Sign o' the Times
Prince 1987 pioneering
funk pop Rock soul synth-pop
Every genre Prince ever touched distilled into a double album — funk, rock, pop, gospel, jazz, and electronic experimentation unified by the vision of pop music's greatest polymath.
Acoustic Profile
Production
Method: hybrid
Fidelity: polished
Linn 9000 and Fairlight CMI as compositional toolsgenre-hopping across 16 tracks with unified visionhome studio recordings alongside full band sessionsone-man-band tracks alternating with collaborative performances
Vocal
Approach: mixed
Lyrical Abstraction: 4/10
Mood & Theme
ecstasy vulnerability defiance devotion
Territory: social-commentary-funk, spiritual-eroticism, genre-encyclopedia
Emotional Arc: restless-mastery-across-all-territories
Era & Context
Originally a triple album, trimmed to a double. Prince channeled funk, rock, pop, gospel, jazz, psychedelia, and electronic experimentation into a sprawling masterwork that addressed AIDS, crack, and nuclear war alongside love and sex. Often cited as one of the greatest albums ever made.
Spiritual Links (44)
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy Kanye West (2010)
7/10 maximalist-excessgenre-destruction
Voodoo D'Angelo (2000)
7/10 genre-destructionstudio-as-instrument
Songs in the Key of Life Stevie Wonder (1976)
7/10 maximalist-excessstudio-as-instrument
Bando Stone and the New World Childish Gambino (2024)
7/10 genre-destructionstudio-as-instrument
Electric Ladyland Jimi Hendrix (1968)
7/10 genre-destructionmaximalist-excess
The Beatles (White Album) The Beatles (1968)
7/10 genre-destruction
Like a Prayer Madonna (1989)
7/10 genre-destructionpersonal-confession
Bad Michael Jackson (1987)
7/10 genre-destructionmaximalist-excess
To Pimp a Butterfly Kendrick Lamar (2015)
6/10 genre-destructionmaximalist-excess
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below OutKast (2003)
6/10 maximalist-excessgenre-destruction
IGOR Tyler, the Creator (2019)
6/10 genre-destructionstudio-as-instrument
Daddy's Home St. Vincent (2021)
6/10 nostalgia-as-mediumsonic-experimentation
Exodus Bob Marley (1977)
6/10 genre-destructioncommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
"Awaken, My Love!" Childish Gambino (2016)
6/10 radical-reinventionstudio-as-instrument
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles (1967)
6/10 maximalist-excess
Dangerous Michael Jackson (1991)
6/10 genre-destructionmaximalist-excess
3 + 3 The Isley Brothers (1973)
6/10 sonic-experimentationrhythmic-innovation
Go for Your Guns The Isley Brothers (1977)
6/10 rhythmic-innovationsonic-experimentation
Bitches Brew Miles Davis (1970)
5/10 genre-destructionradical-reinvention
Station to Station David Bowie (1976)
5/10 genre-destructionradical-reinvention
Stankonia OutKast (2000)
5/10 genre-destructionmaximalist-excess
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill (1998)
5/10 genre-destructionstudio-as-instrument
Cherry Bomb Tyler, the Creator (2015)
5/10 genre-destructionsonic-experimentation
Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams Solange (2008)
5/10 nostalgia-as-mediumsonic-experimentation
Un Verano Sin Ti Bad Bunny (2022)
5/10 genre-destructioncommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Abracaco Caetano Veloso (2012)
5/10 rhythmic-innovationcommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Open & Close Fela Kuti (1971)
5/10 rhythmic-innovationcommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Beauty Ryuichi Sakamoto (1989)
5/10 commercial-accessibility-meets-depthstudio-as-instrument
Racine Carrée Stromae (2013)
5/10 commercial-accessibility-meets-depthstudio-as-instrument
Abbey Road The Beatles (1969)
5/10 maximalist-excess
Synkronized Jamiroquai (1999)
5/10 commercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Fresh Sly & The Family Stone (1973)
5/10 vulnerability-as-weapon
In Search Of... Pharrell Williams (2001)
5/10 genre-destructionrhythmic-innovation
Tim's Bio: Life from da Bassment Timbaland (1998)
5/10 rhythmic-innovationsonic-experimentation
Superfly Curtis Mayfield (1972)
5/10 studio-as-instrumentCultural Synthesis
That's the Way of the World Earth, Wind & Fire (1975)
5/10 commercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Charles Mingus (1964)
4/10 maximalist-excessrhythmic-innovation
X 100PRE Bad Bunny (2018)
4/10 genre-destructioncommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Expensive Shit Fela Kuti (1975)
4/10 rhythmic-innovationcommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Worotan Oumou Sangaré (1996)
4/10 rhythmic-innovationcommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Naughty Boys Yellow Magic Orchestra (1983)
4/10 commercial-accessibility-meets-depthstudio-as-instrument
KiCk i Arca (2020)
4/10 genre-destructioncommercial-accessibility-meets-depth
Black Moses Isaac Hayes (1971)
4/10 maximalist-excessstudio-as-instrument
Shaft Isaac Hayes (1971)
4/10 studio-as-instrument
Influences
Absorbed from
Similar Albums (Cross-Artist)
1
To Pimp a Butterfly Kendrick Lamar (2015)
78% 2 Computer Games Parliament-Funkadelic (1982)
76% 3 good kid, m.A.A.d city Kendrick Lamar (2012)
76% 4 Camp Childish Gambino (2011)
75% 5 White Pony Deftones (2000)
74% 6 Speakerboxxx/The Love Below OutKast (2003)
73% 7 Heaven or Las Vegas Cocteau Twins (1990)
72% 8 Aquemini OutKast (1998)
71% 9 One Nation Under a Groove Parliament-Funkadelic (1978)
71% 10 CHROMAKOPIA Tyler, the Creator (2024)
71%