This eye-catching album cover belonged to the Beatles’ eighth studio album. It features the band in costume, alongside a collection of cardboard cutouts of famous people, as well as their own (and several other) wax figures, borrowed from Madame Toussads wax museum in London. The idea was conceived by Paul McCartney, and it was costly to execute. The results are what matter, though, and this is undeniably an iconic album cover.
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This was the debut album of the rock band the Velvet Underground. While the release was met with underwhelming reception, the record eventually gained the appreciation it deserved and is now recognized its influence on popular music. The iconic album art features a print of a banana by Andy Warhol. Early copies of the album came with a sticker of a peel of the banana, inviting listeners to “Peel slowly and see,” which would remove the sticker and reveal a flesh-colored banana under it. Those copies are now rare collector’s items.
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This album was Pink Floyd’s eighth, and it became one of the best-selling albums of all time. An associate of the band presented them with seven options for cover art, but the band unanimously chose the prism. They had requested a simple but bold design, and that’s absolutely what they got, as this is now one of the most recognizable album covers of all time.
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This self-titled album was Elvis Presley’s first. It features one of the most notable images of him along with green and pink lettering along the side and bottom. The lettering’s position and coloring has since inspired many other notable artists, who used it on their covers as an homage to Elvis.
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The follow up to The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, this was David Bowie’s sixth studio album. The album’s predecessor had made Bowie famous, so this was the first album he produced as a star. It’s considered one of the greatest albums of all time and has an equally iconic cover. The art features Bowie with the now-iconic lightning bolt painted across his face.
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1969 gave us the release of the Beatles 11th studio album. This album would be the last in which all four of the band’s members recorded together. The cover features the band using a crosswalk outside Abbey Road Studios and has since become one of the most notable and imitated images in popular music and culture.
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Green Day released their seventh studio album, American Idiot, back in 2004. The iconic cover features bold art designed to look like political propaganda. This was designed to reflect the themes of the album. American Idiot received positive reviews from critics and a Grammy for best rock album.
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London Calling was the third studio album by the punk rock band, The Clash. The iconic cover image features the band’s bassist smashing his guitar. The actual guitar in the photo is now on display in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The lettering was designed as an homage to Elvis Presley’s self-titled album.
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After the album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which featured very colorful and dense cover art, the band wanted to contrast that design with something simple. They definitely achieved that contrast with their next album’s art.Though the record is actual titled The Beatles, it’s most commonly known as The White Album, because the cover art is just that.
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This album was the seventh studio album from the Ohio Players and features a photo that was considered racy by the standards of the time. The inside photo features the same model on her back and is arguably more famous than the cover art. There’s also an interesting urban legend surrounding this cover, in which the model was stabbed after threatening to sue for damages to her skin caused by the fake honey. This happened in the studio while the band was recording and her scream can be heard in the song “Love Rollercoaster.” It’s totally false of course, but interesting nonetheless.
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This iconic album cover is proof that sometimes a simple approach can really pay off and create something eye-catching. Instead of paying for an expensive production, the band opted to instead use a simple distressed photo of an eerie woman standing in front of a watermill. The album was Black Sabbath’s debut album, and the artwork furthered the perception that they were occultists or Satanists. The fact that it was released on Friday the 13th contributed to that perception as well.
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True Blue is Madonna’s third studio album, which she co-wrote and co-produced. The album was inspired by and dedicated to Sean Penn, Madonna’s then-husband. The cover art features one of Madonna’s most recognizable pictures, one that was inspired by the pop art style of Andy Warhol. Originally, the idea of having the cover be in black and white was being entertained, but the photo’s editor wisely decided upon the blue tones used in the final cover art.
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This self-titled album was The Door’s first. It features lead Jim Morrison in the foreground with the rest of the band superimposed behind him. Above them is the band and album’s name in highly stylized lettering. The simple style is eye-catching and effective, serving the legendary album well.
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1991 saw the release of Nirvana’s second studio album, Nevermind. Nirvana’s record label (and the band itself) didn’t expect the album to be a commercial success, but the single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" proved to be extremely popular and helped drive sales. The iconic cover art for the album was actually a point of concern for the band’s art director because it depicted nudity, but the group ultimately decided to keep the cover uncensored.
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The bold, flowing image on the front of this album is hard to forget. Rumours is the 11th studio album by Fleetwood Mac. The front cover features a stylized photo of Mick Fleetwood beside Stevie Nicks, dressed in her “Rhiannon” gown. The back features a collection of band portraits.
