{"id":240418,"date":"2026-05-22T11:15:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:15:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240418\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:15:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:15:02","slug":"weve-ranked-all-15-of-queens-albums-the-number-one-spot-is-hotly-contested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/240418\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019ve ranked all 15 of Queen\u2019s albums \u2013\u00a0the number one spot is hotly contested!"},"content":{"rendered":"

With three volumes of their Greatest Hits packed with globally adored bangers, from the sensation that is \u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019 to the pop perfection of \u2018Killer Queen\u2019 and \u2018Radio Ga Ga\u2019, to the funk of \u2018Another One Bites The Dust\u2019, the killer groove of \u2018Under Pressure\u2019 or \u2018Don\u2019t Stop Me Now\u2019, the ultimate hymn to enjoying life, Queen<\/a> have soundtracked our lives.<\/p>\n

But many fans have still rarely ventured into their albums discography. So, for this guide to their long players (we stuck to studio outings \u2013\u00a0Queen live albums is another whole article for another day!), we\u2019ve ranked all 15 albums from worst to best, picking some of our highlights and deep cuts along the way.<\/p>\n

Queen albums ranked
\n15. The Miracle (1989)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

By the late 1980s<\/a>, it felt like Queen had run out of ideas. Opener \u2018Party\u2019 is awful, and the baffling \u2018Khashoggi\u2019s Ship\u2019 doesn\u2019t improve things much. Fortunately, singles \u2018The Miracle\u2019, \u2018I Want It All\u2019, \u2018The Invisible Man\u2019 and \u2018Breakthrough\u2019 lift things noticeably, but even then, we\u2019re talking from rock bottom to the lower rungs of the ladder. This one is probably for completionists only.<\/p>\n

14. Queen (1973)
\n\"Queen,Queen, 1973. L-R drummer Roger Taylor, singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May and bassist John Deacon – Michael Putland \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Their 1973<\/a> debut is the sound of a band exploring who they are and where they might go. Largely heavy rock with equal doses of folk<\/a> and progressive rock<\/a> thrown into the mix, the album follows the contemporary trend of exploring Middle-Earth through rock music and, as such, sounds more dated than anything else they recorded.<\/p>\n

\u2018Liar\u2019, \u2018Keep Yourself Alive\u2019 and, especially, \u2018Seven Seas Of Rhye\u2019, are the most enduring cuts and these alone make it worth checking out.<\/p>\n

13. Flash Gordon (1980)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

This movie soundtrack album is an interesting piece, if only to hear how Queen decided not to play it safe, but to explore different styles and tones to create something that matched the comic-book sci-fi of the film.<\/p>\n

And it works \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s arguably a better soundtrack than it was a movie, in fact. As a listen on its own, it has fairly obvious limitations, but as a period piece, stick it on and chuck a football at an evil alien villain while rocking. And why not?<\/p>\n

12. A Kind Of Magic (1986)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

The hits on their 1986 album were deservedly big ones \u2013 the title track came with a lively video in which hobo versions of Queen living in an abandoned theatre are brought to life by magician Mercury, while \u2018One Vision\u2019\u2019s video shows them in their Munich studio putting together the song that would act as the opener on their Magic Tour.<\/p>\n

\u2018Who Wants To Live Forever?\u2019 is a touching song taken, as were several songs here, from the soundtrack to Highlander (1986). Sadly, the standard isn\u2019t maintained throughout, and quality dips through side two to a disappointingly lacklustre end, but there\u2019s more than enough worth coming back for.<\/p>\n

11. Jazz (1978)
\n\"QueenQueen pose for a band photo, 1978 – Getty Images\/Richard E. Aaron\/Redferns<\/p>\n

If you look at the singles on Jazz, it looks like it should be one of their finest records \u2013\u00a0\u2018Don\u2019t Stop Me Now\u2019 is magnificent, while \u2018Bicycle Race\u2019 shows how they could seemingly turn their hand to anything and make something memorable out of it. There\u2019s plenty else to enjoy too \u2013\u00a0\u2018Let Me Entertain You\u2019 was rightly a staple of their live set for the next few years.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, it\u2019s diminishing returns. \u2018Fat Bottomed Girls\u2019 may have been considered acceptable in 1978<\/a> but is hard to justify today. And \u2018Fun It\u2019, \u2018In Seven Days\u2019 and \u2018Leaving Home Ain\u2019t Easy\u2019 are also rans.<\/p>\n

10. Hot Space (1982)
\n\"QueenQueen pose for a group portrait in front of posters for their Hot Space Rock N’ America tour, 1982 – Getty Images\/Ebet Roberts<\/p>\n

Queen famously boasted “No synthesizers” on the sleeves of their albums in the 70s<\/a>, although this was less down to any hatred of these emerging new instruments as to make it clear that, contrary to a review in the music press, the layers of processed sounds were actually produced by Brian May\u2019s guitar. Regardless, they became known for only using so-called \u2018real\u2019 instruments.<\/p>\n

