Any time the topic of best album covers is broached, it usually centers around the word “iconic,” which causes a “chicken or the egg” dilemma. Is the artwork iconic because it’s intrinsically great, or because the album itself is a hit? I wanted to form a list that doesn’t care about fame and isn’t interested in an all-time ranking. What follows is simply a celebration of some of the most incredible and moving artwork to ever grace an album cover.
This cover art is the perfect encapsulation of the cinematic post-rock that Maybeshewill plays. It’s beautiful, uplifting and ethereal. There’s something so wonderfully optimistic about it. It brings to mind so many different things. Fireworks, self-reflection, romance, the changing of the autumn leaves and more are all evoked in this stunning piece of art. I look at this image and feel hopeful that something massive is going to change my life for the better some time soon.
This collaboration between Kanye West and Kid Cudi that had Anthony Fantano in a frenzy stands out to me more for its art than its music. This surrealist piece of art is just fascinating. Truthfully, I have no idea what it’s supposed to mean, but apparently the Kanji characters depicted on the album art translate to “chaos.” Based on a pre-existing piece of art by Takashi Murakami, this album cover raises far more questions than it answers, and I love that.
Some people just have too much talent. Guitarist and front-man John Baizley also designed this incredible album cover. All of their albums are named after colors, and each cover was done by John, but I had to go with this one because the color palette works incredibly well, and who doesn’t love birds? It really is incredible that one person can be responsible for so much tremendous art. Save some skill for the rest of us.
This piece is a testament to the power of album art, as I likely would have never even given this album a shot if I wasn’t immediately grabbed by the cover. I just love the way this piece directs your eye through the cross sections of the woman’s head. There’s just so much that this cover could be saying. Is it about the compartmentalization of thought, the way our true emotions get diluted when we express them or perhaps just anxiety? The best album covers don’t just catch your eye, but also make you think.
There’s nothing like a blast from the past to really put into perspective the timelessness of art. The icy architecture of this fantasy-inspired piece immediately catches the eye, but what I love is its use of white space. The center of this design has the least going on, making for such a thoughtful design for an album. It also just really looks like the kind of album that would only have three songs on it yet is about 40 minutes in length.
It’s so satisfying to see an album cover that so thoroughly represents the title without being too on-the-nose about it, and this is a prime example. The featured painting certainly is radiant, and the imagery of the mountain is a clear representation of the concept of ascension. I really love the choice to focus on nature, rather than on human civilization. One day humanity will be gone and the Earth will be returned to nature.
Sticking with the theme of nature but adding a more psychedelic twist to it, the debut album from Tame Impala is a real feast for the senses. I could have gone with “The Slow Rush,” which is incredible as well, but I really think they got it right the first time. What a perfect representation of the sound of that album.
Mastodon always features incredible artwork, but not only does this one stand out, it grabs you by the shoulders, forces some mushrooms down your throat and drags you down into a hell that’s been taken over by the rainbow. I don’t have anything remotely profound to say about it, I just think it’s so unmistakably rad. We have the artist known only as Skinner to thank for this colorful nightmare tapestry.
The artwork for this legendary jazz album is completely mesmerizing. Artist Malti Klarwein’s piece is an incredible depiction of nature and humanity existing in tandem with each other as well as their own individual properties. It is also a look into the cultural perceptions of Davis and his career. While the exact meaning is up for debate, I don’t think there’s much opposition to the assertion that it is simply beautiful.
Oh my God is this one incredible. It’s actually approximately half of a painting by Mariusz Lewandowski, but it works so well in this situation. The sense of scale is stupefying, as the titular reaper looms so large. The music itself is not exactly what you would call accessible, as the album is comprised of just one 83-minute long doom metal opus, but anyone can appreciate the terrifying beauty of this album cover.
As this and the previous entry prove, some of the best album covers can be found by digging deep into the underground metal scene. The artwork by Pär Olofsson is so delightfully sci-fi, which is very fitting for a technical death metal concept album about aliens. It’s so perfectly purple.
Continuing with the metal theme, I couldn’t possibly leave this breathtaking piece by Peter Mohrbacher off this list. It calls to mind ideas like astral projection and oneness with the cosmos. My personal interpretation of it is that we all contain the universe inside ourselves, a beautiful suggestion of the potential within us as well as our relationship to forces beyond our control. I may be completely wrong, but I know beauty when I see it.
When used correctly, contrasting color can say so much with so little. Artist Roy Nachum’s cover is so striking due largely to the juxtaposition of colors on display. What is fascinating is that the album cover also contains a poem by Chloe Mitchell written in braille. The themes of being misunderstood and rejecting others’ expectations are omnipresent on this incredible album cover.
A concept album that takes the listener on a guided tour of a hallucinogenic world demands a trippy album cover, and this one delivers. Artist Justin Kaufman’s cover is so intriguing and full of detail. What’s going on with that deer? Why is there a snake wrapped around a tree like that? This piece really draws you in and makes you want to take a field trip through Aesop Rock’s imagination.
I’m concluding this list with my favorite album cover of all time, and one of my favorite albums of all time, period. The imagery of a plague doctor in an otherwise beautiful and peaceful landscape is so powerful. I’ve got to thank artist Nicky Barkla for bringing this into my life. Why are plague doctors so interesting? I suppose they represent life and death simultaneously, but perhaps it’s just that the preposterously long noses on the masks are just funny. Either way, I love this album so much.
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