still missed out on the classic album covers of any of Metallica’s early stuff particularly Master of Puppets.

Bob Dylan and the Band-The Basement Tapes
Pink Floyd-Dark Side of the Moon
Roger Waters-Amused to Death
Paul Simon-Still Crazy After All These Years
The Band-The Band

pretty good list near the top ( say top 10) but falls apart after that.

I mean come on…I know Appetitie for Destruction is a sweet album and that RS has the biggest hard on ever for it, but that album cover is so…lame.

Bob Dylan “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Axis Bold As Love”

Rage Against the Machine “Rage Against the Machine”

Bob Dylan “Blonde on Blonde”

Tool “10,000 Days”

Led Zeppelin “I”

check out springsteen’s album covers, large majority are stunning eye candy

Rio by Duran Duran

yeah, leaving out any metallica album covers is a travesty…

yeah, leaving out any metallica album covers is a travesty…

Beastie Boys- License to Ill
Tool- Opiate
Guns N’ Roses- Appetite For Destruction
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Blood Sugar Sex Magik

goo — sonic youth
get behind me satan — the white stripes
oh inverted world — the shins
either/or — elliott smith
abbey road — the beatles

Scorpions ” Virgin Killer : original cover

Patti Smith, Horses

todd rundgren a wizard a true star

Todd Rundgren’s A Wizard A True Star

Jimi Hendrix – Axis: Bold as Love
The Clash – London Calling
The Band – The Band
David Bowie – Diamond Dogs
Tom Waits – Heart Attack and Vine

sgt pepper
sticky fingers
axis
led zeppelin IV
the white album

and Pooh Man- Funky as I Wanna Be
…hilarious!

RHCP – By the way
NIN – Year Zero
Beatles – Revolver
Muse – Absolution
David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

SMELL THE GLOVE..or (How Black is Black?)…by SPINAL TAP

Axis Bold as Love (jimi hendrix)
Let it Bleed (stones)
Disrali gears (cream)
Sgt. Peppers (beatles)
santana (santana)
the velvet underground and nico (the velvet underground)
beggers banquet (stones)
Houses of the holy (led Zeppelin)
this is. . . (on trial)

How about the Good ol’Grateful Dead?
1. Skull and Roses
2. Europe 72
3. Workingman’s Dead
4. American Beauty
5. Axomoxa

nick drake bryter layter

Cantamos -Poco
Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair – A King Crimson Trilogy
Selling England By the Pound – Genesis
There’s No Place Like America Today – Curtis Mayfield
Aladdin Sane – David Bowie
Catch a Fire – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Close to the Edge – Yes
I Want You – Marvin Gaye
Harbor Lights – Bruce Hornsby ( Rooms by the Sea by Edward Hopper)
On the Corner – Miles Davis

And the greatest ever:

Abraxas – Santana

limp bizkit- significant other
eve 6- horrorscope
korn- follow the leader
creed- human clay
p.o.d- the fundamental elements of south town
kanye west- graduation
outkast- atliens
linkin park- reanimation
pharcyde- bizzare ride to the pharcyde

Violent Femmes’ first record

people, you arent putting album covers! you are putting your fav music! cmon, stop being stupid! there are some lame covers listed here! patti smith’s horses? are you kidding me?

that was sooooooo Predictable. No bowie. no Lou Reed Transformer. no talking heads, no Underworld. No Some Girls…man, and ease up on the Beatles guys. they are OK not the patron saints everyone makes them out to be…Guns and roses too AFD looks like a bad issue of a ghost rider reprint…. it’s an ok album. Again giving way too much props. all that whinnig by Axel is like nails down the blackboard

Iron Maiden- Number of the Beast
Beatles – Abbey Road
Led Zeppelin – I
Santana – Abbraxes
Blue Oyster Cult – Some enchanted night
Kiss – Destroyer

I agree with spicoli. I was trying to think of some of my favorite album covers not favorite music people.

slip it in – black flag
unknown pleasures – joy division
the psychedelic sounds of the 13th floor elevators
kid a – radiohead
funhouse – stooges
barrett – syd barrett

and for shits and giggles
weathered by creed

The Strokes – Is This It?
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King
MUSE – Absolution

Pearl Jam, Vs
Kanye West, College Dropout
Blondie, Autoamerican
Madonna, True Blue
KISS, Rock n Roll Over

Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures
Frank Sinatra – In The Wee Small Hours
David Bowie – Low
The Cure – The Cure
Depeche Mode – Violator
James – Laid
Jane’s Addiction – XXX, Nothing’s Shocking, Ritual
Nico – Chelsea Girl
Audra – Going To The Theatre
U2 – The Joshua Tree

The Monks – Bad Habits
Kiss- Dressed to Kill
Boomtown Rats- Fine Art Of Surfacing
Joel Plaskett Emergency – Astray Rock
Peter Garbriel- 3rd Melting Face

1)Jefferson Airplane Bless it’s pointed little head
2)Capt Beefheart troutmask
3)Led Zep III (the wheel)
4)Big Brother Cheap Thrills
5)Radiohead Amenisiac

Really predictable list, actually only about half of the covers are really striking or inventive. The rest were either just very popular or “rock critic” type albums, that end up on most lists that music mag’s have going.

