Green's classic love songs haven't become dated, because he never made mood music or schmaltz. Instead, on tracks such as "Love and Happiness," "Let's Stay Together" and "Call Me," producer Willie Mitchell used a driving band to equal Green's stirring vocals. Green has plenty of greatest-hits collections, but this is as fine a place as any to start.

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.