Well it started of a conversation with my wife and the next thing you know it’s time for a list!  It was going to be my top 100 album covers of all time but alas there are way too many great LP covers so the list grew and grew and it’s well over 200 now and counting. I’ll just keep adding as I discover new gems.

The first album I ever bought on the strength of the album cover alone was ‘A Trick of the Tail‘ by Genesis.  Fantastic artwork on the front, back and inside – plus the added bonus that I loved it.  This principle is not one that’s had significant success over the years – classic example was Psychic TV’s LP – ‘Force the Hand of Chance‘. Great cover shit record. So Album (LP) covers need to catch potential customers’ eyes and make them want to buy.  They will appeal to its target market (existing fans), display some sort of brand identity (image, logo or font) and hopefully some artistic merit.

So to qualify for my list the big question was ‘would I happily hang it on my wall?’ (note from wife – not on our wall!!), or in an art gallery.  This has nothing to do with the bands or artists music, it’s just a collection of artwork that I find interesting. Of course all of this is totally subjective. It’s my personal opinion that counts. Never mind the lists from Rolling Stone, Billboard, NME, Planet Rock etc. this is my list and it’s unique!  So in no particular order, here goes:

The Best Album Art (Art Vinyl) of all time

Jefferson Airplane – Volunteers

Goldfrapp – Head first

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tarkus

Dr. Alban – Hello Afrika The Album

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here

Dr. John – Creole Moon

Cockney Rebel – Psychomodo

Cracked Latin – Alone With You

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son

Harry Chapin – Verities & Balderdash

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Henry’s Dream

Emerson, Lake & Palmer – Tarkus

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe Remix Album

Doris Brendel and Lee Dunham – Upside Down World

Hawkwind – Hall Of The Mountain Grill

Happy Families Too

Frank Sinatra – In the Wee Small Hours

Mew – Frengers

Fever Ray – Plunge

Lester Young with Count Basie – Easy Does It

Dream Theater – Systematic Chaos

Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

Nazareth – Hair Of The Dog

Fleetwood Mac – Fleetwood Mac

Nancys Rubias – Peluquitas

Focus – Mother Focus

J. Geils Band – Freeze Frame

Joe Walsh – The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get

Psychic TV – Force the Hand of Chance

Kraftwerk – Trans-Europe Expres

Lady GaGa – Artpop

Pat Benatar – Get Nervous

Steve Earle – Copperhead Road

Parliament – The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein

Wishbone Ash – Argus

Supertramp – Indelibly Stamped

Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe

Rush – Test For Echo

Rod Stewart – Atlantic Crossing

Horslips – The Book of Invasions

Dr. John – Babylon

The Dandy Warhols – Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia

Sade – Live

Rod Stewart – Atlantic Crossing [full]

