Batman

When director Tim Burton approached Prince to write an original song for this 1989 blockbuster, Prince responded like only he could: He cranked out an album’s worth of material instead. Though very little of what’s here actually soundtracked the film, its gathering of panoramic guitar heroics (“Electric Chair”), diaphanous pop (“Vicki Waiting”), maximalist funk (“Partyman”), and hip-hop-inspired breakbeats (“Batdance”) provides a vital companion to (and commentary on) Burton’s often grotesque vision of ‘80s-inspired Gotham. “Hollywood conjures images of the past,” Prince sings on the throbbing opener. “I’ve seen the future and it *works*.”

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The Purple One’s discography rarely dipped below sublime sex-funk. We rank all 37 LPs from his polymathic 80s masterwork Sign O’ The Times to 2003’s saxophone-heavy N.E.W.S.