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Some album covers are so iconic, it only takes a second for people to name the band and the album itself. Just think about the image on Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, the prism on Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side Of The Moon”, or the iconic picture of The Beatles crossing the street for their “Abbey Road”. All of these, in addition to thousands of others, are excellent examples of how a strong visual can take the album to the next level.
The same way a terrible choice for a cover image can ward off potential listeners without even giving the recordings a go. Quite a few examples of such disasters have been shared on the Facebook group, titled ‘Bad Album Cover Collective’. Dedicated to “the worst album covers on the internet”, it surprises its members with some of the most bizarre or simply funny-looking album covers, adding up to quite a colorful collection. We have listed some of their best examples here for you to evaluate, so wait no longer and scroll down to view them.
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#1
This Is A Win!!!!!
RELATED:
#2
I Bet This Is Good
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Don't carry a naked flame near them, I think their hair will go up in flames from all the hair lacquer
Christof Irran 1 year ago
I would have said 'the one on the right is Stephen Fry' but her nose is too straight.
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Diplodocus Dinosaur 1 year ago (edited)
I think they are women at the hight of fashion in their village, around 1960 or so. Frightening but true… 🤣
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Diplodocus Dinosaur 1 year ago
Better not think too much about the title… 😜
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Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
The album predates Photoshop by several decades
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Billy Harrelson 1 year ago (edited)
I just can't get over the fact the one on the right looks like my future nephew.
Brynn Elizabeth 1 year ago
Am I the only one seeing Brendan Fraser’s face on the left? I can’t unsee it.
Fester Sixonesixonethree 1 year ago
Even though it's just a picture I'm choking on the hair spray fumes...
Klopec 1 year ago (edited)
I remember ratting my hair get this height and then having to smooth it down. It took time to smooth it down along with hair spray and a rat tail comb to lift it! Ugh
William Mclaurin 1 year ago
That's why the damn ozone layer is failing. Imagine how much hairspray it took to achieve such " loveliness ".
Momzilla Mueller 1 year ago
Use me, use me, cause I ain't no average groupie...yes Jesus loves meeeee
Diplodocus Dinosaur 1 year ago
No. I’ve seen other albums like that. Lots of them were released during the 1950:s to 1970:s. 😝
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Cydney Golden 1 year ago
OMG the hair! I was alive in the 50s and 60s I never saw hair like this! Still alive BTW.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I have seen this before! It was featured on the show Spicks and Specs in a round where they blanked out the 'use me' part and the panel had to guess what it said.
gotham-panda 1 year ago
Music for people who believe it can't be "good and righteous" unless the women singing it look like they've never had, nor ever will, have s*x.
Casey Payne 1 year ago
"Give all that you are to those in need. Feed and shelter the poor. Pull all of society off their high horse and all of you work until every man, woman, and child of the entire Earth is healthy and in good spirits no matter who they are or where they are from. Didn't anyone write this down when I was here last?"
Rachel Reynolds 1 year ago
Sounds a bit like the gospel-y music from O Brother Where Art Thou. 7/10. not bad, but not my style.
Carman Davis 1 year ago
This is not bad. Looks like a photo of the singers way back in the '50's or '60's
aartdesigns 1 year ago
Yeah, I'm sorry, ladies... Jesus said he would be doing some stuff with the guy later, so...
Powerful Katrinka 1 year ago
Nope. The album came out in 1964 on the Angelus label.
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I Dare You Not To Laugh Out Loud
Did I say that out loud? 1 year ago
This one has got to be a parody. Does anyone else remember one of Kenny Everetts' characters with the same name?
The history of album covers goes back to the late 1930s. That’s when Columbia Records hired Alex Steinweiss as an art director, who came up with the idea of using the cover to capture the listener’s attention.
He then took a photographer along and went to New York’s Imperial Theatre, where they took pictures of the letters spelling out ‘Smash Song Hits by Rodgers & Hart’. The image became arguably the first album cover in history and started the tradition of decorative covers that changed the brown paper or cardboard sleeves used for keeping the records until then.
#4
Im Starting To Think That All Of These Gospel Artists Are Choosing Their Double Entendre Album Titles On Purpose!
#5
Back in the day, an eye-catching cover helped the album to stand out when a person was sifting through piles of records. Even though nowadays the process is way more digitized, standing out from the rest is still as relevant as it was then.
In the current day, people’s attention span is so short (research shows that we’ve been overtaken by goldfish when it comes to the length of attention span), some artists might not rely solely on their music to capture the listener’s attention. They might use additional means in order to make sure they remember the album, which is when a unique cover can come in handy.
#6
The Potatoe
#7
She A Delicate Little Flower (South Park)
#8
Was He A Pinata?
Rapid technological advancement has brought not only shorter attention spans, but more ways for artists to embellish their album covers as well. Parma Recordings pointed out that in addition to an abundance of tools used for creating the images, artists now can create animated cover art, which provides the listener with an even more immersive experience.
#9
Found One While Looking For That Willy Wacker Quartet
#10
This Was A Great Album Back In The Day
Egodeist 1 year ago
Rik Mayal, Nigel Planer, Ade Edmondson, (not sure of the 4th guy) but 3/4 of The Young Ones. A great time to be alive! the_young_...bd80aa.jpg 
#11
No. 1 In Belgium, Spain, And The Netherlands In 1981
Eye-candy-like cover art helps the artist not only to stand out but also to make sure it stays in a person’s memory. Similar to the way a picture of an actor can help us to remember the movies they’re in, catching a glimpse of an album cover can refresh our memory of the recordings it contains as well. That’s because visuals are proven to aid memory.
SHIFT eLearning pointed out that one of the easiest ways to make sure that people store information in their long-term memory is pairing concepts with meaningful visuals. It also noted that as much as 90% of information that is transmitted to the brain is visual, and emphasized that cues of such a type are believed to trigger a faster and stronger emotional response than words do.
#12
Poor Julie
The Original Bruno 1 year ago (edited)
For non-Americans: Even though the actual age of consent varies from state to state, sixteen is widely thought to be the age at which a girl can have sex with an older man without it being statutory rape. I do think this was someone's idea of black humor. And yes, country music has a lot of black humor, so yes, the album cover is real. UPDATE: OMG: This *IS* just bad design. He's apologizing to his daughter for hanging out a bar when he was supposed to be celebrating her sixteenth birthday!!! Would you believe the singer was only nineteen?
#13
You Gettink Shleepy
#14
Hercules - Legend Of Metal No, It's Not An Old Album, From Times When Artwork Was Wild. It's From 2022
The album covers on this list ought to evoke some sort of an emotional response; however, likely not the same one that people’s all time favorites do. A decade ago, Rolling Stone magazine asked their readers what is the best album cover of all time and listed the top ten based on their answers—it went from Andy Warhol’s print for ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico’ as number ten, to The Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band’ as the most favored one by music lovers.
#15
They Are Using Him As A Coffee Table
#16
David Wambold 1 year ago
The horse got the moves. You just got bad haircuts and fashion advice.
#17
I Could Easily Be Convinced The Tog Had Snapped A Genuine Murder In Progress. Nothing Says Gritty Gangster Rap Like That Typography
Andy Warhol and Alex Steinweiss are just a couple of examples of people responsible for significant covers in the history of albums. Mind Smoke Records introduced an entire list of photographers and other artists who created some of the most iconic images to date, including but not limited to Charles Stewart, David Stone Martin, Jim Flora, and Neon Park.
#18
Handsome
#19
I Remember This Guy. He Made A Living Talking To His Fist. Here It Looks Like He's Trying To Seduce It
Not all artists are applauded for a job well done when their creations end up on an iconic album. Some of them, such as photographer Kirk Weddle, for instance, face troubles even decades after the release. Weddle took the renowned picture of the baby on Nirvana’s “Nevermind” album, who then sued the photographer, as well as Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and others, back in 2021 (30 years after the release). Already a grown up, the baby—Spencer Elden—claimed it constituted child sexual abuse, but the judge dismissed the case in 2022.
