Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (1979)

The front cover image comes from an edition of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy, and was originally drawn with black lines on a white background. It presents successive pulses from the first pulsar (a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation) discovered, PSR B1919+21—often referred to in the context of this album by its older name, CP 1919. The image was suggested by Bernard Sumner.

Thom Yorke - The Eraser (2006)

The album's cover, a linocut by Stanley Donwood, depicts a figure in black hat and trenchcoat standing in imitation of King Canute, trying and failing to command the ocean. Around him are iconic London buildings that have been swept away by the Thames, including the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament and the Thames Barrier. The images were inspired by a large flood Donwood and Yorke both witnessed in Cornwall in 2004.
The CD packaging of The Eraser is made of cardboard but unlike a digipak, it does not contain any plastic. Yorke said this was for environmental reasons; he also said in an interview that he did not have his CDs certified as carbon neutral as he did not believe carbon offsets were a constructive solution to climate issues.

David Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars (1972)

The album cover photograph was taken outside furriers "K. West" at 23 Heddon Street, London, W1., looking south-east towards the centre of the city. The post office in the background (now "The Living Room, W1" bar) was the site of London's first nightclub, The Cave of the Golden Calf, which opened in 1912. As part of street renovations, in April 1997 a red 'K series' phonebox was returned to the street, replacing a modern blue phonebox, which in turn had replaced the original phonebox featured on the rear cover.

Rage Against The Machine - Rage Against The Machine (1992)

The cover features a photo of Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burning himself to death in Saigon in 1963. The monk was protesting President Ngô Đình Diệm's administration for oppressing the Buddhist religion. The photograph drew international attention and persuaded U.S. President John F. Kennedy to withdraw support for Ngô Đình Diệm's government. It was taken by Associated Press correspondent Malcolm Browne; a similar photograph earned the award of World Press Photo of the Year in 1963.

Faith No More - Album Of The Year (1997)

The liner notes for the album jacket depicts the funeral of an old man, with the words "pravda vítězí" (truth prevails) adorning the coffin. The statement is the motto of the Czech Republic, and on the photographs is Czechoslovakia's first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The use of the imagery on the album art is representative of an end to a golden age — namely, the band's.
One rather persistent but ultimately false claim among the fans of the band attributes the photography belonging to Lenin's funeral. The band did acknowledge the similarity of facial features, however.

Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
art director: Robert Fisher

According to Cobain, he conceived the idea for the cover while watching a television program on water births with Grohl. Geffen's art director Fisher sent a photographer to a pool for babies to take pictures. The band settled on the image of a three-month-old infant named Spencer Elden, the son of the photographer's friend. However, there was some concern because Elden's penis was visible in the image. Geffen prepared an alternate cover without the penis, as they were afraid that it would offend people, but relented when Cobain made it clear that the only compromise he would accept was a sticker covering the penis that would say, "If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile."
The back cover of the album features a photograph of a rubber monkey in front of a collage created by Cobain. The collage features photos of raw beef from a supermarket advertisement, images from Dante's Inferno, and pictures of diseased vaginas from Cobain's collection of medical photos. Cobain noted, "If you look real close, there is a picture of Kiss in the back standing on a slab of beef."


(Spencer Elden, 2012)

The Clash - London Calling (1979)
design: Ray Lowry, photography: Pennie Smith

The album's front cover features a photograph of Simonon smashing his Fender Precision Bass against the stage at The Palladium in New York City on 21 September 1979 during the Clash Take the Fifth US tour. Pennie Smith, who photographed the band for the album, originally did not want the photograph to be used. She thought that it was too out of focus, but Strummer thought it would make a good album cover. The cover artwork was designed by Lowry and was a homage to the design of Elvis Presley's self-titled debut album.
In 2002, Smith's photograph was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time by Q magazine, commenting that "it captures the ultimate rock'n'roll moment - total loss of control".

Pink Floyd & Hipgnosis

Hipgnosis (Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell, Peter Christopherson) was an English art design group based in South Kensington, London, that specialised in creating cover art for the albums of rock musicians and bands until 1983. One notable fact was that Hipgnosis did not have a set fee for designing an album cover but instead asked the artists to "pay what they thought it was worth", a policy that only occasionally backfired according to Thorgerson in his book on album cover design.




Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973)
design: Hipgnosis, George Hardie

The design represents three elements; the band's stage lighting, the album lyrics, and Richard Wright's request for a "simple and bold" design. The spectrum of light continues through to the gatefold. The light band emanating from the prism on the album cover has six colours, missing indigo compared to the traditional division of the spectrum into red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. (An actual prism would exhibit a continuous spectrum with no defined boundaries between colours, and colour separation would be present inside the prism.)




Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here (1975)
design: Hipgnosis, George Hardie

The concept behind "Welcome to the Machine" and "Have a Cigar" suggested the use of a handshake (an often empty gesture). The album's cover image was inspired by the idea that people tend to conceal their true feelings, for fear of "getting burned", and thus two businessmen were pictured shaking hands, one man on fire. "Getting burned" was also a common phrase in the music industry, used often by artists denied royalty payments. Two stuntmen were used, one dressed in a fire-retardant suit covered by a business suit. His head was protected by a hood, underneath a wig. The photograph was taken at the Warner Bros. studios in Los Angeles. Initially the wind was blowing in the wrong direction, and the flames were forced into Rondell's face, burning his moustache. The two stuntmen changed positions, and the image was later reversed.




Pink Floyd - Animals (1977)
design: Hipgnosis, Roger Waters

A view of Battersea Power Station was chosen for the cover image, and the band commissioned German company Ballon Fabrik (who had previously constructed Zeppelin airships) and Australian artist Jeffrey Shaw to build a 30 feet (9.1 m) porcine balloon (known as Algie). The balloon was inflated with helium and manoeuvred into position on 2 December, with a trained marksman ready to fire if it escaped. Unfortunately inclement weather delayed work, and the band's manager Steve O'Rourke neglected to book the marksman for a second day; the balloon broke free and disappeared from view. It eventually landed in Kent and was recovered by a local farmer, who was apparently furious that it had "scared his cows". The balloon was recovered and filming continued for a third day, but as the early photographs of the power station were considered better, the image of the pig was later superimposed onto one of those.

The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
- art direction: Robert Fraser, design: Peter Blake, Jann Hawworth, photography: Michael Cooper

The collage depicted around 60 famous people, including writers, musicians, film stars, and (at Harrison's request) a number of Indian gurus. Adolf Hitler and Jesus Christ were requested by Lennon, but ultimately they were left out. The final cost for the cover art was nearly £3,000 (equivalent to £40,606 today) an extravagant sum for a time when album covers would typically cost around £50.