Queen is king.
This is not according to a listeners' poll or a survey of critics, but rather the cold hard facts -- strictly in terms of albums sold in the United Kingdom.
The Official UK Charts Company has released a list of the 100 best-selling albums of all time in the UK.
And topping the list -- perhaps surprisingly to North American music fans -- is Queen's Greatest Hits, which was released in 1981.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles (1967) was No. 2, while (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis (1995) was No. 3. (For a complete list of all 100 albums, see chart at right.)
Obviously, a list of this kind is weighted heavily in favour of more current releases, simply because there are more people in the world now than there were 20, 30 or 40 years ago. That's why you'll find someone like Robbie Williams, who basically is a non-factor on this side of the Atlantic Ocean, emerging with no fewer than six entries in the UK top 100, while the Beatles have only three.
The list also has far more "greatest hits" and "best of" packages than normally are seen on subjective lists of this sort. That's why, despite all those classic albums the Beatles released, one of their three entries on this list is the greatest-hits package 1, which was released in 2000, a full three decades after the band's demise.
A VH1 television program counting down the UK's all-time top 100 albums will be broadcast this week. VH1 is not legally available in Canada.
Coincidentally for Queen fans, the musical stage show We Will Rock You, which is based on the music of Queen, is scheduled to begin performances in Toronto next March.
The UK's 100 best-selling albums
1 Greatest Hits, Queen (5,407,587)
2 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles (4,811,996)
3 (What's The Story) Morning Glory, Oasis (4,314,715)
4 Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits (3,956,704)
5 Gold -- Greatest Hits, Abba (3,943,950)
6 The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd (3,781,993)
7 Greatest Hits II, Queen (3,644,619)
8 Thriller, Michael Jackson (3,578,107)
9 Bad, Michael Jackson (3,554,301)
10 The Immaculate Collection, Madonna (3,402,160)
11 Stars, Simply Red (3,361,115)
12 Come On Over, Shania Twain (3,344,280)
13 Rumours, Fleetwood Mac (3,135,844)
14 Urban Hymns, Verve (3,054,374)
15 No Angel, Dido (3,002,194)
16 Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel (3,001,062)
17 Talk On Corners, Corrs (2,944,547)
18 Spice, Spice Girls (2,920,669)
19 Back To Bedlam, James Blunt (2,895,874)
20 White Ladder, David Gray (2,851,429)
21 Bat Out Of Hell, Meat Loaf (2,837,285)
22 Life For Rent, Dido (2,789,719)
23 But Seriously, Phil Collins (2,737,932)
24 1, Beatles (2,690,318)
25 The Man Who, Travis (2,669,825)
26 The Joshua Tree, U2 (2,665,553)
27 Greatest Hits, Abba (2,598,576)
28 Tubular Bells, Mike Oldfield (2,575,099)
29 A Rush Of Blood To The Head, Coldplay (2,574,249)
30 I've Been Expecting You, Robbie Williams (2,556,042)
31 Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (2,551,238)
32 Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters (2,535,983)
33 Legend, Bob Marley & The Wailers (2,520,486)
34 Hopes And Fears, Keane (2,498,950)
35 War Of The Worlds, Jeff Wayne's Musical Version (2,452,236)
36 The Sound Of Music, Original Soundtrack (2,438,695)
37 Dirty Dancing, Original Soundtrack (2,435,109)
38 Ladies & Gentlemen -- The Best Of, George Michael (2,408,810)
39 Grease, Original Soundtrack (2,373,621)
40 Come Away With Me, Norah Jones (2,369,847)
41 X & Y, Coldplay (2,345,126)
42 Tracy Chapman, Tracy Chapman (2,342,506)
43 Robson & Jerome, Robson & Jerome (2,336,086)
44 Tango In The Night, Fleetwood Mac (2,333,819)
45 Parachutes, Coldplay (2,324,783)
46 Automatic For The People, REM (2,270,332)
47 Whitney, Whitney Houston (2,237,603)
48 The Marshall Mathers LP, Eminem (2,233,158)
49 Swing When You're Winning, Robbie Williams (2,205,028)
50 Graceland, Paul Simon (2,203,381)
51 Sing When You're Winning, Robbie Williams (2,182,097)
52 Saturday Night Fever, Original Soundtrack (2,151,142)
53 The Bodyguard, Original Soundtrack (2,138,030)
54 The Very Best Of, Elton John (2,134,524)
55 Simply The Best, Tina Turner (2,121,000)
56 Kylie -- The Album, Kylie Minogue (2,105,698)
57 Falling Into You, Celine Dion (2,093,363)
58 Life Thru A Lens, Robbie Williams (2,074,860)
59 Greatest Hits, Eurythmics (2,055,996)
60 Escapology, Robbie Williams (2,037,380)
61 Greatest Hits, Robbie Williams (1,998,668)
62 Let's Talk About Love, Celine Dion (1,984,152)
63 Dangerous, Michael Jackson (1,983,954)
64 True Blue, Madonna (1,961,164)
65 Appetite For Destruction, Guns N' Roses (1,945,240)
66 No Jacket Required, Phil Collins (1,934,912)
67 Abbey Road, Beatles (1,925,783)
68 A New Flame, Simply Red (1,923,366)
69 By The Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers (1,915,008)
70 Can't Slow Down, Lionel Richie (1,891,896)
71 Songs About Jane, Maroon 5 (1,868,548)
72 Cross Road -- The Best Of, Bon Jovi (1,867,427)
73 Stripped, Christina Aguilera (1,850,852)
74 Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel (1,840,454)
75 Carry On Up The Charts -- The Best Of, Beautiful South (1,828,890)
76 Play, Moby (1,819,938)
77 The Colour Of My Love, Celine Dion (1,816,915)
78 Born To Do It, Craig David (1,816,781)
79 The Greatest Hits, Texas (1,809,480)
80 Nevermind, Nirvana (1,807,142)
81 South Pacific, Original Soundtrack (1,803,681)
82 Justified, Justin Timberlake (1,802,172)
83 American Idiot, Green Day (1,800,144)
84 Be Here Now, Oasis (1,799,784)
85 Back To Front, Lionel Richie (1,793,978)
86 Out Of Time, REM (1,786,954)
87 Call Off The Search, Katie Melua (1,780,817)
88 Employment, Kaiser Chiefs (1,772,936)
89 By Request, Boyzone (1,770,728)
90 Bat Out Of Hell II, Meat Loaf (1,745,974)
91 Definitely Maybe, Oasis (1,740,386)
92 Just Enough Education To Perform, Stereophonics (1,731,863)
93 Introducing The Hardline According To, Terence Trent D'Arby (1,721,685)
94 Missundaztood, Pink (1,712,173)
95 Let Go, Avril Lavigne (1,711,088)
96 Performance And Cocktails, Stereophonics (1,710,522)
97 Older, George Michael (1,708,555)
98 Parallel Lines, Blondie (1,694,353)
99 Fever, Kylie Minogue (1,682,387)
100 10 Good Reasons, Jason Donovan (1,680,651)
