Prince Rogers Nelson wasted little time on his way to becoming a household name. Released on the Minneapolis native’s 20th birthday, his 1978 debut “Soft and Wet” already had several key pieces in place, including dreamily high singing, suggestive sexuality, and strutting synth-funk. “I Wanna Be Your Lover” topped the US R&B chart the following year, heralding Prince’s self-titled second album as an entirely self-performed and self-produced breakthrough. But as delightfully sticky as singles like “Uptown” and “Controversy” were, it wasn’t until 1982’s 1999 that he showed his true crossover potential with the title track and “Little Red Corvette.” Even that didn’t properly portend Purple Rain, the soundtrack to a film Prince starred in. Yielding the emotive title ballad as well as the No. 1 pop hits “When Doves Cry” and “Let’s Go Crazy,” the masterpiece is included on Apple Music’s 100 Best Albums list. Maintaining a prolific pace of recording and releasing from his Paisley Park compound, he broadened popular concepts of race, romance, genre, and gender in the decades that followed, thanks to hits like “Kiss” (1986), “U Got the Look” (1987), “Cream” (1991), and “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” (1994). One of the world’s greatest singers, guitarists, songwriters, and dancers all rolled into one unique dynamo, Prince mixed sexual ecstasy with spiritual transcendence right up until his death in 2016. He also lent his genius out to others along the way, providing hits for Sinéad O’Connor (“Nothing Compares 2 U”), The Bangles (“Manic Monday”), and Cyndi Lauper (“When You Were Mine”).