The Worst List We've Ever Reacted To

The list in question: www.billboard.com/photos/best...
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[@nicklarsenjazz]

We need a full Fantano best album covers list

[@pablodemorais9320]

I hope he sees this comment

[@ThatOneAmpharos]

​@@pablodemorais9320I don't think he reads comments nowadays

[@leewoodlee557]

THIS🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@jamesburky]

I need my dad to say he loves me

[@Michael-fs1cw]

@@jamesburkyI love you son

[@_NoDrinkTheBleach]

Photography is one of the most subjective art forms there is, but holy shit there be some mediocrity in here.

[@dontpanic5278]

The fact that it is subjective is the reason that you're allowed to call it mediocre. This goes for all art.

[@elstovon]

Album covers and photography are two pretty different mediums but your point still applies

[@Someone-eb7js]

number 97 💀💀💀

[@tedmuta6833]

Photography operates on two levels: (1) Technical skill and (2) Inner narrative. All art does, but it’s especially true for photography. A beautiful, perfectly lit headshot, like the Ariana cover, is no where as visually interesting as the White Stripes’ example here. Why? Because one looks like a profile pic (maybe even a magazine shoot), one has dramatic trappings. When we’re talking about an album cover, we usually expect it to visually tell the story of the album. So, we could lose some technical quality in favor of more striking visuals. All that said, a headshot should pretty much never make it on a list like this.

[@squatchjosh1131]

​@@dontpanic5278Objectivity is generally just the compilation of several agreeing subjective opinions though, and I doubt this list reflects anything near this type of consensus.

[@nomorefielders]

7:16 This was actually considered the first album cover ever made. Does it explain why it’s on the list? Yes. Does it justify why it’s on the list? Probably not

[@Clay3613]

It looked interesting too.

[@steam_jane5580]

@@Clay3613 I that's what I was thinking it was interesting like i get the cover is not to his taste, but it does something unlike the others he rightly in my opinion dismissed from the list for being boring and forgettable, especially compared to what is out there.

[@pocketfox83]

Personally one of my favourites is Weyes Blood's Titanic Rising. That album cover always blows me away knowing that it was a real photoshoot

[@addison_deez]

it’s sooo beautiful

[@teddyeatspudding]

One of the best album covers of all time for sure

[@higherquality]

I whole-heartedly agree. Did not disappoint

[@mazelado]

gorgeous cover

[@MattBryant2792]

No Rage Against the Machine is actually insulting. That dude set his ass on fire just to be snubbed from a list with 40+ mid ass picks

[@Butterbean32]

Came to comment this, actually insane to not have that cover

[@GabrielGarcia-bk7qc]

No Dead Kennedys is wild as well.

[@vb2388]

Even Evil Empire is an amazing cover

[@TheDavidish]

@@vb2388not as good as self titled, not even coose

[@Guile21]

I'd go further: any cover from Rage Against The Machine is better than 90% of what was shown here. Even Renegade. What a shitshow.

[@flatjesus]

The writer should have titled this list "100 of the 100 most recent album covers I looked at"

[@duane_313]

Right lol cuz clearly

[@bas_ee]

Maybe a fun title would be "An ode to recency bias"

[@A-dw5pu]

@@beaualoevv”I looked at”

[@siinxx7656]

Minorities and women edition

[@darwing9980]

You hit the nail on the head with the ‘no Bjork?’ Comment. An absolute travesty. I can name 5 Bjork covers that should be on the top 20. Post and Vespertine for example should be top 5 easily. Post to me is one of the most captivating album covers of all time, I never get tired of seeing it

[@asinglebraincell6584]

Post absolutely. Vulnicura too

[@niftythegoblin]

Honestly, what I love most about the London Calling album art is just the mere fact that it's referencing an Elvis album cover and yet it's 20x more memorable, especially bc of how striking the guitar smash image is - it just shows this new shift in attitudes towards the pre-established Rock'n'Roll genre and is ultimately one of the most classic punk photos of all time.

[@kdrkdr5123]

No

[@niftythegoblin]

@@kdrkdr5123 no?

[@lukeivan6601]

@@kdrkdr5123 schizophrenia

[@joaquinlezcano2372]

​@@kdrkdr5123 yes 🙂

[@ilyaalexeev7845]

I feel like the sole purpose of these lists is to infuriate people and make them talk about it lol

[@seffers4788]

Absolutely and this dude should definitely know this by now, if he doesn’t.

[@simon4476]

Yeah they also put like two BTS albums one every list to get the stan account retweets it's so pathetic

[@danielstaindl5749]

@@seffers4788Of course he does, he just pretends not to know because it’s easy content

[@BatmanWangChung]

Suh dude! I would enjoy more album art reviews! ✌️ 😎

[@bloodangel13]

True! I can also see why Billboard didn't include Madvillainy in that list.

[@AndyAtHome]

absolutely baffling that any "just a photo of the artist" covers were selected

[@TheGoodChap]

Thats what makes it so funny it's so absurd. Probably ai generated

[@princeapoopoo5787]

I can agree with some of them, as photography is still artistic and can take a lot of work to get the right photo, but this list was waaaaay too bloated with them. Its like the person who made the list has never once seen a painting in their life.

[@youtubefriends384]

95% of the list

[@luizansounds]

​@@princeapoopoo5787like with the Beatles, and queen 2, those pictures are works or art

[@joaquinlezcano2372]

Debatable.

