Queen Albums Ranked (rated from worst to best)
Queen was formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano), Brian May (guitar, vocals), John Deacon (bass) and Roger Taylor (drums, vocals). Their earliest work was influenced by heavy metal , progressive rock and heavy rock but over the years they eventually veered towards the more radio friendly songs by introducing pop rock and arena rock into their work.
Their overall record sales are estimated between 170 million to 300 million which makes them one of the best selling music artists in the world. They performed at the live aid concert in 1985 and their performance is ranked as one of the greatest in rock history. They gave their last concert as a band at Knebworth in 1986. Freddie died of bronchopneumonia, a complication of AIDS in 1991.
Best Queen Albums Of All Time
Queen released 15 studio albums between 1973 – 1995. Made In Heaven was mixed after Freddie died using material he recorded before his death and adding new instrumentation and additional vocals to the recordings by the rest of the band. As always, we’ll rank all 15 of their studio albums ranked from the rest to the best as we see them.
15. Hot Space (1982)
As a Queen fan, Hot Space just doesn’t work, it’s like they had all this new technology to play with, and went wild. Too heavy with the synths and too light on the guitar that described Hot Space to a T. It’s obvious Freddie’s enjoying himself but it sounds like he’s the only one. The album’s only saving grace is the final track, “Under Pressure” with David Bowie.
14. The Miracle (1989)
The first track on this album “Party” sounds like one they missed off Hot Space, uhoh, here we go again. The title track isn’t amazing but it does have some decent guitar work, the album’s best track has to be “I Want It All”. Of course what we never knew then was the band had just been told about Freddie’s HIV status which may well have affected the way this album comes across. It’s the last album that features a photo of the band on the cover.
13. Flash Gordon (1980)
Only 2 tracks stand out from this soundtrack album, “Hero” and the title track. All bands are allowed the odd departure from what they do best, and Flash Gordon should be Queens. Sadly this set us up for Hot Space.
12. The Game (1980)
The game marked the band’s foray into the world of synthesisers and was their only album to reach number 1 in the US. Best tracks have to be “Another One Bites The Dust” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” both of which reached number 1 on the US singles charts. Incidentally “Another One Bites The Dust” was suggested as a single release by Michael Jackson. Sadly it was due to the success of this album that encouraged Queen to record Hot Space…
11. Made In Heaven (1995)
This was the album finished after Freddie died and there’s a lot of emotion invested in this album. It was finished by Brian, Roger and John after Freddie had recorded as much of the vocals as he could. It comes across as a disjointed and sadly, a confusing album. it doesn’t have the structure of earlier Queen albums which is understandable given the circumstances. Of course it debuted at number 1 in the UK but not necessarily for the right reasons.
10. Innuendo (1991)
By the time this one came out, rumours about Freddie’s ill health were everywhere. He never told the public of course but if you listen to some of the tracks on this album, the clues are there to find. Tracks like “These Are The Days Of Our Life”, “The Show Must Go On” and “I’m Going Slightly Mad” all tell a story.
9. Jazz (1978)
After the excellent “News Of The World” came Jazz. It did have a few highlights, “Don’t Stop Me Now” for example and “Bicycle Race” and so on but after the dizzy heights of the previous 3 albums, Jazz always felt a bit of a come down.
8. The Works (1984)
This was the album released after Hot Space but with more rock from May and Taylor. It’s also the album that gave us “Radio GaGa” which played such a huge role in the live aid concert. The album sold over 6 million copies worldwide and spent 94 weeks on the UK charts even though it never reached number 1. Other singles included “I Want To Break Free”, “It’s A Hard Life” and “Hammer To Fall”.
7. A Kind Of Magic (1986)
There were 7 singles released from this album which were; “One Vision”, “Princes Of The Universe”, “A Kind Of Magic”, “One Year Of Love”, “Friends Will Be Friends”, “Pain Is So Close To Pleasure” and “Who Wants To Live Forever”. The album went straight to number 1 and stayed on the UK charts for 63 weeks.
6. A Day At The Races (1976)
They needed something special to follow up on their previous album “A Night At The Opera” and in many ways this one does just that. From the heavy “White Man” and “Tie Your Mother Down” to the epic “Somebody To Love”, A Day At The Races is classic Queen.
5. Queen (1973)
This was their debut album and shows their potential from the opening of “Keep Yourself Alive” Followed by “Doing All Right” which showed just what was to come from Freddie’s vocal range. The album plays out with a musical intro to “Seven Seas Of Rhye” which would become their 3rd single and only single release from Queen II.
4. Queen II (1974)
Queen II had a white side and a black side, one featuring the white queen and the other the black queen. The album plays out with the full version of “Seven Seas Of Rhye” which became their 3rd single. Stand out tracks include “Father to Son”, “Ogre Battle” and “The March Of The Black Queen”.
3. A Night At The Opera (1975)
At the time of its release, A Night At The Opera was reported to have been the most expensive album ever made. It topped the UK album charts for 4 non consecutive weeks. It reached number 4 on the US album charts and produced their most successful single “Bohemian Rhapsody”. It has been called Queen’s best album ever, and one of the best albums in the history of music.
2. Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
Their 3rd album release and the one that showed just what potential Queen had. From “Brighton Rock” with Brian May’s amazing solo, to “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Now I’m Here”, it was obvious just what a great band Queen could become. Finished with “In The Lap Of The Gods … Revisited” and of course the ever commercial “Killer Queen” which reached number 2 on the UK singles chart.
1. News Of The World (1977)
The album opens with the classic “We Will Rock You” and slips straight into “We Are The Champions” with a few tracks later “Spread Your Wings” the first Queen track with no backing vocals. This album epitomises everything about Queen. If you can only get one Queen album, get this one.
All Queen Albums In Chronological Order
| Album | Date |
|---|---|
| Queen | 1973 |
| Queen II | 1974 |
| Sheer Heart Attack | 1974 |
| A Night At The Opera | 1975 |
| A Day At The Races | 1976 |
| News Of The World | 1977 |
| Jazz | 1978 |
| The Game | 1980 |
| Flash Gordon | 1980 |
| Hot Space | 1982 |
| The Works | 1984 |
| A Kind Of Magic | 1986 |
| The Miracle | 1989 |
| Innuendo | 1991 |
| Made In Heaven | 1995 |
Frequently Asked Questions
The best selling Queen album is “A Night At The Opera” with more than 11.5 million copies sold worldwide.
The newest Queen album is “Made In Heaven” which was released in 1995, 4 years after Freddie Mercury’s death. It was composed of Freddie’s singing with musical arrangements and added vocals by the rest of the band after he died.
The first Queen album was “Queen” which was released in 1973.
Queen’s most famous song is “Bohemian Rhapsody” taken from the album “A Night At The Opera”.
Queen was formed in London in 1970.
The genre attributed to Queen is rock.
The members of Queen were originally Brian May, John Deacon, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor. John Deacon retired in 1997 and Freddie Mercury died in 1991.
