Loudersound has published a ranked retrospective of Muse's ten studio albums, tracing the Devon trio's evolution from cult rock outsiders to one of Britain's biggest stadium acts, with eight consecutive UK number-one albums to their name. The piece frames the band as heirs to Queen's theatrical unpredictability, quoting Brian May's praise for their "madness" and frontman Matt Bellamy's own admission that Muse "embrace" ridicule rather than fear it.

The article works through the catalogue album by album, with detailed assessments of mid-table entries such as Drones (2015), a heavy-handed concept album about authoritarianism co-produced by Robert "Mutt" Lange, and Simulation Theory (2018), an '80s-inspired synth-rock tribute featuring production from Timbaland. It also references the band's ninth album, teased by Bellamy via a riff-heavy single, though the ranking's very top entries and the full order are not covered in the extracted text. The tone throughout is one of playful reverence for the band's willingness to embrace bombast and theatricality over restraint.