[@nardinyouryard]

Animals by Pink Floyd, such a simple cover, but it fills me with so much emotion, fear, nostalgia and pain. It’s post apocalyptic vibe fits so well with the music itself, which is some of the best music ever written in my opinion.

[@eschmabriel]

animals is my favorite cover ever, so well composed yet a little silly with the inflatable pig.

[@emilydavis582]

I was sorry to see no Depeche Mode representation on the list. Violator, at the very least, should have gotten on; the photograph for A Broken Frame was award-winning, so it’s iconic in that way.

[@abrokenframe72]

Absolutely A Broken Frame! I’m very surprised that isn’t on this list. So many mediocre choices on the list, and they chose to ignore something ACTUALLY recognized as one of the best-ever photographs (not just album cover photos… photos, period).

[@lukeivan6601]

I had no clue that was a photograph, also I looked it up and the photographers name was Brian Griffin...

[@ColombianThunder]

Whoever made this list failed art school, photography, and graphic design, good god. They failed English too with how horrible the argument is for nearly every pick.

[@nonpondo_]

100% chance this list was made by AI

[@aw2584]

And you failed to notice that all of these lists are straight bait to make people upset and click the article and then bitch about it increasing their views even more...

[@ColombianThunder]

@@aw2584 I'm aware lists like these are usually bait but they're never THIS bad. Usually there's a good chunk of picks that make sense in these. This is just all around horrible.

[@txkyoaes5743]

@@aw2584 all because it’s done on purpose doesn’t mean the list isn’t ass and everyone’s gonna go view the article to hate on it, people don’t hate raid newspapers the same way they do videos

[@Joe-ol5bq]

Yes

[@pillbugm8914]

I thought the title was exaggerated but man this list feels randomly generated

[@richardmartinez5040]

This could have easily been one of their best lists and the bar really wasn’t high to begin with. Definitely has to be randomly generated

[@chiarosuburekeni9325]

Yeah this is HORRENDOUS lol.

[@bigmoniesponge]

@@twosharksinatrenchcoatchatgpt would pick better ones honestly

[@Ryan-wr8fx]

I'm sad to say MBV's Loveless didn't make the list

[@TPoynt100]

A couple minutes in, I had a feeling In the Court of the Crimson King wasn't going to be on the list, and I was right. It's arguably the most iconic prog rock album cover of all time, but they ignored it. I haven't seen the full list, but given the band's history, I'm assuming 2112 also didn't make the cut.

[@charlie172011]

Hemispheres cover > 2112 cover

[@mikedocemrick9497]

Rolling stone just continue to forget they exist. It’s just puzzling

[@TheGreatYukon]

Honestly the self titled album is Rush's best art, but I like 2112 too. Also yeah, Hemispheres is really something. Court of the Crimson King is iffy for me just because it's so damn weird, it makes me kinda uncomfortable. Maybe that's more reason to have it. Plus if we wanna talk iconic, it beats almost this entire list. Oh also not quite the same but, Surfing with the Alien. How the fuck is that not in here?

[@waywardlaser]

I know the Rio album cover is dated but personally I find Patrick Nagel's artwork incredibly distinct and striking. His repertoire definitely captures the fashion zeitgeist of the era and he didn't even live to see the end of the 80s.

[@weregretohio7728]

Beyonce: Here's my name on a black background. Billboard: Fucking genius.

[@prettierjesus3119]

What if it was Channel Orange instead?

[@nick91884]

The name in the middle is tacky, should have went with something like Donda or the two Spinal Tap Albums, Smell the Glove and This is Spinal Tap.

[@jeanivanjohnson]

the only album cover that just has a name of the album on a blank one colour backround and nothing else that COULD be on such list is the white album by the beatles.

[@AverageUser-]

Literally looks like that Nirvana cover from 2000

[@wufeiyan]

Bleach?@@AverageUser-

[@doswillrule]

Maybe they didn't want to overrepresent Floyd with Dark Side being so high, but the lack of Wish You Were Here is insane to me. Literally the first cover I thought of

[@cowboyw520]

The first I would think of is Ummagumma

[@gailism]

Or the Division Bell!

[@Rodrigombia1990]

@@gailism Even the momentary lapse of reason album cover is MAGNIFICENT

[@lastsecondshot5779]

I think Syd Barrett’s Madcap Laughs cover deserves a spot on the list too if it didn’t get one (I haven’t seen the full list)

[@xxcolinaterxx2867]

As far as their actual best album cover as apposed to just being their most recognizable that’s a big W to me I think the wish you were here cover is my favourite of all their covers for me I get chills down my spine looking at it. I guess the ummaguma cover is also very cool and very trippy I mean who doesn’t love that endless reflection you might get from the room with mirrors on all sides and then you get well endless reflections at the discovery centre or what ever. Although ummagumma is more like mirrors on two sides reflecting upon reflecting where it doesn’t know when to stop kind of like when people place bets on each other for who’s dick is the biggest to who can get the most no scopes in call of duty and then the competition never ends, just two competing powers that defines space and time and will probably cause a black whole that will eventually swallow us all whole but you get the point.

[@Lbet384]

I know you aren’t super crazy about her music, but Grimes’ album covers are insane, especially considering the ones pre-miss anthropocene she did solo. The Art Angels album cover SHOULD BE HERE. Or even Visions.

