Here, I could insert one of a few clichés about pictures (they say 1000 words!) or covers (don’t judge a book by one), or I could just cut to the chase: Album covers, book covers, etc. are some of the best reasons to own physical media, and each year brings a new crop of aesthetically pleasing squares for us to behold. We’ve rounded up 20 album covers that we love staring at, and we hope you’ll enjoy gazing at them, too. An album’s appearance on this list says nothing of its musical quality, however some album covers were judged based on their relation to the music therein. Here they are:
20. Simon Joyner: Pocket Moon
19. Charly Bliss: Young Enough
18. Carly Rae Jepsen: Dedicated
17. SASAMI: SASAMI
16. Angel Bat Dawid: The Oracle
15. Wilco: Ode to Joy
14. Daniel Norgren: Wooh Dang
13. Mary Lattimore & Mac McCaughan: New Rain Duets
12. Sean Henry: A Jump From The High Dive
11. Jenny Lewis: On The Line
10. (Sandy) Alex G: House of Sugar
9. Greet Death: New Hell
8. Danny Brown: unknowhatimsayin¿
7. FKA Twigs: MAGDALENE
6. Blood Orange: Angel’s Pulse
5. David Kilgour: Bobbie’s a girl
4. Sudan Archives: Athena
3. Jay Som: Anak Ko
2. Harry Styles: Fine Line
1. Weyes Blood: Titanic Rising