio albums[]

Year	Album	Peak chart positions											Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US [10]	AUS [11]	AUT [12]	CAN [13]	GER [14]	NLD [15]	NOR [16]	NZ [17]	SWE [18]	SWI [19]	UK [20]
1978	For You Released: April 7, 1978 Label: Warner Bros.	138	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	156
1979	Prince Released: October 19, 1979 Label: Warner Bros.	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	92	—	RIAA: Platinum[21] BPI: Silver[22]
1980	Dirty Mind Released: October 8, 1980 Label: Warner Bros.	45	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	79	61	RIAA: Gold[21]
1981	Controversy Released: October 14, 1981 Label: Warner Bros.	21	55	—	—	—	50	—	—	—	—	—	RIAA: Platinum[21] BPI: Gold[22]
1982	1999 [A] Released: October 27, 1982 Label: Warner Bros.	7	35	—	23 [23]	37	45	—	6	—	26	28	RIAA: 4× Platinum[21] BPI: Platinum[22] MC: Platinum[24]
1984	Purple Rain [A] Released: June 25, 1984 Label: Warner Bros.	1	1	8	1 [25]	5	1	4	2	3	7	4	RIAA: Diamond (13× Platinum)[21] ARIA: 3× Platinum[26] BPI: 2× Platinum[22] MC: 6× Platinum[24]
1985	Around the World in a Day [A] Released: April 22, 1985 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	1	12	7	16 [27]	10	1	10	16	1	8	5	RIAA: 2× Platinum[21] BPI: Gold[22]
1986	Parade [A] Released: March 31, 1986 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	3	8	7	11 [28]	6	1	10	7	5	2	4	RIAA: Platinum[21] BPI: Platinum[22]
1987	Sign o' the Times Released: March 30, 1987 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	6	20	2	27 [29]	3	2	3	6	6	1	4	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: Gold[30] BPI: Platinum[22] MC: 4× Platinum[24]
1988	Lovesexy Released: May 10, 1988 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	11	8	3	7 [31]	4	1	2	1	1	1	1	RIAA: Gold[21] BPI: Platinum[22]
1989	Batman Released: June 20, 1989 Label: Warner Bros.	1	4	3	1	3	1	2	4	2	1	1	RIAA: 2× Platinum[21] BPI: Platinum[22]
1990	Graffiti Bridge Released: August 20, 1990 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	6	10	8	22 [32]	4	4	2	3	7	2	1	RIAA: Gold[21] BPI: Gold[22] MC: Gold[24]
1991	Diamonds and Pearls [B] Released: October 1, 1991 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	3	1	4	8 [33]	8	6	5	5	8	3	2	RIAA: 2× Platinum[21] ARIA: 4× Platinum[26] BPI: 3× Platinum[22] MC: 2× Platinum[24]
1992	Love Symbol[34] [B] Released: October 13, 1992 Label: Paisley Park, Warner Bros.	5	1	1	16 [35]	5	6	10	4	10	4	1	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: Platinum[26] BPI: Platinum[22]
1994	Come Released: August 16, 1994 Label: Warner Bros.	15	2	4	34 [36]	9	4	7	16	7	4	1	RIAA: Gold[21] BPI: Gold[22]
	The Black Album Released: November 22, 1994 Label: Warner Bros.	47	15	7	48 [37]	49	35	—	—	—	8	36
1995	The Gold Experience Released: September 26, 1995 Label: NPG, Warner Bros.	6	13	28	35 [38]	24	3	12	—	11	7	4	RIAA: Gold[21] BPI: Gold[22]
1996	Chaos and Disorder Released: July 9, 1996 Label: Warner Bros.	26	54	17	43 [39]	42	8	15	—	32	21	14
	Emancipation Released: November 19, 1996 Label: NPG, EMI	11	8	13	24 [40]	21	13	27	22	22	1	18	RIAA: 2× Platinum[21] MC: Platinum[24]
1998	Crystal Ball Released: January 29, 1998 Label: NPG Initially released as a limited edition 5-CD box set together with The Truth and Kamasutra by the NPG Orchestra and a 4-CD box set together with The Truth.	62	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	The Truth Released: January 29, 1998 Label: NPG Initially released as a limited edition 5-CD box set together with Crystal Ball and Kamasutra by the NPG Orchestra and a 4-CD box set together with Crystal ball.	62 (1998) 64 (2021)	—	—	—	—	31 (2021)	—	—	—	—	—
1999	The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale Released: August 24, 1999 Label: Warner Bros.	85	—	40	—	44	15	—	—	—	21	47
	Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic Released: November 2, 1999 Label: NPG, Arista	18	82	44	5 [41]	42	17	37	—	51	19	145	RIAA: Gold[21]
2001	The Rainbow Children Released: November 20, 2001 Label: NPG, Redline Entertainment	109	—	60	—	29	28	—	—	—	30	—
2002	One Nite Alone... Released: May 14, 2002 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	Xpectation Released: January 1, 2003 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	N·E·W·S Released: May 26, 2003 Label: NPG, MP Media	—	—	—	—	93	83	—	—	—	—	—
2004	Musicology Released: March 27, 2004 Label: NPG, Columbia	3	19	4	11	4	3	2	25	6	2	3	RIAA: 2× Platinum[21] BPI: Gold[22] MC: Gold[24]
	The Chocolate Invasion Released: March 29, 2004 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	The Slaughterhouse Released: March 29, 2004 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	3121 Released: March 21, 2006 Label: NPG, Universal	1	18	15	9	4	3	5	—	18	1	9	RIAA: Gold[21] BPI: Silver[22]
2007	Planet Earth Released: July 24, 2007 Label: NPG, Columbia	3	38	11	17	7	3	9	—	35	1	—
2009	Lotusflow3r / MPLSound Released: March 29, 2009 Label: NPG Released as a 3-CD set together with Elixer by Bria Valente	2	—	—	—	—	23	—	—	—	—	—
2010	20Ten Released: July 10, 2010 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	Plectrumelectrum [C] Released: September 26, 2014 Label: NPG, Warner Bros.	8	33	10	—	31	9	8	31	50	8	11
	Art Official Age [C] Released: September 26, 2014 Label: NPG, Warner Bros.	5	15	8	21	18	4	2	17	9	4	8
2015	HITnRUN Phase One Released: September 7, 2015 Label: NPG	48	25	53	—	53	11	—	—	—	27	50
	HITnRUN Phase Two Released: December 12, 2015 Label: NPG	40	117	20	47	21	38	—	—	50	9	21