[@praisebeesus2785]

she will always be overlooked in these types of lists but janelle monae deserves to be recognized for how fantastic all her album covers are EVERY TIME

[@lucidkangaroo8973]

Especially her most recent record

[@dereks7745]

I'm also surprised they didn't include "Thriller" or "Purple Rain" on here. Those are pretty iconic covers.

[@davenotstaine5646]

And out of all the Prince covers they could’ve chosen too, I think they just wanted to be different

[@thenewapelles6448]

Sign 'O' the Times is my favorite Prince cover (and album)!

[@mjg8328]

I gotta say Parade is the one for me.

[@adxdenerlx6969]

There is not a single album cover on that list where I could imagine that whoever made the list thought ''This album is awful, but the cover is pure genius''. It's not about greatest album covers, it's just albums they like and wanna put on some list

[@fortynights1513]

Two albums that are not considered anything amazing that have covers that caught my eye when I first looked them up are Billy Joel's 1993 album River of Dreams, and Chicago's 1979 album Chicago 13. The latter of which simultaneously has a cool cover of a skyscraper and received one star from Allmusic. Also if you like sepia, then Bruce Hornsby & The Range's The Way It Is deserves a look (much better album, but also an overlooked cover). Someone could probably make a long video list of their favorite overlooked album covers.

[@adxdenerlx6969]

@@fortynights1513 Wow, that Billy Joel cover would be top10 to me if listen among the Billboard list. The different sections are divided in a way that seems nonsensical at first but actually perfectly fit. Chicago cover is quite cool, and very well done, though I don't think I'd have a hard time finding 100 better than it. better than maybe 70% on the actual list though. tbh ''the way it is'' cover is incredibly basic to me. Just seems like every other cover where a band stands in a room looking at the camera...still, better than many on the billboard list

[@fortynights1513]

@@adxdenerlx6969That’s pretty fair. Not saying there aren’t better album covers than those, but I think those are cool and whenever album covers are brought up I never hear them mentioned. Also, now that I look back at it, the covers of Boston’s 1986 album “Third Stage” deserves mention as do the covers of the Elton John albums “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”, and “Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy”. One other poorly received work whose cover is pretty cool in my opinion is “Thank You” by Duran Duran from 1995, and among more recent releases, Drake’s “Thank Me Later” from 2010 has a cool cover in my opinion. What are some covers you find interesting out of curiosity?

[@theheresiarch3740]

The Season of Glass cover is probably the only one that comes close. The album itself is mid to good, depending on who you ask, but that album cover is an absolute thunderbolt of an artistic statement.

[@adxdenerlx6969]

@@theheresiarch3740 Yeah when I looked through the Billboard list most were garbage, but that one I immediately felt fantastic, even though I haven't heard the album and I'm not that familiar with the context.

[@lukeivan6601]

No Demon Days is insane, Turn on the Bright Lights by Interpol, Tim by The Replacements, The Downward Spiral by NIN, and at least one of The Smiths' covers also seem like easy picks but those are more subjective.

[@Christian-97]

I personally think Plastic Beach is better, but I agree nonetheless. Rolling stone is tweaking

[@artsplats]

I love demon days

[@TheGreatYukon]

Demon Days is an iconic one too. I feel like a good metric is, has your artwork been remixed or parodied? If so, probably iconic.

[@ironflazambat5815]

My only hope was Blonde on Blonde. Pretty simple but goes pretty hard, as the whippersnappers say. The color palette was always really comforting to me, and opening the album vertically (especially since it was the first record I ever bought) always got me really excited to give it a spin.

[@joshhale9355]

Maggot Brain being so low is insulting. I’ve never seen an album cover that fills me with joy and utter horror at the same time like Maggot Brain.

[@Samuel-hp6op]

not even acid rap?

[@Aryzo]

8:30 😐no words. mostly cuz theres nothing going on

[@joerubio875]

glazing

[@kaylabey]

that album used to scare the sh*t out of me when i was little. my grandfather used to hide it when i would come over 😂

[@MarcBergCristo]

the Cosmic slop cover is amazing too.

[@bp2159]

Bjork and Gaga are some of the best visual artists, and for them to not be represented is weird

[@harishsubramanian1241]

Gaga is number 64 on the list.

[@bp2159]

@@harishsubramanian1241 which one was it?

[@harishsubramanian1241]

@@bp2159 No. 64 was Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster (2009)

[@user-pj8qn5qf2r]

homogenic not being on the top 10 is actually insane

[@jf1573]

*Cough, cough* Gorillaz *cough, cough* Jamie Hewlett *cough, cough*

[@ZyxthePest]

The fact that The Blue Album cover has transcended the music world and secured its place in internet history, yet was left off this list is an absolute travesty.

[@davenotstaine5646]

Well in terms just the album art, it’s just 4 dudes in front of a blue background, but at the same time if you’re talking about legendary covers with a cult status then it definitely belongs on the list, but this list is purely stupid

[@ZyxthePest]

@davenotstaine5646 Sometimes the simplest images are the most iconic.

[@davenotstaine5646]

@@ZyxthePest that is very true

[@fattygonzolas]

Blue album is one of the greatest albums covers of all time! Definitely deserved a spot

[@gavinthecrafter]

The Blue Album's cover to me feels like a "so bad its good" cover. It's painfully basic but in the best way possible

[@princeapoopoo5787]

as an artist, i definitely agree that a lot of these are kind of stinkers. most aren't overwhelmingly bad, but when we have thousands of albums being released yearly, i cant help but scoff a little. like, for example... beyonce's name on a black square works well enough because shes freaking beyonce, but it works SOLELY because of the name recognition. and i definitely feel like a lot of these are front loaded by that mentality. happy dark side of the moon placed so high. now that's a nice simple but iconic cover right there.

