SV

Best of each artist · One record per artist

Best cover

Records you recognise from across the room. One cover per artist – and the story behind the picture.

All 25Rock 10Pop 1Soul, funk and R&B 1Jazz 2Hip hop 2Electronic 2Folk, country and song 1Hard rock and metal 6
  1. 1 Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon 1973 · Rock A prism splitting light, against black. Designed by Hipgnosis, drawn by George Hardie – and impossible to forget. Timeless classic
  2. 2 Joy Division Unknown Pleasures 1979 · Rock Peter Saville took an image of radio waves from a pulsar out of an astronomy encyclopaedia. Today it is on millions of T-shirts. Timeless classic
  3. 3 The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground & Nico 1967 · Rock Andy Warhol’s banana. On the first pressings you could peel the skin off: “Peel slowly and see”. Timeless classic
  4. 4 The Beatles Abbey Road 1969 · Rock Four Beatles on a zebra crossing outside the studio, photographed by Iain Macmillan in a few minutes in August 1969. Timeless classic
  5. 5 The Clash London Calling 1979 · Rock Pennie Smith’s photo of Paul Simonon smashing his bass on stage – with the lettering in the same pink and green as Elvis Presley’s debut. Timeless classic
  6. 6 Nirvana Nevermind 1991 · Rock A baby swimming towards a dollar bill on a fishhook. A simple image that became the cover of the whole nineties. Timeless classic
  7. 7 Patti Smith Horses 1975 · Rock Robert Mapplethorpe’s black-and-white portrait of Patti Smith in a white shirt, in natural light. One of rock’s most famous photographs. Timeless classic
  8. 8 New Order Power, Corruption & Lies 1983 · Electronic Peter Saville put a flower painting by Henri Fantin-Latour on the cover and let a colour code replace the band’s name. Timeless classic
  9. 9 King Crimson In the Court of the Crimson King 1969 · Rock Barry Godber’s screaming face. He painted only this one cover and died the following year, aged 24. Timeless classic
  10. 10 Bob Dylan The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan 1963 · Folk, country and song Bob Dylan and Suze Rotolo on a snowy street in Greenwich Village. A cover that captures a whole era. Timeless classic
  11. 11 Miles Davis Bitches Brew 1970 · Jazz Mati Klarwein’s painting – two worlds, day and night, fire and water – is as wild as the music. Timeless classic
  12. 12 Bruce Springsteen Born to Run 1975 · Rock Eric Meola’s picture of Springsteen leaning on Clarence Clemons. The band’s friendship, caught in a moment. Timeless classic
  13. 13 Frank Ocean Blonde 2016 · Soul, funk and R&B Wolfgang Tillmans’s photograph of Frank Ocean in the shower, hand over his face. Vulnerable and mysterious, like the album. Modern classic
  14. 14 Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly 2015 · Hip hop A group of young men in front of the White House, with a judge on the ground. A cover that is a political act. Modern classic
  15. 15 Black Sabbath Black Sabbath 1970 · Hard rock and metal A figure in black in front of a watermill in the mist. Heavy metal got its first image before the genre even had a name. Timeless classic
  16. 16 Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast 1982 · Hard rock and metal Derek Riggs’s painting: Eddie works the Devil like a puppet, who in turn works a smaller Eddie. Who is pulling the strings? Timeless classic
  17. 17 Metallica Master of Puppets 1986 · Hard rock and metal White crosses in a graveyard, controlled by puppet strings. A simple, unsettling picture of the title’s idea. Timeless classic
  18. 18 Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy 2010 · Hip hop Paintings by George Condo. The album came with several alternative covers, all by Condo. Modern classic
  19. 19 The Strokes Is This It 2001 · Rock Colin Lane’s photo of a hip and a leather glove. In the US it was replaced by an image of particle tracks. Modern classic
  20. 20 Björk Homogenic 1997 · Pop Nick Knight’s portrait of Björk as a warrior, styled by Alexander McQueen. Timeless classic
  21. 21 Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children 1998 · Electronic A faded family photo with the faces wiped away. As beautiful and eerie as the music. Timeless classic
  22. 22 Tool Lateralus 2001 · Hard rock and metal Alex Grey’s art on transparent sheets laid on top of each other, showing the body layer by layer. Modern classic
  23. 23 Cannonball Adderley Somethin’ Else 1958 · Jazz Blue Note typography at its best: no picture, just letters – and you still recognise it instantly. Timeless classic
  24. 24 Kiss Destroyer 1976 · Hard rock and metal Ken Kelly’s painting of Kiss leaping over a burning city. Pure comic-book rock. Timeless classic
  25. 25 Slayer Reign in Blood 1986 · Hard rock and metal Larry Carroll’s painting of hell is as brutal as the album – and just as blunt. Timeless classic

25 artists in the list.