#21
I Didn't Know Colonel Gaddafi Was In A Band (Far Right)
David Wambold 1 year ago
Check foreign languages before naming band. Weren't you supposed to do that Salazar?
#22
I Don't Know What To Say
The happy frog 1 year ago
THE ONE ON THE LEFT LOOKS SO DONE WITH THIS, he has that look dads give when you’re doing something wrong 😭
The baby on Nirvana’s album is far from the only person to sue a musician over using their image for a cover. Pitchfork covered quite a few similar instances, including the model Ann Kirsten Kennis suing Vampire Weekend and Dead Kennedys using a picture from a parade for their “Frankenchrist” album, among others.
#24
This Band (Jonestown Mouning) Has A Pizza Cat Theme Going With Their Covers
#25
This Is Not Van Halen
#26
Is This Itchy Scalp Care Commercial?
If you enjoy browsing through piles of albums viewing their covers—whether digitally or in real life—don’t miss the chance to see what some of the classics would look like if the subjects on them were cats. Yes, someone replaced musicians with cats in famous album covers, and the results are pretty impressive; you can check them out on Bored Panda’s previous post here.
#28
I Am So Glad I Joined This Group!
#30
If Nicholas Cage And Gene Simmons Had A Child Together
#31
Nacha Guevara. Heavy Tango. Argentina. 1991
#32
Aaaaaaaaaahahahahaha!!!
#33
Ramiro "Ram" Herrera – Most Wanted Man (1986)
#34
Burt Reynolds And Susan Sarandon
#35
This Has Aged Well
#37
But If Y'all Know Anything About Who Whacked The Homie's Mama That Would Be Great Lmao
DooooCrime 1 year ago
So we're censoring "ki*ll*ed" now?! A common word in English that is not considered foul language by anyone and doesn't always mean death?! It can often be used to mean put a stop to something? And even if it did mean death, then when did the one thing we're all guaranteed to experience become inappropriate to mention?! What is happening any more???!!!
#38
Klaus Nomi ?
#39
It’s Actually A Great Album, Just The Cover Was Ridiculous. I Still Think It’s One Of The Funniest Album Covers Of All Time
Queen Jackson. 1 year ago
Black floridians know about that trick daddy though. His music sounds exactly like his cover, too.
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What do you think ?
Mimi M 1 year ago
Prize to anyone who wants to look up if the Christian ones were parody or not.
Rachel Reynolds 1 year ago
Jokes on you, I reviewed every album I could find. Many of the Christian ones are in fact, real albums.
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DBear 1 year ago
Herman Ze German should have made the list Solo album from Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell. I also would have included the Scorpions album Fly To The Rainbow. Both are truly awful.
Angel 1 year ago
I love Fly to the Rainbow! Haven't heard that album in so long i forgot what the cover looked like. Must find now....
Load More Replies... Anasha Lentz 1 year ago
Sorry, ya'll these were all just a whole lot of WTF and not worth reading!
not your average weirdo 1 year ago
OC05NTU4LmpwZWc.jpeg 
The band is great but this pic is pretty weird!
Mimi M 1 year ago
Prize to anyone who wants to look up if the Christian ones were parody or not.
Rachel Reynolds 1 year ago
Jokes on you, I reviewed every album I could find. Many of the Christian ones are in fact, real albums.
Load More Replies... DBear 1 year ago
Herman Ze German should have made the list Solo album from Scorpions drummer Herman Rarebell. I also would have included the Scorpions album Fly To The Rainbow. Both are truly awful.
Angel 1 year ago
I love Fly to the Rainbow! Haven't heard that album in so long i forgot what the cover looked like. Must find now....
Load More Replies... Anasha Lentz 1 year ago
Sorry, ya'll these were all just a whole lot of WTF and not worth reading!
not your average weirdo 1 year ago
OC05NTU4LmpwZWc.jpeg The band is great but this pic is pretty weird!
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