10 Perfect Rock Albums For Pop Fans

There are a few bands that almost don't seem to fit in the realm of genres at all. Even if they have chops to write a great song, it's anyone's guess what road they're going to go down when they reach their next project. In the '70s we had David Bowie, in the '90s we had guys like Beck, and the peak of the '80s was when Prince finally entered his rock phase on Purple Rain.

Being the first record billed as Prince and the Revolution, the Purple One really took the reins of the project and accompanying film with some of the catchiest songs he would put to tape. Even though Prince was known for writing sleek funky songs before this on albums like Dirty Mind and Controversy, the power behind this record is how tight it is, taking the reckless abandon of an onstage jam and turning it into ecstasy on Let's Go Crazy before returning to the strange sounds of funk on When Doves Cry.

This is still Prince's attempt at rock though, and songs like Darling Nikki or I Would Die 4 U have a much forceful bent to them, whether that be sexual or heartfelt. Even when the album closes with the 8 minute long title track, this isn't Prince just dragging things out for the hell of it. Having that guitar solo towards the end just makes you feel like you're at a party that could go on until the end of time.