Prince is an all-American anomaly. He's funk, he's sex and he's in the business of seduction, which is impressive for a small guy with a high-pitched voice and a penchant for ruffled shirts and purple.

While for many he's merely a leftover hit-maker from the '80s, anyone truly familiar with his work realizes he's a talented and sharp artist whose career includes some of the most experimental work in funk and pop ever. He's the perfect combination of a musician respected for his work as much as for his flamboyant personality.

Prince Rogers Nelson is practically unrecognizable on his first two albums, both because of the generic R&B and funk they contain as well as the dated hairstyles he shows off on their covers. Prince's career really launched with 1980's Dirty Mind, setting a precedent for his heated expressions of lust, which were stunning in their sheer carnality. Covering everything from oral sex to incest, it certainly did a lot for launching Prince's career. Showing up on the cover in high-cut briefs probably attracted some notice as well.

Fittingly, Prince's follow-up album was titled Controversy, and while still strong, it pales next to 1983's 1999 and the soundtrack to 1984's Purple Rain, both of which have remained Prince's best-known albums. The latter stayed at the top of the Billboard charts for weeks, and the film made Prince a national star.

Prince would go on to release numerous hit records, including his double-disc Sign O' The Times, often considered a masterwork within his discography. A falling out with his record company would prompt him to change his name to an unpronounceable symbol as a way of protesting his lack of creative control, claiming the record company had trademarked his given name.

Still recording to this day, Prince has one of the most versatile outputs of work of any solo artist, and continues to thrill fans.