I’m identifying the best three albums by my fifty favorite rock bands of all time. This blog is for, #13- Queen, rock royalty, and one of the best live bands ever.
Criteria for selecting the best three albums
Here are the criteria for this list. First, greatest Hits albums can make the list. Queen has an excellent one but did not include it. No live albums are allowed. This band is legendary for their concerts. Watch the Live Aid of them playing if you doubt me. I’m including an honorable mention album for the top 25 bands since it is challenging picking the top three for these bands.
Queen albums ranked by ChatGPT
Let’s take a look at what artificial intelligence has to say about this list. According to chat GPT here are the top three albums by Queen.
- A Night at the Opera (1975): Queen’s fourth studio album, notable for its range of musical styles and the seven-minute “Bohemian Rhapsody”, which defied conventional song structures. The album was a major commercial success, topping the UK charts and reaching No. 4 in the U.S. Often cited as Queen’s magnum opus and one of the most expensive albums ever recorded at its time.
- News of the World (1977): Queen’s sixth studio album, featuring the anthemic hits “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions”. The album’s iconic cover was designed by Frank Kelly Freas. Despite mixed initial reviews, it has since been recognized as one of Queen’s best albums and one of the greatest in rock history.
- Sheer Heart Attack (1974): Queen’s third studio album marked a shift from their earlier progressive style towards more radio-friendly, song-oriented music. The album’s diversity and aggressive sound make it one of Queen’s heaviest albums. The hit single “Killer Queen” gave the band their first top 20 hit in the U.S., and the album reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 12 in the U.S.
A decent list. A Night at the Opera – I would expect to see that one. News of the World. That one is excellent as well. Then there is Sheer Heart Attack. I’m a little surprised to see that album crack the top 3.
Spotify popular releases for this band
Now let’s take a peek at what Spotify data tells us. Below you will find the five most popular Queen albums according to Spotify. Four of the five I expected to see. The big surprise is Hot Space. That album is not good. The only reason it is popular on Spotify is because of one song “Under Pressure” which of course is a classic. You will not see Hot Space on my list.
The third-best album by this band is A Night at the Opera
The third-best album by Queen is A Night at the Opera. I own it on vinyl. This record includes the song “You’re My Best Friend”. It is most famous though for the insanely popular song “Bohemian Rhapsody” which of course is the title of the movie about this band. It obtained cult status when the song was included in Wayne’s World and had us all memorizing these gibberish lyrics that Freddy came up with. Genius-level creativity.
The second-best album by Queen
The second-best album by Queen is called The Game. I ranked it higher than A Night at the Opera because I think song for song it is a better album. This record includes the mega-hit “Another One Bites The Dust” as well as “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and several other really good songs. I owned this on tape back in the day and played it over and over.
Honorable mention album for this band
Here is the honorable mentioned album for Queen, Jazz. It is a fun record. To this day I still do not know why Freddy wants to ride his bicycle much less hang out with Fat Bottom Girls. All I know is that you can’t stop him now.
The best album by Queen
The best album by Queen is called News of the World. This record changed the game for rock music. Do you want to know who invented stadium rock? Queen invented it with the song “We Will Rock You”. Everybody knows the words for “We Are the Champions”. “Sheer Heart Attack” is practically Punk and there are several other killer songs on this album.
There you have it – the three best Queen albums. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
I am Doug Keating and this is my letter to my sons.