Great record album covers are not just images, they are iconic art. Sometimes they symbolize the theme of an album. And sometimes they can symbolize an entire genre of music, or even a time in history.
In today’s digital music era, the visual representation of music is often lost.
Here we celebrate 20 of the top album covers from the past 70 years, across several genres of music.
20. David Bowie: Aladdin Sane (1973)
The cover artwork, shot by Brian Duffy featuring a lightning bolt across Bowie’s face, was the most expensive cover ever made at the time. It was also the first album Bowie wrote and released from a position of stardom. The lightning bolt representing the “cracked actor” Bowie felt he had become during his rise to superstardom. It’s regarded as one of the late star’s most iconic images.
19. Big Brother & The Holding Company: Cheap Thrills (1968)
This cover was drawn by the famous cartoonist Robert Crumb. Originally set to be the back cover, Janis Joplin—an avid fan of underground comics— demanded Columbia place it on the front. This cover represents most people’s first introduction to the style of underground comic art, and would become the style associated with psychedelic music from here on out. It is listed as number nine on Rolling Stone‘s list of 100 greatest album covers.
18. Rage Against the Machine: Rage Against the Machine (1992)
Rage Against The Machine’s 1992 self-titled debut album was a political and radical call-to-arms. The cover, no less confrontational, featured the famous image of a Buddhist monk burning himself to death in protest. A truly powerful image demonstrating one man’s ultimate sacrifice for his beliefs. It was both shocking and inspiring, two ingredients for an iconic album cover.
17. Led Zeppelin: Led Zeppelin (1969)
Led Zeppelin’s debut album cover was nothing short of shocking when it came out. Featuring an image of the 1937 Hindenburg disaster was a bold move. But that is also the reaction Led Zeppelin was hoping to get with their music –they wanted to shock the world.
16. Kendrick Lamar: To Pimp A Butterfly (2015)
Here the album’s artwork encapsulates the record’s themes on race, self-love, and most of all, to be black in America. He assembled his hometown crew for a victorious party on the White House lawn, stomping on the symbol of a weaponized criminal justice system. In this case the symbol is a corrupt judge. Likewise, hip-hop has always orbited around the politics of the president, leveling criticism at its greatest antagonists like Ronald Reagan and George Bush.
15. The Clash: London Calling (1979)
Pennie Smith took this photograph of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his guitar at a concert in New York City. In 2002, it was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time by Q magazine, commenting that “it captures the ultimate rock moment – total loss of control”. The cover’s design is also a parody of Elvis Presley’s self-titled debut album, with pink letters down the left side and green text across the bottom.
14. A Tribe Called Quest: The Low End Theory (1991)
The Queens rap collective A Tribe Called Quest created one of the most recognizable symbols in hip-hop with the cover of their jazz-rap fusion masterpiece. Inspired by the provocative covers of old Ohio Players albums, it featured a nude model in DayGlo body paint. The bold colors and funky imagery lent itself to the group’s vision on what would become their breakout album. The painted lady would later appear on subsequent Tribe releases and surely inspired the equally provocative Stankonia album art.
You can learn more about jazz-rap here.
13. Grace Jones: Island Life (1985)
As a model, Grace Jones’ career is littered with iconic photo shoots, but this album cover stands out. While almost all of her record sleeves qualify for “iconic” status, the 1985 collection Island Life remains arguably her most famous. Originally printed in a 1978 edition of New York Magazine, the image was created by Jones’ then partner, designer and photographer Jean-Paul Goode, who fashioned Jones’ implausible posture from a composite of several photographs.
12. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours (1977)
The artwork for Fleetwood Mac’s best-selling album features Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks. Oh, and it also features two large balls dangling proudly between Fleetwood’s legs. This is not just a schoolboy prank, but a nod to the band’s inter-group sexual relationships. The cover is extremely confusing and deliberately so, the whole situation the band found themselves in at that point was equally bizarre.
