The Very Best of Prince

The Very Best of Prince is a greatest hits album by American recording artist Prince. It was released on July 31, 2001 by Warner Bros. Records. The album contains most of his commercially successful singles from 1979 to 1991 including the US number 1s "When Doves Cry", "Let's Go Crazy", "Kiss" and "Cream".

The Very Best of Prince
Greatest hits album by Prince
Released	July 31, 2001
Length	73:18
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	Prince The Revolution The New Power Generation
Prince chronology
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001) The Very Best of Prince (2001) The Rainbow Children (2001)
Alternate cover

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

The Very Best of Prince does not include the US number 1 hit "Batdance" most likely due to the licensing of the character Batman. AllMusic supposes that the Batman album is being unofficially written out of his discography.[1] All the songs included in this compilation were all previously included in the 3-disc box set The Hits/The B-Sides (1993), with the exception of "Money Don't Matter 2 Night".

Commercial performance

On the chart dated August 18, 2001, The Very Best of Prince debuted at number 66 on the US Billboard 200.[5] As of September 21, 2004, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling 1 million copies in the United States.[6]

The Very Best of Prince sold 179,000 album-equivalent units (100,000 in pure album sales) in the week following Prince's death,[7] thus allowing the album to re-enter the Billboard 200 at number one; this makes the album Prince's fifth number-one on the chart.[8] The following week the album fell to number two on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 391,000 equivalent copies (216,000 in pure album sales) behind Beyoncé's Lemonade.[9] In 2016, the album has sold 660,000 recognized copies in the United States in addition to the over 2 million copies sold prior to 2016.[10]

Track listing

All songs are written by and credited to Prince, except where noted.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Original album	Length
1.	"I Wanna Be Your Lover" (Single edit)		Prince (1979)	2:58
2.	"1999" (Single edit; credited to Prince & The Revolution)		1999 (1982)	3:37
3.	"Little Red Corvette" (Credited to Prince & The Revolution)		1999	4:56
4.	"When Doves Cry" (Single edit; credited to Prince & The Revolution)		Purple Rain (1984)	3:47
5.	"Let's Go Crazy" (Credited to Prince & The Revolution)		Purple Rain	4:40
6.	"Purple Rain" (Credited to Prince & The Revolution)		Purple Rain	8:40
7.	"I Would Die 4 U" (Single version; credited to Prince & The Revolution)		Purple Rain	2:56
8.	"Raspberry Beret" (Credited to Prince & The Revolution)		Around the World in a Day (1985)	3:32
9.	"Kiss" (Single edit; credited to Prince & The Revolution)	Prince, arr. by David Z	Parade (1986)	3:46
10.	"Sign o' the Times" (Single edit)		Sign o' the Times (1987)	3:42
11.	"U Got the Look" (featuring Sheena Easton)		Sign o' the Times	3:47
12.	"Alphabet St."		Lovesexy (1988)	5:38
13.	"Thieves in the Temple"		Graffiti Bridge (1990)	3:21
14.	"Gett Off" (Credited to Prince and The New Power Generation)		Diamonds and Pearls (1991)	4:31
15.	"Cream" (Credited to Prince and The New Power Generation)		Diamonds and Pearls	4:13
16.	"Diamonds and Pearls" (Single edit; credited to Prince and The New Power Generation)		Diamonds and Pearls	4:19
17.	"Money Don't Matter 2 Night" (Credited to Prince and The New Power Generation)	Prince, Rosie Gaines	Diamonds and Pearls	4:47

Personnel

• Prince – lead vocals and various instruments

The Revolution Lisa Coleman – keyboards, vocals Wendy Melvoin – guitar, vocals Bobby Z. – drums, percussion Brown Mark – bass, vocals Matt (Dr.) Fink – keyboards, vocals The New Power Generation Levi Seacer Jr. – rhythm guitar, backing vocals Tony M. – rapping, backing vocals Tommy Barbarella – "PurpleAxxe" sampling, keyboards Kirk Johnson – percussion, backing vocals Damon Dickson – percussion, backing vocals Sonny T. – bass, backing vocals Michael B. – drums Rosie Gaines – vocals, "PurpleAxxe" sampling, organ

