Our Countdown Of The Coolest Album Covers Ever

The rise of digital music threatens one of the greatest canvasses of art seen in the 20th Century - the record sleeve. Originally just a protective cover for the fragile crackly goods beneath, it soon evolved into a space for artistic expression in its own right, very often becoming as important as the music itself. Sometimes, even more so: legend has it that the cover of New Order's Blue Monday was so expensive to make that their label lost money on every copy sold. 20. Abbey Road by The Beatles Designer: Kosh/Iain MacMillan Quite simply, an utterly iconic image, with the Fab Four themselves at their coolest: John resplendent in a white suit, Paul barefoot. Perfectly in harmony, and utterly British. The crossing itself was given Grade II listed status in 2010 - there aren't many traffic artifacts that can boast that. 19. American IV: The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash Photographer: Martyn Atkins All five of the covers for Johnny Cash's last era of recordings, the American series are fantastic, with the big, simple typeface utilising the strength of the legend's name. However, the coolest is for IV: The Man Comes Around, as it juxtaposes that strength with the visible weakness of the Man In Black himself: nearing death and reflecting on his life he looks downward and prepares to fade to black himself. What album cover is next on our countdown? I'll give you a clue- it's about an animal coming out of a place... 18. Bat Out Of Hell by Meatloaf Designer: Jim Steinman/Richard Corben A crazy, yet brilliant cover befitting a crazy, yet album, the cover's concept was devised by Jim Steinman, the genius songwriter behind Bat Out of Hell. Naturally, it had a motorcycle erupting out of a graveyard with a giant bat looming over the tombstones in the background. Subtlety never was Meat's thing. 17. Born In The U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen Photographer: Annie Leibovitz The quintessential American image for the quintessential American artist, the cover for Born in the USA did exactly what it said on the tin. The American flag as the backdrop and the uniform of blue jeans, white shirt and red cap of the American blue-collar worker which The Boss celebrated in his lyrics. Shots were taken of Springsteen facing the camera but this one made the cut; Springsteen remarking, "The picture of my ass looked better than the picture of my face, so that's what went on the cover". What album cover really "rocked" us? Click "Next" to find out. 16.) Queen II by Queen Photographer: Mick Rock Queen enlisted Rock to capture the photograph for the cover of their second record, eager for some of the glam rock kudos that he had - following work for David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop - to rub off on them, after their debut album had failed to take off as they had hoped. They initially thought the shot too pretentious, but Rock persuaded them to go with it - "It made them look like much bigger a deal then they were at the time, but it was a true reflection of their music" - and, of course, Rock was proven 100% correct, with the array of faces becoming truly iconic when used in the video for breakthrough opus Bohemian Rhapsody a year later. 15.) The Velvet Underground and Nico by The Velvet Underground Designer: Andy Warhol It helped that the album itself would become a cult classic and hugely influential, but that Andy Warhol banana print could have been the cover of Jedward's debut album and still been considered an iconic sleeve image. Early copies of the album had the invitation to "Peel slowly and see" enabling the owner to peel back the banana skin to reveal a flesh-coloured banana underneath. Fruity indeed. What master of folk is next on our countdown? Click "Next" to find out. 14. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan by Bob Dylan Photographer: Don Hunstein A cover where less is more, and is all the cooler for it. A casual photograph of Dylan with his then-muse Suze Rotolo, taken in the West Village, New York City, it was unusual at the time for being unstaged and unposed. Critic Janet Maslin described it perfectly as "a photograph that inspired countless young men to hunch their shoulders, look distant, and let the girl do the clinging". 13. Houses of the Holy by Led Zepplin Designer: Aubrey Powell/Storm Thorgerson Thorgerson appears once more in this list, but few can deny the validity and coolness of this effort, for the mighty Led Zeppelin. Location? The natural wonder of the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. What's on those basalt columns? A series of spooky looking golden-haired children (actually created using multiple-exposure shots of just two actors) crawling up towards a distant light. Alleged inspiration? The novel Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, where children climb off the end of the world. Sinister, wrapped in mythology and very, very cool - yep, that's the Zep. 13.) Ramones by The Ramones Photographer: Roberta Bayley Bayley remarked that getting The Ramones to pose for a photo was 'like pullig teeth', but the world would like to thank her for persisting, as the results formed one of the most enduring and cool rock 'n' roll images of all time. The monochrome image of the ultimate punk pioneers would be replicated by countless young hopefuls over the coming years, and immortalise Johnny, Tommy, Joey and Dee Dee forever. What classic punk band's album cover is next? Click "Next" to find out. 12. London Calling by The Clash Designer: Pennie Smith/Ray Lowry It remains a fact of rock 'n' roll that there is nothing cooler than a) smashing your guitar, b) being able to afford to smash your guitar or best of all c) not being able to afford to smash your guitar but doing it anyway. The Clash went one better by d) smashing a bass. That thing weighs a lot. Pennie Smith's shot captured that essential sense of abandonment and loss of control, and Lowry's design, paying homage to the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis's self-titled album, hammered home the point further. Often imitated, never bettered. 