The rain was hammering against the windows of The Velvet Ditch, a record store so cramped that the jazz section doubled as a fire hazard. Leo, a 22-year-old who’d discovered Prince six months too late (three years after the man had left the planet), was having a crisis.
“Predictable,” Marta said. “But correct. It’s the gateway drug. ‘When Doves Cry’ has no bass line. That’s illegal. ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ is a fake sermon. ‘The Beautiful Ones’ is a panic attack set to a power ballad. It’s the album where he became a movie star, a rock god, and a ghost all at once. So why isn’t it number one?”
Marta nodded slowly. “The bridge. The bridge from ‘I wanna be your lover’ to ‘I wanna be your dictator.’ Dirty synth bass, apocalyptic lyrics about nuclear war, and yet you cannot stop dancing. A valid choice. But you put it at three because it’s still Prince figuring out how to be a band. He hasn’t killed the Revolution yet. Go on.” prince best ever albums
Marta, the store’s 50-something owner, didn’t look up from her magazine. “You’re making a ‘Best Ever’ list. First mistake.”
The rain kept falling. The purple vinyl spun. And somewhere, Prince laughed. The rain was hammering against the windows of
Leo took a breath.
“It’s a double album!” Leo said, gaining confidence. “It’s schizophrenia on vinyl. One track is a funky jam about a girl named Starfish and Coffee, the next is a whispered newscast about AIDS and crack. He plays every instrument on half the songs. He broke up the Revolution just to prove he didn’t need them. It’s not an album—it’s a weather report from the end of the 80s.” “But correct
“I can’t do it,” he said, slapping a stack of sticky notes onto the counter. “Everyone says Purple Rain is the best. But Sign o’ the Times feels... bigger. And then there’s 1999 , which is basically a party you’re not invited to but can hear from the street.”
Leo erased Purple Rain from the top spot. Typed Sign o’ the Times . Then, just for himself, he slid Dirty Mind onto the counter and paid with crumpled bills.
“It’s for my blog,” Leo protested.
Marta finally looked up. A tiny smile cracked her face. “Oh, you brave, stupid kid.”