I would agree that cover art has played a role in my purchase decisions. Maybe on a subconscious level as the covers have always been a source of enjoyment. An obvious example would be Sgt. Peppers, and the polar opposite, The White Album. Another example would be Street Corner Talking. It's called cover "art" for a reason? Cheers.
Does cover art of an album or recording influences your purchase?
For me, album or recording cover art definitely influences physical media purchases, where the physical object is part of the experience.
Cover art may never be as powerful as the music itself, but it carries its own quiet weight. It represents love, life, death, and the essence of a particular time in a musician’s journey. It captures what the music feels, without needing a single note.
Many are works of art and have become as famous as the music they stand for—Andy Warhol's covers, for example, including the banana he designed for The Velvet Underground. And there are many more!
On flip side, If you’re buying based purely on artist or recommendation, cover art may not matter. But for exploration, vinyl hunting, or curating a vibe, it remains quite influential.
I’d love to hear what album covers have etched themselves into your memory or even convinced you to listen before you knew the artist.
Thank you!
34 responses Add your response
I am drawn to albums that have cool (to my tastes) cover art. I hope that the cover may be an indication of how the music sounds. I don't buy that way because disappointments outnumber great finds. Streaming has allowed me to try many albums with cool cover art and find the few that I like musically. |
I will admit cover art strongly influence my listening. While I only stream. I review the new releases on Qobuz every day or two and what I choose to play is largely based on the cover art. If it turns out to be a great album, then I’ll read the cover notes and go to the artist and play other albums of theirs. |
Never. But if i remember well i was very fascinated by a Sun Ra cover album when i was young (15) and completely uninterested by jazz anyway... But the image of these "extraterrestrials" looking black people makes me curious about the music i could not afford for many reasons anyway at this time.... 30 years later i begun to discover Sun Ra genius....
Oups! Never say never... I just remember i bought Moondog genius double Columbia album when i had 20 because of the Viking fascinating portrait of this street composer... He is in my favorite creator list since....
|
One of my all time favorites, Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A…. that iconic image of denim, a ball cap, and the flag. At first glance, it looks patriotic. But paired with the music, it reveals something deeper: working-class struggle, pride, pain, and the complexity of American identity. The art doesn’t explain the songs but it certainly amplified them here. This album still holds the same meaning it did 40 years ago, maybe even more. The cover and the songs are locked in time, yet speak clearly to the present. |
@stuartk : I stand corrected! Thanks! |
"Cover art may never be as powerful as the music itself ...": I should hope not! It's all about the music in my world. Cover art should be the icing on the cake. Covers that convinced me to listen before I knew the artist or was otherwise familiar with the music: 0. Covers that influenced (i.e. never convinced) me to buy an album: maybe a handful and none that I can remember. Covers that have etched themselves into my memory: several Cat Stevens albums; Dark Side of the Moon; Desperado; Jazz (by Ry Cooder); a few by The Moody Blues; Winelight by Grover Washinton, Jr. and many, many more. |
I am also a visual person with photography interest. I particularly like when the cover and the music have relationship. Some examples: The Ex - Blueprints for a Blackout Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation Yakima Jera - Capture Videotraum - Ebbe // Flut I don't buy albums just for the cover art, but certain cover art has made me pause with the purchase. E.g., She pleasures herself - Latex, but I very much like the music. And then there are the creative cover arts such as the variable inserts into the die-cut cover of Throwing Snow's - Dragons. Or the Art edition of Volcan's - Chansons pour le néant. Or the friendship editions from eins.zwei.acht label. That is I find truly exciting. |
@onhwy61 - that's what a lot of bootlegs were like in the 1970's - white cardboard with a title stamped on it.... |
Back in the '70s in Atlanta, there was a record store called "Peaches Record and Tapes". Every Friday after work I would go in and spend around $20 on Top Shelf albums, you could get 3 with some money back from that $20. But they had "The Wall Of Deals", cut outs, OOPs, small lable pressings, etc I would spend an equal amount of $20, but at 4for$5 you could really build a collection quickly. I chose %90 of them solely on album art. I discovered a bunch of Gems, and a more than a few turds that way. None the less, I expanded my musical tastes greatly. |
Absolutely I feel the same as I have manage to collect some rare gems. Album art gave the music a physical presence, a personality before you even dropped the needle. Streaming is incredibly convenient and I can’t understate its value for discovering new music. I’ve found so many artists I might have never come across otherwise. I do agree, it just doesn’t replicate the connection and anticipation that comes from holding a record or CD in your hands. That tactile ritual adds a whole different dimension to the experience. |
When buying vinyl the only things that matters to me are 1) I have to like 70-80% of the entire album to consider purchasing it because I like to listen to at least one side of the album at a time, most often the whole record. 2) It must be the best sonic pressing available and be in at least VG+ condition, preferably in NM condition. |
After rethinking that, I am thinking probably not. Back in the days that I owned a TT I didn’t have a whole lot of disposable income, so the LPs that I bought were ones that I bought because I liked the music or thought I would like the music. But I’d say most of them had great cover art (Who’s Next, Wish You Were Here, Michael Stanley Band double live, Days Of Future Passed instantly come to mind). |
My daughter who does not collect Vinyl asked for an original Beatles Sgt. Pepper album because it was a marketing first. I was able to find an early edition mono copy for her. It was discussed in her marketing class at FSU. A couple notables for me are the Stones -Some Girls and Skynard’s Street Survivors as both were removed and replaced for different reasons. I’ve always appreciated the 60’s and early 70’s psychedelic art, The Vargas Car’s covers and the interactive ones like Zepp’s - In Through the Out Door. I was fortunate enough some years back to see the Summer of Love anniversary exhibit at the museum in SF’s Golden Gate Park. They had a huge black light poster room and all the equipment and the masters that produced the posters from that era. Cheers , Mike B. |
More so during the pre-internet era than now. Being a big prog fan back in the 70’s, prog albums tended to have cover art* that was a big clue as to the musical content of the of the recordings. And this was especially helpful when so much world class prog started to be imported to the US from non-English speaking countries, and from more obscure bands. Recognizing cover art that hinted at progressive music on the disc, helped me find some of the best prog on the planet, from bands that most people know nothing about. *And no, I am not referring to the silly cliché notion that prog was loaded with themes of wizards, dragons, elves, etc. |
+10 , @lalitk . |
