He Preferred Beethoven
Blue Train by John Coltrane - A thoughtful, unposed photograph, designed by a man who'd rather have been listening to Beethoven.
Art Before Noise
Fresh
Latest stories
White Noise
Mechanical Animals by Marilyn Manson - The cover that turned a rock star into an alien, then hid a message in plain sight.
A Bag Of Golf Balls
Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo! by Devo - Everyone assumes that face was designed from scratch. It wasn't. It came from a bundle of golf balls.
Why Try Harder
You've Come a Long Way, Baby by Fatboy Slim - The man on the cover has been famous for over twenty-five years. He still doesn't know it.
The Dog Book
Odelay by Beck - A stranger's old dog photo, a girlfriend's tip, and a cover chosen in a last-minute scramble to beat a deadline.
Worst By Design
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water by Limp Bizkit - The most hated album cover of 2000 wasn't a mistake. It was all part of the plan.
In Orbit
Food & Liquor by Lupe Fiasco - A young man floating in space, surrounded by objects from his world. A boombox. A Nintendo DS. A Banksy postcard. The story behind one of hip hop's most visually remarkable debut album covers.
The Decade the Sleeve Went Synthetic - The 1980s
The 1980s was the decade when album sleeves went fully synthetic: Xerox, airbrush, early CGI and MTV logic. Here are the ten greatest covers of the era, ranked.
The Mannequin
The Slim Shady LP by Eminem - A visual monument to the American Dream gone wrong. A dark pier, a borrowed daughter, and a moral compass that functioned like a high-end toaster in a bathtub.
A Poem On A Napkin
Wheels of Fire by Cream - My parents had this album. It sat in the collection looking too strange to touch. I left it alone for years. Here's what I found when I finally looked properly.
Almost Looks Like It Means Something
OK Computer by Radiohead - A road. Some blurred figures. White space. Here's what it all means and the hotel window it was photographed from.
Deep End
Ten album covers featuring swimming pools. A Rolls Royce submerged by crane. An inverted sky. A hot older woman in heels. A donut on a fishhook. Water, leisure and the American dream on vinyl.