Best Album Covers
by 
Liedzeit 
I love cover art. Compiling a list of great covers was much harder than I thought. What constitutes a good cover? Depends on taste, of course. I like a cover that tells a story. Like the first four ones in my list. Then there is pure (female) beauty as with Nico or Helen Reddy. Or just Sex - Roxy Music. Or magnificent photograph - Patti Smith.
But the second question is do you like a cover, because you like the band - or the particular record? So, I am not happy with 4 Sparks records cropping up in this chart again. But I still had to restrict myself.
Many of the popular artists have great covers. Maybe because they could afford good artists. Bowie had great covers due to the fact that any photograph with him on the cover looks great. Yet his last records Next Day and Black Star were horrible. London Calling is famous, but is it great? So there is a reference to Elvis, so what? King Crimson made a career with an incredibly ugly cover (apparently liked by many).
Anyway, I feel most comfortable with the LPs I know I bought because of the cover. And even more so with the albums I do not own and would never allow in my collection as for instance War by U2.
- Chart updated: 02/09/2024 15:15
- (Created: 04/26/2017 13:04).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
There is 1 comment for this chart from BestEverAlbums.com members and Best Album Covers has an average rating of 87 out of 100 (from 1 vote). Please log in or register to leave a comment or assign a rating.
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This chart is currently filtered to only show albums from the 1980s. (Remove this filter)
This is the most personal cover. Tracey just looks here like my then girl friend.
[First added to this chart: 05/03/2017]
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
Do not own.
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
8,045
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
47. (48) 1
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Bought because of cover.
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
[First added to this chart: 04/28/2017]
Year of Release:
1981
Appears in:
Rank Score:
633
Rank in 1981:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
2 Albums, 2 great covers. But this has the extra kick.
[First added to this chart: 05/02/2017]
Year of Release:
1980
Appears in:
Rank Score:
14,685
Rank in 1980:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
[First added to this chart: 04/26/2017]
Do not own. (And would never buy U2.)
[First added to this chart: 05/02/2017]
Year of Release:
1983
Appears in:
Rank Score:
5,523
Rank in 1983:
Rank in 1980s:
Overall Rank:
Average Rating:
Comments:
Total albums: 14. Page 1 of 2
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Best Album Covers composition
| Decade | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1940s | 0 | 0% | |
| 1950s | 1 | 1% | |
| 1960s | 6 | 6% | |
| 1970s | 73 | 73% | |
| 1980s | 14 | 14% | |
| 1990s | 4 | 4% | |
| 2000s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2010s | 1 | 1% | |
| 2020s | 0 | 0% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Sparks | 4 | 4% | |
| Supertramp | 3 | 3% | |
| Pink Floyd | 2 | 2% | |
| Led Zeppelin | 2 | 2% | |
| Hot Chocolate (UK) | 2 | 2% | |
| The Pop Group | 2 | 2% | |
| Wolf Biermann | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
 |
48 | 48% | |
 |
32 | 32% | |
| |
8 | 8% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Best Album Covers chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
| Up 1 from 100th to 99thPin Ups by David Bowie |
| Up 1 from 99th to 98thLawyers In Love by Jackson Browne |
| Up 1 from 98th to 97thBlaze by Herman's Hermits |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
| Down 86 from 14th to 100thDirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap by AC/DC |
Best Album Covers similar charts
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Top 100 Greatest Music Albums | Liedzeit | Overall chart | 2026 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Liedzeit | 1970s decade chart | 2021 | |
| Best Debut Albums | Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| Popular chart | Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| Die besten Alben der 70er | laut | 1970s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  Ottokar | 1970s decade chart | 2018 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | Kuzh69 | 1970s decade chart | 2019 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  bonafini | 1970s decade chart | 2020 |  |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s |  btener11 | 1970s decade chart | 2012 | |
| Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | PapaShiz86 | 1970s decade chart | 2024 |  |
Best Album Covers similarity to your chart(s)
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Other custom charts by Liedzeit
| Title | Source | Type | Published | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What Do You Want From Live? | Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2025 | |
| Album Of The Year | Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2024 | |
| AllSparks | Liedzeit | Custom chart | 2025 | |
Best Album Covers ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
N.B. The average rating for this chart will not be reliable as it has been rated very few times.
Showing all 1 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 07/28/2019 10:17 | Steppenwolf666 | 88 | 89/100 |
Best Album Covers comments
Showing all 1 comments |
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From Steppenwolf666 07/28/2019 10:19 | #240465
Great stuff. You are missing out by not having the Slits LP, it is brilliant to my ears, and the cover is quite good too. Also like the Sparks covers Halfnelson and Pulling Rabbits, never even seen them before.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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