[@darerare]

Not a single Blue Note album cover is such disrespect. No Blue Train, Moanin', or Speak No Evil. Beyond just jazz covers that are missing, this list is insane.

[@esmerylan]

I guess one Miles Davis album was enough jazz for them, since the modern-day editorial wisdom seems to be "people don't care about jazz anymore". Still disappointing, I could make a top 100 entirely of ECM album covers.

[@darerare]

@@esmerylan And that is such a disappointing notion since there has definitely been an uptick in interest of jazz lately. A disappointing trend I hope gets rectified.

[@fenomozo9108]

Jazz covers from Blue Note were one of the most iconic.

[@Clean.Eastwood]

No music publication is about music as an art form in itself: it's about popular music as a commodity.

[@Nathan09Musica]

Speak no evil, amazing cover

[@ethanbarnes7163]

Gotta hand it to Green Day’s Father of All Motherfuckers for coming in clutch at the #1 spot

[@nikkob1252]

The album cover for Animals is probably my favorite. Not much to it but that power station just looks so menacing that it fits with the songs on the album incredibly

[@runtherockies7]

I think the Sticky Fingers album cover (on top of just being a great album cover) has a lot of mystery behind it. Andy Warhol took the photo but nobody knows who the photo is of, dozens of people have claimed to be the person in the photo but no one has ever been identified.

[@ephraimvorzman9786]

How is this list gonna exclude basically all of metal, a genre known for having amazing album covers? I mean so many damn great ones: Black Sabbath, Master of Puppets, Rust In Peace, None So Vile, Transilvanian Hunger, DMDS, Filosofem, Mirror Reaper, Severed Survival, Exercises In Futility, I could go on

[@mitch5944]

Fr metal has the best album covers as a genre overall imo lol.

[@MosoKaiser]

It's by Billboard, what do you expect?

[@samrudroff9543]

Painkiller and almost any maiden album to(besides dance of death)

[@Alex-qd6hk]

They had maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, and megadeth covers. Fantano didn’t show it

[@Danielle-wj8un]

Metal bands are very over the top with their covers, especially death metal. And Billboard clearly has a bias for big selling albums.

[@papayer]

When that Beyonce album came on I genuinely burst out laughing

[@Clutchy42]

Same here. List is pretty funny up to that point, but that was the moment that really did it for me.

[@mishaps4041]

holy shit i recognize your pfp!! cool to see other people knowing this artist

[@Cafewhaaa]

@@mishaps4041who’s the artist

[@thehauntedattic4279]

Jar of flies absolutely HAS to be one of the best covers of all time but I’m just gonna guess whoever made this list doesn’t like grunge

[@lucidkangaroo8973]

Kesha’s Gag Order is in my personal top 25 album covers of all time. That album cover is going to age like fine wine. Only a pop princess/queen/LEGEND can create such a striking and heavy album cover, no contest. Also Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, M.I.A’s Kala and Halsey’s if I can’t have love I want power DESERVE A SPOT ON A LIST LIKE THIS

[@jasonbraun127]

I feel like whoever did this is the type of person that wants an album cover to tell you exactly who made the music and then they sprinkled in some obvious picks like Joy Division or Pink Floyd.

[@barbzch]

They forgot to sprinkle in an obligatory Kraftwerk. So random to know and pick the Hosono cover over any YMO.

[@bvd8861]

And they didn't even pick the right album for some of the bands with better covers. Wish You Were Here, Animals and The Wall are all better album covers than DSOTM

[@quinnholleman1547]

​@bvd8861 I'd also say Closer has a better cover than Unknown Pleasures, but I also get that Unknown Pleasures is more iconic. I also generally prefer Closer so that probably feeds into it.

[@peterstangl8295]

and you know they probably only put those in because they've seen them on t-shirts or something

[@luisvsalvatore]

Duran Duran's Rio cover is actually quite good, iconic and transcendental in the world of design and fashion. Helped cement the status and style of the group from then on. It was designed by Patrick Nagel and set a trend in the 80s and excellently defined their concept.

[@angerpanda1]

Absolutely. Nagel's art was iconic. A shame he died so young.

[@rpemulis]

you know i was actually wondering what came first, that duran duran cover or everything else. i could have seen it go either way.

[@fenzelian]

Fantano doesn’t appreciate the legacy of this cover because he’s never been to a hair salon.

[@bluemeltedpopsicle]

You can make it sound good with words all day mate, but fuckin look at it.

[@bigbananadealer846]

​@@bluemeltedpopsicleyeah it looks awesome. exactly how the music sounds

[@chitocovers3765]

Metal got snubbed here, i feel like Metal is one hell of a genre for bold album covers

[@QYada-rf5bn]

Also, just to put it out there for hip hop history purposes... The Roots - "Things Fall Apart" album has multiple covers that were released, (with the one shown in this video as the main and most available one), and they were all pretty amazing

[@piggybankvillan]

Weird to hear Fantano ranting for 16 minutes about how No Love Deep Web should be on the list.

[@uglyaniimals]

unironically would've been a super interesting pick

[@javito_an]

It is on my least that's for sure.

