 This anniversary gives us the perfect reason to revisit our classic album dissection, figure out why it works, why it's a masterpiece, and why all these years later people are still listening to it and still talking about it. Purple Rain was the record that more than any other release in Prince's career made him a superstar, a worldwide phenomenon. No small feat considering that in 1982 he had released 1999, an album that established the sound of Minneapolis.