A^ With The Revolution

B^ With The New Power Generation

C^ With 3rdeyegirl

Posthumous albums[]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [10]	AUS [11]	AUT [12]	CAN [13]	GER [14]	NLD [15]	NOR [16]	SWE [18]	SWI [19]	UK [20][42]
2018	Piano and a Microphone 1983 Released: September 21, 2018 Label: NPG / Warner Bros. Note: Compilation Album	11	33	10	87	12	5	18	22	6	12
2019	Originals Released: June 7, 2019[43] Label: NPG / Warner Bros. Note: Compilation Album	15	18	34	66	26	11	—	54	9	21
2021	Welcome 2 America Released: July 30, 2021[44] Label: NPG / Legacy Note: Studio Album	4	5	3	26	3	2	39 [45]	53 [46]	2	5

Live albums[]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		GER [14]	NLD [15]	SWI [19]
2002	One Nite Alone... Live! Released: December 17, 2002 Label: NPG Records	58	—	36
2004	C-Note Released: March 29, 2004 Label: NPG Records	—	—	—
2008	Indigo Nights Released: September 30, 2008 Label: NPG Records	—	—	—
2020	Prince and the Revolution: Live Released: May 15, 2020[47] Label: Warner Bros.	—	—	—
Up All Nite with Prince: The One Nite Alone Collection Released: May 29, 2020[48] Label: NPG Records / Legacy	30	38	61

Special editions[]

This section contains remix albums, mixtapes and premium/special (expanded) editions from previously released albums.

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [10]	AUT [12]	NLD [15]	SWI [19]	UK [42]
1995	The Versace Experience: Prelude 2 Gold Released: July 8, 1995 (limited edition cassette) Re-released: April 13, 2019 (limited edition cassette) Re-released: September 13, 2019 (all other formats) Label: NPG / Legacy	170	50	29	30	83
2001	Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic Released: April 29, 2001[49] Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—
2017	Purple Rain: Deluxe / Deluxe Expanded Released: June 23, 2017 Label: Warner Bros.	4	9	3	12	7
2019	Ultimate Rave Released: April 26, 2019[50] Label: Legacy	—	—	85	—	—
	1999: Remastered / Deluxe / Super Deluxe Released: November 27, 2019[51] Label: Warner Bros.	45	72	15	26	46
2020	Sign o' the Times: Remastered / Deluxe / Super Deluxe Released: September 25, 2020[52] Label: Warner Bros.	20	—	2	3	7

