Queen Vinyl Guide: The 7 Records Worth Owning

Here is the short answer for anyone shopping for Queen vinyl: start with Greatest Hits, then go straight to A Night at the Opera, News of the World and The Game. That last one is the band's only No. 1 album on the Billboard 200, and Greatest Hits is certified 9x Platinum by the RIAA. In the US, all of the records below first came out on Elektra, which is exactly what you want to know before you hit the crates. This is our pick of the best Queen records to own on vinyl: seven verified albums, not the full discography, each with the pressing details that actually matter.

Every album below was checked against Discogs, MusicBrainz, the RIAA database and Billboard: exact title, original release year, US label and catalog number. For each one you get the reason to own it on wax and a few tips for spotting a good copy.

The picks at a glance

Billboard 200 peaks per Billboard chart history. Original UK releases were on EMI.

Why Queen sounds best on vinyl

Few bands leaned on layered sound as hard as Queen. Their early album sleeves carried a "no synthesizers" note, because listeners kept mistaking the multitracked guitars and stacked vocals for keyboards. The band didn't bring a synth into the studio for an album until The Game in 1980. Everything before that was played, doubled and overdubbed by hand.

On a clean pressing you hear the depth of the backing vocals, the bite of Brian May's Red Special (the guitar he built with his father as a teenager) and the dynamics of the arrangements. Vinyl also gives you the full-size artwork: gatefolds, embossed covers, printed inner sleeves. Before you start digging, our used vinyl buying guide walks you through grading a record and spotting the good pressings.

A Night at the Opera (1975): the peak

Queen's fourth studio album, released in November 1975, is where everything comes together: the epic Bohemian Rhapsody, the tender Love of My Life, the music-hall bounce of Seaside Rendezvous and the heavy sprawl of The Prophet's Song. It was reportedly one of the most expensive albums ever recorded at the time, and you can hear where the budget went.

In the US it went 3x Platinum and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. American first pressings are on Elektra (7E-1053) with the "butterfly" label and an embossed gatefold; the UK original on EMI carries EMTC 103 and also comes in an embossed gatefold with a picture inner sleeve. Check that the inner sleeve is there and that the embossed crest is not crushed or split: both weigh on value. This one deserves a front-row spot in any collection, right next to our 30 essential vinyl records by genre.

News of the World (1977): the anthems

Released on October 28, 1977, News of the World opens with the one-two punch you've heard at every ballgame: We Will Rock You straight into We Are the Champions. It's leaner and more direct than the albums before it, a return to raw rock energy that still keeps the band's range, from Spread Your Wings to the bluesy Sleeping on the Sidewalk. In the US it reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and is certified 4x Platinum.

The cover is by American sci-fi illustrator Frank Kelly Freas, who reworked his October 1953 cover for Astounding Science Fiction into the giant robot holding the band. It's a big reason to own this one at 12 inches. The US Elektra original (6E-112) is a gatefold, and the inside panel continues the scene with the robot reaching into the crowd, so check the whole sleeve, not just the front.

The Game (1980): the big shift

If you're American, this is the Queen album. The Game is the band's only No. 1 on the Billboard 200, where it spent five weeks on top in 1980, and it's certified 4x Platinum. It's also their first album with a synthesizer, an Oberheim OB-X, which you hear right away on the opener Play the Game.

Two very different singles carried it to the top of the Hot 100: the rockabilly Crazy Little Thing Called Love and the funk of Another One Bites the Dust, written by bassist John Deacon around one of the most recognizable bass lines of its era. Tighter and groovier than the epics before it, the record shows a band reinventing itself without losing its punch. Because it sold in such numbers, US Elektra copies (5E-513) are easy to find, which makes this a smart first original pressing from the '80s. Some copies came in a shiny foil sleeve, others in a matte one: Discogs lists both.

Sheer Heart Attack (1974): the breakthrough

The band's third album, released in November 1974, is the one that broke Queen to a wider audience, thanks to Killer Queen. The single went to No. 2 in the UK and gave the band its first US hit, peaking at No. 12 on the Hot 100. You can already hear the whole Queen toolkit here: big melodies, sudden tempo changes, orchestral guitars and a sense of humor.

More accessible than the ambitious Queen II, it's the easiest way into the early years and a '70s rock classic in its own right. On vinyl, look for period pressings: US Elektra copies (7E-1026) with the butterfly label came with a fold-out lyric insert, so make sure it's still inside. Check the playing surface under a bright light to avoid deep scratches.

