Album · Compilation · 45 years old this year
Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits gathers Queen's biggest singles from their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye" through to "Flash" in 1980. It came out on 26 October 1981 and sits between The Game and Hot Space in the band's story. There was no single worldwide version: track listings and sleeves varied by territory, depending on which singles had been released and which had done well there. In some countries it also carried "Under Pressure", the band's UK number one with David Bowie.
It is Queen's best-selling album, with more than 25 million copies sold. In the UK it spent four weeks at number one and has sold over seven million copies, making it the country's best-selling album of all time. It was also the fourth-biggest seller of the 1980s. Interest surged again after the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody, and a revised American edition, paired with Classic Queen, followed in 1992.
Greatest Hits: tracklist, credits and charts
17 tracks · 57:54Tracklist
- 1Bohemian RhapsodyFreddie Mercury5:54
- 2Another One Bites the DustJohn Deacon3:34
- 3Killer QueenFreddie Mercury3:01
- 4Fat Bottomed GirlsBrian May3:22
- 5Bicycle RaceFreddie Mercury3:01
- 6You’re My Best FriendJohn Deacon2:51
- 7Don’t Stop Me NowFreddie Mercury3:30
- 8Save MeBrian May3:49
- 9Crazy Little Thing Called LoveFreddie Mercury2:43
- 10Somebody to LoveFreddie Mercury4:53
- 11Now I’m HereBrian May4:13
- 12Good Old‐Fashioned Lover BoyFreddie Mercury2:55
- 13Play the GameFreddie Mercury3:30
- 14FlashBrian May2:48
- 15Seven Seas of RhyeFreddie Mercury and John A. Glover-Kind2:48
- 16We Will Rock YouBrian May2:01
- 17We Are the ChampionsBrian May and Freddie Mercury3:01
- Produced by
- Roy Thomas Baker, Queen, Mack, Mack, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Robin Geoffrey Cable, Mike Stone, Various
- Executive producer
- Brian May, Roger Taylor, Queen
- Recorded at
- Rockfield Studios, Musicland Studios, AIR Studios, Trident Studios, Wessex Sound Studios, Mountain Studios, Super Bear Studios, Sarm East Studios, The Manor, Advision Studios, The Music Center, The Town House
- Recorded
- August 1973 – November 1980
- Mixed at
- Sarm East Studios
- Engineered by
- Kris Fredriksson, Mike Stone, Mack, Justin Shirley‐Smith, John Etchells, Geoff Workman
- Labels
- Elektra, EMI
- Length
- 57:54
Line-up
- John Deacon · bass guitar, synthesizer, piano, electric guitar, guitar, keyboard, bass, bicycle bell, electric piano, handclaps, foot stomps
- Brian May · guitar, other vocals, electric guitar, background vocals, bicycle bell, vocals, handclaps, synthesizer, piano, acoustic guitar, choir vocals, lead vocals, foot stomps
- Freddie Mercury · piano, lead vocals, background vocals, tack piano, bicycle bell, vocals, handclaps, acoustic guitar, choir vocals, organ, synthesizer, foot stomps
- Roger Taylor · drums (drum set), timpani, gong, other vocals, electronic instruments, percussion, triangle, wind chime, background vocals, bicycle bell, vocals, handclaps, choir vocals, wood block, tambourine, foot stomps
- Mike Stone · vocals · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1981–1982 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 2020–2026 | 8 |
| Argentine Albums (CAPIF) · 2020–2026 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 1981–1982 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1981–1982 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1981–1982 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1981–1982 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 2020–2026 | 1 |
| US Hard Rock · 2018–2019 | 1 |
| US Top Rock Albums · 2018–2019 | 1 |
All 32 charts
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1981–1982 | 2 |
| Czech Albums (IFPI) · 2018–2019 | 2 |
| Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) · 2018–2019 | 2 |
| Australia (ARIA Charts) · 2018–2019 | 3 |