Additional musicians Jill Jones – co-lead vocals (on "1999") Dez Dickerson – co-lead vocals (on "1999" & "Little Red Corvette"), lead guitar (on "Little Red Corvette") Mazarati – backing vocals (on "Kiss") Sheena Easton – vocals (on "U Got the Look") Sheila E. – drums, percussion (on "U Got the Look" & "Alphabet St."), vocals (on "Alphabet St.") Cat Glover – rap (on "Alphabet St.") Eric Leeds – brass, vocals (on "Alphabet St."), flute (on "Gett Off")

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2001) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 40 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 13 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 18 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[14] 3 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 6 Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 1 Spanish Albums (AFYVE)[17] 18 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 28 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] 17 UK Albums (OCC)[20] 2 US Billboard 200[21] 66 Chart (2011) Peak position Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[22] 16 Chart (2016) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[23] 2 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[24] 5 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[25] 1 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[26] 7 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[27] 12 French Albums (SNEP)[28] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[29] 5 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[30] 5 Irish Albums (IRMA)[31] 2 Italian Albums (FIMI)[32] 12 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[33] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 2 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 4 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 2 US Billboard 200[38] 1

Monthly charts Chart (2016) Peak position Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF)[39] 3 Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[40] 19 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[41] 30 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[42] 77 UK Albums (OCC)[43] 42 US Billboard 200[44] 14

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[45]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Belgium (BEA)[46]	Platinum	50,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[47]	Gold	50,000^^
Germany (BVMI)[48]	Gold	150,000
Netherlands (NVPI)[49]	Platinum	80,000^^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[50]	Platinum	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[51]	2× Platinum	600,000^^
United States (RIAA)[6]	Platinum	2,660,000[10]
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Larkin, Colin (2007). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
3. "Very Best of Prince CD Album".
4. "Rolling Stone Album Guide". Archived from the original on March 20, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
5. "Prince's 'The Very Best Of' Album Headed for No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
6. "American album certifications – Prince – The Very Best of Prince". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 28, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
7. "Prince Dominates Album Sales After His Death". HipHopDX. April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
8. "Prince Rules at No. 1 & 2 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart with 'The Very Best Of' & 'Purple Rain'". Billboard. April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
9. "Beyonce Earns Sixth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Lemonade'". Billboard. May 1, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
10. Grein, Paul (December 20, 2016). "The Top-Selling Albums of 2016". Yahoo Music!.
11. "Australiancharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
12. "Austriancharts.at – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
13. "Ultratop.be – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
14. "Dutchcharts.nl – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
15. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
16. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 33, 2001". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
17. Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
18. "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
19. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
20. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
21. "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
22. "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
23. "Australiancharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
24. "Austriancharts.at – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
25. "Prince Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 26, 2016.
26. "Hitlisten.NU - Danmarks officielle hitlister". Retrieved May 2, 2016.
27. "Prince: The Very Best of Prince" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
28. "Lescharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
29. "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved May 6, 2016.
30. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 18. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
31. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 17, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
32. "Italiancharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
33. "Charts.nz – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
34. "Norwegiancharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
35. "Swedishcharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
36. "Swisscharts.com – Prince – The Very Best Of". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
37. "Prince | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
38. "Prince Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
39. "CAPIF Rankings Mensual" (in Spanish). CAPIF. Archived from the original (Select "Mayo 2016") on May 25, 2013. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
40. "ARIA Top 100 Albums 2016". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
41. "Top Selling Albums of 2016". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
42. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2016 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
43. "End of Year Albums Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
44. "Top Billboard 200 Albums - Year-End 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
45. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2008 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
46. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2010". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
47. "Canadian album certifications – Prince – The Very Best of Prince". Music Canada. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
48. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Prince; 'The Very Best of Prince')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
49. "Dutch album certifications – Prince – The Very Best Of" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved September 8, 2018. Enter The Very Best Of in the "Artiest of titel" box.
50. "New Zealand album certifications – Prince – The Very Best of Prince". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 20, 2016.
51. "British album certifications – Prince – The Very Best of Prince". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved November 28, 2013. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type The Very Best of Prince in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.