Queens of the Stone Age Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Queens of the Stone Age is one of the most distinct rock bands of the century. Let’s rank the QOTSA discography from worst to best, now!

QOTSA Albums Ranked:

1. …Like Clockwork (2013)
2. Songs for the Deaf (2002)
3. Rated R (2000)
4. Era Vulgaris (2007)
5. Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)
6. Villains (2017)
7. Queens of the Stone Age (1998)
8. In Times New Roman (2023)

8. In Times New Roman (2023)

Best Song: Straight Jacket Fitting
Worst Song: Made to Parade

In Times New Roman is the first Queens of the Stone Age album where I was a fan of the band during the drop. Upon first listen, I was impressed and even quite blown away by a few of the tracks, particularly the fantastic atmosphere constructed in Emotion Sickness and Carnavoyeur during the single release cycle.

And every single song on the album has elements that I’m absolutely obsessed with. For example, in one of the deeper cuts, Sicily, I’m so enthralled by the magnetic chorus that features these off-kilter strings playing what sounds like some Egyptian-like scale. I adore the buildup during the solo and the bridge, but the verses feel slightly phoned-in in comparison to the best of what Queens of the Stone Age has to offer.

And there’s the magnum opus of this solid outing with the excellent Straight Jacket Fitting, which features one of my favorite all-time Queens moments – as Josh Homme screams and rants like what sounds like some enraged televangelist. It’s so on-brand for Queens while blazing a totally new trail. And if you have the chance, definitely check out his live performance of the track as it elevates it to an even higher level. I promise, you won’t regret this 10 minutes of heaven.

But as much as there is to love here in this album, there are those moments that just feel a bit familiar. Even the great Paper Machete feels like a less energetic version of Little Sister.

However, with the recent release of Queens of the Stone Age Live in the Catacombs, I know this band is far from done, as that release is likely my favorite live album of all time. And while this isn’t my favorite, it’s still a solid album.

7. Queens of the Stone Age (1998)

Best Song: Walkin on the Sidewalks
Worst Song: Hispanic Impressions

I’ve recently just experienced this album for the first time on my YouTube channel. And I must say, it exceeded my expectations. Sure, they were relatively low as fans had let me know it was their least favorite, but I was blown away by some of the songs on this one.

If you’re interested in seeing my first experience with this album click the link above. But all I have to say is Walkin on the Sidewalks has to go down as one of the nastiest songs of all time. In the best way possible!

Some of the “raw” elements of a debut album play into the strengths here, but some don’t. There are a couple of songs that feel more like demo versions of better Queens songs in the future. However, some of them are pure bliss. It’s a bit hit or miss, but the hits are top of the line.

6. Villains (2017)

Best Song: Villains of Circumstance
Worst Song: Hideaway

While I know this is probably the black sheep of the Queens discography, I can’t help but absolutely adore it. I know The Way You Used To Do threw off hardcore fans, as a clear foray into the realm of pop, but guys, it’s a great song! I can’t help but feel like such a badass walking down the street while listening to this one. And there are so many long, epic, badass songs on here. The Evil Has Landed, Feet Don’t Fail Me, and the pinnacle of the album, Villains of Circumstance. My life actually will not be considered complete until I hear Villains of Circumstance live. They didn’t play it the one night I saw them, but they did the next night. I hate my life…

Even tracks like Fortress are soooo underrated! Sure, Hideaway or Head Like a Haunted House are not the best that the band has to offer, but every Queens album has one or two tracks that I don’t prefer, even if I wouldn’t necessarily call it a skip.

The main issue I have with this album, to be honest, is an issue that’s present in all of their later projects. It’s that the production has gotten more and more bit-crushed, distorted, and squished. Gone are the days of Tension Head blasting your eardrums with pure energy and chaos. And it’s not just that the music has lower energy or pace, which it does a bit. It’s that they’ve made a conscious decision to squish the drums and guitars and everything. It makes the songs feel like they lack a bit of bite unfortunately.

5. Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)

Best Songs: Little Sister, Tangled Up in Plaid
Worst Song: Broken Box

It’s so easy for the album that comes out directly after 2002’s Songs for the Deaf to be overshadowed. And it has been, unfortunately. I think a lot of people look down on this album for missing that raw edge of Songs for the Deaf, but this album isn’t trying to match that level of energy. It replaces that energy with more complex and intricate song writing, more switch-ups throughout.

Think of Everybody Knows That You Are Insane, and how it starts with this slide guitar groove intro before breaking into a tempo change and straight up rock. This juxtaposition is what makes this album so special.

The real key to this album are these uncommon chord progressions that come through in songs like The Blood Is Love, Someone’s In the Wolf, or Tangled Up in Plaid that take you on an epic journey of rock with a twist. Every song here feels like it has a twist on the formula of queens of the stone age, other than perhaps Little Sister, which is their most catchy song of all time! So while it might not be enough to crack into the S tier category, it’s pretty damn close.

4. Era Vulgaris (2007)

Best Songs: Sick, Sick Sick, I’m Designer, Make It Wit Chu
Worst Songs: River In The Road

What a rollercoaster it is – having a relationship with Era Vulgaris. I think everybody was taken aback on their first listen of this album. You can actively see me disturbed in my first reaction. I simply thought they just went…too weird.

