The best Prince songs
The top 3 according to 1,479 votes from people: Purple Rain · When Doves Cry · 1999. (Updated Sep 8, 2023.)
Purple Rain, When Doves Cry and the rest of the Purple One's greatest songs, as ranked by fans and critics.
Top 17
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1
Purple Rain
1984. The epic ballad and its endless guitar solo.
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2
When Doves Cry
1984. A number one with no bass line at all.
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3
1999
1982. The party at the end of the world.
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4
Little Red Corvette
1983. His first big crossover hit.
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5
Let's Go Crazy
1984. The sermon that opens Purple Rain.
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6
Nothing Compares 2 U
1990. Written by him, made huge by Sinéad O'Connor.
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7
Sign o' the Times
1987. A bleak news report over a drum machine.
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8
Raspberry Beret
1985. Psychedelic pop with strings.
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9
Kiss
1986. Minimal funk in falsetto.
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10
Gold
1995. A late-career anthem fans love.
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11
Adore
1987. A slow jam many call his best.
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12
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
1994. His biggest hit of the nineties.
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13
I Would Die 4 U
1984. Fast synth-pop from Purple Rain.
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14
I Wanna Be Your Lover
1979. The early falsetto disco hit.
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15
Cream
1991. A glam-funk number one.
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16
If I Was Your Girlfriend
1987. One of his strangest experiments.
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17
Diamonds and Pearls
1991. A lush ballad with Rosie Gaines.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (46)
miss him every day
same. 2016 was brutal, Bowie and then him
Adore is the best slow jam ever written and it's buried here
Adore deserves top 3, agreed
Cream is so funny and so good
Sign o' the Times as an album is better than Purple Rain, fight me
strong take but I kind of agree, it's his most complete record
Purple Rain the movie and the album are a package, that's why it wins
Raspberry Beret is the happiest song of the 80s
I Would Die 4 U live in the movie is incredible
I Wanna Be Your Lover is a great pick, early Prince is underrated
Purple Rain Super Bowl performance in the rain. Nothing will top that
that halftime show is the best ever, no contest
no Kiss in the top 5 is a crime
Kiss is fun but it's not top 5 material
Nothing Compares 2 U shouldn't count, everyone knows the Sinéad version
the version he released later with Rosie Gaines is great too
it's his song though, he wrote it for The Family
Purple Rain first is fine. Every other spot I disagree with lol
this list is way too 80s heavy, he did great stuff in the 90s too
the 90s had Gold, Cream, Diamonds and Pearls, they're all here
Most Beautiful Girl in the World is a cheesy wedding song, way too high imo
it was played at my wedding and I regret nothing
cheesy?? it's beautiful
Sexy MF is missing, just saying
where is Sometimes It Snows in April??
good list overall, just needs more deep cuts
Controversy should be here, honestly
If I Was Your Girlfriend being here shows whoever made this actually knows his music
cant believe When Doves Cry is not number 1 lol
how is The Beautiful Ones not on this list
The Beautiful Ones is my favourite too, the scream at the end
Diamonds and Pearls with Rosie Gaines' voice, perfect
ranking Prince is impossible, he released like 40 albums
and there's a whole vault still coming out
Let's Go Crazy intro speech gives me goosebumps every time
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...
Let's Go Crazy should be top 2, it's the best opener of any album
the guitar solo at the end of Let's Go Crazy is criminally underrated
Purple Rain at number one is too obvious. When Doves Cry is the real masterpiece
Purple Rain IS the masterpiece though, that guitar solo at the end
When Doves Cry has no bass line and still grooves harder than anything. That's genius
both are perfect, can we agree on that
Gold in 10th? it's his most underrated anthem
1999 hits different every New Year's Eve
Little Red Corvette is pure joy