[@coffeedude]

​@@uglyaniimalswhat makes it interesting? It's just a dick

[@tommym7321]

Why did they mainly pick albums that are portraits? There are so many cool paintings/drawings as album covers. Also, I know it's a meme, but I genuinely love ITAOTS and I think it deserves a spot on any "best covers" list. It's striking and has a lot of emotion to it. It seems happy but also has a kind of dread underneath it. It's a top 5 for me.

[@LordPerrin]

What album?

[@mitch5944]

@diddleking448 in the aeroplane over the sea lol.

[@nomihabo9752]

Oh god a neutral milk hotel mention 🤢

[@gusramos3620]

Some of my picks in no order: Fragile - Yes Magentalane - Klaatu Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants Axis: Bold As Love - Jimi Hendrix Experience Revolver - Beatles Also Jazz - Queen and Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd

[@josephpaloma43]

Not only paintings, a great way to show the immense beauty of album covers, fantano's 2020 album list. That list made me appreciate album covers cause of the rich diverse artistic approaches to an album cover. Some are like paintings, exquisite closeups, abstract art, and minimalism

[@aubreamber]

all of the mbv covers (excluding everything pre-you made me realise) are some of my favorite covers ever (especially loveless) just for a day by slowdive is also an incredibly beautiful cover just most shoegaze/dream pop covers are beautiful tbh, same for most 2000s electronic records (e.g. geogaddi, confield, draft 7.30)

[@minocious8344]

WTF? She's So Unusual by Cyndi Lauper IS absolutely an incredible album cover to this day. Actually she has pretty awesome run of album covers. True Colors, A Night To Remember, Hat Full Of Stars, Twelve Deadly Cyns, At Last are all top tier.

[@laylover7621]

Never saw it before but when he got to it and wrote it off I was like "wtf" cause my immediate reaction to it was "yoo that's cool"

[@venusadonis4116]

I know it'd probably be a metric fuckton of work for both Anthony and his editor but I would love it if for each of these tier list reactions he made one of his own. I would LOVE to see a list of his favorite album covers.

[@KayButtonJay]

Same

[@Derevirn]

It was so bold of them to exclusively include brutal death metal and goregrind album covers!

[@KzudemRiM]

on a serious note, butchered at birth deserves a spot imo. it is so grotesque, and kinda aesthetic at the same time. i love the red bloody zombie gore on the black background. super well made artwork by the artist. great compositon too with the fetuses in the background.

[@fromtimesinkingdoms9144]

​@KzudemRiM fantastic cover despite being probably the weakest Barnes era album

[@JoinMeInDeathBaby]

Transilvanian hunger

[@stevsh89]

None So Vile

[@spooty75]

Need some Piss Grave or Leprophiliac in the mix :P

[@mournblade1066]

Some of my favorite album covers: Roxy Music: Avalon Joy Division: Unknown Pleasures, Closer Duran Duran: Rio The Cramps: Bad Music for Bad People Bruce Springsteen: Nebraska Iron Maiden: Killers, Number of the Beast, Powerslave DEVO: Q: Are We Not Men? Dead Can Dance: Spleen and Ideal Dio: Holy Diver Pink Floyd: Animals

[@ozmosisnis]

Fleetwood’s hangy dangly bits 😂

[@TacomaStreetcarDisaster]

I agree, Anthony. Pig Destroyer's Terrifyer DID deserve the number one spot

[@Arinisonfire]

Every Chris Taylor cover deserves number 1

[@maxwellkazemba2299]

Boobs

[@nackskott12]

Unironically a very striking, iconic, expressive album cover that fits the sound and themes of the album, and was also extremely well-painted. I'd respect it being in someone's top 10.

[@Sophie-gn9sn]

Seriously though Terrifier’s cover is one of my absolute favourites ever, like top 10 tbh. The colour choice, the font, the amount of space the woman takes up, the weird mixture of allure and disgust in the woman’s design, it’s legitimately an insanely badass and well put together cover imo and I’m not even usually that into metal covers that much

[@CarozQH]

Pig Destroyer? Isn't that just a synonym for butcher

[@zzitzer]

I feel like the emphasis on self portraits in this list reflects the self absorbed nature of the author of the article.

[@iwinme4207]

Honestly agreed, very little actual conceptual art lol

[@nackskott12]

Idk if it's necessarily self-absorbed, it could just be a case of someone being enamored with the projected image of “the performer.” That's pretty common, it's closer to a fandom-view of musicians than anything, it's just most people grow out of that.

[@willnovak4173]

Truly bizarre, also your pfp of White Pony is a great counter-example to the minimalistic take on an album cover, leagues better pick than Beyonce's name on black background.

[@BLUEJAYMusic1994]

If I spotted a Patrick Nagel piece at a Goodwill it would be mine in a HEARTBEAT

[@VinEllis]

Sgt. Pepper's?!

[@8thFurno]

Honestly as much as a joke it’s become, I think The Blue Album (Weezer) was a pretty big snub. Like, c’mon, it’s friggin iconic.

[@jakdee1295]

I’m just checking, Weezer yeah?

[@spug5428]

@@jakdee1295Yes

[@shaun7163]

Or Baroness?

[@praveen_ow]

or the beatles??

[@b1nary_f1nary]

Guys he's talking about Blue "Da Ba Dee" by Eiffel 65

[@AGES_OFFICIAL]

I can't even talk about albums covers without mentioning Dangerous by Michael Jackson. That cover is an absolute work of art with so much meaning. You can get lost in it.

