Queen’s Blockbuster Album Reaches A New Peak In America

Queen will always be regarded as one of the bestselling musical acts of all time, but streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music have completely changed the music industry in the past decade or so, with millions of people altering their listening habits. Instead of buying songs and albums or simply tuning into the radio, a majority of music lovers head to their streaming service of choice to consume the tunes and projects they can’t get enough of.

Like many other legacy acts, Queen is playing catch-up when it comes to streaming figures, and this week, the English rock band reaches a new peak on one of Billboard’s streaming-only rosters.

Greatest Hits Returns to the Top Streaming Albums Chart

Greatest Hits returns to the Top Streaming Albums chart, a list Billboard introduced several years back that details the 50 most successful full-lengths and EPs on streaming platforms in the United States. This frame, the hits-packed compilation breaks back in at No. 39, as it appears on the tally for only the second time.

Queen’s Streaming Chart History

Greatest Hits remains Queen’s only title to land on the Top Streaming Albums ranking. The project debuted in March 2024 and then immediately slipped away. The compilation has been missing for nearly two years, and it hits a new high point as it finds its way back in.

Queen Joins Pitbull and Olivia Rodrigo

Queen claims the loftiest return to the Top Streaming Albums chart this frame. The band’s Greatest Hits beats another album by the same name by Pitbull, which also simultaneously establishes a new peak as it reappears at No. 40. The roster is closed out with Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour, which finds its way back to No. 50 after once peaking at No. 26.

Just as many efforts debut on the list this frame. The tally is ruled by A$AP Rocky’s Don’t Be Dumb, while YoungBoy Never Broke Again’s Slime Cry and Madison Beer’s Locket open at Nos. 4 and 33 respectively.

Greatest Hits Also Returns to the Sales Chart

Greatest Hits returns to two Billboard-published rankings this frame. In addition to the Top Streaming Albums chart, the set can once again be found on the Top Album Sales list, where it makes a home at No. 42 after failing to appear at all last frame. Luminate reports that a 14% spike in purchases of the compilation, which sold just over 2,400 copies in total, is responsible for its comeback.

Queen Rises Across Several Billboard Albums Charts

As Greatest Hits brings Queen back to two of Billboard’s non-genre-focused albums rosters, the set is on the rise on nearly every other list where it can be found. Greatest Hits returns to No. 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, improving from No. 2 to the summit. The compilation is now up to 202 frames running the show.

The same singles collection also surges on the Top Rock Albums and Top Rock and Alternative Albums charts, jumping to Nos. 5 and 6 respectively. Greatest Hits even manages to return to the top 40 on the Billboard 200, the all-encompassing ranking of the most consumed albums and EPs in the U.S. The set leaps 20 spaces to No. 36 as it nears 700 turns on the chart.

Queen’s Only Minor Decline This Time Around

The Queen classic slips on just one of the seven Billboard charts where it can currently be found. That’s an incredible performance for a compilation originally released more than 40 years ago. Amazingly, Greatest Hits only backtracks by one spot on the Vinyl Albums list, as it descends to No. 23.

Queen Follows Fleetwood Mac on the Streaming Ranking

It should come as no surprise that the Top Streaming Albums chart is typically dominated by new releases, especially those by current-day superstars who tend to perform best on Spotify, Apple Music, and similar platforms. Greatest Hits is the second-oldest title on the streaming roster this frame. Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours beats the compilation for that honor, as that title descends from No. 22 to No. 25. While Queen’s compilation was unleashed in 1981, Rumours took over the planet several years earlier, in 1977.