From indelible images to impeccable portraits, 100 Greatest Album Covers are as moving and awe inspiring as what’s inside.
The coolest, best, greatest, most iconic, most famous album covers of all time. It doesn’t matter which adjective you want to put in front of “album art” because such lists are always very subjective. However, we can safely say that album art is critical to how the public perceives a record. (It’s hard to imagine Sergeant Pepper on the cover of the White Album, or vice versa.) Even in today’s digital age, a cool record cover can make a huge difference. (Artists like Young Thug and Glass Animals can attest to this.) So, without further ado, here’s our pick of the 100 best record covers of all time.
Bandleader Cyril Jordan’s brilliant comic art has appeared on countless covers and posters of The Flamin’ Groovies over the decades. When they debuted in 1969, the playful characters were meant to remind you how fun rock ‘n’ roll should be.
If the Beatles could do a white album duo, the Bee Gees could do a fuzzy red album. The red velvet cover with gold embossing draws attention to the fact that Odessa will be unique and beautiful, and this is true.
Beggars Banquet is that rare example when two well-known covers from one album really complement each other. Pair the infamous bathroom lid with the invitation engraved on the American replacement and you have the yin and yang of the Rolling Stones of the time.
Whenever hip-hop gets too serious, ODB is ready to shatter, stir up and give tradition the middle finger. Abandoning any pompous gimmicks, the former Wu-Tang member put a forged version of his social ID on the cover of his solo debut, both as a reminder of where he comes from and to remove the stigma of receiving public assistance. As he reads in Wu-Tang’s “Dog Sh_t”: “Had lunch but still fries that good old Folly cheese.”
On the album that made pop music history, Nick Lowe portrayed himself in many different ways, from a rock and roll scoundrel to a sensitive folk singer (there are different photos in the US and UK versions), all with tongues firmly inserted into his cheek. .
The song Long John Silver from Jefferson Airplane hails from the golden age of elaborate album covers. Since people are already using sticks to store and clean marijuana, the plane will provide you with a cardboard box holder along with a can of marijuana, or at least a realistic photo.
Any artist who dares to look so intimidating on the cover of their first album deserves platinum success. Inspired by the album’s subliminal theme, Billie Eilish’s dark sleeve “When we’re all asleep, where are we going?” Please note that Eilish is here to mess with your head.
George Clinton’s space adventures found the perfect accompaniment in the casual cool cover of the Mothership Connection congressional spaceship party. The fact that it looks very low budget only makes it more interesting.
The Geto Boys’ personality maintains a fine line between exploitation and cultural commentary, and nothing illustrates this dynamism more than the cover of their acclaimed 1991 album. The photos of Bushwick Bill in the hospital are as unshakable as their music.
Alberto Vargas was best known as a poster artist long before he designed the famous cover for the classic 1979 Candy-O of The Cars, but this stylish drawing of a redhead, of course On the car, is his most famous work. Candy-O is one of the top two uses for rock album posters, plus…
For her debut solo album, Courtney Love took the Cars concept one step further by hiring a younger and edgier poster artist known professionally as Olivia to paint her. Of course, it took on an extra dimension, playing with Joy’s own image at the time.
The Rolling Stones may not be able to beat The Beatles on their 1967 psychedelic album, but they may have an even cooler album cover, the first 3D cover in rock. Bonus points if you can find where the Beatles are hiding in 3D at the behest of His Majesty Satan.
PiL’s follow-up to their famous Metal Box album cover was even cooler, with bandmate Jeanette Leigh lagging behind with a rose in her teeth, a gun in her hand and a killer look in her eyes.
It’s weird, it’s witty, it’s Warhol. Years later, The Velvet Underground’s famed minimalism and Niko’s album cover of exposed bananas influenced the visual style of punk and remains one of the greatest album covers ever made.
The cool cover of The Miracles’ 1961 debut album summed up the old-school showbiz that Motown was about to take the world away from. But it’s so much fun, you still have to love it.
Go-Go’s sense of playful subversion extends to the glam cover they sent in for their debut hit album Beauty & The Beat. It’s their party, if they let you, you can join.
This famous album cover works wonders with its simple strategy. In his solo Dr. Dre debut, The Chronic, the design assumed that Dre was already an icon and presented him accordingly.
Jeff Bridges knew nothing about the original Playboy, the effortlessly cool, unrealistic album cover figure in the style of Quincy Jones’ solo debut. Q has always had a knack for spotting talent – as evidenced by his cross-cultural records – but he was also good at design. (He found the “Dude” statue of the same name in an art gallery and took it home for inspiration.)
Design-focused label 4AD did some of their best work on the Cocteau Twins album cover. This sparkling image is undoubtedly beautiful, but you never know what it really means… just like their music.
A year after his landmark album The Payback, Brown released the double album Hell, which pointed to social ills both on the record and on the elaborately illustrated cover. Designed by artist Joe Belt, who is famous for capturing Wild West characters, Belt takes aim at another dark chapter in American history by depicting fallen soldiers, drug addicts and incarcerated people. One of the most famous funk album covers of all time.
Designer Larry Carroll, one of the greatest metal cover designers of all time, brought a thousand nightmares to life in this Bosch-inspired painting for Slayer’s masterpiece Kingdom in Blood.