I mean, the first Ramones is a great album but NOT an example of great graphic design.

If you wanted to pick something from that era, Talking Heads’ “More Songs About Buildings And Food” or “Fear Of Music” would have made much more sense.

Other personal favorites that many would know –
T. Rex “The Slider”
Bowie “Hunky Dory”
Pearl Jam “No Code”
Manics “The Holy Bible”
Sex Pistols “Never Mind The Bollocks”
Small Faces “Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake”
Led Zep III
Public Image Ltd “Metal Box” (original metal cover)

…just off the top of the head. There are probably thousands of others, most that the readers’ submitted are quite valid and probably much better than a lot of the choices on the list.

It was interesting to see how few discs released in the last 20 years made the list, and most that did were just not that good, art-wise (Nirvana is the one exception to that, great cover).

Tool is the one popular band today that seems to truly put some thought into the presentation of their music, and inventiveness into the miniature artwork of the CD format.

And like many, I can’t believe King Crimson’s “In The Court Of The Crimson King” didn’t make it.

Alice In Chains: DIRT
Pink Floyd: WISH YOU WERE HERE
Nirvana: NEVERMIND
Metallica: MASTER OF PUPPETS
The Beatles: REVOLVER

Wow- a lot of those albums are pretty mediocre designs, for example that Springsteen one.

A plain photograph of the singer and the name of the album – so what?

New Order’s Power Corruption & Lies, Low-life or Technique piss all over most of these.

Designer’s Republic have also made tons of stunning work, but mostly for obscure artists so that’s probably why they didn’t get a mention.

Roxy Music should’ve also had something in there – a stunning series of covers.

Just remember that a lot of bands now-a-days cannot pick their own album artwork, and record labels do it for them. A lot of artists really fight for this right to control the image of their own music, but very few get the opportunity.

Am I the only one who thinks Pearl Jam has had many great & classic album covers?

Look at the cover of Ten, Vs, No Code, Yield, Binaural…

What makes an album cover like Loveless by My Bloody Valentine or Incesticide by Nirvana any better? How long does Pearl Jam have to be neglected? I DON’T GET IT.

Faith No More’s Angel Dust cover is great.

where’s
The Roots “Things Fall Apart”
Sly & the Family Stone “There’s A Riot Going On”
Miles Davis “Bitches Brew”
OutKast “Stankonia”
Santana “Abraxas”

This list blows….

powerage ac/dc

oh and Black Flag “Damaged” and Bad Brains “I Against I”

IN NO ORDER
1.RUSH FAREWELL TO KINGS
2.OASIS DEFINTLY MAYBE
3.SPRINGSTEEN GREETINGS FROM ASBURY PARK NJ
4.POISON OPEN UP AND AHH
5.METALLICA RIDE THE LIGHTNING

How does Alladin Sane not make this list?

aladdin sane, typo

Maybe because Supertramp is not considered a top tier band by Rolling Stone, they have been overlooked here.

Their album covers were some of most interesting of the seventies (& early eighties)…

For example:
Crime of the Century(1973)
Crisis What Crisis (1975)
Famous Last words (1983)

All excellent album covers….

The Flaming Lips- O My Gawd +(all are good)
Jane’s-Nothing Shocking
Nirvana- Nevermind
Clash-London Calling
(also Replacments-please to meet me)
Stones-Stcky Fingers
Pearl Jam-Pearl Jam/Riot Act
REM-Fables
Styx-Paradise Theatre (album, not CD)
Screaming Tree- Uncle anesthesia
ENJOY

wow, great fucking article. RS is becoming the print version of VHI with all these lame ‘Top 25′ lists. Why don’t you go back to blindly bashing Bush….

Every TOOL LP

Did VH1 pick this list?

Joe Jackson ‘Look Sharp’
Afghan Whigs ‘Gentlemen’
Public Enemy ‘Fear Of A Black Planet’ (Def Lep’s ‘Pyromania’???)
Pixies ‘Bossa Nova’
‘Purple Rain’? That’s the condensed effing movie poster. ‘Around The World’ would be more apt, but still not good enough.

