Queen Vinyl Records

Few bands embodied the fearless creativity and attitude of 1970s rock like Queen. Embracing the exaggerated pomp of prog rock and heavy metal and the quaintness of vaudevillian music hall in equal measure, the British quartet coloured their complex arrangements with camp and bombast, creating a huge, mock-operatic sound layered with guitars and overdubbed vocals. For years, their albums boasted the motto "no synthesizers were used on this record," signalling their allegiance with post-Led Zeppelin hard rock bands. But balancing this seriousness, vocalist Freddie Mercury brought an extravagant sense of fun to Queen, pushing them toward kitschy humour and pseudo-classical arrangements as epitomized in their best-known song, "Bohemian Rhapsody."