Most iconic album cover designs of all time

Creating art that disrupts the music industry cannot be solely attributed to great songwriting and composition. Design also plays a significant role. 

Famous album covers have become generation-defining masterpieces. Sometimes, they’re even more memorable than the music itself. 

Designing meaningful album covers that transcend and impact the culture is no easy task. But it keeps getting done. So let’s learn from the best. Here’s our selection of the best album covers of all time, from modern design to classical darlings.

But before…what makes cover art good?

When designing cover art, you must ensure that all design choices fit the band’s brand and record’s content.

You can choose between a few disciplines when creating cover art:

• Pure graphic design
• Photography
• Illustration
• Mixed media approach

Think of how you can accurately represent the musician’s brand:

• Font choice and title placement that make the record stand out
• Skipping a title on the cover and using just graphics
• Sticking to a color palette that evokes similar feelings to the music

Remember that the medium where you publish your cover art will determine how it should be designed. If it’s…

• A traditional cover that will be used for CDs or vinyl, then you can experiment more freely with your fonts, colors, and general design. 
• A digital-only cover for streaming platforms like Spotify, then you have to create something that will quickly grab someone’s attention. Think bright colors, minimal or highly legible text, and striking visuals.

Most creative album covers of the 21st century

Ok, maybe not the most creative of the century, but these have definitely been some of the most head-turning and influential cover art from the 2010s and 2020s.

Charlie XCX, Brat (2024)

The summer of 2024 will be remembered for years to come as “brat summer.” All thanks to a pop record with a bright green cover and a minimalistic, blurry font in the middle. 

Brat took the internet by storm. The marketing of the record revolved primarily around the color and aesthetic of the cover art. They even launched their own brat meme generator. Who would’ve thought that a simple cover that stemmed from a low-budget decision would’ve had such an impact?

Drake, If Youre Reading This Its Too Late (2015)

Drake’s minimalistic, monochromatic, and handwritten-looking cover unleashed a meme phenomenon on Twitter back in 2015. Much like the impact “brat” had online almost a decade later. Minimal design makes for the perfect meme foundation, or so it seems. 

Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti (2022)

This is the album that raised Bad Bunny to global stardom. The cover is an explosion of bright colors, digital illustrations, pop-art-reminiscent textures, and childlike scribbles. It’s bold, energetic, and nostalgic, much like the twenty-three songs in the record.  

Cardi B, Invasion of Privacy (2018)

Invasion of privacy's cover is in your face. The sharp lines in her outfit are contrasted with a glitch effect set as an overlay. The predominantly black-and-white color palette is thrown off by a bold, bright yellow. The artist’s facial expression and gestures are imposing, daring, and invasive. It’s a cover that makes you look at it. Just like the music made itself heard. 

FKA Twigs, LP1 (2014)

FKA Twigs’ debut release sets the stage for her bizarre electronic music and digitally avant-garde aesthetic. The cover depicts a 3D-modeled iridescent image of FKA Twigs. It looks almost plastic, almost AI-generated. But it was carefully constructed. Every last detail was meticulously painted — all in the confines and intimacy of the artist’s (Jesse Kanda) room. And that’s how the music feels — a carefully crafted, intimate, and digitally warped reality. 

SOPHIE, Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides (2018)

This cover art echoes both a magazine cover shoot and the multiverses of a Barbie doll’s life. SOPHIE poses with a plastic gown and an exposed leg, while her other leg is covered in shiny scales, evoking a mermaid’s tail. Her arms covered in latex gloves, nothingness written in one of them. She sits rigidly on a platform atop a purple sea with a lavender sky as a backdrop. It’s surreal with a pearly shine. It’s fluid yet sharp. It’s an experimental plastic fantasy — the perfect cover for an electronic and experimental pop release on identity and gender.

Rosalía, El Mal Querer (2018)

What do flamenco and pop have in common? Rosalía says more than you think with her “El Mal Querer” record. The cover reimagines traditional religious symbolism through the lens of empowerment and female liberation. It’s the perfect allegory: disrupting traditional Spanish iconography with feminism and disrupting traditional Spanish music with pop and urban influences. 

”Ready to create album covers that pack a punch?”

In the search for the best classic album cover

1. The Beatles, Abbey Road (1969)

This cover is a classic for a reason. The artwork and the music have won a well-deserving spot as timeless masterpieces. Photographer Iain Macmillan captured this image of the Beatles casually walking across London’s Abbey Road, which has since gone down in history.

2. The Velvet Underground and Nico, The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)

This classic design by Andy Warhol is one of the most unforgettable covers on this list. Some might say it has become more famous than the music itself. 

An early vinyl record edition had a cheeky “peel slowly and see” written in the top right corner (pictured above). When the banana was peeled back, a flesh-colored banana was pictured underneath — phallic, unique, quite Velvet Underground.

3. Pink Floyd, Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)

This is another iconic record with an iconic title. This cover features a stark contrast between the dark-as-night background and the white light passing through a prism, which creates the bright colors reflected on the other side.

The prism visual has become a symbol of Pink Floyd and is often seen on T-shirts and posters. Despite the mysterious band’s purposeful lack of promotional work, the LP was an overwhelming success.

4. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin (1969)

Led Zeppelin's debut LP cover was nothing short of shocking when it came out.

The ink drawing created by George Hardie of the Hindenburg airship (adapted from a photo taken by Sam Shere in 1937) with Led Zeppelin in bold red letters launched this now-famous band into popularity. The fact that the airship was a zeppelin certainly wasn’t an accident.

George Hardie has since said he wished he’d put more thought into using an image of this tragic event.

5. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)

Another famous cover art by The Beatles, Lonely Hearts Club Band, features bright, psychedelic colors and prominent figures — 58 celebrities, to be exact. This chaotic collage image includes figures like Marilyn Monroe, Shirley Temple, and Albert Einstein.

Pop artists Peter Black and Jan Haworth staged this image, which is said to have been thought of by Paul McCartney himself. This idea cost the band a pretty penny to make, around $3,000 ($50,000 today), which at the time was unheard of.

6. The Notorious B.I.G., Ready To Die (1994)

This cover started a remarkable career for the then-22-year-old Christopher Wallace (best known as The Notorious B.I.G.).

The stark blank canvas with a small child wearing only a diaper on the cover made a statement about innocence, new life, and vulnerability. His lyrical prowess is evident in all the tracks, which had a strong cultural impact. It all leads back to the record’s core concept: the life cycle of an artist.

7. Nirvana, Nevermind (1991)

Nevermind is one of Nirvana’s most popular titles, and the cover is unforgettable. The fact that an innocent baby is reaching for money represents the superficial values we pass on to children in our society, just the kind of statement Nirvana makes with their music.

8. Fleetwood Mac, Rumors (1977)

Fleetwood Mac is infamous for its group dynamic. The band dated, fought, and broke up, and Rumors is known to be based on much of that drama.

This cover prominently features Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood, while the rest of the band is left out. But most band members were going through tumultuous breakups or divorces at the time. Hence, drama and intrigue still played out throughout the album and cover art.

9. Blink 182, Enema Of The State (1999)

This instantly iconic image personifies the 90s pop-punk scene. The provocative cover photo of a nurse snapping her rubber gloves into place is hard to forget.

Enema of the State (a play on "enemy of the state") was a major success for the band and helped change the future of their genre. The album was almost called “Turn Your Head and Cough,” hence the nurse costume.

10. Elvis Presley, Elvis Presley (1956)

As the oldest album on this list, this one has some serious prestige. The image was snapped in 1955 while Elvis performed at the Fort Homer Hesterly Armory in Florida. The black-and-white action shot mixed with the pink and green letters and unusual font made for an eye-catching and original cover art.

The Clash later copied this style for their album London Calling, further cementing the memorable style.

11. David Bowie, Aladdin Sane (1973)

Bowie falls under the glam rock niche category and is known for his outlandish fashion style and stage presence. With red hair and a lightning bolt drawn on his face, this look leaves a distinctive impression.

Though Bowie is known for the lightning bolt, this cover was the only time he was pictured with it drawn on his face.

12. Prince, Purple Rain (1984)

Another outstanding cover cemented in pop culture. Who could forget this image of Prince in a purple suit, posed on a motorcycle? It’s a perfect sneak peek into what the now-famous music video would look like.

13. Joy Division, Unknown Pleasures (1979)

Joy Division and designer Peter Seville made an incredible choice to use iconic pulsar radio waves in this cover image.This is an excellent example of how a minimalistic yet meaningful design can create an enormous impact.

14. Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here (1975)

In the photograph, one businessman is on fire, while the other casually shakes his hand — an empty gesture that disregards the wellbeing of the other. These are some of the themes explored in the album, in particular, the dark sides of the music industry: disconnection, alienation, and the consequences of commercialization. Not only is the man burning, but the fire is seeping into the record, bringing forth this notion of a tainted industry. 

15. Rage Against The Machine, Rage Against The Machine (1992)

This debut album by the soon-to-be controversial Rage Against the Machine boldly chooses a tragic photograph to encapsulate the feelings of political dissent and social injustice explored in the music.

The photo taken of the Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức in 1963 gained considerable attention and persuaded then-president John F. Kennedy to withdraw support from Vietnam.

Gather inspiration to design meaningful album covers

If you’re looking into creating cover art for your own music or you have been commissioned to work on an album cover for someone else, tapping into different resources for inspiration can help you get those creative juices flowing. 

We’ve explored a multitude of album covers, from the most recent hits to timeless classics. Let these iconic covers serve as guiding points as to how you can craft your designs.

But remember that inspiration can also be found in rather unconventional places.

• Look into outsider art to find raw and unfiltered pieces of work.
• Check out digital cover art templates when you’re stuck and don’t know where to start.
• Leverage the power of AI to help you design backgrounds that perfectly encapsulate the concept of your music.

Create the next best cover art with Linearity

If you’re inspired by all these legendary album covers and want to start creating your own, we have just the tool to help you get started. 

Everything you need to create digital cover art is at your disposal in Linearity Curve. Explore our image gallery to find copyright-free subjects for your design. Create shapes, add textures, edit colors, generate backgrounds, draw vector graphics, and play around with text. 

The next genre-defying album cover is waiting to be created. Take on that mission today with Linearity.