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Just like book covers, album covers have quite a job to do. They have to instantaneously capture the audience’s attention and intrigue them enough for the person to take some sort of action, whether it’s picking it off the shelf or listening to a song or two.

Album covers also need to reflect what kind of music is in the album, which can be quite a tough task. After all, music is a completely auditory experience and coming up with a visual representation of a sound that also tells a story is complicated to say the least. 

That is why the images that end up on album covers are usually so intriguing. And, when you spot one in the wild, you recognize their unique quality right away.

The following list is comprised of such gems found on the Images That Could Be Album Covers subreddit. Scroll down to see them and let us know what band or genre it would suit best.

#1

A Lie

A Lie

-Horror-Picture- Report

When you think about an album cover, there are a few that might come to mind. One of the most iconic ones out there, though, has to be Abbey Road by The Beatles. The image of the band crossing the street is widely recognizable and has been parodied by everyone, from Sesame Street to Red Hot Chili Peppers. It was taken by Iain Macmillan, a photographer who was introduced to the band by Yoko Ono. 

After Paul McCartney did some initial sketching for what the image should look like, they did the shoot on August 8th at 11:35AM, believing it was just publicity shots. Macmillan stood on a 10ft ladder in the middle of the street and took 6 pictures. Later on, because of the time crunch, the art director and album cover designer John Kosh decided to just go with the best of six and ended up with a cover that went down in pop culture history.

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    #2

    Kids Posing For A Photo In Chicago 1941

    Kids Posing For A Photo In Chicago 1941

    kuneho- Report

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    #3

    Sun During A Solar Eclipse Behind Some Clouds

    Sun During A Solar Eclipse Behind Some Clouds

    SCPConfinement Report

    What’s interesting about this cover is that it doesn’t have the name of the band or the album written on it. This brilliant decision that was suggested by Kosh was controversial at the time. The people at the record company EMI were very displeased by this idea as they thought they won’t be able to sell any records because of it. 

    However, the band approved it, and they still went ahead with Kosh’s vision. “It’s one of the biggest bands in the world, you don’t need to actually say who they are—everyone knows who they are, Kosh mentioned when recalling the situation years later. “But it was a major fire. I got threatening phone calls,” he laughed.

    #6

    Distracted Thoughts

    Distracted Thoughts

    vashkigalix Report

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    LauraDragonWench
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I can't explain why, but this disturbs me on a visceral level. Great image, for sure, but still...

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    Nirvana’s Nevermind is another album cover that is widely recognizable everywhere. A baby swimming underwater and reaching for a dollar bill is quite a concept that instantly appealed to the photographer Kirk Weddle. At the time, he was marketing himself as an underwater photographer and wanted to give it a shot.

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    Coincidentally, his friends had just had a baby, so he paid them 200 dollars for a shoot in a pool. According to him, it was all very low budget because the band wasn’t well-known at the time and he orchestrated it all by himself. The set-up took an hour and the shoot—5 minutes. He walked away with 25 snaps, confident that he had the winning shot. When looking at the shots later, though, he realized how exposed the baby was.

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    #11

    Circuit City

    Circuit City

    BloodyBladeKane Report

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    Luke Branwen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Take me back to the circuit city, where the chips are green and connection's $hitty

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    Afraid that the visible genitalia of the baby might be unacceptable, Weddle set out to get photos of other babies. He took a few pictures of baby girls in a public pool, but the band wanted to go with the initial suggestion. Apparently, the frontman Kurt Cobain suggested that the only acceptable censorship for the image is a sticker covering the private parts that says “If you're offended by this, you must be a closet pedophile.” So, the image was released as it was.

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    #13

    No, Next Question

    No, Next Question

    Historical-Form9681 Report

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    Julia Mckinney
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Ooo, ooo, I know the answer to this question. *waves arm wildly* It's an Emo band, am I right?

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    #14

    Photo Taken By Me At Santa Monica Beach

    Photo Taken By Me At Santa Monica Beach

    JohnLogicOfficial Report

    The story of the cover image didn’t end there, though. That is because the baby in the photo, Spencer Elden, grew up and started feeling uncomfortable about it. He tried to reach out to people that were in the band and those involved in the production of the album, but didn’t get a single message back. His involvement was quite overwhelming for him.

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    #17

    Rage

    Rage

    Kohlner Report

    “[When] I go to a baseball game and think about it: 'Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis,' I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked," said Elden when talking to Time magazine about the cover. So, he sued the surviving members of the band, the photographer, as well as Cobain’s estate.

    #20

    A Photo I Took On A Foggy Night At My College

    A Photo I Took On A Foggy Night At My College

    memerminecraft Report

    However, his attempt to seek monetary compensation didn’t go well. His case was dismissed multiple times after the defendants argued that he made money off of it his whole life. He did multiple reenactments of the shoot, has “Nevermind” tattooed on his chest, and once mentioned in an interview that he was “glad” they chose him. So why would he be so upset about it now?

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    #22

    Someone Said This Has Album Cover Energy So I Decided To Put It Here

    Someone Said This Has Album Cover Energy So I Decided To Put It Here

    OatmeneticYT Report

    #23

    A Man And His Dog During The Australian Wildfires

    A Man And His Dog During The Australian Wildfires

    KingOfJuiceBoxes Report

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    KitKat
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The Australian Black Summer Bushfires 2019/2020: “But when we were told to move from the surf club to the beach, that's when we knew it was serious.”

