10 Greatest Rock Music Album Covers Of The 1980s
The eighties had some great album covers, especially n the world of rock music.
You could make an argument that the 1980s was the best time to be a music fan.
Pop music was at its peak, MTV had just launched (and was still showing actual music videos), and nobody yet knew how bad all that hairspray was for the environment.
Physical albums were still a thing too, as vinyl ruled the roost when it came to music sales. That meant that it was still important to create an eye-catching cover to draw fans in.
Grave Jones' Island Life, De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising, Cyndi Lauper's She's So Unusual. These were just some of the memorable covers that turned LPs into miniature pieces of art.
The rock music world was no stranger to outlandish and bombastic album artwork, which makes choosing the best of the bunch a tough job. Thankfully, someone's already done that for you...
These album covers are all fantastic. They all capture the spirit of the record perfectly and some are now recognised amongst the greatest examples of the art form in history.
Get ready to pop out to your nearest record store - you'll want to buy all of these immediately.
10. Oranges And Lemons - XTC
Sneaking in right at the end of the decade, British band XTC's album Oranges and Lemons was released in February of 1989.
The album was based on 60s psychedelia, offering up many slices of jangly, swirly goodness that fans absolutely lapped up. Also, unlike some psych albums, you can enjoy it without taking drugs!
Psychedelia also played a huge part in the album's artwork, which took its lead from the biggest 60s band of them all.
Oranges & Lemons' colourful cover, which depicts cartoon versions of the band playing instruments against an orange and yellow background, was inspired by the work of Heinz Edelmann.
Edelmann was an illustrator who served as the art director on The Beatles' 1968 animated film Yellow Submarine. The cover art was also based on the works of Milton Glaser, the artist who designed the logo for DC Comics.
It turns out that borrowing from the best is a really good idea, as Oranges & Lemons is gorgeous to look at.
Bright, vibrant, and oozing with joy, the cover perfectly captures XTC's happy-go-lucky spirit and boldly stands out in a world preparing for the arrival of the bleak and dreary 90s.