Click above to hear an audio version of this review, with musical selections. Audio produced by Derrick Stevens.

In his first of three albums released in 2004, Prince struck a chord with Musicology. Released shortly after Prince was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, Musicology was Prince's most commercially successful albums since 1991's Diamonds and Pearls.

Musicology’s title is misleading. Prince isn't teaching musicology. He is its disciple. After a decade of experimenting with his identity inside and outside of music, Prince returns to a place where no other musician can meet him: the intersection of soul, jazz, pop, rock, and most importantly, funk.

Prince's history of hypersexualized lyrics was toned down with the connecting theme of marriage throughout Musicology, making love tunes like "Call My Name" and "What Do U Want Me 2 Do?" absolute essentials...and it wouldn't be a Prince album if the lyrics didn't weigh heavy on the heart. In "Dear Mr. Man" alone, one of the most underappreciated protest songs of the new millennium, Prince covers the 9/11 attacks, Big Oil, poverty and pollution.

Following Musicology’s release, Rolling Stone readers named Prince as the artist with the most welcome comeback, but he hadn't gone anywhere. Musicology was, indeed, for the true funk soldiers.