Queen: A Night at the Opera (1975) Song Ranking

Rating: 9/10

A Night at the Opera was Queen’s fourth studio album, and arguably their most famous one to date. This album boasts some of the best songs in their entire discography, as well as some of the most iconic songs of all time (if you’re familiar with the track list, I’m sure you’ll know which song I’m referring to).

I’ve heard before that Queen is more of a singles band rather than an album band, so I was pleasantly surprised by this record. It didn’t really feel as if there were many filler tracks, and if there were, they were still enjoyable. Overall, I would say this was a very pleasant and fun listen, and an amazing artistic statement from the band.

In this post I’ll be ranking all of the songs from A Night at the Opera from worst to best. I hope you enjoy reading this, and feel free to let me know if you agree or disagree with my thoughts!

12. God Save The Queen (Track 12)

This is a nice instrumental. The instruments sound great and all, but this song is barely over a minute long and there are no words, so I feel like I have to put it at the bottom.

11. The Prophet’s Song (Track 8)

I’m sure critics love this song, and it’s definitely one of the more interesting tracks on the album, but this is my subjective ranking, and I don’t imagine that I’m ever going to listen to this song outside of the album. Actually, to be completely honest, I’ll probably skip it upon future relistening. I mean… it’s like eight minutes long, and it kind of freaks me out.

10. Sweet Lady (Track 6)

The sad thing is, I think this song could’ve been really really good. The guitar is so fun and exciting, and Freddie’s vocals sound great (what a shock). There’s just something about this song that doesn’t really do it for me, but this isn’t a bad song by any means. In fact, I’d say it’s pretty good.

9. Good Company (Track 10)

There’s something very enjoyable and fun in the weirdness of this song. I’d say they definitely went a more experimental route for this track, but I think it paid off pretty well.

8. I’m In Love With My Car (Track 3)

This is a pretty decent song. A little weird in terms of lyrics, but still enjoyable. However, and I mean this as no type of insult to Roger, there’s something a off-putting about listening to a Queen song where Freddie isn’t on lead vocal. To be fair, though, I can’t really picture Freddie singing this.

7. Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon (Track 2)

This song is so weird, but fun. I feel like that’s the general consensus for this whole album: it’s weird, but fun. This song is a little trippy when it comes to the vocals, but nonetheless, it just gives me happy vibes. They managed to capture the feeling that would be associated with lazing on a Sunday afternoon, but still keep it interesting. Plus, the guitar towards the end is awesome.

6. Death On Two Legs (Dedicated To) (Track 1)

“You’re a sewer rat decaying in a cesspool of pride. Should be made unemployed then make yourself null and void.“ As the first song on the album, this song definitely got me excited for what was coming. It’s definitely the most hardcore song on the album, and I think Freddie did an amazing job with the more aggressive and angry vocal style. I’d say this is a great song to listen to when you’re just really angry at people in your life and want to stick it to the man. When I say this song is angry… it is angry. Like, these lyrics are vicious. There’s almost something comical about going straight from this song into Lazing On a Sunday Afternoon.

5. You’re My Best Friend (Track 4)

This song is pure cheeriness and affection (but it manages not to feel too corny). It’s incredibly catchy, and once you know the words, it’s near impossible not to sing along to this song. I also like what this song is about. It’s often said that you’re partner should also be your best friend, and that’s basically what this song is about. It’s just really wholesome and fun.

4. Seaside Rendezvous (Track 7)

Something that I think the band did really well on this album was capturing the feeling of the lyrics and making that feeling absolutely palpable through the vocals and instrumentation. This song, true to the bubbly lyrics, is incredibly playful, jaunty, and merry. Similarly to You’re My Best Friend, it’s just an instant mood-booster and a nice moment of pure lightness and happiness on what feels like an otherwise very reflective album.

3. ’39 (Track 5)

I guess this song just really took me by surprise. The rhythm guitar is absolutely infectious and makes you feel instantly optimistic. The vocals are also extremely pleasant and sweet. This is a beautiful song, and I wasn’t expecting it to be a standout track, but it absolutely is. The storytelling of this song is also really cool. Overall, this song just feels very triumphant and optimistic.

2. Love Of My Life (Track 9)

“Love of my life, you’ve hurt me. You’ve broken my heart, and now you leave me. Love of my life, can’t you see? Bring it back, bring it back, don’t take it away from me, because you don’t know what it means to me.” This is an incredibly enchanting and beautiful song. It’s actually one of my all-time favorites from Queen. I love how it’s just piano almost all the way through, and then at the end they bring in a harp (not to mention a surprisingly successful guitar solo. One wouldn’t think that electric guitar would do well in this song, but I think it actually works pretty well.) Freddie’s vocals are as fascinating as ever. He has such vulnerability and passion and desperation in his voice for this song. And the backing harmonies from the rest of the band aren’t to be overlooked. They’re absolutely stunning. The lyrics are very genuine and vulnerable. This is a beautiful song, and an absolute gem from Queen’s discography. “Back, hurry back, please bring it back home to me, because you don’t know what it means to me.”

1. Bohemian Rhapsody (Track 11)

Honestly, what could I even say to do this song justice? My mind is practically blanking right now because there’s so much to discuss with this song, but at the same time, it’s hard to put any of it into words. This song is one of the most iconic and beloved songs of all time. Literally everyone knows this song. Bohemian Rhapsody has been analyzed to death by music lovers and critics, but it’s so complex and chaotic that it’s honestly hard to get a true grasp of what Freddie is singing about. Despite this song’s length (I mean… it’s not even that long though…) it seems to fly by. This is undoubtedly Queen’s masterpiece song, and, as I think most people would agree, one of the best and most important songs in the history of rock music, or just music in general.