Controversy
by Prince
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Prince bestography
Controversy is ranked 7th best out of 67 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 15,139.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
Listen to Controversy on YouTube
Controversy track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 79 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Controversy rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 5 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Exist-en-ciel | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 44/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  zags7000 | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 53/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1981 | 40/100 | 3 |
| 2026 | PurpleHazel | Top 31 Music Albums of 1981 | 25/31 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Helios | Top 80 Music Albums of 1981 | 21/80 | 4 |
| 2026 | thenat | Top 14 Music Albums of 1981 | 14/14 | 0 |
| 2026 | joathome | Top 41 Music Albums of 1981 | 26/41 | 2 |
| 2026 | Jakor | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 8/100 | 19 |
| 2026 | lanadeleswift | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s | 77/100 | 5 |
| 2026 | saltysurprise | Top 52 Music Albums of 1981 | 25/52 | 3 |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 177 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 645 | |||
Controversy collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 101 members
Controversy ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 253 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 10/04/2026 23:51 |  ecocruzr | 294 | 68/100 |
| ! | 09/30/2026 13:31 | Siromynian | 1,789 | 74/100 |
| ! | 05/13/2026 22:48 | Fritz | 1,376 | 77/100 |
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 9% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 74.8/100, a mean average of 74.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 74.9/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.7.
Controversy favourites
Showing latest 10 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 31 members
Controversy forum mentions
pedro1976 05/15/2026 10:47 in What album are you listening to? (cont.)
Patman360 11/14/2020 00:31 in What album are you listening to right now?
CharlieBarley 07/15/2018 20:18 in R&B, Soul, & Funk Music: Competition and DiscussionView all forum mentions
Controversy comments
Top Comments First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Showing comments with any number of votes. Manage Profile)
paladisiac TOP 100 COMMENTER 02/22/2012 16:41 | #37301 | TOP COMMENT
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Title track provided an inkling to his genius and would've fit in well with any of his later 80s albums. Controversy weaves through this synth-funk delight climaxing with the final track, "jack u off".
I disagree about Annie Christian, I find it shocking.
this album's fun, funky, and also packed with meaning. Prince is an unashamed freak trying to free everyone's minds from judgment and judging. the only thing he seems to damn is christianity, but he's actually supposedly christian himself. very conflicted. and just after he pleas with pres reagan for peace with russia, talks of uniting ppl and then mass murders and the killing of lennon... well, he turns it completely around on "jack u off." that's one of the craziest, most shocking curveballs I've heard on a record. it's disorienting, disillusioning, confusing. it's like, "how?" and what else do you say about it? what's he really saying at the end there? "j/k, I don't give a fuck"? I suppose none of those topics even fit the mood of the music itself... what's he saying? it's a lot to think about. interestingly, "Ronnie, Talk To Russia" is almost still relevant in the way that it could be reworked today as "Donnie, Talk To Russia (Actually Just Resign)." in the mid 2,000's I want to say it's underrated on our overall.
It's Prince but not his best by a long shot. Give me the previous album, Dirty Mind, or the next, 1999, over this mishit. Annie Christian is bad (and I'm not getting down with kids), I mean really bad, as in awful - it must be the worst track he ever did.
Not as good as, dirty mind, but still okay, just a little unsure of where he wants to go. The next record is where it really starts.
HoldenM TOP 100 COMMENTER 06/14/2025 20:19 | #309533 | TOP COMMENT
Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.
Super front-loaded, but all told, a sonic and songwriting improvement on Dirty Mind. (Edited)
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