100 Obscure and Remarkable CD Covers
While recording artists and bands are busy recording their albums, a separate effort is usually being made behind the scenes to plan for the launch, promotion and circulation of the new tracks. The creation of CD cover art is an intergral part of this process.
Some CD covers feature heavily edited and airbrushed vanity photos of the musicians or recording artists. Thankfully, others are much more creative and work to create a cover image that reflects the mood, attitude or feel of the music it promotes. The most striking designs are those that capture both a buyer’s attention and the essense of the music.
The CD cover art designs and concepts featured in this showcase present dramatic, quirky, unusual or unique artwork. This type of cover art can make a big difference when a little-known band releases an album. Captivating or iconic cover art can make a band instantly recognizable, which increases sales, which in turn boosts airplay and subsequently demand for the music. Mainstream marketing is rarely this attractive, and the wide variety of beautiful CD cover art makes browsing CDs an enjoyable experience that reaches far beyond the music.
It must be noted that a collection of this nature is never complete, and the value of art is very personal and subjective. While we may love the familiar cover art of some classic favourites because we love the bands and the music, a critical look at the cover art can often be a disappointment. For the purposes of this cross-section of remarkable and obscure cd cover art we have chosen to ignore the musical genius of the albums in favor of showcasing brilliant cover art.
You may also enjoy this previous article:
- 35 Beautiful Music Album Covers
- Billboard Top 40 Design Showcase, which highlights recording artists’ Web sites
100 Obscure and Remarkable CD Covers
Rush – Power Windows (1985)
This strange cover seems to be showing a mirrored world, where we sit and watch a window, surrounded by televisions.
Osaka Popstar – Rock’em O-Sock’em Live! (2008)
This gruesome cover is meant to be humorous, but may err on the side of bizarre. What look to be dollish little men have lost their heads, and perhaps some sales opportunities as well.
Neutral Milk Hotel – The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)
Vintage-looking and abstract, this beautiful coverart begs for an explaination.
Tool – Ænima (1996)
One of many brilliant cover art designs for Tool, this one is also a stunning optical illusion.
King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King (1969)
The street-art feel of this cover art is both comical and slightly unsettling.
Electric Light Orchestra – Out Of The Blue (1977)
This ELO cover art is classic and unforgettable.
Jerry Goodman – Ariel (1986)
Who doesn’t love flying fish? This cover art is confusing without being annoying. Someone might pick up this CD just to try to figure out what is going on with the cover.
Daydreamer – Dialogue (2008)
Bold slpashes of gold and red are used on this cd cover, which features a clever typography image. Haunting eyes peek out from beyond a mass of golden words that serve as hair.
Nick Drake – Pink Moon (1992)
A little bit of everything was thrown into this odd but intriguing cover art.
Iron and Wine – The Shepherd’s Dog (2007)
Pop art is featured on thie cd cover. Bright colors and an abstract image are combined to create something visually stunning.
The Mars Volta – Frances the Mute (2005)
This cover art photo is organized confusion that might make would-be listeners curious about the music.
Pixies – Doolittle (1990)
With a name like Pixies, you might expect sweet, innocent looking cover art. This is not the case.
Mimo – Hello Let’s Be Friends
Like a trainwreck, it may be hard to look away from this cover. An alien-esque creature would like to be your friend. Would you pass it up?
The Roots – Things Fall Apart (1999)
This album was released with five different covers, each depicting a social disaster. The most striking of the five, seen here, shows African American teenagers being chased down a street in Brooklyn during the Civil Rights era.
Rivermaya – Buhay (2008)
The art on this cd cover is a bit perplexing. The mostly monochromatic design comes to life with a pop of red and yellow. As the eye is drawn into the picture, the oddities become evident.
Unkle – Never, Never Land (2003)
The hand-drawn art on this cover is stark, simple and unique.
Story of the Year – Page Avenue (2003)
The title and art on this cover work beautifully together.
The Mothers of Invention – Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1988)
The cover art of this cd colorfully mocks the title.
Circa Survive – Juturna (2005)
This moody cover art grabs attention and doesn’t let it go.
Matt Elliott – Howling Songs (2008)
This strange, scary and truly original cover captures attenton and perfectly reflect the music’s essence (experimental rock and folk).
Circa Survive – On Letting Go (2007)
Two years later, Circa Survive released a new album with this cover, which seems caught between a dream and a nightmare
Thom Yorke – The Eraser (2006)
This cover, with it’s simple black, white and red hand-drawn design, is captivating.
Black Light Burns – Cruel Melody (2007)
Taking a more classical route on this cover art, Black Light Burns manages to catch a browser’s eye.
KMFDM – Hau Ruck (2005)
Harsh, abrupt, and loud, this KMFDM cover art gets in your face.
The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
Some say no collection of cover art is worth mentioning without this cover.
As Cities Burn – Hell or High Water (2008)
Both Hell and high water make their appearance in this album cover by As Cities Burn, and the heavy relief styling mated with macabre humor do well to quickly catch your eye.
Bring Me the Horizon – Count Your Blessings (2006)
Good photographic composition draws the viewer’s eye to the little girl immediately in this cover from Bring Me the Horizon, only to then take it on a tour all over the picture.
Deftones – Deftones (2003)
Relaxed and friendly typography tops this self-titled album’s cover art, while perfectly over-contrasted colors surround the skull in the center. This cover stands out anywhere.
Massive Attack – Mezzanine (1998)
The idea of such a limited color scheme and so much white space may seem boring on paper, but the execution of this album’s cover art was flawless and the image has been burned to memory for millions of fans world-wide ever since.
Frank Zappa – Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch (1995)
This cover combines a silly title with a Swedish-looking font and an imaginatively simple drawing that, once we’ve read the title, really does look like a drowning witch and a ship’s keel.
Toad the Wet Sprocket – Coil (1997)
This album cover, while very full of activity, manages to pull off a gorgeous, monochromatic glow that draws the reader in from the start.
The Rippingtons – Modern Art (2009)
While the typography on this cd cover could be much better, the “cool cat” and his art seem to make up for it.
The Van Buren Regulars – 14 Minutes ’till 3 (2007)
Beautiful lighting and a good setting make the photograph in this cover art perfect for what it’s been used for. The title of the album serves as a seat to the band-name and the reader feels relaxed, as though peering over the railing and looking down the stairwell like a child might.
Norma Jean – O God the Aftermath (2005)
Like viral marketing, Norma Jean’s album is made to stop a browser in their tracks and force them to wonder what happened on the cover. Did somebody write on it? Is this a used cd? This kind of extended attention is exactly what album art should get.
Green Day – 21st Century Breakdown (2009)
Warm and grungy, this cd cover art also captures a tinge of teenage angst.
Lemon Jelly – Lost Horizons (2002)
Looking for a lost horizon is exactly what the viewer winds up doing when looking at this album cover, due to the flow given it by the artist.
Out of Enemies – Into the Darkness (2009)
Good use of artist rendering here shows a surrealistic scene in modern manga-style illustration. We don’t know what’s in the woods, or why the hero needs to enter. We just know he’s Out of Enemies.
The Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots (1988)
This cd cover art is unique and interesting, and with a pink robot, how could they lose?
Adagio – Archangels in Black (2009)
Dark and moody, this cover art composition was designed to highlight key features. Mystery and anquish draw the listener to this cover.
The Prodigy – Music for the Jilted Generation (1995)
Sepultura – Roots (1996)
Hot colors with a tribal infusion decorate this cd cover. The disconnect between the head and neck make this image even more interesting.
Junkyard – The Birthday Party (1982)
This cd cover art is macabre and humorous at the same time. There is a little bit of everything in the image, and with each look one might see something that went unnoticed before.
Caged
A budding artist created this image in hope that it would be used as cd cover art. It’s frightening and striking at the same time. The two faces could represent may things and may make an excellent cover image for the right band..
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero (single, 2009)
Some covers totally mess with your mind. This is one of them. The bright blue eye seems to be staring out from a pair of shiny red lips. This is an unexpected composition, to say the least, and has helped propel the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s from unknown independents to household names.
Muse – Origin of Symmetry (2001)
Anew Revolution – Rise (2008)
This cd cover art is simple and basic, yet incredibly striking. The edges look charred already, while a hand holds a match in the foreground. While the overall color scheme is subdued, even cold, the flame is embellished to give the illusion of heat.
Further Seems Forever – Hide Nothing (2004)
Matching the cover in metaphor to the name of the band is a common trick in album art, but the more abstract the band-name the more difficult it becomes to accomplish. This cover managed to do pretty well in its attempt.
Eagles of Death Metal – Heart On (2008)
A startling image, front and center on this cd cover commands attention. The red and black contrast also serve to draw eyes. However, a human heart clenched in a fist may be a bit too strong, and many potential listeners may keep walking.
Ninja Academy – bra’ka dOm (2005)
Ninjas are rarely seen, and conjoined-twin ninjas are even more of a rarity. The pair gaze into a crystal ball in an attempt to determine if this cover art will be of any interest to potential listeners.
The Gossip – Live in Liverpool (2008)
This cover is simple, bold and effectively conveys the message in an instant. The dirty laundry pictured is a clever play off the band’s name.
More Skin With Milk-Mouth – Giraffes? Giraffes? (2007)
Nothing seems to make sense here, yet it works on this cd cover. More flying fish, an invasion of ladybugs and a Roman statue all fit together in this intriguing, colorful mess.
Alpha Rev – The Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Learned (2008)
Another approach to grunge is seen in this cd cover artwork that succesfully combines a retro feeling and a modern touch.
Cuerpo Meridian – 69 (2006)
The artwork here is so beautifully abstract that we hardly notice the psuedo-twins crouching at the bottom. A deeper look reveals more embedded messages within this cd cover.
RIDE! – The Last of the Bad Men (2008)
This is another example of simple, yet striking cd cover design. Colors and effects were expertly applied to create artwork that is stunning enough for a frame, yet is used to promote another form of art instead.
faux pas’ – europa (never released)
This interesting cd cover brings the unexpected into the artwork. While not conventionally attractive, it is interesting and worth a closer look.
Systemania – I Say Yeah (2007)
Black with white and red usually make for a stunning visual combo. This cd cover uses black and white photography with red accents to create a masterpiece.
Mark Cool & the Folk Stars (2007)
This charming folk-art cover works perfectly for this folk music cd.
Destruction – Release from Agony (1988)
This cs cover has more creep factor than a vintage horror flick, yet is strangely fascinating.
Coldplay – Viva LaVida (2008)
A vintage French battleground is the scene for this cd cover. Smear and splatter bring it to life.
Motorhead – Orgasmatron (2006)
A cd cover that could inspire nightmares is not quickly forgotten. This Motorhead cd cover features an image that makes an impact.
A Perfect Circle – Mer de Noms (2000)
Simple and elegant artwork can also make a great cd cover. This design is particularly attractive because all of the elements work together perfectly to create a memorable and uncluttered cover.
Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004)
Completely vintage in appearance, this Arcade Fire cd cover art is nearly monochromatic and simplistic in design.
Arcade Fire (2005)
The creative use of typography and white space sets this cover art apart.
Evanescence – The Open Door (2006)
A moody and romantic tone is set with this cd cover art design. The mystery lies on the other side of the door.
The Postal Service – Give Up (2003)
This extremely simple cd cover design is also extremely memorable and effective. Soft focus on the background photo give the cover an understated elegance.
Bjork – Medulla (2004)
Bjork covers are generally extremely eye-catching. Rather than straight glamour shots, her cover art generally reflects a unique style that is all her own.
Bjork – Wanderlust (2008)
Bjork – Cocoon 2 (single, 2002)
Cocteau Twins – Treasure (1991)
The music on this album has been described as sensual and timeless, and the cover art also falls in line with that description. Its simplicity allows it to withstand the test of time.
Radiohead – OK Computer (1997)
The music on this album is about machines dehumanizing people, and the cover art seems to touch on the speed and technology of modern life.
Radiohead – In Rainbows (2007)
Taking the rainbow theme to task, the artist used an interesting background and multi-colored text with random keystrokes inserted to create this cover art.
She Wants Revenge (2005)
This self-titled album made a splash with this striking cover art.
Wet
Striking and self-explanatory, this cd cover art stands out in a crowd.
Shoutin’ – Don Wilkerson (1963)
Classic art from the Miles Davis era, when great cover art was in its infancy.
New Order – Blue Monday (1988)
New Order departed from its usual style of cover art in favor of this symbolic design for Blue Monday.
Hard-Fi – Once Upon a Time in the West (2007)
A new approach to cover art from Hard-Fi. This is pretty self-explanatory.
Fucked Up – Year of the Rat b/w First Born (2009)
The combination of the image, colors and use of white space make this cover hard to resist.
Pixies – Come on Pilgrim (1987)
This bold and shocking imagery appeared on the cover of the Pixies’ 2003 release, Come on Pilgrim.
Supertramp – Breakfast in America (1979)
Classic cover art no collector should be without.
Orbital – In Sides (1996)
Chaotic and colorful cover art decorated the cover of this Orbital cd.
Baroness – The Red Album (1988)
This gorgeous cover art was created by Baroness lead singer John Dyer Baizley. Baizley does all of the band’s artwork and has also worked on art for other bands.
The Smashing Pumpkins – Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995)
The cover art on this cd looks vintage, but was produced for the 1995 release of this much-loved album.
The Beatles – Revolver (1966)
This album took place during confusing time for the Beatles, when they were in a state of flux and trying many new things; this cover art conveys the idea of just that.
Pink Floyd – The Darkside of the Moon (1973)
Voted and declared on many lists internationally as the greatest album cover art in history, The Darkside of the Moon stands the test of time as it’s still wildly popular in its simplicity.
Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (1979)
Joy Division, being known for their commitment to music, as well as being very dark, are personified in this very minimalistic cover.
Chevelle – Wonder What’s Next (2002)
This cover shows a glass of milk crashing to the floor, the title Wonder What’s Next leads the reader to think of the proverb.
Devin Townsend – Ziltoid the Omniscient (2007)
This extremely humorous cover mimics classic sci-fi B-movies. Someone browsing the record store might stop just to see if it’s a misplaced DVD. Covers like this serve to pique curiosity, and often succeed.
Keane – Under the Iron Sea (2006)
Using the old imagery of the “Iron Horse” in this cover, Keane manages to make both the name of the album and the cover art flow together as a complimentary pair.
Lee Morgan – The Rumproller (1965)
Using extreme distortion on the typography in this cover art causes the reader to pause and pay attention, only to be greeted by the full artist and album information off to the side.
Marylin Manson – Mechanical Animals (1998)
Always one for shock value, Marylin Manson made sure he would grab eyeballs with this album cover; the cover was so effective that it had to be altered just to be taken off ban-lists.
Menomena – Friend or Foe (2007)
This clever album cover actually housed a several-disc set, and depending on which disc was placed in front, the art would change accordingly, with the disc number visible in the strange being’s hand.
The Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
Always out to make a statement, the Sex Pistols used this album cover to not only get a laugh out all who came across it, but also to raise brand-awareness. If you’re going to self-title an album, this is a good way to go about doing it.
Tiger Lou – Partial Print (2008)
Typography carries this with creative vignetting, as Tiger Lou catches the reader’s attention instantly.
Beck – The Information (2006)
The album was issued with a blank sleeve and booklet and one of four different sheets of stickers for fans to make their own album art. Beck explained to Wired magazine he wanted no two copies of the CD cover to be the same: “The artwork is going to be customizable. The idea is to provide something that calls for interactivity.” However, because the unique album art concept was seen as a gimmick to bolster retail sales, The Information was deemed ineligible to enter the UK Albums Chart.
Opeth – Ghost Reveries (2005)
Opeth wants to haunt you in this album cover, to make you stop and think, and wonder. It’s hard not to, as it’s very artistically done so as to draw your attention.
Sila – Imza (2008)
Normally a photo shoot of the artist winds up somewhat plain; Sila does things differently in this shot, as it barely looks real. The feathers reminds us more of a cinematic trailer for a fantasy movie or video game, the brightness draws us into the center where her eyes anchor the canvas.
The Darkness – One Way Ticket to Hell… And Back (2005)
Wraparound covers, while not quite rare, aren’t common either. So when a good one comes up, it’s always a nice thing to see, and this one is simply amazingly well done.
The Who – Then and Now (2004/2006)
This album art showcases the fact that The Who have been around since before most of us were born. The vintage styling makes every piece of information “pop” and the whole thing comes together to look like a concert poster.
Tool – 10,000 Days (2006)
While the cover itself is not amazing, it’s what Tool have done with the packaging that makes it worth a mention. Tool raised the bar with digipacks by including a set of stereoscope glasses to view the accompanying artwork.
The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – It’s Blitz (2009)
Doing what they do best, the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s give another great example of how to turn heads. Upon seeing this, most everyone tends to stop and look.
Greg
May 14th, 2009 6:19 amoh, #2…Osaka Popstar… Seriously? Do you guys really not know what Garbage Pail Kids are? Hardly original, but still a fun cover.
Alex
May 14th, 2009 6:20 amWhere’s Addek’s hip hop 9/11 cover??!! Blows half of these away and is pretty obscure. Underground Hip hop.
Rodrigo Z
May 14th, 2009 6:32 amGreat article, except one mistake – The Red Album, by Baroness, was released in 2007, not 1988. (I should know, I was the editor for their music video).
Steve
May 14th, 2009 6:48 amI vote for Dugong’s Hat Danko album for something rather unique. http://beta.bombedout.com/discography/bomb013 – linking to the label’s beta site as the image is larger.
sigh
May 14th, 2009 6:54 amsomtimes I feel like smashing magazine is losing it’s touch with these kind of posts, I mean it seems like you guys are just spamming God knows how many album covers and hoping it contains some worth mentioning? AND most of the covers are for the same music genre. I don’t really get the point of posts like this one …if I want to get spammend with album covers I’ll use Google images.
So my advice… Less quantity More quality! I know you can do it
James Yount
May 14th, 2009 7:22 amNearly anything by Hipgnosis is stunning.
Quakeulf >:3
May 14th, 2009 7:26 amGarbage pail kids on a cover, how cute. :3
theglenvoid
May 14th, 2009 7:35 amRage Against The Machine self-titled first album
doug
May 14th, 2009 7:46 ami like this album cover a lot, it’s a mix of manipulated photos and illustrations:
http://blog.mojavemusic.ca/blog/preorder-crows-funeral/
Batfan
May 14th, 2009 8:24 amNo Metallica – ‘…And Justice For All’ ??
No Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’ ??
No Iron Maiden – ‘Piece of Mind’ ??
Yet Bjork is listed 3 times?
Very odd indeed. They are not obscure but, definately remarkable.
steve
May 14th, 2009 8:31 amdefinitely thought I was going to see more Pink Floyd – ‘momentary lapse of reason’ is one of my favs of all time, ‘wish you were here’ is a classic too…cool list though – oh yeah, and its Dark Side of the Moon, not Darkside :)
antpaw
May 14th, 2009 8:38 amI LOVE TOOL !!!
matt
May 14th, 2009 8:48 amI think my favorite is the Iron and Wine one.
Littlepixel
May 14th, 2009 8:49 amFYI – the Joy Division one is a Homage [by me] to the original and not in fact the proper sleeve. I’d say you need to do a bit more picture research. Actually – any research at all might have fleshed out this overblown, yet revelation-thin bloat list.
Grant
May 14th, 2009 8:50 amOBSCURE?! I don’t think so. Very few albums on this list or their art would classify as obscure.
I think you should definitely rethink the title of this article. And look up the meaning of obscure.
Mike@ssm
May 14th, 2009 9:05 amTisk tisk
Any of the mid era — hot water music — covers
CD Design
May 14th, 2009 9:59 amFabulous list! Thanks for publishing! :-)
The Barrister
May 14th, 2009 10:15 amXTC Go2
Jesse
May 14th, 2009 10:20 amGreat collection! Pink Floyd – Darkside of the Moon and any Beck are always great choices. A lot of bands go with the same style or artist throughout the majority of their career; and it seems the more progressive bands always have great album art.
Thanks as always Smashing.
roland
May 14th, 2009 10:31 amPink Moon by Nick Drake was released in 1972, not 1992. Those descriptions of yours lack any meaning, they seem quite random to me, just like the collection itself.
But hey, just another meaningless “The best 5000 whatever” on digg. Congratulations, now I know that smashing *had* been a magazine somewhen, but isn’t not anymore.
Zach
May 14th, 2009 10:31 amCool list!
“Cassette” by Public Image Limited would have made a nice addition.
M for Matt
May 14th, 2009 10:32 amCool collection. I was happy to see Further Seems Forever – Hide Nothing made the list. That cover art was my desktop wallpaper for well over a year. Amazing album too.
OldBoy
May 14th, 2009 10:50 amPixies + Nick Drake – you nailed it bud.
I’d like to have seen Maximo Park covers for the consistent branding and simplicity. Good Job though
Mike Goldstein
May 14th, 2009 10:53 amWow – very comprehensive list, with more of an emphasis on the “cool” than the “obscure”, in my opinion. As someone who makes his living promoting the works of the talented designers, illustrators and photographers who create the imagery for new music releases, I’m always happy to see that fans still value these works (and, sometimes, value them more than the music they package!).
I also write a column based on interviews I do with these artists about the inspiration behind the images they’ve created. In fact, my latest column is about “the making of” the cover for The Pixies’ “Doolittle”, which is featured high on your list. If you’d like to read it (and some of my more-recent postings), please visit my blog at http://rockpopgallery.typepad.com/rockpop_gallery_news/
Keep up the good work – Mike G
Eclipse
May 14th, 2009 10:54 amI’m with RickO, missing Emerson, Lake & Palmer’s “Brain Salad Surgery”, maybe also “In Search Of The Lost Chord” by The Moody Blues, “Nursery Cryme” from Genesis – but i fully accept that this list cannot contain them all =)
Matching great Video: Cover Wars
EDIT: The Video is called “Cover Wars” (i thought it would display as the link caption but it didn’t)
Best regards
Tuomas
May 14th, 2009 11:11 amWell, I don’t know about the list or the descriptions, but it’s always nice looking trough some album covers. I especially like the Perfect Circle cover. I wonder how many of you guys noticed the 3D circle in the design.
Chris
May 14th, 2009 11:18 amWhat about Puzzle by Biffy Clyro? And The Seldom Seen Kid by Elbow.
Otherwise a great list!
jow
May 14th, 2009 11:49 ami think the opeth album art was actually part of a contest for fans to create an illustration for ‘ghost reveries’.
Colin
May 14th, 2009 12:17 pmWhy don’t you include Hard Format? It’s full of wonderful designs!
Jeanne
May 14th, 2009 12:21 pmWow. This is just awful. I used to LOVE these lists, but lately they seem to be suffering from a lack of editing. Smashing Magazine, I think you may need to say “no” to some of these writers. Some of these artists are certainly not “Obscure.” Many of the art is not “Remarkable.” I could live with that. I can’t live with the fact that there is barely a sentence for each entry, and what is there is inane. (“With a name like Pixies, you might expect sweet, innocent looking cover art.” Are you kidding me? Maybe we could discuss how the cover fits with the music?) Art, particularly commercial art used to sell a record is more than just interesting to look at. It needs to convey something of the musical artist and genre. Many of the examples here do that, but it seems as though it was simply a happy accident that your writer picked those.
Nuno
November 4th, 2009 2:19 pmHi! I really agree with you about the comments.. Plus do you know the Tromple le monde album from Pixies? They worked a long time with Neville Brody a very famous graphic designer… So as a fan of Pixies and graphic designer i felt like “only this that a mag has to say about Pixies?” I think they should mention the cover artist and try to figure out the context and the relation art-music… no? Cheers and keep on fighting
Nuno, Portugal
awhollywood
May 14th, 2009 12:46 pmCraptacular.
fart knock
May 14th, 2009 1:26 pmthis is stupid. nothing obscure about any of this.
Iaman
May 14th, 2009 1:59 pmThis is just going to get lost in the comment-spam, but I’ve always felt that the album covers that Douglas TenNapel (the guy behind Earthworm Jim) did for Five Iron Frenzy are at the top of my favorite album covers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FiveIronFrenzy-OurNewestAlbumEver!.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ProofThatTheYouthAreRevolting.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIFEndIsNear.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Theendishere.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FIF-Quantity_Is_Job_1.jpg < If you only look at one, make it this one
ccr
May 14th, 2009 2:00 pmshame trio wasn’t on the list, the cover
Hollis Bartlett
May 14th, 2009 2:37 pmConsidering the genre of most of the music portrayed in this list, I’m surprised Black Sabbath’s debut album was not on the list, along with Bat out of Hell, but they’re hardly obscure. Of course, there are probably thousands of more obscure album covers just devoted to dark art – think every Cradle of Filth album, nay every black metal album ever made pretty much. But the Black Sabbath one would be the grand daddy that started it.
Farnsworth Bentley
May 14th, 2009 5:01 pmHow can any list such as this be considered complete with not one cover from The Blue Oyster Cult, Masterful covers.
aBikeLife
May 14th, 2009 5:33 pmYo, how ’bout the album art of Talk Talk!?
SQUIRRELMAN
May 14th, 2009 6:09 pmCheck out the LP artwork for Monolith by Kansas, if your lucky enough to see the inside fold you will be blessed with some great artwork!
Manoj
May 14th, 2009 9:43 pmThere are some great artworks it this list and not all of them are obscure. I wish a couple of Meatloaf arts were included too.
Cristhian
May 14th, 2009 9:48 pmI knew Breakfast in America would be in it, just amazing work for the time it was made :D Also, if you guys want to know the photographer responsible for Sila’s album he’s in deviantart http://mehmeturgut.deviantart.com/ :)
vowdy
May 15th, 2009 12:03 amYou forgot
Darkest hour – deliver me
Awesome coverart right there!
el jar8
May 15th, 2009 2:26 amwooow un muy buen trabajo imiagino que debio de costar trabajo juntar todos las portadas, la verdad se agradece mucho, muchos no los conocia… im a fan of you people… and yes smashing magazine rocks at Tijuana mexico
neogrey
May 15th, 2009 2:28 amPretty big job done here, but the author comments are childish, yet unnecessary.
s1m0n
May 15th, 2009 2:43 amGreat collection but maybe there is a few that’s missing:
- Nirvana: Inutero
- Tool: Lateralus (much more deeper)
- System of a down: Steal this album
- Pennywise: Straight ahead or Land of the free
- Rage againts the machine: self-titled
- Rise against: Appeal to Reason
- Defonest: Adrenaline
- 311: Don’t tread on me
- The Offspring: Americana
marti
May 15th, 2009 3:28 amWhat no Clash london calling?
piervix
May 15th, 2009 4:41 amGreat list!
In a post on my blog i’ve collected 10 cover of progressive rock also focused on italian scene…
Joel
May 15th, 2009 5:05 amThough I would hardly classify the majority of these as obscure, it is a decent collection. The problem with lists like these, though, is that people remember what is recent. The 60′s – 90′s are woefully underrepresented. The obscure is woefully underrepresented. There are so many great album covers from independent labels, Hip Hop artists, and Jazz artists that haven’t gotten any mention. I understand that this is a completely subjective list, but this is my completely subjective comment.
Oh yeah, I think Sgt. Peppers is boring.
Good job, nontheless.
Craig
May 15th, 2009 5:23 amGreat List.
I actually have the Rush – Power Windows LP framed on my wall. Pretty cool it’s at the top of your list. There are many great Rush covers.
h-a-r-v
May 15th, 2009 5:27 amHey, where’s Metallica with their Load / Reload Blood & Semen / & Urine covers? May not be pretty, but definitely original :-) And the epic Master of Puppets cover, naturally.
Justin
May 15th, 2009 6:34 amI would have thought Santana’s Abraxas would have made the list. It features Mati Klarwein’s 1961 painting, Annunciation, and definitely represents an era.
zach
May 15th, 2009 7:04 amslint – spiderland
chatou
May 15th, 2009 7:23 amI guess we don’t have the same meaning of “obscure”. At least, put the real cover…
The Joy Division one came from Flickr and is part of a collection of someone re-interpreting album covers.
aliceslipped
May 15th, 2009 8:10 amI was actually really happy to see some of my favorite artists on the list! I was hoping it wasn’t just going to be a bunch of mainstream CD covers with good lighting or something!
I have always respected Bjork for her art and music and when I need inspiration, I turn to her! Likewise, I really like Joy Division, The Mars Volta, The Cocteau Twins, and KMFDM – it’s great to see them be appreciated! :)
R3P0oSI
May 15th, 2009 8:37 amSweet collection and another great post on SM. The Pixies Trompe Le MondeTrompe Le Monde, with its sliced-(not quite human)eyeballs-cover, could be included with the other two in the list (replacing another eyeball cover: Zero.)
Al
May 15th, 2009 8:49 amSame old same old. Predictable choices that mostly don’t live up to the title for the most part.
You could’ve plundered any typical music mag “best albums of all time” feature for a fair proportion of those, and just skimmed back over the last few years of guitar band releases for a lot of the rest.
Jesse
May 15th, 2009 9:09 amVery nice, I like a lot of the music, and a bunch of the album covers are really cool.
HOWEVER, if anyone is interested in seeing some more really amazing album covers that didn’t make this list, (but judging from what did, the author would like some of this music too) go check out any and all Nine Inch Nails album covers. Every single one is a work of art.
Disposable_Hero
May 15th, 2009 9:37 amA few points to hit here…
1. I think the author meant the elements in the album artwork are obscure, not the band or the album itself. Just because the band is mainstream doesn’t mean they can’t come up with a very obscure idea.
2. Obviously there are exceptions, but I feel the reason there aren’t many pop/hip hop/country albums in this list is because most of the covers in that genre consist of pictures of the artist. I mean really, how many hip hop covers *don’t* include a picture of the artist showing off, whether it be with “bling”, half-naked women, or both? One of the first paragraphs of this article basically states that they will *not* be featuring glorified images of the artist. Sure rock does it too, but more often than not, a rock album will feature some kind of creative artwork.
3. I’ve never understood why artwork purposely made to look badly done is considered good art. I’m sorry, but the Frank Zappa album doesn’t do anything for me. The idea is kind of funny, but does it have to look like it was drawn in Microsoft Paint?
Otherwise, great list! I do have several additions to it, but like it was stated in the article, a list like this is never complete.
Daniel
May 15th, 2009 10:17 amJerry Goodman – Ariel (1986)
Fishes? Reflections?
M.C Escher maybe…????
Nik
May 15th, 2009 11:05 amThe cover for Iron & Wine’s “The Shepherd’s Dog” is not pop art by any stretch of the imagination. Can you explain what aspect of pop-culture Sam Bean was reacting to when he painted the album cover?
Other than that, most of the things on this list are excellent! (With the obvious exception of Green Day, etc.)
tom@plasticprinters
May 15th, 2009 11:58 amAfter i read the title of the post I had a feeling green day was going to be on the list. I thought Dookie might have made the list over 21st Century though. No Zeppelin, odd.
Rick
May 15th, 2009 12:16 pmThe photo of the Joy Division cover is not the original cover.
Better look at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unknown_Pleasures
The Treasure-album from Cocteau Twins is from 1984 and not from 1991.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_(album)
Joviano
May 15th, 2009 1:12 pmHere it is another one: http://rocknrollmusic4ever.blogspot.com/2009/01/os-dez-melhores-discos-do-rock.html , by Titãs, a rockband from Brasil.
Jen Z
May 15th, 2009 2:24 pmhey! I was expecting to see something from My Chemical Romance they have really great art in their covers… anyway the selection was pretty cool
synappz
May 15th, 2009 5:40 pmThis seems more like a list of your favorite music, as though it has little do with the cover art. Some of them are truly remarkable, such as Dark Side of the Moon, and In Rainbows. At the same time, quite a few of them are rather bland and uninspiring of any emotion whatsoever. Breakfast in America being a prime example. Try again after you expand your musical horizons a bit.
snaps
May 15th, 2009 7:33 pmI think it’s pretty cool that you featured Rush’s Power Windows. That cover was designed by Hugh Syme. I had the pleasure of meeting him. His work is phenomenal and would fit it with this post. Check out his portfolio Hugh Syme
Davey Boyd
May 15th, 2009 8:50 pmOne word…..Bizarre
aritzb
May 16th, 2009 4:22 amWhere’s Violator, by Depeche Mode?
jacques
May 16th, 2009 8:26 amFascinating! Som many covers i have ever heard.
Bookmarked for “inspiration needed” moments.
eric
May 17th, 2009 8:24 amsome good picks, but the reasoning behind them are pretty limited or not there at all. Muse’s album has nothing to say. it seemed very rushed and half-assed at times and there was a lot of “stretches” to the reasoning behind these. still, some good picks, but a re-write about each album cover would be nice. saying “it was balanced well” isn’t really reason to why this made a list of the top 100.
Okibi
May 17th, 2009 4:35 pmI’m sure many can think of one of their favourite album covers that wasn’t listed or be uninspired by some of these examples presented, probably because you’ve seen them many times before or that artistic style doesn’t float your boat. But i’m pretty sure this isn’t meant to be a definitive list, just a fantastic collection of great album covers. I found it inspiring as well as a nice trip down memory lane. Thank you.
Daphne DeAmore
May 17th, 2009 6:19 pmI love Supertramp – Breakfast in America (1979) excellent Album and Album cover. this is a great collection! Thanks
R
May 18th, 2009 2:07 amSila’s cover is created by Mehmet Turgut http://www.mehmetturgut.com/
Scott P.
May 18th, 2009 7:12 amnot to mention adam jones (guitarist for tool) won a grammy for the packaging of 10,000 days
fishalope
May 18th, 2009 9:29 amI was suprised to see only 1 Pink Floyd cover.
Ruslan
May 18th, 2009 10:54 amI thought the Enigma Album “Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!” should of been in the list.
Michael
May 18th, 2009 11:46 amI love the cover selection, but I wouldn’t call bands like Radiohead, Zappa, Tool, The Beatles obscure!
kaye
May 18th, 2009 12:49 pm“This cover combines a silly title with a Swedish-looking font and an imaginatively simple drawing that, once we’ve read the title, really does look like a drowning witch and a ship’s keel.”
That would be a bow, not a keel. A ship’s keel is under the water.
Nice list, reminded me of a few albums I’ve been looking for.
Diego
May 18th, 2009 1:31 pmNo Dead Kennedys or any cover by Winston Smith. Shame on you.
Darko
May 18th, 2009 7:03 pmGreat collection!!!… yet I would had included more Classic Jazz covers, some of them display fantastic typographic uses. On the other hand I personally like the concept that “The white stripes” present in every album!…
Great job guys!….
smashing as usual.!!!…..
TommyG.
May 19th, 2009 3:55 amI should add
“Never for Ever” – Kate Bush (1980)
Fil
May 19th, 2009 7:10 amVery interesting post. Here is the link of a cover I made for a swiss classical music ensemble that I would like to share quai d’oz
Andy
May 19th, 2009 11:21 amThe album “Power Windows” can be considered obscure if you don’t know what a power window is in the first place, Neil Peart (Drummer from Rush) explains it quite nicely. Neil basically explains that it’s a boy has a power window from rush and reality, or something along those lines. As Neil says it, “Abstract, but simple”
Andrew C.
May 19th, 2009 12:48 pmI don’t see anyone else pointing this out, but you have your credits reversed on the Birthday Party album. Birthday Party is the name of the BAND, not the ALBUM. “Junkyard” is the name of the album. Birthday Party were Nick Cave’s old band before he went and started recording with the Bad Seeds.
Also, totally agree with the above poster who is shocked to not see any Hipgnosis album covers on your list. You could pretty much make a full “Obscure, Weird 100″ list just from their album covers of the 1970′s and 80′s…
Kent
May 19th, 2009 9:52 pmI would say that Michael Jacksons 1991 album Dangerous would fit in this collection aswell. Really cool and artistic cover.
Kevsgreat
May 20th, 2009 2:19 amThere are a few inaccuracies in descriptions and some are a little vague, a nice collection of artwork nonetheless.
px42
May 21st, 2009 9:40 amhave you been scanning my cds collection? :P
Claudio C-08
May 21st, 2009 10:42 amThe positive review is that Power Windows was a great choice. The critical one is that Steve Vai`s Firegarden isn`t on the list. That`s a great, complex and artistic cover. The Ultra Zone is another one which conceptualizes the songs from the album it graphically represents.
Signe
May 21st, 2009 2:11 pmHAHAHAHA. Is this a joke? I came here in hopes of seeing some interesting covers.. this was the definition of a yawn-fest. So dull, so trite, so boring.
Nilton
May 22nd, 2009 5:02 amWhere is Black Sabbath # 1 cover album ?
hannes
May 22nd, 2009 8:14 amA very nice collection … some of my favourite songs are in your compilation but i think the cover of the new lost.minds ep TWO is absent.
