Many greats are found here: from "I Don't Believe in Love" to "sign of the Times," but even more obvious than the selections were the omissions. This album would have been better to be called an Anthology; they wanted to have at least two tracks from each one of the albums (only their best 'Empire' got three.) Even though I'm not a huge fan of the early stuff, there are SO many more tracks that are needed. I mean, c'mon Tate. Where's "Another Rainy Night?" Where's "Lady Jane?" "Some People Fly?" "The Real World" from the Last Action Hero Soundtrack? Or any number of tracks from "Operation: Mindcrime?" So many could have been added to make this Greatest Hits album even greater.

Oh well. I guess I can't complain, seeing as I'm absolutely thrilled about some of the stuff they included, like "Bridge," "Sign of the Times," the bonus track "Chasing Blue Sky," an alternate version of the amazing "Someone Else?," and the best thing Queensryche ever released, the emaculate "I Am I." But I still have "Empire" to listen to over and over again.... I guess that's something to look forward to.

A Little Too Late...........
Queensryche have always been a highly under-rated band. Unfairly lumped in with the dying breed of "hair bands", Queensryche came a long way from being the Iron Maiden wannabe band they started out as and went on to make great cd's that didn't sell as well as they should have (Operation MindCrime, Promised Land). Luckily, if you were the type of person who only bought their "breakout" cd, "Empire", then please pick up this compilation to see what you've missed. (I wish they included "Screaming in Digital" from their excellent "Rage for Order" cd.) A lot of great songs were left off from "Promised Land", but if you wanna great listening experience-go out and buy the cd! Why did I title this review "A Little Too Late"? They should've released a greatest hits immediately after guitarist/songwriter Chris DeGarmo left the band. It kinda leaves a dirty taste in your mouth having one song without him and smells like a contract fullfillment.

powerful, but a bit tedious at times
Queensryche was one of the top prog metal bands ever. They mixed heavy metal fury with progressive, intelligent melodies. That's where it gets tedious. Metal is supposed to be wild, obnoxious idiot music. Instead, Queensryche carved highly intelligent, thinking-guy's music. That kind of rubs me the wrong way. But Queensryche is a good band. They still 'rock out' at times, and some of their songs are some of my favorites. But this is not the true definition of metal. Go get some Iron Maiden or Ozzy if you want to hear idiot music(also known as metal).

The queen of the ryche..... shes calling to you!
I LOVE Queensryche!! It's hard for me to pick favorite bands cause I have so many favorites,, but if I had to make a top 5 list Queensryche would definitley be in! They're a great band and they paved the way for other great prog-metal bands like Dream Theater, Fate's Warning, Symphony X, Iced Earth, & Blind Guardian.

This cd has all their best songs- "Queen of the Rieche", "Lady Wore Black", "I Dont Believe in Love", "Walk in the Shadows", "Warning", yep they're all here!

I hope I can see Queensryche live soon- I missed their tour with Dream Theater and Fates Warning this past summer

The queen of the ryche....... shes calling to you!

Cool band - but this compilation is lacking
In the eighties, a number of power metal bands came onto the music scene. Among these was the often underappreciated Queensryche. Their sound was an interesting one, in that it took elements from a plethora of styles (Amazon has even said it sounds like a cross between Iron Maiden and Pink Floyd at times. Plus, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that their singer is trying to be someone he isn't - Bruce Dickinson.) This is the band's best known hits package. Read on to see how it measures up.

PROS:
-Well, if you're a casual fan (and I mean VERY casual), you'll get most of the songs you're looking for in this compilation.
-In addition to those big hits, you get a number of underrated masterpieces as well. There's more to these guys than just the big hits!
-As a bonus, you get some unreleased tracks.!

CONS:
-ANOTHER RAINY NIGHT ISN'T HERE!? WTF!? The title track from the band's Operation: Mindcrime album is also missing in action! And that's not where the omissions end. Read some of the other reviews on the page, and you'll see what I mean.
-The unreleased tracks are obviously a ploy to sell more records (just about EVERY musical artist out there does this.)
-One disc of these guys just isn't enough.

OVERALL:
The only people I can recommend this compilation to are VERY CASUAL fans of the band, due to all the startling omissions. Only get this compilation if you find it for a very low price, or if you're a Queensryche completist who can't live without the unreleased tracks featured here.
It doesn't take very many fingers to enumerate the number of American heavy-metal bands who traversed the treacherously shifting musical tastes of the 1980s and '90s intact and prosperous. And though their multiplatinum days peaked well before contemporaries like Metallica, Queensryche soldiered on, their sound evolving and maturing in remarkably similar fashion; one might argue they lead the way in that regard. Greatest-hits collections are suspect affairs, but this one presents a taut history lesson, documenting the evolution of one of America's most consistently underrated metal outfits from the Judas Priest-clone days of their self-released debut to the heights of Operation: Mindcrime and Empire, and into their equally rewarding '90s output. Along the way, the band managed to pick up an often artsy social conscience as well as an impressive musical range (the quiet dynamics of "Silent Lucidity" being light-years away from singer Geoff Tate's original Halford-esque howl) and a catchy pop sensibility ("Jet City Woman," "Sign of the Times"). Fans will also welcome two bonus tracks, the bluesy "Chasing Blue Sky" and an alternate, full-band version of "Someone Else?" --Jerry McCulley