Queen’s sheer genius at adapting everything around them to their own purposes reached an apex with 1980’s The Game, both their biggest US album and one of their worldwide landmarks in turn, working with synths for the first time for extra flavor. Bassist John Deacon’s tribute to Chic in all but name, “Another One Bites the Dust,” became a deserved disco classic and general smash, Freddie Mercury’s sprightly rockabilly kicker “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” wasn’t far behind, while further singles like “Save Me” and “Play the Game” kept it all going.

– Ned Raggett