Robert Fripp saw the dramatic picture after In the Crimson King’s Court was finished and realized it was perfect for the music, the crazy cover character is 21st century schizophrenia. Unfortunately, just a few months later, the artist died.
One of the great illusions of the psychological age, the famous cover of the 1968 Moby Grape double LP Wow showed an otherworldly landscape of the world’s largest bunch of grapes. Wow, really.
One of the most famous album covers in recent times. Kanye West brought the minimalist “white album” concept to the CD era. You can also think of Yeezus as the last holiday before physical CDs disappear.
Super cool Elvis (in a shiny gold bodysuit) multiplied by one of the most enduring images and the greatest album covers of the early 60s. If there are so many Elvis fans, of course we need 15 Elvis Presleys.
Black Flag’s groundbreaking punk metal wouldn’t be the same without Pettibon’s gruesome comedic imagery, though in this case it’s not nearly as gruesome as the album itself.
The music on it is best represented by an abstract painting on the beautiful cover of Talking Heads’ 1983 album Speaking in Tongues. If this item wasn’t so difficult to store, it would be priced higher.
Frank Zappa wraps his satire of hippie culture in an equally vicious parody of the famous sergeant, and we’re only doing it for the money. The Pepper album cover was a huge success.
One of the best joke album covers, the boxer is already a perfect fit for Pogues, but don’t miss the subtlety here. (Of course, the word “peace” has five letters.)
Rush’s best album covers express their big concepts and good sense of humour. In this Moving Pictures stage cover that features many of the song’s characters, we find at least three different images in the album title.
As it turned out, the Beatles were just too lazy to go to Everest – yes, that was the original plan – so they came up with something equally memorable by leaving the studio and crossing the street, which turned out to be the famous Abbey. Road album cover. It has become one of the greatest works of all time.
All of Marvin Gaye’s cool album covers are works of art in some way, but Ernie Barnes’ Sugar Shack, the cover of I Want You, is the only one currently hanging in a museum. Barnes’ voluptuous figures and upbeat dancers reflected the carnal nature of Guy’s 1976 album.
Joe Jackson’s I’m the Man album cover is full of punk attitude, in which he portrays the title song’s hero – a lewd character who can sell you anything – if you don’t really need it.
Okay, it’s a bit graphic and provocative, but as the most controversial thing the Beatles have ever done (and the most expensive original), the Yesterday and Today cover certainly deserves its place on lists of the greatest album covers.
In the 1970s, high schools had almost as many copies of Alice Cooper’s School’s Out as there were actual desks. The original with underwear insert is very good.
Anyone who saw the play or read The New York Times in the 70s will recognize the work of cartoonist Al Hirschfeld, who is here working his magic on members of Aerosmith. As always, the name of his daughter Nina was hidden several times on the cover of the famous album.
Between the rapper’s Gucci-inspired attire and a pile of cash in the background, the cover of Eric B. and Rakim’s second album, Paid in Full, says it all about 1987′s success and is considered hip-hop’s greatest album cover in one leap.
The cover of Joy Division’s 1979 debut album is a true representation of the airwaves. The striking black and white cover has become so iconic that teenagers who have never heard of the band now proudly wear it on their T-shirts.
P-funk’s wild fusion of funk, surrealism and art-pop transcended the music to produce some of the most provocative record covers of the era. Model Barbara Cheeseborough’s screaming face on the cover reflects the seething chaos of the 70s and the searing funk rock of Maggot Brain.
Ah, those times when the bands had money to implement the most daring ideas. The cover art for the 1971 album by the British progressive rock band Family is a multiple extravaganza using early CGI, with photos of the various bands superimposed on top of each other until very blurry in the upper right corner.
Gloomy, dark photographs appear on both the US and UK versions of Meet The Beatles! It’s the exact opposite of the smiling face photo everyone wants to see, and the first of many holdovers from the Beatles’ art school days.
Most of Pink Floyd’s covers compete for top album cover lists, but we wanted to highlight something that wasn’t the dark side of the moon. This Storm Thorgerson/Hipgnosis imagination explodes with four versions of the same photo (except the band changes position in each version), which is in keeping with their sense of surrealism.
The combination of Metallica’s trademark shock value and social commentary cannot be better expressed than this modern take on Lady Justice, the cover of their acclaimed 1988 album… And Justice For All.
With all four members in the bathtub, the cover says more about The Mamas & The Papas than it could be. The toilet featured on the original cover of If You Can Believe Your Own Eyes and Ears was also tabooed in 1966.
All of Madonna’s album covers stand out in their own way, but there’s something special about her self-titled debut album from 1983. She seems to be able to foresee everything that will happen to her in the next 40 years.
The Ten Out Of 10 cover remains one of 10cc Hipgnosis’ very clever covers and one of their most underrated albums. They were on the 10th floor of a hotel on the edge of a cliff, and only one person seemed to care.
The Underground pays homage to Thelonious Monk’s experience as a pioneering jazz performer by featuring the pianist as a French resistance fighter during World War II. Columbia Records art director John Berger is responsible for iconic covers like Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits and Bruce Springsteen’s Born to Run, but this may be one of his most prized possessions: an album cover.
Jimmy Page’s art school friend created this stunning cover by superimposing the band members on a famous shot of the WW1 German fighter pilot “Red Baron” and his crew. Many Americans wondered what Lucille Ball was doing there, but in fact it was the French actress Delphine Seyrig.
Post time: Jan-04-2023