Frank Zappa – Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch

The Smiths – Rank

Free – Live

Love – Forever Changes

Grand Funk Railroad – All the Girls in the World Beware

Joe Jackson – I’m The Man

The Cranberries – Bury the Hatchet

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – Hammer And Tongs

Frank Sinatra – Come Dance With Me

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway

Cocteau Twins – Victorialand

Fripp & Eno – No Pussyfooting

Jethro Tull – Broadsword And The Beast

David Bowie – Pinups

Hawkwind – Masters Of The Universe

Donald Fagen – The Nightfly

Felt – The Splendout of Fear

Danielle Dax – Inky Bloaters

Peter Tosh – Equal Rights

Gov’t Mule – Life Before Insanity

Half Man Half Biscuit – Achtung Bono

Fleetwood Mac – Rumours FULL

Flunk – Chemistry and Math

Grateful Dead – Steal Your Face

Gong – Camembert Electrique

Gorillas – Plastic Beach

Genesis – A Trick Of The Tail

Kool & the Gang – Spirit of the Boogie

Fontanna and his Orchestra – Café Continental

Grace Jones – Night Clubbing

Pedro Garcia and his Del Prado Orchestra – Cha Cha Cha

Golden Earring – The Naked Truth

Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley

David Lee Roth – Eat Em And Smile

King Crimson – Lizard

Green On Red – This Time Around

Johnny Cash – The Legend of Cash

Gryphon – Gryphon

Hawkwind – Space Ritual

Prince – Art Official Age

David Greenslade – Cactus Chior

James – La Petite Mort

Ian Hunter – Ian Hunter

Genesis – Foxtrot

Kate Bush – The Red Shoes

Jane’s Addiction – Nothing’s Shocking

Dr. Feelgood – Stupidity

Hal Otis and his Orchestra – Speak Low

Hawkwind – Warrior On The Edge Of Time

Leon Kelner & Orchestra – Cha Cha

Grank Funk – Live

Jacques Brel – Ne Me Quitte Pas

Fashion – Fabrique

Kid Rock – History of Rock

Pink Floyd – Dark Side Of The Moon

Jethro Tull – Too Old to Rock ‘n’ Roll, Too Young to Die

Chuck Berry – Rock, Rock, Rock

Golden Earring – Moontan

Golden Earring – Moontan

Steve Miller Band – Circle Of Love

Leonard Cohen – You Want It Darker

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass – Goin Places

Horslips – Dancehall Sweethearts

Frank Sinatra – The Great American Songbook

Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella

Lee Scratch Perry – Super Ape

Ten Years After – 67-74

Otway & Barrett – Way & Bar

Iron Maiden – Somewhere in Time

David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

Carly Simon – Playing Possum

Jefferson Airplane – Takes Off

Isao Tomita ‎- Pictures At An Exhibition

Jacques Brel – Le Formidable

Deep Purple – In Rock

Hugo Montenegro – Hang ‘Em High

ELP – Brain Salad Surgery

Hawkwind – In Search of Space

Marilyn Manson – Mechanical Animals

Dr Feelgood – Malpractice

Hanoi Rocks – Self Destruction Blues

Gentle Giant – Octopus full

Neil Young – Zuma

ELO – Face The Music

Gong – Flying Teapot

Dean Martin – Late at Night

Robert Palmer – Pressure Drop

ELO – Time

Free – Free

Dr. Feelgood – Sneakin Suspicion

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Dig Lazarus Dig!

Ry Cooder – The UFO has Landed

Kraftwerk – The Man Machine

Jonah Jones Quartet – A Touch of Blue

Emmylou Harris – Stumble into Grace

Gentle Giant – Gentle Giant

Dr. Feelgood – Let It Roll

Massive Dread – Massive Dread

Christina Aguilera – Bionic

It Bites – Eat Me in St. Louis

Megadeath – Dystopia

Magnum – Escape From The Shadow Garden

Cocteau Twins – Heaven or Las Vegas

Goodbye Mr Mackenzie – Hammer And Tongs

Gentle Giant – The Power and the Glory

Cockney Rebel – The Human Menagerie

The Residents – Third Reich and Roll

Tangerine Dream – Rubycon

Tom Waits – Small Change

Grateful Dead – To Terrapin Hartford ’77

The Residents – Tweedles

Split Enz – Mental Notes

Led Zeppelin – Remasters

Yes – Tales from Topographic Oceans

Lou Reed – Coney Island Baby

The Cramps – Bad Music for Bad People

The Residents – Eskimo

The Residents – I Am a Resident

New Order – Movement

Camel – Mirage

Björk – Vespertine

Black Uhuru – As the World Turns

Asia – Alpha

Beastie Boys – The Mix Up

Avril Lavigne – The Best Damn Thing

Blink 182 – Enema Of The State

Belle And Sebastian – Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Sir Roland Hanna Trio – Milan, Paris, New York – finding John Lewis

The Rezillos – Misson Accomplished But The Beat Goes On

Bauhaus – In The Flat Field

Rammstein – Rosenrot

Uriah Heep – Outsider

Supertramp – Crime Of The Century

The Spook School – Could It Be Different?

King Crimson – Radical Action to Unseat the Hold of Monkey Mind

No More Stories Are Told Today

Be-Bop Deluxe – Axe Victim

ABBA – The Album

Brian Eno – Another Green World

Be-Bop Deluxe – Sunburst Finish

Led Zeppelin – Physical Graffiti

Nancys Rubias – Nancys Rubias

Boxer – Below the Belt

Alfredito Orchestra – Cha Cha Cha Mambo Merengue

Kevin Ayres – The Confessions of Dr. Dream and Other Stories

Alice Cooper – Pretties For You

Scientist – Scientist rids the World of the evil curse of the Vampire

The B-52’s – Mesopotamia

David Bowie – Aladdin Sane

AC/DC High Voltage

Magnum – On a Storytellers Night

Bootsy Collins – The Funk Capital of the World

Black Sabbath – Sabotage

Tori Amos – Y Kant Tori Read

Ozzy Osbourne – The Ultimate Sin

Tom Waits – Swordfishtrombones

The Clash – London Calling

Sammy Davis Jr – Salt and Pepper soundtrack

Bellowhead – Burlesque

ZZ Top – Mescalero

The Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Mother’s Milk

Ramones – Rocket To Russia

Si Zentner – The Swingin Eye

King Crimson – In The Wake Of Poseidon

Bjork – Bjork

The Waterboys – A Pagan Place

The Yardbirds – The Shape of Things To Come

Caravan – In The Land Of Grey and Pink

Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run

Siouxsie and the Banshees – Mantaray

Nancys Rubias – Me-encanta

Pretenders – Pretenders

Thin Lizzy – Johnny The Fox

Wings – Band on the Run

Joy Division – Closer

Rammstein – Liebe Ist Für Alle Da

The Brian Setzer Orchestra – The Dirty Boogie

Sodom – In War And Pieces

The Rolling Stones – Black And Blue

Mew – +-

Rolling Stones – Some Girls

Split Enz – Dizrythmia

The Pop Group – Cabinet of Curiosities

The Doors – Strange Days

Todd Rundgren – A Wizard a True Star

Black Sabbath – Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

John Coltrane – Blue Train

Blue Öyster Cult – Blue Öyster Cult

Scott Walker – Scott 3

Robert Mitchum – Calypso – Is Like So..

