In honour of Record Store Day 2014, we thought we'd run down a quick list of our favourite album covers of all times. Of course, this list isn't anywhere near exhaustive and there's literally way too many to choose from. Nevertheless, soldiers that we are, we boiled it down to our top five. And here they are!
5. UNKNOWN PLEASURES - Joy Division
It now graces countless t-shirts worn by people who most likely weren't even alive when the album was released, but it shows just how much Joy Division and Ian Curtis still resonates with people today. Bracingly simple, it's just sound waves over a pitch-black field.
4. FLEETWOOD MAC - Tango In The Night
Fleetwood Mac's final album (to date) showcased just how much chaos there was in the band. Songs like Big Love, Little Lies and Isn't It Midnight may have, on the surface, been poppy numbers but had much more darker undertones running through them. Not only that, the album cover showed a placid art-deco scene that had slightly sinister edges to it.
3. MOTÖRHEAD - Overkill
You couldn't get a more metal album name and cover than Overkill, which features an interdimensional warthog flying through space. Turn it up loud.
2. THE BEATLES - Abbey Road
It's been the subject of countless conspiracy theories - why is John Lennon dressed in white? Is it a sign that Paul McCartney is dead? Why is Ringo Starr dressed like an undertaker? And so on. Regardless of what you may think about any of that, it's still a truly iconic image to one of the centuries' greatest albums.
1. SANTANA - Abraxas
Just as delirious and expressive as the album itself, the cover image for Abraxas stands as probably the most inventive and inspiring imagery for music to date. Based on a painting by Mati Klarwein, who would later go on to design album covers for Earth, Wind and Fire, Miles Davis and the Allman Brothers, the image for Abraxas says everything you need to know about the album - wild, inspired and unlike anything you've seen / heard before.