| Finnish Albums (Suomen Virallinen) · 1991–1992 | 3 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1991–1992 | 4 |
| French Compilations (SNEP) · 1991–1992 | 5 |
| Ireland 3 · 2020–2026 | 5 |
| Swiss Albums · 1991–1992 | 5 |
| Portuguese Albums · 2020–2026 | 6 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 2018–2019 | 7 |
| Japan (Oricon Charts) · 2018–2019 | 13 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 2020–2026 | 14 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1981–1982 | 21 |
| Swedish Albums · 1991–1992 | 21 |
| Hungarian Albums · 2020–2026 | 23 |
| Poland 2 · 2020–2026 | 24 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 2018–2019 | 36 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 2018–2019 | 37 |
| Mexican Albums · 2011 | 53 |
| French Albums · 2011 | 56 |
| Spanish Albums · 2008 | 63 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina · 1994 | Diamond |
| Australia · 2014 | 15× Platinum |
| Austria | 4× Platinum |
| Belgium | Platinum |
| Brazil · 1999 | Platinum |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| Finland · 2006 | Platinum |
| France · 2020 | 2× Platinum |
| Germany | 7× Gold |
| Italy · 2023 | 2× Platinum |
| Japan · 1995 | Gold |
| Mexico | Gold |
| Netherlands · 1991 | Platinum |
| New Zealand · 2018 | 10× Platinum |
| Poland · 2019 | Gold |
| Portugal · 2022 | Gold |
| South Africa | 3× Platinum |
| Spain · 1982 | Gold |
| Sweden · 1992 | Gold |
| Switzerland | 5× Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 2025 | 26× Platinum |
| United States · 2020 | 9× Platinum |
| United States · 2020 | 5× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
62.0
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
1.3k
ListenBrainz listeners
144k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
1.9k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Also released on 26 October
Every year →
More from Queen
Full discography →
Queen
1973
Queen II
1974
Sheer Heart Attack
1974
A Night at the Opera
1975
A Day at the Races
1976
Queen’s First E.P.
1977
News of the World
1977
Jazz
1978
Live Killers
1979
The Game
1980
Flash Gordon
1980
Hot Space
1982
The Works
1984
A Kind of Magic
1986
Live Magic
1986
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
1987
The Miracle
1989
At the Beeb
1989
Innuendo
1991
Greatest Hits II
1991
Box of Tricks
1992
Classic Queen
1992
The 12″ Collection
1992
Live at Wembley ’86
1992
Five Live
1993
The Greatest 3
1995
Made in Heaven
1995
Queen Rocks
1997
The Crown Jewels: A 25th Anniversary Celebration
1998
Greatest Hits III
1999
Highlander
2000
Greatest Hits I, II & III: The Platinum Collection
2000
We Will Rock You
2002
Jewels
2004
We Are the Champions: Final Live in Japan
2004
Queen on Fire: Live at the Bowl
2004
Stone Cold Classics
2006
The A–Z of Queen, Volume 1
2007
Rock Montreal
2007
The Singles Collection, Volume 1
2008
The Singles Collection, Volume 2
2009
Absolute Greatest
2009
The Singles Collection, Volume 3
2010
The Singles Collection, Volume 4
2010
Deep Cuts, Volume 1 (1973–1976)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 2 (1977–1982)
2011
Deep Cuts, Volume 3 (1984–1995)
2011
Icon
2013
Live at the Rainbow ’74
2014
Queen Forever
2014
A Night at the Odeon
2015
Bohemian Rhapsody: The Original Soundtrack
2018
Riffs
2025
Pop
2025
Anthems
2025
Ballads
2025
The best of 1981
All of 1981 →
For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)
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Killers
Iron Maiden · 1981
Diary of a Madman
Ozzy Osbourne · 1981
Mob Rules
Black Sabbath · 1981
High ’n’ Dry
Def Leppard · 1981
A Collection of Great Dance Songs
Pink Floyd · 1981
Maiden Japan
Iron Maiden · 1981
Motörhead Great Pleasure 1981
Great Pleasure
Motörhead · 1981
No Sleep ’Til Hammersmith
Motörhead · 1981
St Valentines Day Massacre
Motörhead · 1981
Stay Clean
Motörhead · 1981
More on Elektra
The label →
Ride the Lightning
Metallica · 1984
Kill ’Em All
Metallica · 1983
News of the World
Queen · 1977
The Game
Queen · 1980
Sheer Heart Attack
Queen · 1974
