Cool Album Covers

For maybe a decade while I stopped buying vinyl I stopped paying attention to album covers altogether, but in the last few years I began looking at them more often, especially while listening to the album. Growing up, album covers played a huge role in whether I would try or even buy an album. I’m sure most people here have memories of carefully studying an album cover looking for indications of whether or not the album or band was any good or simply sucked. My taste is albums covers is a little bit all over the place. Here are 10 albums covers I like:

1. Thin Lizzy – s/t

I’m yet to own the vinyl edition of this album! It’s rare and can be expensive, but one day.

2. Miles Davis – Someday My Prince Will Come (featuring his wife) and Miles Ahead (Miles didn’t approve of the cover, originally asking: “Why’d you put that white bitch on there?” but later it was said his question was made in jest.)

3. The Mothers Of Invention – Weasels Ripped My Flesh

I love most of the Zappa album art, this one has always been my favorite.

4. John Zorn – Naked City/Painkiller Series of covers. Here are only a few (not for the faint of heart).

Leng Tch’e

Grand Guignol

Absinthe

Heretic

5. The Melvins – Trilogy I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t for the albums titles I would love them so much.

6. Sun Ra – Angels and Demons At Play and We Travel The Spaceways

7. Sonny Sharrock – Black Woman

8. Television – Marquee Moon Sometimes an album cover is so awesome by the music it represents. I tried staying away from that concept, but needed to include this one. I guess if an album really sucks, eventually the beauty of the cover wears off as well. This is a great example, because there is really nothing special about the Marquee Moon cover, other than the music of the album. Very frameable!

9. Made To Break – Cherchez la femme

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10. Ornette Coleman – Broken Shadows The picture says it all.

moonra’s highlights of 1973

lp’s
1. Goats Head Soup – Rolling Stones Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)
2. Aladdin Sane – David Bowie Lady Grinning Soul
3. The New York Dolls – The New York Dolls Personality Crisis
4. Vagabonds of the Western World – Thin Lizzy Mama Nature Said
5. Over-Nite Sensation – Frank Zappa Camarillo Brillo
6. Shotgun Willie – Willie Nelson Full Album
7. Space Ritual (Live) – Hawkwind Master Of The Universe
8. Billion Dollar Babies – Alice Cooper Generation Landslide
9. Cosmic Slop – Funkadelic Lets Make It Last
10. Quadrophenia – The Who Sea And Sand

songs
1. Jolene – Dolly Parton Listen
2. 100 Years ago – Rolling Stones Listen
3. Gimme Danger – The Stooges Listen
4. Sabbath Bloody Sabbath – Black Sabbath Listen
5. Sorrow – David Bowie (Pin-ups) Listen
6. Billy 4 – Bob Dylan Listen
7. The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin Listen
8. Tubular Bells {Part One} – Mike Oldfield Listen
9. Born TO Boogie – T-rex Listen
10. She’s Gone – Daryl Hall/John Oates Listen