Why ‘Queen’ is King of Brit Rock Bands
The group’s remarkable record-breaking run
Hold on a minute!? Isn’t the greatest Brit rock band EVER the Beatles?!
Yes, they are, by almost every measure — including #1 single hits and cultural/musical influence.
But when it comes to rock albums, one Brit rock band tops them all…Queen.
According to Billboard, the de facto standard record-rater, the catalog album Greatest Hits by Queen is the rock album with the longest run at Number 1 with 105 weeks on the Billboard Top Catalog Albums chart. The longest run at Number 1 of any catalog album is Bob Marley’s Legend with 126 weeks.
When it comes to single hits, there is no contest between the Beatles and Queen — the Beatles are way out in front. But Queen’s Greatest Hits takes the top spot in staying power on these U.S. album charts:
Billboard Top Rock Albums:
Greatest Hits (Queen) — #1 for 30 weeks, 350 weeks on chart
1 (Beatles) — Peaked at #3, 284 weeks on the chart
Billboard Top Album Sales:
Greatest Hits (Queen) — Peaked at #3, 539 weeks on the chart
Abbey Road (Beatles) — #1 for 1 week, 297 weeks on the chart
Billboard Top Current Sales:
Greatest Hits (Queen) — Peaked at #11, 207 weeks on the chart
Sergeant Pepper’s… (Beatles) — Peaked at #141, 175 weeks on the chart…
