Commercially, "Parade" charted at number 3 on the pop chart and at number 2 on the R&B chart, while selling 1 million copies in the United States, where Prince's sales had decreased. However it garnered him a new commercial audience in Europe and sold 2 million copies internationally. The album finished 25th in the voting for "The Village Voice"s annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. Christgau, the poll's creator, ranked it as the 33rd best album of the year on his own list. "NME" magazine named it their album of the year for 1986.