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 | ||||
| Released | July 31, 2001 | |||
| Length | 73:18 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Prince chronology | ||||
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| Digital cover | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Q |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
The Very Best of Prince does not include the US number 1 hit "Batdance" most likely due to the licensing of the character Batman. Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine believed that the Batman album was unofficially being written out of Prince's discography. 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. 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.
The Very Best of Prince sold 179,000 album-equivalent units (100,000 in pure album sales) in the week following Prince's death, 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. 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. 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.
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
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 16 |
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 2 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) | 5 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) | 7 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) | 12 |
| French Albums (SNEP) | 8 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) | 5 |
| Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) | 5 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) | 2 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) | 12 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) | 2 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) | 4 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 1 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 2 |
| US Billboard 200 | 1 |
Monthly charts
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentine Monthly Albums (CAPIF) | 3 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2001) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) | 47 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) | 32 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 75 |
| Chart (2002) | Position |
|---|---|
| Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) | 131 |
| Chart (2016) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA) | 19 |
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) | 30 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) | 77 |
| UK Albums (OCC) | 42 |
| US Billboard 200 | 14 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) | 2× Platinum | 140,000^ |
| Belgium (BEA) | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 50,000^ |
| Germany (BVMI) | Gold | 150,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI) | Platinum | 80,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 15,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 3× Platinum | 900,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 2,660,000 |
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||