Ranking Queen’s Studio Albums
One of my favorite bands is Queen. Probably more than any band, the music of Queen takes me back to certain moments of my life, as if part of the soundtrack to it. Along with Iron Maiden, they were a perennial during a period of my life. Just recently, I started listening to them again after many years without.
I became a fan after their career with the original lineup had ended, and over the course of some time collected their albums. I didn't get them all in the order they were released (far from it), and could easily pick up an album from a different stage in their career which was much different in style from whatever my previous purchase was.
Below is my ranking of their studio albums, from least favorite to favorite. This is just my opinion, and not an attempt to say "this album is better than that one" -- it's only personal preference.
15. Flash Gordon
Released 12/8/1980
This isn't a bad album, just different. It's a soundtrack, and as such much of the music isn't really in "song" format, but rather music to complement a certain scene in a film. I listen to film soundtracks sometimes, but this isn't one I typically give much time to. It fits the film, but like the film, is very unique.
I've read that some people objected at the time to this being considered an official Queen album rather than just a soundtrack by them.
14. Jazz
Released 11/10/1978
I've never cared for Fat Bottomed Girls or Bicycle Race, the lead singles (released together) from this album. However, I love Don't Stop Me Now. The album definitely seems like a departure from their previous album, News of the World.
To be fair, along with Don't Stop Me Now I also like If You Can't Beat Them, and In Only Seven Days is nice in a sad sort of way. If You Can't Beat Them has a sort of awkward guitar solo, as if Brian May wasn't quite sure what to do with it, but at the same time, I quite like it. And I think that shows the dichotomy this album has for me.
13. The Works
Released 2/27/1984
As for the rest of the album, I like Hammer to Fall, I Want to Break Free, and to a lesser extent It's a Hard Life, Keep Passing the Open Windows, and Machines (or 'Back to Humans').
But the track I like, by far, the most from the sessions for this album is Let Me in Your Heart Again, which was recorded at the time but not released until 2014 as part of the compilation album Queen Forever. It would've been a great addition to the album.
12. Hot Space
Released 5/21/1982
Still, it's not as bad an album (in my opinion) as some people make it out to be. I like the opening track Staying Power, as well as Action This Day, Calling All Girls, Las Palabras De Amor (The Words of Love), Cool Cat, and the David Bowie collaboration Under Pressure.
11. The Game
This was my first real exposure to Queen. I have an older cousin who, when I was a teenager, gave me her old turntable with 8-track player (both being out-of-date ways of listening to music by that time -- the 8-track hasn't aged well, but somehow vinyl has made a comeback). Along with this, she gave me her old 8-track tapes, and of them, this was the only one I had any interest in listening to, as I'd heard of Another One Bites the Dust (but don't think I'd actually heard it before).
I thought Another One Bites the Dust was okay, but really liked Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Need Your Loving Tonight. Play the Game is another one I like on this album. On the 8-track, the song Don't Try Suicide is split across two tracks. It stops at the end of Track 3 and then resumes at the beginning of Track 4. Just one of the fun facts of that old 8-track format.
10. Queen II
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A lot of Queen fans love this album, but as much as I’ve tried getting into it, it’s never grown on me. This is a little surprising as this album is a natural progression from their first album, which I’m quite fond of. My favorite tracks here are Ogre Battle, The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke, and Nevermore.
9. A Kind of Magic
I didn’t care for this one at all the first time I heard it, but it grew on me later. It contains the magnificent Who Wants to Live Forever, and I also like the title track, One Vision, Gimme the Prize (Kurgan’s Theme), and Princes of the Universe. Sometime after picking up this album, I saw the film Highlander, which became a favorite, making me like this album even more. No disrespect intended towards Brian May, but I’d love to get a hold of the version of Who Wants to Live Forever which appears in the film on which Freddie sings all the vocals. Despite many releases of this album which have included bonus tracks, this version of the song has yet to surface, though the 2011 remaster finally gave us the movie version of the title track.
8. Sheer Heart Attack
Their third album, this one’s more rock and less progressive than Queen II. I find it a pretty good album overall, but my favorite tracks are Killer Queen, Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist, Dear Friends, Bring Back That Leroy Brown, and In the Lap of the Gods…Revisited.
This album is a good example of how diverse the songs can be on a Queen album. Dear Friends is a very short song and a message of being hopeful for those going through heartache. It clocks in at a little over a minute and contains no chorus or guitar solo. Bring Back That Leroy Brown has a vaudeville sort of sound to it, while Flick of the Wrist is a heavier track.
7. Made in Heaven
Released after Freddie Mercury died, this album consists of work originally started by Freddie and the band, some Freddie tracks reworked as Queen tracks, and some tracks where Freddie covers songs from both Brian and Roger's solo albums.
I appreciate that Queen didn't immediately turn around after Freddie died and release this soon afterward. To do something like that would seem like cashing in to me. Instead, they waited, and this album was worth the wait. It's a consistent album I can listen to from beginning to end without wanting to skip any tracks. It's hard for me to pick a favorite here.
6. Queen
This is Queen's first album and it's a strong one. It's got a very unique, somewhat progressive sound to it. Queen's sound changed a lot over the years, so it's not surprising that this album sounds a lot different than A Night at the Opera, or even Sheer Heart Attack which was released just a little over a year after this one.
My favorite tracks here are Doing Alright, The Night Comes Down, Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll, and Great King Rat (though I feel like that one gets a little long in the second half). But to be honest, the entire album is pretty consistent. There aren't any tracks I'd skip past on this one.
5. The Miracle
The first time I heard this album, I really didn't care for it. It starts out with two tracks which, even for a group like Queen which always had very diverse tracks on their albums, were very different from what they'd done before. But after a little time, I grew to really like this album. And the expanded 2022 reissue includes some gems, including an alternate version of the album, and an amazing demo called I Guess We're All Falling Out which I really wish had been finished and included on the album.
I find the whole album very consistent, but if I had to pick a few favorites I'd go with the title track (which Roger Taylor dislikes -- sorry Roger), I Want It All, and Scandal (another one Roger dislikes -- sorry again Roger). But again, this one's consistent, and I can play it from beginning to end without wanting to skip a track. I feel like My Baby Does Me and Was It All Worth It are possibly the two weakest tracks, in my opinion.
4. A Night at the Opera
A classic. There are a few tracks here I'm not too into -- the opener, Death On Two Legs, for example -- but there are some real gems here, and in true Queen fashion, it's a very diverse album. My favorites here are Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon, 39, Sweet Lady, and Bohemian Rhapsody (of course), but the other tracks are also good, and you can't go wrong with this album.
3. News of the World
Another classic. This one is also pretty consistent. And wow, that album cover!
This one has a stripped-down sound from their previous albums, but I honestly never noticed until recently when an article or some other media pointed it out.
Favorites for me here include We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Spread Your Wings, Fight from the Inside, and It's Late.
2. Innuendo
Honestly, this could've been my #1 pick, and I like it just as much as that one. As the last studio album released while Freddie Mercury was still alive, he went out on a high note. Again, this one is consistent (always the thing that makes an album great for me). I could name a few favorites, but honestly, this is one I listen to from beginning to end. Just a fantastic album.
1. A Day at the Races
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It was a tough call between this and Innuendo for the top spot, and honestly, I like them equally. A Day at the Races is consistent, and like other Queen albums, the tracks are very diverse. I prefer not to name favorites on this one either.
So there you have it! My choices will most likely differ from yours, and that's to be expected. Hopefully, if you're new to Queen, you'll find some albums that become favorites of yours.
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