Either way, by 1980\u2019s The Game, they had begun to experiment with synths, but even then, nobody expected the synth<\/a> and drum machine overload that would follow on Hot Space, the most bizarre album in their catalogue. It would be easy to say that opinion was divided, but actually, most listeners were universal in their dislike of a record ardent fans considered a sell-out.<\/p>\n

Listening back today, it\u2019s not without its merits \u2013 \u2018Under Pressure\u2019 is one of their finest tracks \u2013\u00a0and Michael Jackson named it as an influence on Thriller (1982). As an example of a rock band pushing the boundaries, looking to take on influences from disco, funk and electronics, it\u2019s an admirable thing to do.<\/p>\n

Does it all work? No, very much not so. Is it worth a listen? Sure, but only after you\u2019ve listened to everything the comes higher in our list.<\/p>\n

9. Innuendo (1991)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

Thankfully, Innuendo was a great improvement on The Miracle (1989), with hindsight shedding an ominous light over an album made by the group knowing that Freddie Mercury was seriously ill.<\/p>\n

The title track moves through the various stages of their career (at one stage, it sounds like Brian is launching into \u2018Is This The World We Created?\u2019) and the fusion of styles, while perhaps not as fluid as during their 70s pomp, shows that the imagination remains very active.<\/p>\n

Singles \u2018I\u2019m Going Slightly Mad\u2019, \u2018These Are The Days Of Our Lives\u2019 and, especially, \u2018The Show Must Go On\u2019 are particularly poignant in light of Mercury\u2019s condition.<\/p>\n

8. Made In Heaven (1995)
\n\"PeoplePeople sit on a bench at sunset close to a statue of Queen’s late singer Freddie Mercury, in silhouette, erected on the shores of Lake Geneva, 2020 – Getty Images\/Fabrice Coffrini\/AFP<\/p>\n

Recorded during Freddie\u2019s final days, Made In Heaven was completed by his bandmates some years after his death in 1991<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The finished album, released in 1995, featured those last songs Freddie had sung before his death, as well as reworkings of songs from his solo album Mr Bad Guy (1985<\/a>), while various songs feature samples from key moments in the band\u2019s career \u2013 most poignantly the reprise of \u2018It\u2019s A Beautiful Day\u2019 at the end of the album, which contains a sample from \u2018Seven Seas of Rhye\u2019, the band\u2019s first hit single.<\/p>\n

7. The Works (1984)
\n\"FreddieFreddie Mercury leads Queen in their storming Live Aid set, 1985 – Getty Images\/Mirrorpix\/Kent Gavin\/Daily Mirror<\/p>\n

With the disappointment of Hot Space (1982) still ringing in their ears, a resurgent Queen returned to their stride with The Works, the album that preceded their all-conquering Live Aid performance, and as such played a huge part in securing their deserved legacy as one of England\u2019s finest bands ever.<\/p>\n

\u2018Radio Ga-Ga\u2019 and \u2018I Want To Break Free\u2019 are magnificent singles that stand with the best of their work, while \u2018Hammer To Fall\u2019 (such a triumph at Live Aid despite being relatively unknown) and \u2018It\u2019s A Hard Life\u2019 are notable high points, but the quality is high throughout on their last truly excellent long player.<\/p>\n

6. Queen II (1974)
\n\"QueenQueen posed on the set of Dutch TV show TopPop, 1974 – Getty Images\/Mark Hayward Archive\/Redferns<\/p>\n

Opinion is very firmly divided over Queen II. On the one side are those who proclaim it their only truly great album before they sold out their progressive, arty roots to become a pop\/rock group; on the other side, the fans of one of England\u2019s finest singles acts who find the axe-swinging and fairy dandies tickling fancies of \u2018The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke\u2019, and mighty fly-catching tongues and giant hands of \u2018Ogre Battle\u2019 simply too fantastic (and not in all senses).<\/p>\n

Whichever side you fall on will leave you exasperated at where we\u2019ve placed it in this article!<\/p>\n

5. The Game (1980)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

At the time, it seemed quite a bold step, but their eighth album was their first to feature the use of a synthesizer. It\u2019s also perhaps the album that seems them forever dispense with any notions of experimental or progressive tendencies, repositioning Queen to be as much a pop act as a rock band.<\/p>\n

\u2018Crazy Little Thing Called Love\u2019 became their first US number one hit, quickly followed by \u2018Another One Bites The Dust\u2019.<\/p>\n

The anthemic \u2018Play The Game\u2019, \u2018Sail Away Sweet Sister\u2019 and, especially, \u2018Save Me\u2019, would all become firm fan favourites, while \u2018Dragon Attack\u2019 followed the funk influence of \u2018Another One Bites The Dust\u2019 that would point the direction towards the ultimately less-successful Hot Space (1982).<\/p>\n

