Prince - For You (Reissue) (1990)

In 1978, when Prince released his debut album, For You, it would have been hard to prognosticate the kind of boundary-transcending phenomenon he would eventually become. Yet there are certainly some strong hints. The wunderkind was just 19 when he made For You, and with the degree of skill he employs in writing, producing, and performing just about everything on the album himself, even then it must have been clear that he'd ascend to great heights. And though this album is dominated by straight-up R&B tunes, there are enough dashes of eclecticism to indicate that the young artist already had a broad palette of inspirations—the fretless bass and acoustic guitar on the folk-jazz ballad "So Blue" are early indicators of the Joni Mitchell influence that would become more blatant on albums like Parade, and Prince's future as an electrifying axeman is foreshadowed by the wailing rock guitar leads of the closing cut, "I'm Yours." Even taken strictly on its own merits, For You is full of frothy R&B/pop concoctions that make the most of Prince's creamy falsetto, seamlessly sophisticated songwriting, and knack for a killer groove.