[@fromtimesinkingdoms9144]

Really any MJ album cover like wtf was this list on abt not including him

[@anonymouzzz4307]

I was thinking the same. Dangerous is a wonderful album cover

[@arnaudsc5104]

A man of culture

[@prettierjesus3119]

Which is crazy, when the rest of his covers are just… pictures of him. Dangerous is such a colossal jump.

[@jc8522]

Exactly!!!

[@captainpiotr]

melon dropped the ball with the duran duran critique

[@ChauntelleM]

Just going through my album list, things that could be there: Plastic Beach, Melodrama, Currents, In Rainbows, An Awesome Wave - It seems like art-based album covers were very unrepresented in this list.

[@unknown6390]

There's such weird politic-ing under the hood of these big music journal lists that are always awkward but its hard to pin down why the editors picked anything in particular. Putting Hole above Nirvana like they wanted this list to go viral on Twitter with discourse?

[@1tolightradius]

IMO it's an ego thing. They're so DARING to put "controversial" picks high on the list, yet those picks rarely stand on any merit because often their taste is too ass to put anything interesting that high. There's no methodology behind their picks either so there's rarely rhyme or reason, just trying to elevate things they either like or know will get attention. All this with an overdose of poptimism that'll make you puke in your mouth a bit. The gen X'ers / old millenials that make these still think it's really quirky to enjoy pop music, and they gotta make sure you know that they're sooo open-minded for treating pop music with the same scrutiny as other music. People say it's for clicks and shit but idk, they get a pedestal for a day and do whatever they can to shine as brightly as possible, even if it doesn't make any sense.

[@antiphon000]

Would it be hard for you to believe that, yes, they did indeed want more traffic to their website?

[@bigbananadealer846]

i wouldnt put any hole cover over nevermind but musically i like hole much much better

[@sockhead4806]

Here's a bunch of classic covers I think should've been included: Prince-Sign O' the times Red hot chilli Peppers-Californication Rage against the machine-self titled The Beatles-Revolver System of a down-Toxicity Gorillaz-Demon days Madvillain-Madvillany The rolling stones-Exile on Main St Pink Floyd-Wish you were here Lorde-Melodrama Talking heads-Remain in light Radiohead-Kid A Danny Brown-Atrocity Exhibition Led Zeppelin-Physical graffiti Gucci Mane-Trap story

[@base4yrface]

Blood sugar sex magik’s cover is ten times better than californication’s

[@vb2388]

In Rainbows* - Radiohead

[@Arawn2020]

A Moon Shaped Pool - Radiohead

[@josh6698]

nah i gotta say replace the rolling stones exile with some girls

[@RyanPassek]

I dont think it deserves as high as it is, but patrick nagels work on rio is not only iconic but beautiful. I literally have one of his prints on my wall and everything he does is in this style.

[@NikkuManAMVs]

I need another publication to drop a better list. There’s so many iconic album covers I can think of especially from recent pop memory. Future Nostalgia, Pang, Chromatica, Melodrama. Also, how did blonde not make it?

[@lucidkangaroo8973]

Gag Order, Born This Way, Kala and If I can’t have love I want power. SHOULD BE ON THAT LIST AS WELL. I’m all fairness Lady Gaga did get on the list for The Fame Monster even though it’s not her best album cover in my opinion compared to her other ones.

[@Riddey]

This list didn't have: Heaven or Las Vegas Flower Boy Kids see ghosts Graduation Melt my eyez see your future Madvillian Atrocity exhibition Speaking in tongues Titanic rising Thriller 4eva is a mighty long time The miseducation of Lauryn Hill

[@CGR0620]

I legit thought Thriller was gonna be #1 and it’s not even my favorite cover. This list is way beyond ass

[@simon4476]

also no RATM debut or Court of the Crimson King

[@gclip9883]

@@CGR0620 The Velvet Undergound at number 1 makes total sense though. It is one of the most iconic album covers, made by one of the most famous artists of all time. I would even say that it has transcended the album itself - a lot of people have seen it without actually having listened to the album. Other picks would probably be Abbey Road, Sgt. Peppers, Dark Side of the Moon, all of which i would put above Thriller.

[@theDutton]

Some based choices here

[@ffsf739]

Not having Madvillany was a travesty.

[@PasseioNoturno666]

have these people ever heard of album covers that aren't just a picture of the lead singer?

[@franzi6093]

one of my personal favourites is Mountains of Madness by H.P. Zinker. it catches your interest and changes when you take it out of the red tinted cd case. i vividly remember seeing it for the first time when i looked through my dads collection :))

[@myosotis444]

I can't believe Lordes Melodrama isn't on this list. Like come on, the cover is a literal ARTWORK

[@13Omood]

i was literally thinking about this list like last week. it is so bad like the omission of ANY bjork album is absolutely insane

[@j0hnbr0ck]

I think Remain In Light deserves a spot on here. Also most of Ween's album covers are actually pretty great, especially The Mollusk as it was designed by Storm Thorgerson, who made the art for Dark Side Of The Moon, which should also be on here.

[@psychokitty444]

RIL's matches the mood of its music and has an interesting backstory, but I much prefer More Songs as a cover.

[@marioi.carrillo6264]

Craters Of The Sac sweep 🗣️🗣️🗣️

[@BasedSakurai2024]

One minimalist album cover design I wanna throw out there is New Order's "Substance 1987"

[@GreenRequiem]

it'd be a lot of work, but I'd love to watch a video of your personal top 100 picks

[@v0Xx60]

While I agree Duran Duran being in 20 is dumb, you really didn't have to do Patrick Nagel dirty like that. His art is ICONIC.