Black Sabbath – Vol. 4

Billy Bragg And Wilco – Mermaid Avenue Vol. II

Alice Cooper – Welcome 2 my Nightmare

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica

Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak

Katy Perry – Witness

Roger Daltry – Ride a Rock Horse

Andrew W.K. – I Get Wet

Bob Dylan – The Freewheelin

Uriah Heep – Totally Driven

The Stranglers – Black and White

Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks

The Monkees – Good Times

The Moody Blues – In Search of the Lost Chord

UFO – Seven Deadly

Yes – Time and a Word

Vinegar Joe – Vinegar Joe

The Urban Voodoo Machine – Hellbound Hymns

Jethro Tull – Thick as a Brick

The Waterboys – Book Of Lightning

The Who – Who’s Next

Led Zeppelin – The Houses of the Holy

Patti Rothberg – Black Widow

Marc and the Mambas – Torment And Toreros

Status Quo – Quo

The Cars – Candy-O

St. Vincent – St. Vincent

Uriah Heep – …Very ‘Eavy …Very ‘Umble

Fiddler’s Green – Drive Me Mad

Yes – Yessongs

Frank Zappa & the Mothers

The Beach Boys – Smile

Mike Pacheco ‎– Bongo Date 1957

Pretty Things – Sorrow

Black Uhuru – Red

Okkervil River – The Silver Gymnasium

Queen – Queen II

Pet Shop Boys – PopArt

Robert Calvert – Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters

Pink Floyd – Animals

UFO – A Conspiracy Of Stars

The Monks – Suspended Animation

The Rolling Stones – Let It Bleed

Scratch and Company – Chapter 1 The Upsetters

Split Enz – Extravagenza

The Enid – Six Pieces

Yes – Relayer

St. Vincent – St. Vincent

Steely Dan – Pretzel Logic

Queen – A Night At The Opera

Violent Femmes – The Blind Leading The Naked

Bjork – Medulla

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel – The Best Years Of Our Lives

The Residents – Duck Stab

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Next

The Tiger Lillies – Ad Nauseam

Rainbow – Rising

Al Stewart – The Year of the Cat

Yes – Tales from Topographic Oceans

Average White Band – Average White Band

Tom Tom Club – Tom Tom Club

The Cramps – Smell Of Female

Uriah Heep – High And Mighty

10cc – Deceptive Bends

Bjork – Volta

Airbag – Identity

Folk Grinder – Any Old Trollop, Same Old Port

Van der Graaf Generator – World Record

Status Quo – Hello

Procal Harum – A Salty Dog

Nico – Chelsea Girl

Free – Alive and Well – Bracknell 1972

Sir Roland Hanna Trio – Apres Un Reve

Bjork-Post

Brian Eno – Here Come The Warm Jets

Kraftwerk – The Mix

Empire of the Sun – Two Vines

Paul Haig – The Warp Of Pure Fun

Skunk Anansie – 25 Live at 25

The Darkness – Easter is Cancelled

The Tiger Lillies – Covid-19

SPARKS – A Steady Drip, Drip, Drip

Orange Goblin – Back From The Abyss

Japan – Quiet Life

Eurythmics – Revenge

Patti Smith Group – Easter

Duane Eddy – Unearthly Instrumentals of the Last Space Age

Drive-by Truckers – A Blessing and a Curse

Drive-by Truckers – The New OK

Mountain – Nantucket Sleighride

Mikelangelo and The Black Sea Gentlemen – Journey To The Land Of Shadows

Mikel Simic – Caravan Songs

St. Vincent — Daddy’s Home

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – Tomorrow Belongs To Me

The Sensational Alex Harvey Band – The Impossible Dream

Yes – Relayer

The Jazz Butcher – Highest in the Land

The Jazz Butcher – A Scandal in Bohemia

Ry Cooder – Chicken Skin Music

Ry Cooder – Chavez Ravine

Magnum – On a Storytellers Night

Gryphon – Red Queen to Geyphon Three

Stabbing Westward – Chasing Ghosts

The Residents – Not Available

Last updated [10 March 2023]