4. A Day At The Races (1976)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

Perhaps being the younger sibling to 1975\u2019s A Night At The Opera (both albums were named after Marx Brothers movies, with contrasting white\/black artwork) has been unkind on Queen’s 1976<\/a> offering\u00a0\u2013\u00a0after all, being endlessly compared to one of their greatest works makes it hard not to feel like this is a lesser record. But on its own merit and viewed independently, this is a fabulous record.<\/p>\n

Opener \u2018Tie Your Mother Down\u2019 remained a hugely popular part of their live act for the rest of their performing career, while fellow singles \u2018Somebody To Love\u2019 (a gospel<\/a>-influenced tour de force) and the Vaudeville-tinted \u2018Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy\u2019 keep the standards up.<\/p>\n

But throughout, there\u2019s a huge amount to love \u2013\u00a0\u2018You Take My Breath Away\u2019 is one of their most tender, heartfelt love songs, for example.<\/p>\n

3. News Of The World (1977)
\n\"FreddieFreddie Mercury and Brian May riding in the back of a car, in Los Angeles, California, February 1977 – Getty Images\/Michael Ochs Archives<\/p>\n

So ubiquitous have they become that the pairing of \u2018We Will Rock You\u2019 and \u2018We Are The Champions\u2019 feel almost too big for an album, and, in hindsight, had they closed rather than opened this 1977<\/a> offering, the album would have flowed better towards a rightly majestic conclusion \u2013\u00a0which is what they did on their live act.<\/p>\n

\u2018Sheer Heart Attack\u2019, the full-blast follower, was originally the title track to their 1974<\/a> album but carried over, and there are echoes of that record\u2019s genre-hopping throughout \u2013 such as the jaunty \u2018Sleeping On The Sidewalk\u2019, or the jazzy<\/a> \u2018Melancholy Blues\u2019. And in \u2018Spread Your Wings\u2019 it includes one of their finest rock ballads<\/a>.<\/p>\n

2. A Night At The Opera (1975)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

It seems almost churlish not to place an album that includes \u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019 top of the list, but that is testament to how good Sheer Heart Attack is. But 1975<\/a>‘s A Night At The Opera does come a very close second on our list.<\/p>\n

It kicks off in aggressive style with \u2018Death On Two Legs\u2019, generally perceived as an attack on erstwhile manager Norman Sheffield \u2013\u00a0sample lyric “You’re a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride” (Sheffield sued and they settled out of court).<\/p>\n

After this remarkable rant, the delightful \u2018Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon\u2019, all boaters, blazers and punts, points to the contrary nature of the album as a whole: Queen refuse to be pigeon-holed here and produce an album that defies categorisation.<\/p>\n

\u2018You\u2019re My Best Friend\u2019 remains one of their most enduring singles, while \u2018Love Of My Life\u2019 became an integral part of their legendary live show, with fans all over the world taking over vocal duties from Mercury.<\/p>\n

Sonic experiments continue throughout \u2013\u00a0nowhere more than on the epic \u2018The Prophet\u2019s Song\u2019, and we can even forgive Roger Taylor\u2019s over-indulgence on \u2018I\u2019m In Love With My Car\u2019 \u2013 assuming we take it with a large pinch of salt.<\/p>\n

1. Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
\n\"QueenAmazon<\/p>\n

Whichever version of Queen it is you love best, 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack delivers. \u2018Killer Queen\u2019 is as good as piece of pop mastery as anything in their entire catalogue, and it\u2019s easy to see why that, and Sheer Heart Attack as a whole, took them from being prog wannabes to mainstream big-time Charlies.<\/p>\n

Given that Brian May was absent for large chunks of the album\u2019s recording sessions after collapsing with a duodenal ulcer, it\u2019s extraordinary how forefront his distinctive guitar is across the board (see the rollicking \u2018Brighton Rock\u2019 and \u2018Now I\u2019m Here\u2019 for just two examples), but this also points to the sheer breadth of talent in the band.<\/p>\n

\"QueenQueen posing with actress and Queen Elizabeth II look-alike, Jeannette Charles, September 1974 – Getty Images\/Michael Putland<\/p>\n

Has any other band in history had four separate songwriters of such equally high calibre? It\u2019s hard to think of any, and this must be one of the many unique aspects of the band.<\/p>\n

More than any other Queen album, Sheer Heart Attack flows from track to track \u2013 sometimes literally, as in the divine segue from the punchy \u2018Flick Of The Wrist\u2019 into the delightful \u2018Lily Of The Valley\u2019, and in other ways less literally: the two songs titled In \u2018The Lap Of The God\u2019s (one \u2018Revisited\u2019) feel both related and separate.<\/p>\n

We could go on, but the secret to its success is in the joy infused in its grooves. The band is having an absolute ball (Brian\u2019s hospitalisation aside) and it shows.<\/p>\n

All photos Getty Images \/ Album covers Amazon<\/p>\n

Top image Queen pose for a photo, circa 1973<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With three volumes of their Greatest Hits packed with globally adored bangers, from the sensation that is \u2018Bohemian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-240418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}