Purple Rain
by Prince And The Revolution

Overall rank: 71st | 1980s rank: 9th | 1984 rank: 1st
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings).(Last updated: 5 hours ago)

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Year	Source	Chart	Rank	Rank Score
2026	MonetLikeYogurt	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	84/100	16
2026	jdizzle123456	50-99	6/75	-
2026	slatsheit	My top 101-201 (not a misprint)	5/100	-
2026	saltysurprise	Top 52 Music Albums of 1984	1/52	5
2026	Johnnyo	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	21/100	16
2026	brent13	Top 100 Greatest Music Albums	10/100	89
2026	jeremy9	Top 63 Music Albums of 1984	16/63	4
2026	byuzak	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	40/100	12
2026	blueandthemoon	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	17/100	17
2026	brent13	Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s	1/100	20
		Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in.		1,468
		Total Rank Score: The total rank score.		15,256

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Purple Rain collection

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Purple Rain ratings

Average Rating:

83/100 (from 1,683 votes)

Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 1,683 ratings for this album.

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Rating	Date updated	Member	Album ratings	Avg. album rating
90/100 !	3 days ago	Chorongo	56	91/100
90/100 !	3 days ago	Siromynian	1,708	76/100
45/100 !	08/21/2026 16:44	wizardalien	907	48/100

Rating metrics: Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 83.5/100, a mean average of 81.9/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 83.5/100. The standard deviation for this album is 16.9.

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Purple Rain favourites

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Purple Rain forum mentions

This album has been referenced 262 times on the forums, Explore the wider forum discussion to see what members have said about it.

From

BestEverAlbums 19 hours ago in Monthly overall chart movements

“The overall chart is ever changing, and it's difficult to keep up with the detail of what's happening. So, for those people who are interested, this post attempts to show the latest movements - biggest climbers, movers, new entries and leavers for the top 100, 250, 500 & 1000 over the past month,…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 4 days ago in Chart of the day (#5450): By DeusExMackia

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by DeusExMackia () 1. by (1971) 2. by (1985) 3. by (1988) 4. by (1984) 5. by (1967) 6. (1987) 7. (1991) 8. (1996) 9. by (1976) 10. (1972) 11. by (1973) 12. (2016) 13. by by (2019) 15. by by (1972) 18. by (1979) 19. by (2020) 20. (1977) 21. by…”

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From

BestEverAlbums 09/18/2026 08:00 in Chart of the day (#5439): By joedec

“Today's chart of the day Top 100 Greatest Music Albums by joedec () 1. (1989) 2. by (1982) 4. (1990) 5. by (1980) 7. by by (1993) 10. by (1985) 11. by by by (1988) 14. by (1977) 16. by (1987) 17. by (1987) 18. by (1971) 19. by (1979) 20. by (1984) 22. by (1972) 23. by (1979) 24. by (1968) 25. by by…”

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Purple Rain comments

From lookatyouall 09/18/2020 18:33 | #258384 | TOP COMMENT

it took me til my 30s before I learned of prince’s virtuosity, but the dude was absolutely electric and it feels like he’s sometimes overlooked on all-time lists for best guitarists/musicians/artists. Even As a lifelong rock music audiophile his music eluded me until i saw a super fun prince cover band, the purple ones, who woke me the F up to the man’s music. prince was enigmatic, prolific, musically eclectic and wildly talented, and it hurts to realize that it took his untimely death to fully appreciate the man’s musical and cultural contributions to this world. there’s something in his catalogue for everyone’s musical tastes, and this album is his magnum opus by most standards. but i kind of agree with other commenters that newcomers to prince’s music may be best served working their way up to this one. the evolution of his style, his taste, his artistic genius and his sensibilities in acoustic production are all pretty wild to behold in retrospect, and the way his career led up to and crescendoed with purple rain is a thing of beauty to behold. rest in power, purple one, for you were too good for this world.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

From jjstraka 06/05/2010 05:34 | #12553 | TOP COMMENT

The most stunningly varied, eclectic, and just plain GOOD album I have ever owned. Had the same copy since I was 10, and nothing has ever beaten it. The songs managed to be brilliant and obtuse, yet still managed to appeal to a massive audience. "The Beautiful Ones" and "Take Me With You" are so far beyond great. All in all my favorite of all time.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 4

Rating:

50/100

From musiclife5 02/03/2021 17:18 | #265678 | TOP COMMENT

Purple Rain considered as one of the greatest album of the 80s is kinda overrated.
Let’s Go Crazy is good opener but the guitar solo at the end is too much and sounds calculated, too loud.
Take Me With U is ok, nothing special except the intro, Beautiful Ones could’ve been a beautiful song but his screaming at the end spoils the song. Computer Blue sounds like a filler, Darling Nikki is a bad song there’s nothing great about it, When Doves Cry despite the weird intro is good, I Would Die 4 U is a good song too, Baby I’m a Star is the 3rd fillers of the album and Purple Rain is prince most popular hit. With 3 fillers + 2 ok songs out of 9 songs Purple Rain isn’t a masterpiece, it’s more from good to mediocre. 5/10

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Rating:

100/100

From

buzzdainer TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/27/2016 14:14 | #169994 | TOP COMMENT

I have not always loved Prince. But some years ago I had a friend who was obsessed with Prince: he had Lovesexy on vinyl, and he had the absurdly naked inside sleeve tacked to his wall. And this friend wasn't even gay. He just liked Prince that much. Purple Rain, however, is the gold standard of Prince's discography, with the wonderful and sexy "When Doves Cry" as the track I want to hear again and again.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 3

Rating:

50/100

From

timtooky 03/08/2014 23:17 | #105742 | TOP COMMENT

i don't like the funky prince-style. but purple rain is so outstanding that it hurts.

Helpful? (Log in to vote) · 5

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Best Albums of 1984

1. Purple Rain by Prince And The Revolution

2. Ride The Lightning by Metallica

3. Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen

4. The Smiths by The Smiths

5. Let It Be by The Replacements

6. Hatful Of Hollow by The Smiths

7. Double Nickels On The Dime by Minutemen

8. Stop Making Sense by Talking Heads

9. Treasure by Cocteau Twins

10. Powerslave by Iron Maiden