Jazz
Queen · 1978
A Day at the Races
Queen · 1976
Stiff Upper Lip
AC/DC · 2000
Reinventing the Steel
Pantera · 2000
Flash Gordon
Queen · 1980
Sound of White Noise
Anthrax · 1993
The Nothing
Korn · 2019
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1981-11-03 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 3 November 1981 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 October 1981 | |
| Wikidata | 26 October 1981 | |
| US release | 3 November 1981 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1981 | earliest UK or European date |
64 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | GB | EMI | 0077774603324 | other |
| — | BR | — | 724352988327 | other |
| — | DE | EMI | 00602547025821 | other |
| — | US | Hollywood Records | 720616126528 | other |
| — | CA | Hollywood Records | 72061612652897 | other |
| — | US | — | other | |
| 1981 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1981 | ES | EMI | other | |
| 1981 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1981 | GB | EMI | other | |
| 1981 | FR | Pathé Marconi EMI | other | |
| 1981 | DE | Electrola | other | |
| 1981 | NL | EMI | other | |
| 1981 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1981 | DE | EMI | other | |
| 3 November 1981 | US | Elektra | original | |
| 1983 | US | Elektra | other | |
| 1984 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1985 | XE | EMI | other | |
| 1985 | GB | EMI | 077774603324 | other |
| 28 November 1985 | JP | Elektra | other | |
| 1986 | XE | EMI | other | |
| 1988 | JP | EMI | 4988006612228 | other |
| 1988 | BR | EMI | other | |
| 1990 | SU | Мелодия | other | |
| 1991 | XE | EMI | 077774603324 | other |
| 1991 | XE | EMI | 077774603324 | other |
| 1991 | XE | EMI | 077774603324 | other |
| 1991 | IT | EMI | 7777460332 | other |
| 1991 | US | Hollywood Records | 720616126528 | other |
| 1991 | SU | Мелодия | other | |
| 1992 | GB | Parlophone | 077774603324 | other |
| 1992 | CA | Hollywood Records | 720616126528 | other |
| 1992 | XE | EMI | 077774603324 | other |
| 1994 | XE | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | ZA | EMI Music South Africa | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | XE | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | XE | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | MX | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | AU | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1994 | AU | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 1 May 1994 | GB | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 21 November 2001 | JP | EMI | 4988006797253 | other |
| 2008 | AU | Parlophone | 077778950424 | other |
| 2011 | XE | Virgin EMI Records | 602527583648 | remaster |
| 2011 | — | — | 602527615035 | other |
| 2011 | RU | Island | 4605026707672 | other |
| 3 January 2011 | XE | Island | 602527583648 | remaster |
| 3 January 2011 | GB | Island | 602527610399 | remaster |
| 12 January 2011 | JP | Island | 4988005643322 | other |
| 6 March 2013 | JP | Island | 4988005752659 | remaster |
| 2014 | XW | EMI | 602527594347 | other |
| 2014 | XW | — | 602547025821 | other |
| 11 April 2014 | CA | Hollywood Records | 050087319175 | other |
| 2016 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087341398 | other |
| 17 November 2016 | — | Virgin EMI Records | 602557048414 | remaster |
| 18 November 2016 | US | Hollywood Records | 050087350642 | other |
| 12 October 2018 | — | Hollywood Records | 00050087341398 | remaster |
| 20 March 2019 | JP | Island | 4988031321836 | other |
| 20 November 2020 | US | — | 050087470630 | other |
| 2 July 2021 | XE | EMI | 602438073177 | other |
| 2 July 2021 | — | — | 00050087492311 | other |
| 2 July 2021 | CA | Hollywood Records | 00050087491253 | other |
| — | — | EMI | 692871 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 1500x1500
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 1500×1500 | native: native 1500x1500 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |