Favorite Album Cover (picture or art on the cover)

This cover while not risqué or daring, is one of my favorites because of the caliber of the talent.

I have that Electric Ladyland cover too.  Jimi didn’t like it so it was replaced.  Linda McCarthy took a picture of him with a bunch of kids in a fountain in Central Park that he wanted them to use.  It was the cover for a later reissue long after he was gone.  RIP. 

I wanted to add a photo of Roxy Music's Country Life cover, but this country is so uptight about the human body that you can't find an unabridged copy om google images. That's ridiculous. There is no full-frontal nudity in the picture.

Holy cow, are we that old? How about Pearl Jam’s 2024 release "Dark Matter" as an example of beautiful cover art that is less than a half-century old?

https://townsquare.media/site/295/files/2024/02/attachment-PJDarkMatter.jpg

King Crimson- in the Court of the crimson King. 
 

early Ten Years After

agree with Sticky Fingers. 

@kingpin5  can you say more about the “verve” record you posted.  Curious.

Frank Zappa:

Apostrophe/Overnight sensation.

Larry Coryell “Fairyland”

@gemoody This is the album cover of the 1956 record, Ella & Louis, (Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong). It is perhaps one the finest records ever made, (IMHO). Ella and Louis are backed by Oscar Peterson and his trio: Herb Ellis guitar, Ray Brown bass, Buddy Rich drums. They cover standards and by this time in life, we all know the words or some of the melodies.

There is not a note wrong, a space wasted, a breath too breathy, this record is practically perfect. Now, I’m a jazzer and have been for a looooong time. But even so, this is a record that should be in every record collector’s collection.

Just my opinion.

@kingpin5 

I have the Analog Productions pressing. Need to re-listen.

No love for The White Album? Or am I just being contrarian?

A lot of the A&M and CTI covers Pete Turner took the photos for. There is a good book on his album cover photography:

Another example: 

How about Isaac Hayes "Black Moses"? Folds out five times to look like this:

The Who By the Numbers.  Pretty cool when a band member draws up the crew.

Many great posts so far. Here’s just a few off the top of my head;

Zappa/Mothers: Burnt Weeny Sandwich

Miles Davis: Miles In The Sky

Various Artist: Music To Read James Bond By

Patti Smith: Horses

Sun Ra: Futuristic Sounds Of Sun Ra

Funkadelic: Maggot Brain

Billie Holiday: With The Ray Ellis Orchestra

Lester Young: Pres in DC 1956 Vol. 1

Augustus Pablo: Original Rockers

Blue Cheer Inside Outside

Steely Dan Countdown to Ecstasy

Tom Waits Heart of Saturday Night

The Waybacks Burger After Church

The inner sleeve in "Goats Head Soup"

Montrose "Jump On It"

The Black Crows "Amorica"

I see a theme developing. Especially with Mom's Apple Pie mentioned recently.

Lots of excellent examples above, but I didn’t see any P-Funk covers. Several are great. Here’s my fave.

https://www.discogs.com/master/16158-Funkadelic-Maggot-Brain/image/SW1hZ2U6Mjk2MzIzMQ==?srsltid=AfmBOorp1IORDbalHdiSuBsFf06Ic-qsA5mDjzo9Ax8PEHma24hgfckV

Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass album "Whipped Cream and Other Delights". I wold look at it at length, hoping the intensity of my 11 year old gaze might melt just a little bit of the whipped cream, as I listened to the music. I took up playing the trumpet because of that album.
https://store.acousticsounds.com/images/large/AHRB_20099__110081__09302015094927-2891.jpg

The best cover art is and will always be: Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass/ Whipped cream and other Delights. Any questions?

Sticky Fingers. A real zipper!

No love for The White Album? Or am I just being contrarian?

I am not sure if you are being contrarian or not, @sweiss1590 , but it appears as if The White Album was already mentioned.  

A couple of great covers I have loved. Nudes are often used in art, but in album covers, they also work to encapsulate the themes and tones of the music. I have loved this album by Kenny Burrell, but the cover by Andy Warhol is exquisite. His first of several.

This cover from an EP by Wolf Alice is also beautifully evocative. Blush. A great set of tunes.

Rush 2112, Stand up, DSOM, Miles Davis Smokin

A Very Special Christmas, Various Artists done by Keith Haring. This album, for me anyway, is synonymous with the holidays and the massive Christmas parities I used to throw back in the 80's. All the album's proceeds went to Special Olympics which is so great. Just speaks Christmas to me and gets played in my house a ton around the holidays. Best of times; this is iconic album art for certain.

The Ex: Blueprints for a Blackout. Simple but powerful.

The recent re-issue has a markedly moiré pattern, so look for an OG press if you are into artwork.

@jsd52756 

Boy, I bet that a great looking helmet. See if you can put up a picture.😀

Anyone mention New Riders of Purple Sage?

BTW, I have a pp of "Country Life".

Grateful Dead "Europe 72"

@tonyrox 
She was three months pregnant when they took that picture and you’d never know it.😁

All about the Bass... No Treble.    Meghan Trainor, Post Modern Jukebox

It is the 'Andy Warhol real zipper cover/ title of the album', combination, that launches 'Sticky Fingers' over the top. Very few could resist unzipping that zipper with their sticky little fingers to have a peek inside. That is why it is rare to find a pristine "real zipper" cover existing in someone's collection.

King Crimson - Larks' Tongues in Aspic

https://vinylpoint.ru/en/category/compact-discs/label/discipline-global-mobile/artist/king-crimson/item/8743-larks-tongues-in-aspic

It changes since there are,so many really great covers.  Right now Meat Loaf...Bad Attitude...

The cover of The Flying Burrito Brothers The Gilded Palace Of Sin album was good for a laugh back in 1969. That’s the one with Gram Parsons wearing a Nudie Western Suit embroidered (by Manuel Cuevas) with marijuana leaves. Too bad Gram didn’t stick with just weed.

Soft Machine - First

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/roxy-music-country-life-feature/

Hopefully this one opens for you...

P.S. Double click.  AB

BB KING

Indianola Mississippi Seeds