[@Simte]

One of my favourite things is when artists incorporate the design into the vinyl structure or CD booklet itself.

[@rankus]

The new Aesop Rock vinyl cover has LED lights in the cover that plays a song and you can plug the cover into a micro USB 😂 it’s my best vinyl purchase to date

[@juannaym8488]

Sticky Fingers

[@daa5865]

What I thought about was maybe at least one album cover of SOAD like the self titled one or Toxicity? they might just also be pretty tame tho (and maybe Days of Future passed by The Moody Blues? It is a little chaotic but I like it)

[@joesizzle10]

I got embarrassingly long into this video before realizing they were talking about the pictures used for album covers not artists doing cover albums

[@jennifertrandafir]

Angelic 2 The Core will always be the best album cover! No other album cover could ever compare to the masterpiece that is Corey Feldman's Angelic 2 The Core! There is no competition, period!

[@javito_an]

Many covers are missing, but to me the omission of Rage Against The Machine's self titled is unforgivable. It is one of the most stunning and iconic albums covers OAT and it is such a bold statement that perfectly captures the contents of the record.

[@willdouglas1617]

I was thinking through the whole thing, "wonder where in the top 10 ratm-ratm will be"

[@sheep910]

My thoughts exactly. The further into the video I got, the more I was expecting not to see it though

[@aflordomar]

when i'm at a making ridiculous lists competition and my opponent is rolling stone magazine

[@natashabulyga]

One album I find particularly striking and am surprised wasn't on the list was "Time Out" by The Dave Brubeck Quartet.

[@-Sheva-]

I agree with everything Anthony said except for the Duran Duran cover. I like the minimalist art with the weird lines and simple coloration. I mean it obviously looks a bit weird, but that just makes it stand out even more for me as a cool cover. It’s obviously up to opinion though, I can see why someone might not like the weird design.

[@kirbyizlife]

I hate Duran Duran and I think that cover is great

[@alankilmer108]

I think context is important for this one as well, through the 80's we saw a ton of this style of art and we can largely thank this album cover for that.

[@6li8storm40]

I don’t like it, but it’s a matter of personal taste. I think it deserved to be here, because it was something new and different at the time. The vast majority of this list redefined “bland”.

[@-Sheva-]

@@6li8storm40 I agree, it’s better to at least be different and bad than to be bland and uninteresting.

[@-Sheva-]

@@kirbyizlife just curious, why do you hate Duran Duran?

[@tazmon122]

Duran Duran's Rio absolutely deserves a spot in the top 100 album art lists of the world for it's use of Patrick Nagel's Nagel Girl. both Patrick Nagel and Margret Keane are the real world action of the thesis behind Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup print series. both the Nagel Girl and Big Eyes were so highly printed and reproduced and displayed from homes across America to cheap nail salons and banks that the enigmatic nature turns into mundane and worthless. melon really throwing a normie take here.

[@cosmicradiationmusic428]

I was pretty offended by his Rio take not gonna lie I love that art work

[@AsirIset]

Very interesting bit of history! Thanks for that! But I do kinda agree that it looks pretty mid..

[@barcelomrozovic1625]

Radiohead, Gorillaz, Björk, Talking Heads, RATM... so many great covers just ignored. Feels bad to even entertain this list.

[@warriyorcat]

For a spin on the "artists on the album cover" trope, Tears For Fears' album 'The Seeds Of Love' is artistic while still featuring the band, and is a really good album cover. I'm also partial to Styx's album covers for 'The Grand Illusion' and 'Paradise Theater'.

[@TheAndrewj96]

I genuinely think Flower Boy ought to be on here. Not only does the vibrant, colorful cover fit the music _perfectly,_ but it’s just a visually striking and pleasing image on its own. Easily one of my all-time favorites.

[@wozaow]

this sounds like i'm trolling but i actually love the cherry bomb piss cover and i think it's in my top 50 of all time.

[@vincentdenley4304]

@@wozaowdisgusting

[@mattwonders5566]

Tyler is really good at album covers he should sell rugs instead

[@schirmkslojm1120]

Honestly same, also weird not to see KIDS SEE GHOSTS on the list

[@brenetssss]

L

[@smoothcat4334]

I completely agree Anthony - it's absurd that Baby GOAT didn't make the list. Truly a work of art, akin to renaissance painters such as DaVinci.

[@xxcolinaterxx2867]

Jar of flies, dirt, wish you were here, yes maggot brain!!!!, lucid planet, undertow, lateralus, 10,000 days, FI,(Alex grey man Alex friggin grey), loveless, lift your skinny fists like Antennas to heaven!, Paranoid, Vespertine, currents, and I agree Anthony the album I was thinking of the whole time for an iconic and amazing album cover was in the court of the crimson King! Yeah I prefer less portraits because we have all these cool ass artsy album art that is just gorgeous!😍id love to see a list of your own someday ngl

[@bluehejira]

A few of my favs: Joni Mitchell - Hejira Oneohtrix Point Never (3) - Zones without people, Replica, R plus seven. Andy Stott (2) - Luxury problems, Too many voices.

[@V.F.D.DaleSalvador]

Tool: Lateralus should be on here. Alex Gray's paintings are insane. And it fits the music perfectly.

[@reecelaroche]

Agreed. I’d also say 10000 days could make a case as well.

[@MisterPancake778]

Real talk I only listened to the album because of the cover lmao, I don't even like nu-metal/alternative metal but that cover is rad.

