The Best of the Worst Album Covers (Part 1)

I came up with this idea just today and thought I could have a lot of fun doing a series of these. Have you ever seen an album cover that almost makes you want to throw up? I'm sure you have! One of the following album covers has done that to me for the past year and it's about time I share it with the world. How could a famous musical artist settle for such horrific artwork and photography? It boggles my mind! If I was in the spotlight, I would want my entire visual identity to be amazing just like my light show! Wouldn't you?

So, what goes into album artwork? Quite a bit. Right now, I am in the process of finishing up some for The Post Script's new album and have had a blast illustrating it! But, as much fun as it is, designing something so precise is hard work. The imagery of the album should be spot on to what the band sounds like and how that album speaks to the listener. Looking at bad examples of design is always nice because it helps give you a clear sense of what not to do.

Granted, some of these bands you may love and cherish, their artwork frankly sucks! I am a big fan of one, David Gray, but the artwork for his album, White Ladder, is extremely poor and looks like a 6 month old created it. There's a possibility that deep down, in someone's mind, this really means something and has strong concept, but I don't see it. And I doubt the rest of the world sees it either. Although these bands may or may not produce great music, their album artwork is hideous!

If you know of any terrible album designs, leave a comment with links to them and I will make sure to include them on the next post!

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