P.S. it isn’t “Giraffes? Giraffes?” but “Giraffes? Giraffes!”
hannes
May 22nd, 2009 8:16 ami mean the lost.minds ep TWO
sorry for the second post but in the first this part was remove
rose
May 22nd, 2009 9:57 amGreg: In reference to Osaka Popstar…they’re a band made up of some pretty famous punk guys from NY and Jersey, believe me they know what Garbage Pail Kids are.
Guil
May 22nd, 2009 1:01 pmWhere’s the album Virgin Killer from Scorpions??
Flazomiro
May 22nd, 2009 1:37 pmWhere’s Black Sabbath’s debut and Marillion’s Fugazi? By the way, all Marillion covers from Fish era are, at least, intrigant.
Lance
May 25th, 2009 5:06 pmHere is a list that I think are interesting as well…(that have not already been mentioned)
1 Jane’s Addiction – Ritual De Lo Habitual
2 R.E.M. – Chronic Town
3 Alice In Chains – Dirt
4 Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine
5 Talking Heads – Speaking In Tongues
6 Cars – Candy-O
7 Cure – Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
8 Police – Ghosts In The Machine
9 The Shins – Wincing The Night Away
10 The Smiths – Meat Is Murder
11 U2 – Boy
12 Midnight Oil – Diesel And Dust
13 King’s X – Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
14 Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile
15 Porno For Pyros – Porno For Pyros
I know that most are not that obscure but I like them.
Patrick
June 11th, 2009 10:07 pmI thought this was a pretty cool list, but I’m pretty bummed out by a lot of the comments. I’m hearing a lot of metal requests(especially in the way of Mastodon covers), but I really don’t see anything too weird about metal covers, just illegible letters and gruesome pictures(I’m sorry to all the metal fans, maybe I just don’t get it, but that’s just the way I see it). I also saw some stuff about this being very mainstream, but first of all, I don’t see how that would be relevant to the artwork being obscure at all. 2nd there’s a Giraffes? Giraffes! album on here(which I love, by the way. That was probably my personal favorite thing I saw on the list) and that definitely isn’t a mainstream band. 3rd, mainstream bands are almost more likely too have obscure covers because they have a lot more resources for artwork then your typical garage band, an obscure band is more likely to have more obscure ideas for a cover, but still, a lot of them are lacking in resources to actually produce that idea. The last thing I didn’t really agree with was the whole “Metal is more complex than any other form of music” deal. That isn’t even close to true, there’s a link to the Giraffes? Giraffes! MySpace on this page, if you believe that then you’d better follow that link right now and experience your first taste of Math Rock, you’ll be happy you did(again, sorry to all the metal fans, but mastadon isn’t more complex than Tera Melos, or ent).
On the other hand, there was definitely some cool stuff people had to say, I’m liking all the Tool love throughout all of this, I did see one reference to my favorite, who I’m sure anyone who’s made it this far knows who that is, and I do agree that an Iron Maiden cover could have been cool, they are definitely an exception to the stereotypical metal covers, and I’d be down for a Rage Against the Machine self-titled on the list, but I still like the list with the exception of the Zappa cover, I agree with one of the comments I saw that said how they didn’t get the whole purposely bad album covers. But yeah, I liked the list, hope to see more posts like this, it was interesting to look through
pete
June 25th, 2009 7:36 amNice list, though several are far from obscure. still, excellent.
Luna
August 3rd, 2009 4:00 pmI feel like I just read the list of a 13 year old who maybe saw a few of his or her parents’ albums, was inspired to create a list and then threw in a bunch of their not-so-obscure “indie cred” albums of the 2000s, with a smattering of REALLY popular artists. What the hell was this, seriously? I mean, I have to imagine you might be young if you didn’t even realize that cover was depicting the Garbage Pail Kids.
I know art is subjective but the art isn’t even the problem here. It’s that you think the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bjork and The fucking Beatles are obscure. Maybe one TENTH of this list might be considered obscure to anyone who has more than a passing interest in music.
Please… try again.
humanbean
August 27th, 2009 1:22 pmthought on the “obscurity” aside, my real problem with this is that a lot of these covers seem to be very mundane to me. sure, there are a few gems in there that undoubtedly do have remarkable artwork. but a lot of the others seem either completely uninspired, boring, or way overproduced.
though i am sure a lot of the major labels would agree with this list.
my point is, i think i could find 100 albums at home that have much more “remarkable” and “obscure” art than this.
i mean, i like the sex pistols as much as anyone else, but there is nothing special about that cover. it’s actually rather boring except for the bright colors.
also, the fact that you picked that particular album for the who over something more interesting, like say, tommy, shows that the “remarkable” side of this is focused more on gimmicks than art. “ooooh, a cover that looks like a concert poster, wow!”
@patrick: i really don’t think the quality of album art depends at all on how many resources a band has. if you have great ideas, you will find some way to make them happen. they might not end up being pristine and you might not make too many copies, but it can be done (and is all the time actually).
i look at some of these covers and see a cover that seems to be made by a band that sat around for hours trying to figure out what would make a cool cover for the new album. the she wants revenge cover is a perfect example i think…that is the dumbest cover i have seen in awhile. my teenage brother could have easily done a better job.
some guy
December 26th, 2009 2:01 pmOf all the Green Day covers to pick, you picked the worst one…
‘Kerplunk’, ‘nimrod.’ or ‘American Idiot’ all had much more striking covers…