Never realized how terrible hip-hop album covers are. Roots are usually good. Common, too. Biggie’s ‘Ready To Die.’ But you can throw the No Limit, Death Row, Def Jam, Murder Inc. catalogs out on the street. Don’t get me started on hair and death metal.

Unmasked by KISS

I’m surprised RS forgot “Axis: Bold As Love”…everything abiut that cover is amazing.

Some others RS failed to mention:

Led Zeppelin “Houses of the Holy”
Cream “Disraeli Gears” and “Wheels of Fire”
Rolling Stones “Let It Bleed”
Santana “Abraxas” and “Santana”

All awesome in their own right…and you forgot them! Shame on you RS!! SHAME!

Guess I just have to laugh at some of the album covers listed, as well as some of the comments here. “Go back to blindly bashing Bush”??? What complete idiot can ignore how the Constitution has been subverted during the past 7 years thatnks to this group of monsters? “Blindly”?? Thank God for Matt Taibbi. I try to imagine the utter stupidity of people and wonder how we haven’t had an all-out revolution yet. Perhaps when the next election is again rigged and the draft is re-instituted.

Abbey Road stands in a class by itself thanks to the stories behind the cover. The symbolism behind each character on the cover. The ‘28 IF’ license plate.
“Who’s Next” or “Sticky Fingers” would certainly be on the list. But apparently like the music in general, there’s nothing new under the sun in a creative sense–and hasn’t been for decades.

And can someone explain how Prince on a motorcycle can equate with “classic album cover”

soundgarden – superunknown
radiohead ok computer
any beatles record
whos next
zeppelin iv

What a disappointing list. Yeah, I agree about St. Pepper’s but The White Album? No Santana? No Miles Davis? There was so much great cover art during the 60’s and 70’s. The banana is hardly inventive. Can’t say much for pictures of the posed bands either.

What a disappointing list. Yeah, I agree about St. Pepper’s but The White Album? No Santana? No Miles Davis? There was so much great cover art during the 60’s and 70’s. The banana is hardly inventive. Can’t say much for pictures of the posed bands either.

Kanye West-Graduation
Red Hot Chili Peppers-Freaky Styley
The Rolling Stones-Some Girls
the Jimi Hendrix Experience-Axis: Bold As Love
Parliament-The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein

No Zep I or II. What is wrong!
The White Album!!! It doesn’t have a cover!! What about Kiss ALIVE I?? Deep Purple BURN!!!

Moody Blues – Every Good Boy Deserves Favor
Grateful Dead – Skeletons from the Closet

siamese dream or mellon collie and the ifinite sadnees there classic covers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How about a contest for worst album cover designs – there are more in that category to choose from.

amorica…crows…nice hairs!

anything by maiden

nevermind!

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway
Bowie – Ziggy Stardust
Yes – Tales Of Topographic Oceans
Blue Oyster Cult – Tyranny and Mutation
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer – Brain Salad Surgery

Any album cover featuring the art of Roger Dean – and there have been a lot – Yes, Badger, Uriah Heep…

Every Pink Floyd album
Beck – The Information

VICTOR WOOTEN FOR PRES ‘08

Van Halen-1984
Pearl Jam-Binaural
Led Zeppelin III (the wheel)
Rolling Stones- Some Girls
The Beatles-Sgt. Peppers
Beach Boys- Smile
The Who-Who’s Next
The Velvet Underground-Velvet Underground and Nico
Pink Floyd-Wish you were here/Animals

Nobody mentions Fight For Your Mind by Ben Harper? For shame.

*The Flaming Lips – “The Soft Bulletin” (and “At War With the Mystics” too)

*Captain Beefheart – “Trout Mask Replica”

*Talking Heads – “Remain in Light”

*Rage Against the Machine – “Evil Empire”

*The Rolling Stones – “Some Girls”

*Joy Division – “An Ideal for Living”

*Muse – “Origin of Symmetry”

*Jefferson Airplane – “After Bathing at Baxter’s”

*Led Zeppelin – “Houses of the Holy”

*King Crimson – “In the Court of the Crimson King”

*G. Love & Special Sauce – “Yeah, It’s That Easy”

*Sonic Youth – “Goo”

*Animal Collective – “Spirit They’re Gone, Spirit They’ve Vanished”

*The Strokes – “Is This It?” (US cover, not the glove one)

And the self-titled debuts of The Smiths and The Violent Femmes.

Of course this list has a bias towards music I like, because those album covers are the ones I’m exposed to. But that can’t be helped.