These Are the Top 10 Greatest Album Covers of All Time, as Ranked by Die-Hard Music Fans

Did your favorite make the cut?

Before album covers were limited to a 2-inch-by-2-inch digital square displayed on a dinky smartphone screen, they were admired by fans who took a record’s visual aesthetic almost as seriously as the music itself.

Picking the best album art ever created is a daunting task, but that didn’t stop thousands of Ranker users from giving it a shot. 

From the instantly recognizable image of a glass prism turning light into color on Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, to the iconic naked baby on Nirvana’s Nevermind, here are the Ranker community’s picks for the top ten greatest album covers of all time.

1. The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd (1973)

2. Abbey Road, The Beatles (1969)

3. Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles (1967)

4. Led Zepplin, Led Zeppelin (1969)

5. London Calling, The Clash (1979)

6. Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd (1975)

7. Nevermind, Nirvana (1991)

8. Who’s Next, The Who (1971)

9. Revolver, The Beatles (1966)

10. Houses of the Holy, Led Zeppelin (1973) 

And yes, with three Beatles albums and two from Led Zeppelin, this is a stunningly unimaginative list. But hey, blame the lunkheads who voted for them on Ranker, not us.