11. Tutu by Miles Davis Designer: Eiko Ishioka/Irving Penn Miles Davis was, of course, a true musical pioneer: a multi-faceted performer and songwriter, and capable of alternating between subtle beauty and extroverted flamboyance. But this superb cover image captures the man behind the music simply, and starkly. Unbelievably cool. What band is next? The hint is, there is a female singer... 10. Parallel Lines by Blondie Designer: Ramey Communications/Edo Bertoglio/Peter Leeds Take the coolest frontwoman of all time, stick the rest of the band in cool suits, and go monochrome, with the title in lipstick-red, and you have one very cool, and thoroughly iconic album cover. The band weren't so keen however: unimpressed that it gave the impression that Blondie was effectively Debbie Harry with a backing band, they ended up parting company with their manager Peter Leeds, who had suggested it. 9. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd Designer: Storm Thorgerson How do you follow Dark Side of the Moon's iconic artwork? Set a man on fire, that's how. For the overall concept, Thorgerson had centred on the idea of absence, with the album shrink-wrapped in a dark colour to hide the artwork - a somewhat peverse idea when that artwork was so cool - with the gesture of a handshake between the two men being inspired by Welcome to the Machine and Have a Cigar and by the idea that people hide their true feelings (the shrinkwrap) for fear of 'getting burned' (the cover) underneath. EMI were initially unhappy with the 'non-cover' but, says Storm, "after we stuck a cow on the front of Atom Heart Mother they knew that anything to do with Pink Floyd was difficult." What jazz saxaphone prodigy is next on our countdown? Click "Next" to find out. 8. Blue Train by John Coltrane Designer: Reid Miles An iconic image of a true jazz great, the cover of Coltrane's Blue Train was supposedly inspired by Picasso's Blue Period. The photo, taken by Francis Wolff, certainly captures the sax legend in a pensive, thoughtful and, well, blue mood; basically looking like the super-cool legend he was. 7. Back In Black by AC/DC Designer: Bob Defrin AC/DC's first album following the death of lead singer Bon Scott had a cover that was appropriately sparse, dark and powerful. A simple outline of the band's iconic logo together with the title in plain typography, it perfectly complemented the music itself: simple, heavy, no-nonsense, and brutally effective. What band appears twice on our list? Click "Next" to find out. 6. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles Designer: Sir Peter Blake We just can't stay away from The Beatles! This is an obvious choice, but perhaps we are so used to it - so heavily has it been referenced and parodied - that we have forgotten just how brilliant a cover it is. Karl Marx, Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe made the final cut, Hitler, Ghandhi and Jesus didn't (Hitler deemed too controversial, Jesus was too soon after Lennon's claim that the band were bigger than the Son of God and Ghandhi was removed to ensure release in India). A genuine piece of art in its own right. 5. 1984 by Van Halen Designer: Pete Angelus, Richard Seireeni, David Jellison, Margo Zafer Nahas A very naughty baby angel, with a mischievous look and cig in hand. Proof that Rock 'n' roll can corrupt anyone or anything. The Devil's got the best tunes, but this Angel's got Jump and Hot For Teacher underneath its cover. What psychedelic rock collective is next on our countdown? Click "Next" to find out. 4. Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart Designer: Captain Beefheart (himself) Amazon.com The image is used for identification in the context of critical commentary of the work for which it serves as cover art. It makes a significant contribution to the user's understanding of the article, which could not practically be conveyed by words alone. The image is placed in the infobox at the top of the article discussing the work, to show the primary visual image associated with the work, and to help the user quickly identify the work and know they have found what they are looking for. Use for this purpose does not compete with the purposes of the original artwork, namely the artist's providing graphic design services to music concerns and in turn marketing music to the public. 3. The Man-Machine by Kraftwerk Designer: Karl Klefisch/Günther Fröhling The defining image of the German electronic pioneers - this perfectly captures the essence of Kraftwerk. Inspired by the 1930s Modernist movement, particularly El Lissitzky, the strict red and black colour scheme, arrangement of the band members in quasi-robotic fashion and translation of the title into various languages all adds up to a seriously cool album cover. Sehr guht, sehr cool. What other classic punk album places #2 on our countdown? Click "Next" to find out. 2. Never Mind The Bollocks by The Sex Pistols Designer: Jamie Reed Reed had no interest in putting the band on the cover of the Sex Pistols' only record - "They were ugly anyway'' - so he used what he termed "cheap hype", using ransom-note style lettering, brash colors and simplicity that anyone could recreate; the perfect representation of the DIY punk aesthetic. Utterly unforgettable and utterly cool. What is our number one favorite album cover of all time? Click "Next" and see... 1. Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley Photographer: William V. 'Rd' Robertson The album that changed everything, and a photograph that captured Elvis on the cusp of greatness. It doesn't come much cooler than that. The photograph was taken at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Tampa, Florida, on July 31, 1955, with Elvis aged just 20. He was towards the bottom of the bill, but he wouldn't be there for long as this album, and the accompanying cover - arguably the world's first tangible image of a rock 'n' roll star - propelled him to immortality. Source: (Shortlist)

10. Parallel Lines by Blondie

Related:

9. Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd