Most iconic album covers

[Zork]

I came across a random instagram reel today where a guy of roughly my age (40) asked for the most iconic album covers and a few younger people presented some covers and his reaction was basically "I'm old". Among the covers were "Is this it" by the Strokes, "The Velvet Underground & Nico" but then mostly stuff that neither I nor that guy have ever seen before. So yeah, it was basically a typical stupid Insta reel, but I was thinking about how "iconic album cover" is a matter of perception, background, age and so on.

I would agree that Velvet Undergrounds banana cover is definitely iconic, "Is this it" probably not so much as it's iconic for it's time, but the album and the band did not really stood the test of time in my opinion. When I think of iconic album covers, from the top of my head I think of "Sticky Fingers" by the Stones, "Aladdin Sane" by David Bowie, "London Calling" by the Clash (and of Course Elvis Presleys debut, too), "Nevermind" by Nirvana, "Unknown Pleasures" by Joy Division and many others but I realize that this mirrors just my musical socialisation and so my perception of the word "iconic".

Still, if I had to pick one, it would probably be "Dark Side of the Moon" by Pink Floyd: it is instantly recognizable, the album is a milestone in pop cultural history, it's relevant since it came out and the graphic language is bold and clear and the unique use of familiar elements in a minimalistic fashion is rather genius.

But I really think this is an interesting topic. Can you even point a finger on THE iconic album cover? Or would you have to seperate them in terms of decade, musical style, pop cultural relevance or other aspects? And can this question even be solved in an objective way or can it only be answered in a subjective perspective? What would a cover need to become iconic? And most importantly: what would be THE most iconic album cover for you?

[shoule79]

First one I thought of was VU and Nico, Sticky Fingers was number two.

Zeppelin 1 and Abbey Road would be up there. Taylor Swift 1989 seems pretty iconic for a newer album.

[windmill]

This is the OSG forum.

[Larry Mal]

[Larry Mal]

Also, I've always thought that the first Velvet Underground album cover was pretty overrated, this one really says a lot- I think it's a much better album cover:



It's also a much better album.

[Larry Mal]

But here you go- it doesn't get a lot more iconic than this:

[Pepe Silvia]

[windmill]

Iconic is probably defined as being recognised by a large portion of the population. In the examples given, they are all from the pre- internet era

Since the advent of the internet, the mass media has " fragmented". Into all of its current forms and there is no longer the 2-3 major media outlets which most people watched/read or listened to, because there was no alternative. This gave the population a common reference point.

Music is now also segmented due to this.

So it will be interesting if anyone can show if there are iconic images from the last 15 years or so.

[Futuron]

I think that an album cover is truly "iconic" if people that have never even listened to it know what it is, even with the text obscured. So the album needs to be popular enough to reach the minds of people even if not their ears or hearts. Iconic is not just recognisable, but widespread recognisable.

(That means that some famous/great albums wouldn't count, because many couldn't tell exactly which release it is without the title (and often even the artist) also written on it. Sure, that's Michael Jackson, but is it Thriller, Bad or something else?)


It's the COVER that's supposed to be iconic, not the album (ie music) itself.

Valid examples would be a baby in a swimming pool, light refracted in a prism, 4 dudes at a zebra crossing etc. Everyone knows what they are. A resonator flying up into the clouds is recognisable, but is it iconic? Do most people know it's Brothers In Arms?

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I think Dark Side Of The Moon's a pretty good call...



Aside from it being HUGELY successful for decades, it's also a very simple & striking image. Almost primal.

[whitewatersky]

Aside from it being HUGELY successful for decades, it's also a very simple & striking image. Almost primal.

well put

[Larry Mal]

So it will be interesting if anyone can show if there are iconic images from the last 15 years or so.

I was wondering that also... it's worth bearing in mind that LPs or even CDs would have artwork that was designed to catch the eye as one moved through the racks of media, and artwork accompanying music on streaming devices is notably different in method.

That is to say, if Dark Side of the Moon was released today, well, firstly it might not have been released as an "album" but as songs, and it might not have had that iconic imagery accompanying it on the Spotify page or what have you. In the store, it would have encouraged you to pick it up and learn more about it.

Online, it's just a nice picture of a prism.

[dinosaurkale->]

if i had to pick just one..velvet underground for sure. it transcends music in that andy warhol was involved; the image more iconic than the band or the music itself

ps-ive never seen that modest mouse cover in my life until this thread lol

[ThePearDream]

Here's a cool recent listicle from XXL, of the Greatest Hip-Hop album covers of all time, there's some absolutely iconic images there.

Here's few 90s classics that came to mind immediately. Heck, I was wearing an Illmatic shirt yesterday (it was the 20th anniversary release cover though, but I digress).





Just a few others that come to mind:

[Bradley-Jazz]

So it will be interesting if anyone can show if there are iconic images from the last 15 years or so.

I was wondering that also... it's worth bearing in mind that LPs or even CDs would have artwork that was designed to catch the eye as one moved through the racks of media, and artwork accompanying music on streaming devices is notably different in method.

That is to say, if Dark Side of the Moon was released today, well, firstly it might not have been released as an "album" but as songs, and it might not have had that iconic imagery accompanying it on the Spotify page or what have you. In the store, it would have encouraged you to pick it up and learn more about it.

Online, it's just a nice picture of a prism.

This is a great thread. On the iconic album covers from the last 15 years, I think this actually isn't far off:



But then there are album covers that are iconic images that have started to transcend being records. I'm inclined to think that the simplicity of Dark Side of The Moon might work against it in that respect, as Larry says, if it is not on the cover of the record. However, for me, for starters, Abbey Road, London Calling (but not for me the Elvis original), Unknown Pleasures, Warhol's banana, and Nevermind have become images that are cultural artefacts in themselves and exist beyond the music they represent. For example, I have met a lot of students (I teach at uni part time) who wear Unknown Pleasures shirts who don't know anything about Joy Division and have certainly never listened to the record.