Prince

Prince Rogers Nelson emerged from Minneapolis in the late 1970s as a multi-instrumental prodigy who played every instrument on his early albums. His fusion of funk, rock, pop, R&B, and new wave created a sound that defied categorization — the distorted guitar solos of 'Purple Rain' sat alongside the synth-pop minimalism of 'When Doves Cry' and the stripped-down funk of 'Kiss.' His Paisley Park studio became a laboratory for sonic experimentation, producing a catalog so vast that hundreds of tracks remain unreleased in his vault. Prince's guitar playing, often overshadowed by his pop persona, ranked among the finest of his generation — his Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performance of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' is considered one of the greatest live guitar solos ever captured. He fought publicly with Warner Bros. over artistic control, changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol and presaging the music industry's ownership debates. His death in 2016 revealed an artist of staggering output and ambition.