11. Miles Davis: Bitches Brew (1970)
Since Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew sounded like no other previous jazz albums, it couldn’t look like one either. Miles experimented with a number of electric instruments, departing from traditional jazz rhythm, including electric piano and guitar to create a rock-influenced soundscape. Malti Klarwein created the album’s cover with a mix of African folk art and psychedelia.
10. Pink Floyd: Wish You Were Here (1975)
The image was photographed by Aubrey “Po” Powell, and the handshake featured on the cover is meant to symbolize empty gestures and hidden feelings. In the photograph, one man is on fire, while the other, dressed in a business suit, casually shakes his hand. The idea that people tend to conceal their true feelings, for fear of “getting burned” is showcased here.
9. Utopia: Swing to the Right (1982)
The album cover is a retouched reproduction of a well-known photograph taken at a public burning of Beatles records. The burning took place in 1966 in Waycross, Georgia after Lennon’s “more popular than Jesus” remarks. But in this case, the photo is a Mobius strip, and the album they’re burning is the very one they’re standing in. The album itself is a Regan-era commentary that takes on political villains, evil music industry moguls, and corporations.
8. The Roots: Things Fall Apart (1999)
This Philly group released five limited edition album artworks featuring famous photos that depicted “visual failure in society”, including a murdered mafia boss, a burning church, and, most famously, two women being chased by police during the 60s riots in a Brooklyn neighborhood. While most of The Roots’ previous covers just depicted the band, Things Fall Apart was a step towards social activism both in their music and imagery.
7. NWA: Straight Outta Compton (1988)
This album and its cover defined the emerging genre of gangsta rap. The image, showing a person who is about to be killed, was grittier than anything that had ever been done before. It showcased the violence that was commonplace in Compton, and brought that narrative into the homes of millions of adolescents around the world. It forever changed the face of rap music.
6. The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971)
This brilliant cover expressed the Rolling Stones music and persona perfectly. The artwork for this album was thought up by Andy Warhol, and the photography by Billy Name. The original cover design for this album included a working zipper that opened to reveal a pair of white boxer briefs. A feature very reminiscent of the Velvet Underground’s album that Warhol also designed.
5. The Beatles: Abbey Road (1969)
Originally planning on shooting a cover on Mt. Everest,The Beatles settled on leaving the studio and crossing the street. This resulted in the famous Abbey Road album cover. What makes this so iconic? Though Let It Be is the last album from The Beatles, Abbey Road is the last one they recorded together. This image of them together symbolizes the end of an era. Millions of people have since taken their photo here to pay respects to the Fab Four. Countless parodies have also been made of the cover, from The Simpsons to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
4. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey Powell came up with the concept of a prism refracting light into colors of the spectrum. The white beam of light passing through the triangle is said to stand for the start of life. The rainbow beam is said to represent all the paths one may take during their lifetime. The heartbeat passing through the middle of the album represents a human thread running through it all with emotions and struggles.
3. Nirvana: Nevermind (1991)
According to Kurt Cobain, the idea for the cover came from watching a documentary on water births. However, its imagery has been hailed by the 90s counterculture generation as a symbol for society’s greed and a loss of innocence. The cover design has gone on to inspire endless satires. This album also contains some of Nirvana’s top songs.
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico: The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
Andy Warhol’s design for The Velvet Underground’s debut remains one of the most famous album covers ever. It is the definition of pop art. And for added “appeal”, early copies of the album invited the owner to “Peel slowly and see.” When peeling back the seal, a flesh-colored banana was revealed underneath. This sexually charged effect was difficult to create and a special machine was needed to manufacture them.
1. The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
What makes this album cover a pop art masterpiece? Designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, it features some of pop culture’s biggest names, brilliantly capturing a moment in time. The cover shows the band alongside life-size cut-offs of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Bob Dylan to name a few. It has been parodied numerous times and has influenced everyone from Frank Zappa to The Simpsons.
Click here for an interactive Sgt Pepper cover to discover who’s on one of the most important album covers of all time.