Compilation albums[]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions											Certifications (sales thresholds)
		US [10]	AUS [11]	AUT [12]	CAN [13]	GER [14]	NLD [15]	NOR [16]	NZ [17]	SWE [18]	SWI [19]	UK [20]
1985	His Majesty's Pop Life Released: Late 1985 (Japan only promotional copy) Re-released: April 13, 2019 Label: Paisley Park / Warner Bros.	184 (2019)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	The Hits 1 Released: September 14, 1993 Label: Warner Bros.	46	19	7	34	20	14	15	12	10	22	5	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: Platinum[26] BPI: Platinum[22]
	The Hits 2 Released: September 14, 1993 Label: Warner Bros.	54	20	9	36	19	15	14	8	6	10	5	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: Gold[26] BPI: Platinum[22]
	The Hits/The B-Sides Released: September 14, 1993 Label: Warner Bros.	4	4	—	67 [53]	58	10	11	1 [54]	19	9	4	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: 2× Platinum[55] BPI: Gold[22] RMNZ: Platinum[56]
1996	Girl 6 Released: March 19, 1996 Label: Warner Bros.	75	—	—	—	—	83	—	—	—	—	—
2001	The Very Best of Prince Released: July 31, 2001 Label: Warner Bros.	1	2	5	1	5	3	2	1	4	1	2	RIAA: Platinum[21] ARIA: 2× Platinum[26] BPI: 2× Platinum[22] MC: Gold[24] RMNZ: Platinum[56]
2006	Ultimate Prince Released: August 22, 2006 Label: Warner Bros.	6	6	22	22	19	39	10	3	7	9	3	BPI: Platinum[22] RMNZ: Platinum[56]
2016	4Ever Released: November 22, 2016 Label: NPG / Warner Bros.	33	36	64	40	87	10	—	—	—	21	21	BPI: Gold[22]
2018	Anthology: 1995–2010 Released: August 17, 2018[57] Label: NPG / Legacy	—	—	—	—	—	197	—	—	—	100	—

Internet albums[]

This section lists albums that have only been made available for download on the internet.

Year	Album details
2001	NPG Music Club Volume 1 Released: February 18, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 2 Released: March 22, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 3 Released: April 22, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 4 Released: May 15, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 5 Released: June 11, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 6 Released: July 7, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 7 Released: August 28, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 8 Released: August 28, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 9 Released: October 16, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 10 Released: November 15, 2001 Label: NPG
	NPG Music Club Volume 11 Released: December 15, 2001 Label: NPG
2002	NPG Music Club Volume 12 Released: January 17, 2002 Label: NPG
2009	Lotusflow3r (download version including "The Morning After" replacing "Crimson and Clover") Released: March 24, 2009 Label: NPG

Albums credited to Madhouse[]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [10]
1987	8 Released: January 21, 1987 Label: Paisley Park	107
1987	16 Released: November 18, 1987 Label: Paisley Park	—

Albums credited to The New Power Generation[]

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [10]	AUS [11]	AUT [12]	GER [14]	NLD [15]	NOR [16]	SWE [18]	SWI [19]	UK [20]
1993	Goldnigga Released: August 31, 1993 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	Exodus Released: March 27, 1995 Label: NPG	—	—	—	—	31	—	—	34	11
1998	Newpower Soul Released: June 30, 1998 Label: NPG Also released as a 3 cd box together with Chaka Khan's Come 2 My House and Graham Central Station's GCS 2000	22	47	24	34	23	40	57	22	38

Albums credited to The NPG Orchestra[]

Year	Album details
1997	Kamasutra Released: February 14, 1997 (limited edition cassette)[58] Released: January 29, 1998 (limited edition CD as part of the 5-CD box set Crystal Ball / The Truth / Kamasutra) Label: NPG

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Nilsen, Per; Joozt Mattheij (2004). The Vault – The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince. Uptown. ISBN 91-631-5482-X.

External links[]

• Guide2Prince Worldwide Prince discography
• Review of Prince's albums
• Prince albums discography discography at Discogs
• The Digital Garden List of unofficial Prince recordings