Prince
by Prince

Prince by Prince
Year: 1979
Release date: 1979-10-19
Overall rank: 4,589th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
72/100 (from 195 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1979 (75th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (761st)
Award Best albums of all time (4,589th)

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Prince bestography

Prince is ranked 11th best out of 66 albums by Prince on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Prince is Purple Rain which is ranked number 72 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 15,787.

Prince album bestography « Higher ranked (2,841st)
Love Symbol
This album (4,589th)
Prince
Lower ranked (4,589th) »
Prince

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

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Prince rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 4,589th | 1970s rank: 761st | 1979 rank: 75th

Prince collection

Prince ratings

Average Rating: 
72/100 (from 195 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 195 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
01/20/2026 18:08 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  8,92870/100
 
80/100
 
01/18/2026 16:33 thenat  Ratings distribution  1,37975/100
 
75/100
 
01/03/2026 13:15 markl73  Ratings distribution  58178/100
 
70/100
 
12/08/2025 09:05 Imaybeparanoid  Ratings distribution  7,37471/100
 
50/100
 
11/25/2025 03:01 brent13  Ratings distribution  1,93568/100

Rating metrics: Help 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 has a Bayesian average rating of 72.1/100, a mean average of 72.1/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 72.1/100. The standard deviation for this album is 13.0.

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Prince comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 13 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
80/100
From 04/03/2023 18:47 | #295751
Delicinha de álbum.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/13/2022 17:13 | #281261
I feel that this is a tad underrated in BEA.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
65/100
From 07/23/2020 14:49 | #256074
A little over the top for me. Rating (71.67)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/15/2020 18:44 | #249986
This is a very good 2nd effort leaps and bounds better than the debut. Some of the Production is a bit dated but has great songs such as I Wanna Be Your Lover, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?, Bambi, I Feel For You and It’s Gonna Be Lonely. This deserves to be in his top ten.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/25/2018 21:15 | #225642
I do prefer the more energetic, funkier tracks over the slow ballads (opening track "I Wanna Be Your Lover" being the best of the uptempo bunch), however my personal favourite here is the almost ambient-pop "When We're Dancing Close and Slow" which is spare, yet gorgeous and atmospheric. A solid improvement over his debut, this self-titled record is edgier and shows flashes of greatness yet also flirts with the humdrum.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/12/2018 02:46 | #224629
Has there ever been a better first two songs on an album? Prince is incredible.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 09/21/2017 17:45 | #198435
Very underrated and miles better than, Dirty mind, or, controversy. This is Prince's best album before the big time of 1999. The ballads are the weakest but the rest is fantastic. I wanna be your lover, Sexy dancer, and, Bambi, are the highlights.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 03/31/2017 00:27 | #188433
It's shocking to me that this isn't in his top 10, at least.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 06/05/2016 07:57 | #167892
Second album from Prince and a step up from "For You". I Wanna Be Your Lover, Bambi, Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, With You & I Feel For You are the stand out tracks. The other tracks are all 75/100. I still listen to this album and it always leaves a smile on my face.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/01/2016 19:07 | #158418
Not a bad sophomore effort. Prince is still looking for his sound. He begins to hone his song writing skills here and it's got some really good cuts. The best is still yet to come.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1979
1. London Calling by The Clash
2. The Wall by Pink Floyd
3. Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division
4. Fear Of Music by Talking Heads
5. Off The Wall by Michael Jackson
6. Entertainment! by Gang Of Four
7. Breakfast In America by Supertramp
8. Rust Never Sleeps by Neil Young & Crazy Horse
9. Highway To Hell by AC/DC
10. Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
11. Reggatta De Blanc by The Police
12. Damn The Torpedoes by Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers
13. Ambient 1: Music For Airports by Brian Eno
14. Metal Box by Public Image Ltd.
15. Armed Forces by Elvis Costello And The Attractions
16. The B-52's by The B-52's
17. Specials by The Specials
18. Setting Sons by The Jam
19. 154 by Wire
20. Singles Going Steady by Buzzcocks