Jazz (1978): the gatefold with the poster

Released on November 10, 1978, Jazz is one of Queen's most playful, all-over-the-map records. It's home to Don't Stop Me Now, the double A-side single Bicycle Race / Fat Bottomed Girls and the exotic opener Mustapha. It climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard 200.

As an object, it's a keeper: a gatefold sleeve and the notorious fold-out bicycle-race poster that shipped with original copies. Heads up for US buyers: Discogs lists the US Elektra originals (6E-166) with the poster and a printed inner sleeve, and a used copy is only complete if both are still there, so read the listing carefully and ask the seller what's actually inside the sleeve. A complete copy with poster and inserts is the one to aim for.

Queen II (1974): the cult favorite

It only reached No. 49 in the US, yet Queen II is the album a lot of die-hard fans name first. Instead of sides A and B, the original LP has a "Side White" and a "Side Black": Brian May wrote most of the white side, Freddie Mercury all of the black one. It's baroque and theatrical, and it already sets the band's signature: layered overdubs, stacked harmonies and clashing styles.

This is exactly the kind of record that makes sense on vinyl. Mick Rock's cover photo of the band in black on the front (later echoed in the Bohemian Rhapsody video) is answered by the band in white inside the gatefold. The US first pressing is Elektra EKS-75082 with a printed lyric inner sleeve. To understand why some pressings go for serious money, see our guide to the most sought-after LPs.

Greatest Hits (1981): the easy entry point

The 1981 compilation is still the best way into Queen's world: nearly every essential hit on one record. In the UK it's the first album in Official Charts history to pass 7 million chart sales, a count that includes streams (announced in July 2022). In the US, the RIAA certified it 9x Platinum in December 2020. Starting a collection? Start here, then work through the studio albums one by one.

There's a US twist worth knowing. The American Elektra edition (5E-564) has a different tracklist from the UK one: it adds Keep Yourself Alive and Under Pressure, the David Bowie collaboration. It also has one of the slowest climbs in chart history: it only cracked the Billboard 200 top 10 in November 2020, hitting No. 8 nearly 39 years after release, driven mostly by vinyl sales. Original pressings and recent reissues are both fair game, depending on what you're after. For the latest reissues, browse our new vinyl releases.

US pressings: what to look for

Queen's US story runs through a few labels, and knowing them saves you from buying the wrong copy.

• Elektra (1970s to early '80s): every album in this guide first came out in the US on Elektra. The early '70s copies wear the "butterfly" label, and Discogs lists pressings from several plants, so compare the runout codes with the Discogs page before you pay a premium for a "first press".
• Hollywood Records (from 1991): the label, part of Disney Music Group, has held Queen's recorded catalog in the US and Canada since the early '90s. That's why the band's most recent RIAA certifications, including the 9x Platinum for Greatest Hits, list Hollywood Records as the label.
• UK EMI originals: collectors often chase them for the sleeves (the embossed A Night at the Opera gatefold, EMTC 103). Just remember the UK Greatest Hits has a different tracklist from the US one.

Not sure whether the copy you found in a bin is worth anything? Run it through our checklist on how to tell if your vinyl records are valuable.

FAQ

Sources

• Featured image: photo by Koh Hasebe, distributed by Elektra Records, public domain (Wikimedia Commons). Album covers: Cover Art Archive (MusicBrainz), rights reserved by their respective labels.
• Discogs (US Elektra and UK EMI release pages: catalog numbers, sleeves, inserts, pressing variants) and MusicBrainz (release groups and release dates)
• RIAA Gold & Platinum database (A Night at the Opera, News of the World, The Game, Greatest Hits)
• Billboard (Billboard 200 and Hot 100 chart history; Greatest Hits reaching the top 10 in November 2020)
• Official Charts Company and uDiscoverMusic (Greatest Hits, 7 million UK chart sales)
• Wikipedia (album pages for Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera, News of the World, Jazz, The Game, Greatest Hits; Red Special), MusicRadar ("no synthesizers" note), Bonhams (Frank Kelly Freas artwork)

Years, labels, catalog numbers, chart peaks and certifications checked against Discogs, MusicBrainz, the RIAA and Billboard, September 2026.