I'm watching "The List" right now, and these people are picking the worst selections for Best Album Cover. Their selections are so bad, that k.d. Lang, the host is shouting, "I am on the wrong show!"

i only agree with "nevermind" and "london calling."

They never even picked one Beatles cover. not even sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band.

What do you think are the best album covers?

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2000

Answers

No Sargent Peppers!! NOOOOOO!!!

Nevermind . . . good Sticky Fingers by the Rolling Stones(hey that was waayyyy controversial way back when) . . . good. Janet Jackson's Janet. Buff woman with some manly hands over the breast. Inspired me to do situps for months!!

-- Anonymous, May 24, 2000

White Album. Dark Side of the Moon. I really like the Erykah Badu one where her pregant belly is poking out of the darkness for some reason. Bjork's Post album. Definitely Sgt. Pepper.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Best album covers? In chronological order: Sgt. Pepper, Rio, Nevermind. That's what I think, anyway.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

I could go on for days...but I have limited time and you have limited patience.

Though it's cheating, I should mention XTC's second album, with the B&W typewritten rant on the front and back. It's anti-art. (Don't read any further, or you'll be TRICKED into buying this album...)

I tend to like very clean, minimalist design or very intricate artwork that has a lot of hidden detail. Failing that, a quirky gimmick is always a plus.

The Stones had a lenticular album cover (I see it in Hard Rocks) that was way awesome. It's not like you'd see that everywhere, though. Also, Sticky Fingers with the zipper and the "peel slowly and see" Velvet Underground covers are classic. Squeeze had a "squeezed" die- cut album, where the sides were scrunched in. The ungrammatical the Del Fuegos had a 'kick stand' on their Stand Up album. Brian Eno gave away 'trading cards' with Before and After Science, and the outside is a masterpiece of minimalism: simple black and white art.

Lou Reed's Berlin had calligraphy and olive & sepia-toned artwork accented with red watercolor detail--the CD version lacks the same soul to it (or lack thereof--the albums' pretty dark).

Dark Side of the Moon is very clean and tight visually. PF's "Wish You Were Here" was done by Hypgnosis, I think, and they always do excellent art work. In this case, there are four images (two on cover, two on sleeve) where four elements interfere with the images: sand or water come out of 'punctures' and fire melts the edge of the cover image, while wind distorts the frame of another. Pretty clever.

Duran's "Rio" was done by Assorted Images, using a Patrick Nagel image, and they also did a lot of Buzzcocks covers.

The Nazz copied the Beatles with white over-exposed faces on a black baqckground...true test of a good cover art idea is one that others will co-opt and you'll get the visual joke. If it wasn't good and effective, then no one would copy it (IMHO). Saw Queen's accidentally homicidal giant steel robot on the front cover of a CD last night, actually, but I'm blanking on further details.

Roxy Music had consistently good cover art, which probably was fairly easy since they always had stunning other-worldly females on the cover (e.g., Jerry Hall, Renee Simonsen, et al). I don't dig on chicks, but the whole set of covers are consistently attractive and they hang together as a set. You can tell when you have a Roxy album.

John Cale's "Paris 1919" is visually clean and tight--he's in vintage clothing, the whole album is creamy-colored and the font used is perfect.

"London Calling" was so successful that the image was co-opted recently for tube ads in London (I think they were STD awareness adverts, but I'm not positive).

"Never Mind The Bollocks" was perfect because it summed up the whole attitude of the Sex Pistols...a cross between DIY and ransom-note casualness with obnoxious color schemes.

Ian Dury used various ugly wallpaper patterns for the background one of his albums. It's not a good look, but it's a great idea.

Albums with a good story behind them are also cool. The Doors supposedly had to sneak into the Morrison Hotel to get a quick snap. Result? Not bad.

Basically, good album art "back in the day" was anything that looked great when grouped en masse on a wall display. (Flashing on Spinal Tap's "all black" album now...see why a massive wall of black might not work all that well?)

I'll think of 20 more when I log off...

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

The original cover of "Some Girls" by the Rolling Stones.

It had these really great cut outs that revealed the faces of celebrity icons like Elizabeth Taylor and a bunch of other people I can't remember.

Shortly after it was released the Stones got sued and had to pull the albums off the shelves and take all the celebrity photos off the cover, now the cut outs just reveal nondescript blank space or type.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

I love "Blood, Sugar, Sex Magic" Chili Peppers. Don't know why it's just really appealling to me.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Best album cover for me would have to be The Eagles "Hotel California" original vinyl. Opening up the jacket reveals the band surrounded by a large crowd of people in the lobby of the hotel. The reason I like this one so much is just the mystery behind the guy standing on the balcony on the left hand side. The rumor is, that the guy is Anton Szandor LaVey, the founder of the Church of Satan. LaVey had disappeared for a number of years, so his appearance in the picture is kind of spooky.

