It seems anymore that the cover on an album doesn't really mean much. In the past an album cover was a huge selling point, am I not correct? What albums have the best covers on them, regardless if the album is good or not. Here are some of my favorites
Van halen "1984" the classic picture of the baby with wings smoking a cigarette.

Guns n Roses "appetite For destruction"- The Cross with all the members heads on it. -Shocking and offensive when it first came out, But I'm guessing that was the point!

Nirvana's Nevermind- Naked baby swimming in water with his pee-pee dangling in between. I wonder what that naked baby is up to today? He has got to be in his late teens.

I remember going to the Tower Records in the early 90's and trying to buy a copy of Warrent's "Cherry Pie" but i couldn't buy it because mom thought the cover of the chick with the huge knockers on the front was too sexually explicit! Too bad I went the next day with my cousin and bought it! Thanks mom! Thanks FOR NOTHING! Depriving a child of his favorite music!

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass: "Whipped Cream & Other Delights."

Sammy Hagar and the Wabo's
"Livin It Up"

The Cover art represents what is on the CD. Just a good old fashioned Cabo Wabo Party at it's best!
Also Red Voodoo pretty much the same as well with Sammy holding up a big Margarita! Actually really like all of his cover art. Party On!

Always enjoyed the covers to Boston, Styx, and Journey.

I totally agree that "1984" is a classic sleeve.

"Appetite for Destruction" was originally released with a grisly picture that showed a Girl Scout who had been raped and killed by little toy robots. The cross cover was a compromise cooked up by the label when the original "art" caused an outcry.

"Nevermind" has always reminded me of "In Deep" by Argent. Lore has it that one of the members almost drowned during the photo shoot for the latter.

I like so many covers it would be hard to list them all.

Love, "Forever Changes" or the Doors debut are good examples of the understated beautiful sleeves of 1960s Elektra releases.

Klaus Voorman, Joni Mitchell and Dean Torrence all contributed not only to great music, but created timeless sleeves.

"Boston's" flying upside down guitars was cool. "Yellow Brick Road" from Elton John and "Captain Fantastic" as well.

Should have another thread with best album names. Stevie Wonder's "Fullingness First Finale" would be one I'd vote for.

Thats Right Littlesongs! I forgot about the original Cover for "Appetite for Destruction". How in the heck did that cover ever get released?? That was back in the mid 80's and that cover is even too shocking for TODAYS standards! That original album cover has got to be worth THOUSANDS! Im wondering how many actual copies were printed with the original album cover.

floyd's "dark side"
who's "who's next"
led zep's "2"
grand funk railroad's "live" (the only reason for buying this piece of crap)
iron butterfly's "in-a-gada-di-vida"

gotta also agree with the herb alpert suggestion.

The black Crows "amorica" caused outry because of a few pubic hairs hanging out of a womans bikini bottoms. So they had to go back and airbrush the pubes out!

All Molly Hatchet albums.

Kidding - but they're memorable.

King Crimson's In The Court Of The Crimson King

Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors. For those that don't remember, the album cover showed the band in a street surrounded by flames. 3 days after the album was released 3 members of the band were killed in a plane crash. After the crash they changed the album cover.

"Appetite for Destruction" wasn't the first time they tried the low road. A crass cash in -- that has since been called classic -- is the "Blind Faith" cover that featured a naked little girl posing with a hood ornament. We also really didn't need to know as much as we knew after seeing, "Two Virgins" for the first time.

This is a great thread. To add to the stack, I love those Funkadelic covers from the 70s too.

Frank Sinatra, "Wee Small Hours" (and so many others)
The Ramones, "Ramones" and "Rocket to Russia"
Johnny Cash, "Live from Folsom Prison"
Husker Du, "Zen Arcade"
Led Zeppelin, "III"
Ohio Players, "Honey"
Willie Nelson, "Red Headed Stranger"
Fleetwood Mac, "Bare Trees" and "Rumours"
The Beatles, "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "Abbey Road"
The Pretty Things, "S.F. Sorrow"
Pink Floyd, "Meddle"
Queen, "News of the World"
The Who, "Sell Out" and "Who's Next"
The Clash, "London Calling" (and the Elvis cover it stole)
Miles Davis, "Bitches Brew" (and so many others)
The Kinks, "Village Green Preservation Society" and "Arthur..." and "Lola vs..."
R.E.M., "Reckoning"
Big Brother and the Holding Company, "Cheap Thrills"
The Clean, "Modern Rock"
Merle Haggard, "Same Train, Different Time"
Sam and Dave, "Hold On, I'm Comin'"
John Coltrane, "Giant Steps"
Electric Light Orchestra, "Out of the Blue"
Harry Nilsson, "Nilsson Schmilsson" and "The Point" and "Nilsson and Newman"
Talking Heads, "Fear of Music" and "More Songs..." and "Little Creatures"

There really are too many for me to list. It is a lost art for most releases now, but some unique covers are still coming out.

My favorite series of album covers were the ones put out by RCA in the late 60's for Porter Wagoner. There were 6 or 7 (or more) and they all depicted Porter Wagoner in some staged situation (a bum panhandling on the sidewalk; a prisoner in a jail cell; etc).

