Over the course of Prince’s career, he’d release 39 studio albums. Of those 39, there’s a handful (I’d say, four) that could realistically stake it’s claim as his greatest. But Purple Rain stands head and shoulders above the others when strictly considering what would be his most popular. As outstanding as his musical output had been up to this point, no one was prepared for the impact this album (and film) would have.

Shortly after the success of 1999, the idea of Prince getting his own film began to blossom. The album would largely be recorded between August 1983 and March 1984 (“Baby, I’m A Star” was originally written and recorded in 1981). This album would also mark the first time that live recordings would be included on one of his studio albums (much of the album was recording during a now famous concert held at First Avenue, the club his character plays at in the film).

While 1999 would signal Prince’s official crossover into the mainstream, that album (like the ones before it) largely relied on synth driven funk with some R&B elements. Purple Rain, by contrast, it’s nearly devoid of any sort of defining genre; you’ll swerve between rock, pop, R&B, funk and rock again, all before reaching the album’s fifth track. Part of the album’s appeal is that there’s truly something on the menu for every Prince fan: the fanatics (“Computer Blue”), pop fans (“Take Me With U”, “I Would Die 4 U”), those with a soft spot for the Dirty Mind era (“Darling Nikki”) and party goers (“Let’s Go Crazy”). Despite covering so many bases, Prince’s signature sound oozes from every note and every beat, creating an album that is both vast and singular in it’s soundscape.

If you’ve checked out all of the Prince reviews on this site from the beginning, you’ve noticed that this is his second album with a perfect score. Here’s a spoiler: it won’t be his last. But of the 39 albums that he released before passing in 2016, I think it’s safe to say that it’s his most important. If you’re from my generation (I was born in 1983), you’ve never known a world in which Purple Rain wasn’t one of the most recognizable and beloved albums ever made. And frankly, I wouldn’t want to live in that world anyway.