1999

1999 is the fifth album by Prince, released on October 27, 1982. It was his first top ten album on the Billboard 200 charts in the United States (peaking at number 9) and became the fifth best-selling album of 1983. 1999 was Prince’s breakthrough album, but his next album Purple Rain would become his most successful.

According to the Rolling Stone Album Guide, “1999 may be Prince’s most influential album: Its synth-and-drum machine-heavy arrangements codified the ‘Minneapolis sound’ that loomed over mid-’80s R&B and pop, not to mention the next two decades’ worth of electro, house, and techno. ” In 2003, the TV network VH1 placed 1999 forty-ninth in its list of the greatest albums of all time. The album was also part of Slant Magazine’s list “The 50 Most Essential Pop Albums”, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.

The album’s critical and commercial success secured Prince a place in the public psyche, and marked the beginning of two years of intense activity which, via massively successful tours, hit singles and a Hollywood movie, would make Prince arguably the biggest musical star on the planet next to Michael Jackson. In 2003, the album was ranked number 163 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.



Originally released on vinyl as a double LP (the first of a number of double sets from Prince), 1999 was cut to a single vinyl edition in some countries; Brazil, for example, opted to issue the release as two separate vinyl albums, 1999 and 1999 II. The original compact disc version of the album was also cut, omitting “D.M.S.R.