My top #1 favorite of that series was "The Cold Hard Facts Of Life", where Porter is seen entering his little apartment, only to find his wife on the couch with his best friend.

In fact, some fellow was so intrigued with that cover, that he tracked-down exactly where it was shot and wrote an interesting blurb and photo shoot of the making of the album cover:

http://www.atlantatimemachine.com/misc/porter1.htm

Carly Simon, No secrets,

Pink Floyd, Wish You Were Here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:WishYouWereHere.jpg

To answer the G-n-R question, according to a pricing guide by a collector on eBay, "This album in mint condition, factory sealed, with stickers is valued at $232.00... 'Appetite for Destruction' is a painting by Robert Williams which sold for $1,000.00 in 1978. It is worth about $3,000.00 today."

I third, "Whipped Cream and other Delights," second, "No Secrets" and would add Redd Foxx, "You Gotta Wash Your Ass."

How about the Stones? "Satanic Majesties Request" and "Sticky Fingers" are two obvious choices with complicated designs that on the latter damaged the vinyl.

I thought the actual album in Mint condition would be worth a lot more than that. Im guessing there was quie a few copies sold before the public outcry. Id be curious to know how long the album was out until it got reissued.
As far as the "sticky fingers" album cover, I don't get the cover.
Maybe someone can explain.

Yes: Fragile, Close To The Edge, Tales Of Topographic Oceans, and a few others I can't remember that all were done by the same guy.

Uriah Heep: Demons & Wizards, The Magicians Birthday

Moody Blues: In Search Of The Lost Chord, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Trapeze: Medusa

My picks:

Deodato: "Deodato In Concert-Airto" and "Prelude"

"Close to the Edge" Yes
"Reveille - the New Muzak" (with Nick Perito) (1979 Muzak Promotional/Demo LP with abstract painting)
"Optimystique" Yanni (his very first record, with a heavily electronic sound.....not at all like the new-agey, piano solos you hear from him today)
"City to City" Gerry Rafferty
"Dare to Be Stupid" Weird Al Yankovic
The Who: "Who's Next" and "The Who By Numbers"
Beatles: "Sgt. Pepper's" and "Yellow Submarine Songtrack" (1999 version, 15 cuts)
Art of Noise: "In Visible Silence", The Ambient Collection", In No Sense? Nonsense" and "The Best of the Art of Noise"
ENIGMA: "The Cross of Changes" and "Love-Sensuality-Devotion"
(Before I list any more, I must ask--does CD cover art count as well, or is this exclusively vinyl?)

Also I kind of like the abstract covers they used to use on Enoch Light's records in the 60s era, particularly the "Provocative Percussion" and earlier "Persuasive Percussion" series.

There are a good many more I could list but I wanted to keep this somewhat limited......

Any Ohio Players album. Mmmmm, honey.

Monty Python's "The Final Rip Off"

Is pretty Gross.

How about the original "Big Bambu" with the giant rolling paper.

Monty Python anecdote:

I was working the all nighter and the p.d. stops by at midnight (he lived right next door) and points out the new Monty Python LP "Matching Tie and Handkerchief" and says it's 3 sided (two spirals on one side) so be aware on the side with two tracks of programming because on one of them is a bit about a cheese shop and they say "fu**" several times. So sure enough, around 3 AM I need to go to the news closet and clear the wire machine and I put the Monty Python on the side (I thought) with only 1 track, so I thought I was safe, but noooooo, I come back into the Control Room and they segue into the cheese shop and say "fu78" before I can do anything to stop it. Ouch.

Cheech and Chong's "Up In Smoke"

I think most on this board can relate with this one....for sure DUDE!

http://southpaw.goodshow.net/images/upinsmoke2.jpg

WAIT....that was the wrong one....here you go...LOL

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/15/Up_in_Smoke.jpg/200px-Up_in_ Smoke.jpg

Weasels Ripped My Flesh - Frank Zappa

Best fictional album cover: "Smell the Glove" from Spinal Tap. The original design showing a woman on a leash, was replaced by just a "black" album, to supposedly rival The Beatles "White Album"! LOL!

BTW, that scene in Spinal Tap probably would never even be released today due to P.C. But it is one of the funniest parts of that movie, a movie that had countless funny scenes! A classic that evolved into the "Waiting for Guffman", "Best in Show", and "Mighty Wind" genre. For you younger fans of the above who have not seen "Spinal", you are missing out. Rent or buy today! Terrific movie-making!

Buy!

Buy 'em all!

And, what is the best of this group? I've viewed all four in the past couple months...my vote goes to "Best in Show", followed closely behind by "Waitng for Guffman", an underated comedy classic. Spinal is great, but doesn't have the subliminal humor of the afore mentioned. Mighty Wind had its moments, but in my opinion is the weakest. How about the new release...being cheap, still awaiting video/dvd release...(sorry, getting away from thread topic...yes, album covers...didn't they mean a lot more to the consumer than today!)...just to keep it on thread.

For Your Consideration is out soon, I think.