This story may or may not be true, but later editions had the guy completely blacked out. You can only see him on the original vinyl release. If anybody actually knows more about this, I would love to hear your thoughts. I own this one, so it would be great to hear more about it. The guy could be a damn bellboy for all I know, but it makes for a cool story.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

These aren't necessarily the best album covers of *all time*, but the few that really come to my mind are Sunny Day Real Estate's "Diary" with those little wooden peg people. This one may not have the best cover but the artwork inside of Radiohead's "OK Computer" is pretty cool. I also like Curtis Mayfield's "There's No Place Like America Today" with the rich white family driving in their shiny car through the countryside and the black folks in the city waiting in the bread line below. I like the whole layout of that cover. Such a sad album, though.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

I agree pamie -- i was going crazy watching The List as well.

My choices for albums missed

Springsteen -- Greetings from Asbury Park

The Cars - Candy-O

The Police - Synchronicity

MeatLoaf - Bat out of Hell (hey -- i was 13 when the album came out -- i thought it was cool)

The Beatles -- Sgt. Pepper

Rolling Stones - Some Girls

Pink Floyd - Wish you were here

Damn -- am i giving my age away with these choices or what? -- LOL

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

I know they are done by an artist so perhaps they don't count but I love all the Roger Dean YES album covers, particularly Drama.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

when I first saw this topic for some reason I thought it was about artists who covered other's songs..hah. I don't know where my brain is today. well, these aren't the best, but out of my collection I like:

outkast-ATLiens cover. I like the cartoon comic idea..and inside the booklet there is a short comic which is pretty funny.
radiohead-no surprises single. aaah I once sketched out the house on that cover for my poetry notebook. I like this one alot. most of radiohead's artwork is good though.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

More:

Beatles-- Help & Abbey Road. Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass--Whipped Cream and Other Delights the Who--The Who Sell Out (Roger in the tub of baked beans suffered from hyperthermia to do the shoot and you know you always wanted to see Pete's hairy armpit). (Least attractive Who cover (besides the one with all the wee): the last one Keith Moon appeared on...tubby, bloated and in a director's chair turned backwards (to hide his pauch) that read "NOT TO BE TAKEN AWAY". Lots of irony, though.) Doors--Weird Scenes inside the gold mine (odd watercolor style) Zappa --Ship Arriving too late to save a drowning witch

Nirvana's Nevermind--seconded

I was ragging on the black album put out by faux-rockers Spinal Tap and it occurred tome that Utopia did nearly the same thing with "Oblivion". ;)

Retro-kitsch scores big points too--didn't White Zombie have something called Swingin' Singles with a retro-looking cover?

Tracy Ullman's "You broke my heart in 17 places" has her in an umptillion different retro disguises on it, complete with scary House Beautiful backgrounds.

Led Zeppelin did a similar trick as "Some Girls"...the die-cut windows, I mean. And Sweet also tried it on "Give Us A Wink".

Art's, like, cool. Huh huh uh m huh.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

OK, I can't remember the name of the album, but the Blondie album where all of the guys are in black and Debbie Harry is so hot I could vomit. That one. I love it.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Re: Blondie albums...that's pretty much how all of the earliest albums look. :)

"Blondie" has Debbie in the front on the right and the fellas lined up behind her to the left.

"Plastic Letters" has them all huddled around a blue car, and she's in pink and the guys are all in black except one has a red shirt on.

I'm assuming you do NOT mean "Hunter", where they're all in black and she has this pinkish wild fright-hair thing going on.

I'm guessing you MIGHT mean "Parallel Lines", where the men are all identically dressed in black suits with white shirts and black skinny ties and she's in a white dress, arms akimbo, and her hair is dyed black on the bottom.

I wanted to be Debbie Harry when I grew up; man, she was the Nazz. Rah for cool chicks.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

YES!!! That is the one I'm talking about. A babe for the ages, that Debbie Harry.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Even if the music wasn't stellar (which it is), I'd buy Kristin Hersch's Sky Motel for the gorgeous cover.

Also, the limited edition of Super Furry Animals' Ice Hockey Hair is pretty excellent, though it's a single and not an album.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Personally, I like the whole parodic idea of the cover to the soundtrack from "This Is Spinal Tap." Especially if you've seen the movie and know the whole "look at the White Album" debate that goes on over the so-called artistry of the album design. Definitely goes to 11.

-- Anonymous, May 25, 2000

Look at it. It could be none more black.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

Another vote for Blondie, specifically their 'Best Of' album. I'd kill to get a poster of that one, I would.

Beatles' albums... groovy with me. Esp. Sgt. Peppers.

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

Lords of Acid's album "Voodoo U."

Naked chicks... huh-huh, huh-huh.. that's pretty cool...

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

How about vinyl edition of The Smith's The Queen is Dead? Not because of the cover, but because the great picture of the band standing in front of the Salford Lads Club in the insert?

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

Why did I put a question mark at the end of a statement?

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

A gazillion years ago, one of my cousin's gave me an Alice Cooper album for my 7th birthday. ("School's Out"? At least that was the hit song on it.) I'm sure my parent's were horrified, but I got to keep it anyway. It looked like an old time school desk with writing on it, initials carved into it, etc. I think - and I may be remembering incorrectly here - that die cuts on the back let you unfold the legs of the "desk" as well.