But over the years, as is common, I’ve softened on Era Vulgaris. Okay, I’ve more than softened. I’ve fallen in love. I wish I had my reactions recorded for the moment that I heard them play the first notes of I’m Designer, or Sick, Sick, Sick in my live shows as I think I might have had an aneurism from excitement!

From thinking I’m Designer was a terrible and weird mistake to absolutely adoring it is a huge about face, but I’m willing to say I was wrong. Forgive me, oh great Queens of the Stone Age, for I have sinned against you, and your honorable Era Vulgaris.

In all seriousness, the quality of this album is still quite uneven. I think it has a collection of my favorite queens songs with Make it Wit Chu, the previously mentioned, Suture Up Your Future, Into the Hollow and 3’s & 7’s. But then, we have some songs that I could kinda go without, to be honest. Battery Acid is…okay. Run, Pig Run is an odd way to close the album, and River in the Road is pretty forgettable.

What makes it even more crazy is that there are bonus tracks that could have replaced these slots on the album, and kicked it up a spot or two on my list. Running Joke, the bonus title track, and The Fun Machine Took a Shit and Died all deserve a spot on the album above those tracks. So for being one of the most confusing albums of all time, Era Vulgaris kicks ass.

3. Rated R (2000)

Best Songs: In the Fade, Better Living Through Chemistry
Worst Songs: Quick and to the Pointless, Lightning Song

To be honest, if I had to pick the most “Queens of the Stone Agey” album of their entire discography, it would be Rated R, and it’s not really close. This album combines the off-kilter grooves that they’re known for, the heaviness of a Songs for the Deaf, and the atmosphere of a Like Clockwork with ease.

Also, I think this is the album with the best overall bass lines, which is saying something for a band that is known for grooves. But just listen to Better Living Through Chemistry and tell me that this album isn’t absolutely built on the classic bass lines.

It’s also got the smoothest guitar licks you’ve ever heard in your life. So what places it slightly below the others above it? Subjectively, I find myself returning to it less than some of the other options. Objectively? Well, this is a subjective ranking. So I could easily see the argument for this being number 1, as I know many people see it.

I suppose if I were to search for something to nitpick here I would say that some of the shorter songs can come across as a bit of filler rather than a fully complete concept. Lightning Song and Quick and to the Pointless are nice and welcome additions, but they don’t feel like they add as much as an alternate version of them might have.

Also, I can see a clear argument that In the Fade is their best song. It’s there.

2. Songs for the Deaf (2002)

Best Songs: Hanging Tree, Song for the Deaf, God is in the Radio
Worst Song: Another Love Song

Queens at their heaviest is also Queens at their catchiest. This album is an earworm that will NOT leave you alone once you let it take hold. I can literally go through every song on the track list and call out multiple moments that just get locked in my head.

“Gimme Toro, Gimme Some More”

“And I realize you’re mine”

“I can go, with the flow”

Line after line are moments that are locked in my brain forever. And I LOVE how big the production is on this album. Everything feels larger than life. It forces you to listen. Grabs you by the ears, shakes your head, and demands your attention. And while the heaviness is a clear draw for the album, my personal favorite moments are actually when it gets a little darker, and softer.

Hanging tree and its intricate 5/4 groove reminds me of Muse as Mark Lanegan’s gravelly croon sweeps up and down the scales. God is in the Radio is quite literally the perfect jam, and a staple of the live set to this day. And Song for the Deaf seems to have paved the way for the dark and ominous journey of …Like Clockwork. The harmonized guitar noodles are some of my favorite moments in musical history.

And this is all without mentioning the songs that have entered the pop culture sphere, like No One Knows, and Song for the Dead. I can’t go anywhere in the world without hearing one of these somewhere on the radio or social media. I might have slightly different favorites than the rest of you on this album, but that’s what makes this album so special. We could all have a different favorite song because there are genuinely so many valid answers to that question.

As for worst, I’ve listed Another Love Song, when I still absolutely love that song. I suppose it doesn’t perfectly fit into the vibe of the album, and doesn’t hit the heights I hope it would. That’s why I’ve listed it, but I still listen to it regularly.

1. …Like Clockwork (2013)

Best Songs: All of them
Worst Song: If I Had a Tail

The album that Josh literally died to make.

Josh Homme faced a severe staph infection and died on the operating table temporarily. He subsequently quit music. This album documented his return to music, his return to life, and for that alone you can sense it means something more. Perhaps it gives it an unfair advantage over the other albums, but from start to finish it feels different.

From the crunching of glass in Keep Your Eyes Peeled to the sweeping of the synth in The Vampyre of Time and Memory, this album is about the details. Sure, it has the other classic Queens elements we’ve discussed, including heavy moments, grooves, biting lyrics. But it has elevated production, elevated songwriting, more transcendent moments, and endless relistenability. The way every song unfolds is exceptionally special and unique. I can’t stress enough how special every song is here.

I’m particularly intrigued by songs like Vampyre, Kalopsia, … Like Clockwork, I Appear Missing, and more that feature multiple, huge dynamic shifts throughout the song. Starting with piano, leading into huge bombastic moments, falling back on grooves, and filled with soul-crushing solos and harmonies throughout. If I make a top 10 albums list of all time, I can guarantee this album will be near the top as there aren’t many more albums that mean more to me or simply sound this good in the history of musical creation.

It feels like an ode to life while wallowing in death. And Josh has never sounded better while singing his heart out. What a special creation. My pick for the best QOTSA album.