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Straight Outta Compton was released in 1988 and was N.W.A.’s debut studio album. The record is considered the trailblazer for gangsta rap with its profane and violent lyrics. The cover is just as iconic as the work within, showing N.W.A. standing above the camera, staring menacingly, with one pointing a handgun.
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Born in the USA was released in 1984 and was Bruce Springsteen’s seventh and most commercially successful album. The cover photo was inspired by the title track of the album and shows Springsteen’s backside in front of an American flag backdrop. Springsteen knew the imagery would be impactful, saying “The flag is a powerful image, and when you set that stuff loose, you don't know what's going to be done with it.”
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Thriller was Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album and the one that took his career to a new level. The album became the best-selling album in the world in just a year, and it still holds that title today. The cover features Jackson posing in a white suit that actually belonged to the photographer. The gatefold sleeve shows a tiger cub at Jackson’s feet.
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Bitches Brew might sound like a harsh name to put on such a beautiful piece of art, but that combination is part of what makes this cover so enticing. Miles Davis was known for his experimental music and this surrealist cover art perfectly parallels that. The front and back together form a beautiful piece with stark contrast and bright colors, intended to show the dichotomy of us and our conflicting emotions.
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Apparently when discussing the band’s chance of commercial success, Keith Moon allegedly said “It would probably go over like a lead balloon.” John Entwistle added to this, saying, “a lead zeppelin.” That is, according to legend, how the band got its name. The cover art of their debut album was a play on this, with a photo of the famous Hindenburg disaster.
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This album was Metallica’s fourth and the first to feature Jason Newsted after former bassist Cliff Burton passed away two years earlier. The long and complex songs feature themes of legal and political injustices. The cover art captures these themes in a very visceral way, using the well-known symbol of Lady Justice to do so. She’s seen being pulled down with broken scale in hand, making the title of the album clearly ironic.
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Ready to Die was released in 1994 and was the debut studio album of the Notorious B.I.G. The simple cover design features just an infant sporting an afro along with the artist and album’s name. This is connected with the themes of the album, which expore Biggie’s life, from birth to death. Today, the cover is considered one of hip hop’s greatest.
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Hotel California was recorded by the Eagles and released in 1976. It’s since become one of the best-selling albums of all time. The artists wanted a photo to portray the hotel California in their lyrics, but with a sinister edge to it. They accomplished this by taking a photo of the Beverly Hill hotel just before sunset.
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Licensed to Ill was the debut album of the Beastie Boys and neither the album or its cover was a disappointment. The cover, front and back, features a Boeing 727, crashed into the side of a mountain to resemble a joint that’s been put out. Along with the band’s name, the side of the plane features the lettering “3MTA3.” This, when viewed in a mirror, spells out “EATME.”
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This album was Bob Dylan’s fifth studio album. However, it was the first of his that made it to the US top 10 (reaching no. 6). The cover is dense and interesting, with many significant artifacts dressing the set. The photo was taken by Daniel Kramer, who was nominated for a Grammy for best album cover.
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This self-titled album was the studio debut for Rage Against the Machine. The album’s songs all feature political messages, so they wanted the cover to share that theme. They accomplish this in a brutally efficient way by using a photo of the self-immolation of a Buddhist monk. A similar photo earned the World Press Photo of the Year in 1963.
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This album was Latin rock band Santana’s debut, and it has a cover as interesting as the music within it. The songs on the album are largely instrumental, recorded before the band even intended to ever release them. The cover has a pencil drawing of a lion. In his mane are a myriad of hidden objects.
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This album was the 14th British album and the 16th American album of the Rolling Stones. It was their only album to ever be nominated for an Album of the Year Grammy. Interestingly, the covers had different colors on the sleeves in varying markets, so the cover you remember may be different from what someone else remembers. Still, every variation was equally eye-catching and vibrant.
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Unknown Pleasures was the debut studio album of the rock band Joy Division. The cover art features an image of radio waves from a pulsar star and nothing else, creating a simple and eye-catching design. The music in the album was equally gripping. In a review for BBC online, Susie Godring said “If the cover doesn’t draw you in, the music will.”
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1984 was named after the year of its release and was Van Halen’s sixth studio album. The cover features a cherub stealing cigarettes, created by artist Margo Nahas. The piece wasn’t specifically commissioned for the band, but they liked the work so much they chose it as their cover. In the UK, both the pack of cigarettes and the cigarette in the child’s hand were covered with stickers to censor them.
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