The best part was that the front of the album, the "desk top", unfolded from the bottom to about 3/4 of the way up, like you were opening the top of the desk, and inside was the album itself with a pair of album sized girl's panties around it. If memory serves, I read years later that the panties were killed after the first pressing because the were made of a non-flame retardent material.

"Honey, did you try on those new panties I got free with the album? Honey? JESUS CHRIST!!!! I'll get the hose! Get down on the floor and roll damnit - roll!!!"

I'm sure all the expensive die cuts were left off future pressings too. Sadly - it's long gone with most of my other childhood treasures, else I'd sell them all and retire to the Bahamas. -sigh-

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

Beatle's Revolver, Santana's Abarakas, Roxy Music's Siren, The Time's What Time is it?, Marvin Gaye's I Want You (used as the painting for the closing credits of Good Times), Men at Work's Business as Usual, Isaac Haye's Live At The Sahara Tahoe (The cover was the Sahara Tahoe and when you opened it's doors there was Issac with a chest full of gold chains at the microphone), Van Halen's 1984, James Brown's In a Jungle Groove, Black Sabath's Paranoid and the coolest cover ever: Miles Davis's Round About Midnight

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

Brujeria's "Matando Gueros" for sure. Rage Against The Machine's "Evil Empire" was cool too. Almost any Tom Waits cover. XTC's "Oranges and Lemons." Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend." The Frogs' "It's Only Right and Natural."

-- Anonymous, May 26, 2000

King Crimson's Court of the Crimson King and anything released on 4ad like Breeders; Pixies; Curve; old Luna etc. Husker Du - Zen Arcade. Tom Waits Mule Variations has great liner notes.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 2000

I love contemporary photography.....

Nas: Illmatic

Meshell Ndegeocello : Bitter

Buena Vista Social Club

-- Anonymous, May 28, 2000

Emerson Lake and Palmer - Brain Salad Surgery. Nothing like a little H.G. Giger to brighten your day...

-- Anonymous, May 29, 2000

I must be eclectic or artistic? No one has mentioned Enigma's MCMXC album cover yet. Simple, yet very effective design.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000

I liked the spaceship motif on all of the Boston albums. Elton John, Captain Fantastic and The Brown Dirt Cowboy, way cool illistrations. Any good B&W photography, U2 War, U2 Unforgettable Fire (I think) others I can't think of at the moment. The Stones Sticky Fingers was very cool. And you can't beat any KISS album cover for campiness.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000

By the way, I can't believe no one has mentioned Jane's Addiction's "Nothing's Shocking." (or even "Ritual De Lo Habitual")

I'm also a big fan of U2's "War" cover.

And for the Beatles-- the White Album. Since the album is actually called "the Beatles," it's a case where the album cover dictated the name.

-- Anonymous, May 30, 2000

yep, the beatles album covers rule. only please please me, magical mistery tour and let it be are kinda sucky, the other 10 are really great.

and btw: am I the only one who feels that CD covers are simply too small to compete with LP covers? I have Abbey Road on CD and LP and CD looks sort of lame...

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

I've always loved Led Zeppelin covers - very arty, very arrogant (the covers of the fourth album and 'Houses of the Holy' don't even feature the band's name), but also very stylish. And the cutouts on the third album, original version, are just the coolest.

All of you who chose the Beatles' album covers - compliments on your good taste. My personal favorite is the White Album.

Other than that, in no particular order: 'Never Mind the Bollocks' - Sex Pistols, 'A Night at the Opera' - Queen, 'Sign 'O' the Times' - Prince, 'Live and Dangerous' - Thin Lizzy, 'Elvis Presley' - Elvis Presley (the 'London Calling' cover), 'This Year's Model' - Elvis Costello & the Attractions, 'To Hell With Love' - Suzanne Rhatigan, 'Give 'em Enough Rope' - The Clash, 'Bringin' It All Back Home'/'Highway 61 Revisited' - Bob Dylan, 'Pump' - Aerosmith, 'Tuesday Night Music Club' - Sheryl Crow, 'Alchemy' - Leah Andreone, Ramones first album, 'From The Lion's Mouth' - The Sound, 'Kaleidoscope' - Siouxsie & the Banshees, 'Aladdin Sane' - David Bowie.

-- Anonymous, May 31, 2000

Have to say that Sonic Youth's Daydream Nation tops Nevermind. Nice, simple iconic image. In Utero is kinda interesting, like those postcards of aborted foetuses that southern baptists and christian fundamentalists pass out to 11-year old girls to disuade them from, y'know, doing it. Much as I love Husker Du's music, I have to say all their artwork is incredibly gaudy and ill-advised. Except Zen Arcade, which is obviously brilliant. Dunno if this was Bob or Grant's fault, although I do like the artwork on Nova Mob's eponymous album, and Good News for Modern Man.

Actually, my favourite album cover is Iggy Pop's Lust for Life. There he is, smiling like a benevolent retard, and not the dangerous drug fiend he was. Or maybe The Stroke's Is This It? (UK version) and their witty pastiche of spinal tap's smell the glove.

-- Anonymous, November 14, 2001