This is a long way to get to a Queen about question...(please pardon 
my indulgence)

I know there are some rabid (and otherwise) Queen fan's here.  I was 
a huge fan of them back in Jr High/High School. 
Some Queen related quick memories for context (and I'm having these 
memories in large part per recently getting "Sheer Heart Attack" 
and "A Night at the Opera" via lala.com).

  I remember the moment of hearing "Killer Queen" on the radio and 
just going nuts for it. Then rushing out and buying the album. Loved 
it. Eventually, I bought the two before it. I liked them quite but 
they never grabbed me to the same degree (blanket overstatement about 
the songs but in part, I've never been that grabbed by songs about 
Ogre's, Witches and such).  Then prior to getting a chance to buy "A 
night at the Opera", hearing Bohemian Rhapsody on my car radio...I 
was totally blown away by it (again, remember at the time what it was 
like to hear this song on the radio?!). I ran out and picked up "A 
Night at the Opera" and just loved it from start to finish. 
      When "A Day at the Races" came the following year (11th grade) 
I raced out to pick it up. This is even a more of a tangential 
story....perhaps one of my more vivid purchasing moments of an album. 
So, I picked up my copy of "A Day at the Races" to find the price was 
a dollar more then what I expected. This made my practical little 
heart skip a few beats but I went up to the counter with it anyway. 
This traditionally very nice, mellow clerk reached past the guy 
helping me and put his finger on "my" album and pressed down on it, 
wrinkling the shrink wrap, firmly saying "Boycott this album"! He 
briefly, in a rush (per he was helping another customer), explained 
supporting this album only increased record prices from the labels 
and this was a "test" album for the market. I really have come to 
respect that moment with him and his intensions. However, this lit a 
fire in the other clerk who loudly and smugly said things like "So 
your buying an album from Queer?  I hope you like your album from 
Queer!" and so on.  I was tongue tied and speechless young lad. 
Probably my biggest dumb f@ck record buying clerk moment in my life. 
New thread? ; )
  But anyway, back to the topic at hand...I really dug "A Day at the 
Races" but not quite to the same degree as I had the prior two. Then 
with "News of the World" I was really starting to drift away from 
them. I like some songs but never to the same degree. The hits being 
overplayed on this album started to grate, for me. I stopped buying 
Queen. The hits I heard on follow up albums didn't grab me much and 
sometimes annoyed me. Plus my ears and focus were turning to Punk and 
New Wave.  So, I never bought beyond "NOTW".

So, am I all wet in thinking their 3rd, 4th and 5th albums was Queen 
at their peak? Again, I know it's subjective but knowing that "my 
peak" would equal a preference for Queen that is not really with that 
mystical, almost prog-rock feel verses later songs that sometimes had 
an anthem like quality. That is, there was something that struck me 
as more fun or lighter in tone with albums 3-5 but still had some 
bite. But again, I admit I could be wrong per what I know of the 
later albums are the hits. What I remember of the first two is 
sketchy at best (and I may be forgetting the nuggets). Thus, I'm 
asking for help based on my preferences to the degree I can explain 
it.
  I also ask in part per I've had some surprises on "Sheer Heart 
Attack" with a few songs in that I had forgotten how cool they are. 
Thus, maybe I should revisit early Queen too? 

Thanks in advance for any thoughts (rabid fans and otherwise)

Steve D