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    #24

    Came From True I Guess, But Looks Like It Could Be A Album Cover

    Came From True I Guess, But Looks Like It Could Be A Album Cover

    reddit.com Report

    All in all, album covers are quite a fascinating thing to explore. They have histories attached to them, as well as the stories that come from the pictures themselves. Intriguing and open to interpretation, they capture our minds and hearts and imprint themselves on history. Who knows, maybe the next big thing is on this list.

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    #28

    Just Found This And Thought, This Could Be Nice Cover

    Just Found This And Thought, This Could Be Nice Cover

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    #29

    Shell

    Shell

    ayylmaotv Report

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    The other-other David Wong
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Worked with someone whose name was H. Ellis. The company email made it into Hellis@ourcompany.com

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    #33

    A Pool Untouched By The Brown Flood Waters

    A Pool Untouched By The Brown Flood Waters

    werydan1 Report

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    #43

    Reminder

    Reminder

    Qkumb3r Report

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    Capybara With a Cat
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Well I give it a try. Do you know Remi Wolf? She launched a song with Paramore this year and has also a really cool new single called prescription. Then, a band I discovered are The Dresden Dolls, they are old but new for me. Now I'm in love with their songs Girl Anachronism and My Alcoholic Friends. And someone else I discovered recently: Laura Marling. A british folk pop singer, pretty cool

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    #46

    Caught This At A Great Time A While Back

    Caught This At A Great Time A While Back

    namezarehard Report

    #47

    Flying Cat

    Flying Cat

    DatBoi3779 Report

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    Enso
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Besides the fact that this is probably photoshopped, thrown cats look terrified and flailing not like it's doing a graceful ballerina leap. That foot is from a prone man or women on top of a crowd being held pretty firming by an arm, not in a kicking postition.

    Erin Mankiller
    Community Member
    1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    If this i areal photo, ho awful!! Poor cat!! Whoever done that, you should be ashamed of yourself!

    Colin Cook
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Who throws a cat at a show? Everything involved is gonna get f****d. Poor form.

    The Original Bruno
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Of course it's wrong to throw a cat through they air, especially because YES he positively can get hurt, but the odds are huge that the cat was OK. A 12-foot landing is nothing for cats; they can survive falls from 15 stories high. I wouldn't even put it past the kitty to have jumped from some off-screen balcony.

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    #48

    [u/Ilovesurrealism]

    [u/Ilovesurrealism]

    OhTcxic Report

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    #57

    Catholic Priests At A Seminary Playing A Game Of Basketball, Bergamo, Italy, 1964

    Catholic Priests At A Seminary Playing A Game Of Basketball, Bergamo, Italy, 1964

    PolandBallFan42069 Report

    #58

    UPS Is Determined

    UPS Is Determined

    Sushi402 Report

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    A. HAM
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This photo is 100% real. It is not Photoshopped, and it is not meant to be a joke. One of my family members worked with this man at the same UPS hub, and was out delivering on that day also. Due to jammed radio and cell towers, they went along, doing their jobs, not knowing the full extent of what was going on.

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    #59

    Inside Of A Penguins Mouth

    Inside Of A Penguins Mouth

    LocalFemboyManaka Report

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    RedRose
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Hello! I’d like to talk to you about our Lord and Savior

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    #61

    "Men Dead Working End" Found In An Fb Group Source Unknown

    "Men Dead Working End" Found In An Fb Group Source Unknown

    sph_ynto Report

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    #66

    Daft Punk In Japan (2000)

    Daft Punk In Japan (2000)

    ayylmaotv Report

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    #70

    Lonely Station

    Lonely Station

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    #71

    During A Walk In The Rain, I Stumbled Upon This Sad Sight

    During A Walk In The Rain, I Stumbled Upon This Sad Sight

    harrywhelks Report

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    PenguinQueen
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Maybe it's not sad - Maybe they spent the money and got a lovely wedding so no longer needed the box 😇

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    #72

    F**k Station

    F**k Station

    Urbien18 Report

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    A B C the Third
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Classic BP, censoring their own punchline. BP, if you don't DARE to write FÚCK out, don't include pictures that rely on it. For FÚCK'S sake.

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    #74

    Somethings Holy Happens There

    Somethings Holy Happens There

    merthot2 Report

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    Multa Nocte
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Looks like the scene from "Dogma" where God wakes up in the hospital where she was on life support.

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    #77

    A Church In My Hometown

    A Church In My Hometown

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    Rebelliousslug
    Community Member
    1 year ago

    This comment has been deleted.

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    #78

    This Was Taken Two Years Ago, Surely It Still Holds Up?

    This Was Taken Two Years Ago, Surely It Still Holds Up?

    reddit.com Report

    #79

    Was Just Texting My Friends My Location At The Bar And Snapped This

    Was Just Texting My Friends My Location At The Bar And Snapped This

    autismovaccination Report

    #80

    Hey V-Sauce Michael Here

    Hey V-Sauce Michael Here

    Appropriate_Jaguar_1 Report