Long before the digital era and the design disciplines that emerged with it, there was a unique canvas, reaching a visual audience of millions; every designer dreamed of working on a vinyl record album cover.

Invented in 1938 by graphic designer Alex Steinweiss while working at Columbia Records as an art director, album cover art quickly became one of the most important design disciplines in the world. Thanks to Steinweiss’s inventive concept and unique visual language, a new way of representing music was born.

In the following years, cover design became a vital part of music albums, not to mention a strong cultural influence. It was one of the few mediums at the time which reached millions of people and had a truly global impact thus providing designers with a canvas through which they could express their creativity and originality to the whole world. It was also considered to be among the most effective marketing tools. Oftentimes the album cover was the main thing that persuaded people to purchase an album, rather than the music itself. In many cases, the cover design was in fact much better than the music it represented.

The importance of cover design was so immense that it became a way for artists to popularize themselves and their work. Many renowned artists, such as Andy Warhol, Burt Goldblatt and Roger Dean either gained fame or kick-started their careers by designing album covers.

Here is a selection of some of the most creative and appealing album covers:

Jazz

Abstract and peculiar, just like the music they represent. Jazz covers were among the first to true pieces of album art. Most of the these covers utilize bold typography and illustrations to grab the attention of the viewer.

John Coltrane - Olé

John Coltrane - Olé Bill Barron - The Tenor Stylings

Bill Barron - The Tenor Stylings Chicago Style Jazz

Chicago Style Jazz Domnérus Antiphone Blues

Domnérus Antiphone Blues Doldinger - Jazz Made in Germany

Doldinger - Jazz Made in Germany Jan Johanson

Jan Johanson The Nick Travis Quintet - The Panic Is On

The Nick Travis Quintet - The Panic Is On Egil Kapstad Choir & Orchestra - Live

Egil Kapstad Choir & Orchestra - Live Cool Gabriels

Cool Gabriels Hans Kollers Kvintett

Hans Kollers Kvintett Charlie Parker And Arne Domnerus

Charlie Parker And Arne Domnerus Yosuke Yamashita Trio - Dancing

Classical

Faithful to the genre and the music it represents, the cover art for many of the classical albums released on vinyl was elegant and stylish, often directly depicting the title of the classical piece with beautiful illustrations.

Tchaikovsky - Pathétique

Tchaikovsky - Pathétique Ravel - L'enfant Et Les Sortiléges

Ravel - L'enfant Et Les Sortiléges Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 11 & 22

Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 11 & 22 Tchaikovsky - Concerto In D Major

Tchaikovsky - Concerto In D Major The Beggar Student

The Beggar Student Andre Kostelanetz And His Orchestra

Rock / Heavy Metal / New Wave

Provocative, disturbing, genius, but most importantly unforgettable and immediately attention grabbing. The designers behind these covers, not without the help of some musicians themselves, were renowned for pushing the boundaries.

The Alan Parson Project - Pyramid

The Alan Parson Project - Pyramid Asia - Astra

Asia - Astra Van Halen - 1984

Van Halen - 1984 David Bowie - Aladdin Sane

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane ZZ Top - Afterburner

ZZ Top - Afterburner Def Leppard - Hysteria

Def Leppard - Hysteria Blondie - Picture This

Blondie - Picture This The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones - Sticky Fingers Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures

Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures Kino - Gruppa Krovi

Kino - Gruppa Krovi Sacrosanct

Sacrosanct Nuggets

Hipgnosis

Hipgnosis was a design agency consisting primarily of Storm Thorgerson, Aubrey Powell, and Peter Christopherson specialized in cover art design. Due to their incredible talent and the influence they had on cover design, I decided to showcase some of their most notable, as well as not-so-famous covers separately.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon

Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon Pretty Things - Savage Eye

Pretty Things - Savage Eye Elegy - The Nice

Elegy - The Nice Al Stewart - Past, Present And Future

Al Stewart - Past, Present And Future Renaissance - Prologue

Renaissance - Prologue The Electric Light Orchestra - ELO 2

The Electric Light Orchestra - ELO 2 Wishbone Ash - Live Dates

Wishbone Ash - Live Dates Bad Company - Bad Co

Bad Company - Bad Co Black Sabbath - Thechnical Ecstasy

Black Sabbath - Thechnical Ecstasy Pink Floyd - Animals

Pink Floyd - Animals Pink Floyd - Meddle

Join the conversation

Do you remember the beauty of the vinyl album cover art? Do you have any favorites? If you do, feel free to share a link to them, I’d love to see them! Finally, if you liked this article, share it with your friends so that they too can remember the forgotten beauty!