Prince: His Top 100 Songs

Prince Image from noise11.com

Prince was a self-taught musician – a singer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer born Prince Roger Nelson on 6/7/1958 in Minneapolis, MN. He was named for the Prince Roger Trio, led by his father. On 6/7/1993, he changed his name to the unpronouncable symbol that was the title of his Androgyny album. He formed his own group, Grand Central, while in high school and self-produced his first album in 1978. He achieved superstardom with his soundtrack to Purple Rain, a semi-autobiographical movie. He also starred in Under the Cherry Moon, Sign ‘O’ the Times, and Graffiti Bridge. He married Mayte on 2/14/1996. They divorced in June 2000. Prince died on 4/21/2016 from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, an opioid used as a pain medication. This list was originally presented on the DMDB Facebook page on January 1, 2013, as a top 25 list and later expanded to a top 50 list for the blog. It has now been expanded to a top 100 list including songs both written and performed by Prince. Spotify Podcast: Check out Dave’s Music Database podcast: The Best of Prince, 1996-2016 based on this list. It debuts August 10, 2021 at 7pm CST. Tune in every Tuesday at 7pm for a new episode based on the lists at Dave’s Music Database.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) Songs are written/co-written and performed by Prince unless noted otherwise. DMDB Top 1%: 1. “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Sinéad O’Connor, 1990, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 MR, 1 UK, 1 UK, 1 CN, 1 AU) 2. “When Doves Cry” (1984, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB, 1 CN, 1 AU) 3. “Purple Rain” (1984, 2 US, 1 CB, 1 RR) 4. “Kiss” (1986, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB) 5. “1999” (1982) DMDB Top 2%: 6. “Little Red Corvette” (1982) 7. “Let’s Go Crazy” (1984, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB) 8. “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (1987, 1 RB) DMDB Top 5%: 9. “I Feel for You” (Chaka Khan, 1984, 1 CB, 1 RB, 1 UK) 10. “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” (1994, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 UK, 1 AU) 11. “Manic Monday” (Bangles, 1986) 12. “Batdance” (1989, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB, 1 CN) 13. “Raspberry Beret” (1985, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB) 14. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” (1979, 1 RB) DMDB Top 10%: 15. “U Got the Look” (Prince with Sheena Easton, 1987) 16. “Cream” (1991, 1 US, 1 CB, 1 RR) 17. “Diamonds and Pearls” (1991, 1 CB, 1 RR, 1 RB) 18. “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man” (1987) 19. “I Would Die 4 U” (1984) 20. “Thieves in the Temple” (1990, 1 CB, 1 RB) 21. “Stand Back” (Stevie Nicks, 1983) 22. “Alphabet Street” (1988) 23. “Pop Life” (1985) 24. “7” (1992) 25. “Pray” (MC Hammer, 1990; samples “When Doves Cry”) 26. “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde” (Jay-Z with Beyoncé, 2002; samples “If I Was Your Girlfriend”) 27. “Gett Off” (1991) 28. “Delirious” (1982) DMDB Top 20%: 29. “I Hate U” (1995) 30. “The Glamorous Life” (Sheila E, 1984) 31. “Sugar Walls” (Sheena Easton, 1984) 32. “Betcha by Golly Wow!” (1996) 33. “If I Was Your Girlfriend” (1987) 34. “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1993) 35. “Take Me with U” (Prince with Appolonia, 1985) 36. “Mountains” (1986) 37. “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night” (1991) 38. “Gold” (1995) 39. “Love…Thy Will Be Done” (Martika, 1991) 40. “Kiss” (Art of Noise with Tom Jones, 1988) 41. “Controversy” (1981) 42. “Partyman” (1989) 43. “Sexy M.F.” (1992) 44. “My Name Is Prince” (1992) 45. “Letitgo” (1994) 46. “Pink Cashmere” (1993) 47. “The Belle of St. Mark” (Sheila E, 1984) 48. “The Morning Papers” (1992) 49. “When You Were Mine” (1980) 50. “Jungle Love” (The Time, 1984) 51. “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” (1982) 52. “Anotherloverholenyohead” (1986) 53. “Jerk Out” (The Time, 1990) 54. “Round and Round” (Tevin Campbell, 1990) 55. “The Arms of Orion” (Prince with Sheena Easton, 1989) 56. “Soft and Wet” (1978) 57. “New Power Generation” (1990) 58. “Darling Nikki” (Foo Fighters, 2003) 59. “Paisley Park” (1985) Beyond the DMDB Top 20%: 60. “Nothing Compares 2 U” (Chris Cornell, 2016) 61. “A Love Bizarre” (Sheila E, 1985) 62. “Black Sweat” (2006) 63. “America” (1985) 64. “Darling Nikki” (1984) 65. “Baby I’m a Star” (1984) 66. “How Come You Don’t Call Me Anymore” (Alica Keys, 2002) 67. “Rock and Roll Love Affair” (2012) 68. “Peach” (1993) 69. “The Holy River” (1996) 70. “Hot Thing” (1987) 71. “The Bird (The Time, 1984) 72. “4 the Tears in Your Eyes” (1985) 73. “The Greatest Romance Ever Sold” (1999) 74. “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (Simple Minds, 1989) 75. “Girls and Boys” (1986) 76. “Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?” (1979) 77. “Purple Medley” (1995) 78. “So What the Fuss” (Stevie Wonder with Prince & En Vogue, 2005) 79. “Te Amo Corazon” (2005) 80. “Raspberry Beret” (Hindu Love Gods, 1990) 81. “Scandalous” (1989) 82. “Musicology” (2004) 83. “Guitar” (2007) 84. “Insatiable” (1991) 85. “The Screams of Passion” (The Family, 1985) 86. “Dinner with Delores” (1996) 87. “Born 2 B.R.E.E.D.” (Monie Love, 1993) 88. “Uptown” (1980) 89. “Martika’s Kitchen” (Martika, 1991) 90. “When Doves Cry” (Patti Smith, 2002) 91. “When You Were Mine” (Cyndi Lauper, 1983) 92. “Sex Shooter” (Apollonia 6, 1984) 93. “Call My Name” (2004) 94. “Let’s Work” (1981) 95. “The Beautiful Ones” (1984) 96. “Another Lonely Christmas” (1984) 97. “When Doves Cry” (Barenaked Ladies, 1991) 98. “The Cross” (1986) 99. “Glam Slam” (1988) 100. “I Feel for You” (1979) Resources and Related Links: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Prince DMDB Profile Page for Prince DMDB Facebook page: The Top 25 Prince Songs (1/1/12) First posted 6/7/2012; last updated 10/19/2021.