[@te9591]

I like Cam De Leon better for Aenema.

[@nicolasriveros943]

And you can "peel off" the layers of the body if you own it on CD. No lyrics booklet, you see the inside of the squeleton as you move the pages

[@mason_breen]

expecting a tool album on this list is like expecting Israel to announce a ceasefire

[@ctrlaltdestroy91]

How the hell did RATM's debut not make it?!

[@te9591]

Or evil empire?

[@kipperbill]

Now this. this. THIS. The tone, the language, and the quality content is what I want out of my freshly grown melons. More content like this please!!

[@shadowace104]

original pirate material by the streets has my favourite album cover of all time. it's just a picture of a british council flat but im still yet to see an image on the front of an album that fits the style, context and story of an album better. you could stare at it while listening and imagine every sing taking place within the picture

[@Waydzit]

Honestly very pleasantly surprised to see the SOPHIE cover on this list. Disrespectful to not include Quebec or The Mollusk from Ween, though, some of the best alternative and experimental rock album covers of all time.

[@addison_deez]

yes quebecs cover is soooo amazing 🫶

[@20thCenturyPox]

Our high school art department had a book of 100 album covers (it was the late eighties so they were mostly 60s/70s records). I don;t remember any of these being in there. Free's eponymous 1969 record was in there. Fantastic cover.

[@te9591]

That's cool.

[@ludovichuot9322]

Surfer Rosa - Pixies Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure Revolver - The Beatles Round Midnight - Miles Davis The Madcap Laugh - Syd Barret Debut/Post - Bjork Closer - Joy Division Miami - The Gun Club Ocean Rain - Echo and the Bunnymen The Libertines - The Libertines Heroes/ Ziggy Stardust/Hunky Dory - David Bowie The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (and almost everything) - Charles Mingus Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers - Kendrick Lamar Mezzanine - Massive Attack And every THE SMITHS Covers

[@noahh688]

Philharmony by Harry Hosono was a good and kind of surprising pick. Actually feels like an album chosen for the cover and not the quality of the album, as I think he definitely has better albums with worse covers. Personally I would have picked S-F-X for the list, but it's the kind of choice I can respect. Wish I could say the same for the rest

[@Paulxl]

The cover in the 20th album (Duran Duran - Rio) is by Patrick Nagel. That man was iconic and his ilustrations of women are incredibly famous.

[@MonsieurHapgood]

But that cover isn’t even close to his best work.

[@leonardob.p.9947]

I think the NFR cover is referencing Ray Lichtenstein, not just comic art. That gives it points for me, quite surprised he didn't like at all

[@In.New.York.I.Milly.Rock.]

It is, and the intertextuality is meant to cross-reference the pop-art context. Melon missed the point. And I don't even care for Lana.

[@rateeightx]

I can't believe they left out XTC's "Drums And Wires", I absolutely adore that cover, I love the minimal aesthetic, but with rough shapes, I love how the same lines form the band name as well as the guy's face, Basically everything about it. Far better than some of the covers they had on this list. Also if we're talking about album covers that send a message, You don't get much better than Chumbawamba's Anarchy, Although I will admit it probably could've been better looking.

[@asinglebraincell6584]

I remember that one! Drums and Wires. Never listened to it but just read about the band now and they sound like the exact sort of music I would be into. You're right though, it should be on here given that I remember the name and cover and I haven't even heard the album.

[@rateeightx]

@@asinglebraincell6584 I would highly recommend it, honestly I feel like XTC are a bit underrated, considering how much influence they had it's surprising to me they're not remembered as well as some other similar bands of the late 70s and 80s such as Talking Heads, Where I live at least, possible they're better remembered elsewhere. I don't think I've ever heard their songs playing on like 80s radio stations though, while I've heard tonnes of random obscure (and sometimes honestly not that good) stuff there.

[@SYO724F-tl7ec]

seriously, the moment it gets to John’s glasses, IM NOT READY FOR THIS, gasping

[@hillybanson]

The NFR cover I thought was really ugly when it first dropped, but it really grew on me after a while. It gives a "bad on purpose" sorta anti-art vibe and I dig it a lot now. Also helps that it's such a departure from the usual vibe of her album art

[@KzudemRiM]

the way lana is reaching out is so 4th wall breaking to me. it is kinda surreal. the pose and the random comic letters on the upper left corner. the painting like sky. the clenched eyelids of the boy she is clutching on. him in an insecure jack sparrow type pose. its kinda all over the place. really weird.

[@Crunchy_Punch]

I would have expected it to be in the style of a Norman Rockwell piece, or at least a similar vibe, hence the name drop.

[@necromax13]

anti-art isn't necessarily bad art. That cover is bad art.

[@hillybanson]

@@necromax13 nah

[@joshuayeager3686]

While I agree with just about most of the the comments you made, I didn’t get the slander on many of the 80’s album covers like “She’s So Unusual” (very iconic and visually stunning) “Rio” (created by one of the most popular artists of the decade and staple visual style of the decade) which perfectly captures the essence of that album.

[@phantomthread4385]

Music for the Jilted Generation by Prodigy at the time was amazjng and Trout Mask Replica.

[@pranavprankstergangster]

Madvillainy? Atrocity Exhibition? Wish you were here? Rage against the Machine? Weezer (blue)? Purple Rain? Titanic Rising? Just to name some very popular records... genuinely baffling how some shit got on this list.