The 100 best album covers ever

The 100 best album covers ever

In the switch from vinyl to CDs, music fans lost 119 square inches of prime rock & roll canvas. After all, part of the beauty of owning an old fashioned record album was having the large form art that adorned it. Think of the Sex Pistols’ defaced monarch (No. 1 on Q magazine’s just released list of the top 100 album covers), the operable zipper on the Stones’ ”Sticky Fingers” (No. 18), and the ironic tangerine forest of R.E.M.’s ”Green” (No. 98).

To see all 100 winning covers (the ghostly TV static faces on the Talking Heads’ ”Remain in Light” — No. 62 — still haunt me), check out ”Q: The Hundred Best Record Covers Of All Time,” a 200 page, square format book that uncovers the stories, myths, and legends. (One question: Julian Cope made the list, but no Grateful Dead?) Meanwhile, check out the winners below, and post your reaction to Q’s choices.

1 Sex Pistols, ”God Save the Queen”
2 Joy Division, ”Closer”
3 Nirvana, ”Nevermind”
4 The Who, ”The Who Sell Out”
5 The Stone Roses, ”The Stone Roses”
6 Bob Dylan, ”Bringing It All Back Home”
7 New Order, ”Blue Monday”
8 The Beastie Boys, ”Licensed to Ill”
9 The Clash, ”London Calling””
10 The Beatles, ”Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
11 Massive Attack, ”Mezzanine”
12 U2, ”Boy”
13 Suede, ”Coming Up”
14 Oasis, ”Definitely Maybe”
15 The Special AKA / 2 Tone records, ”The Generic 2 Tone Bag”
16 Pink Floyd, ”Wish You Were Here”
17 Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ”Relax”
18 The Rolling Stones, ”Sticky Fingers”
19 Pulp, ”Different Class”
20 Radiohead, ”OK Computer”
21 PiL, ”Metal Box”
22 The Upsetters, ”Super Ape”
23 The Jimi Hendrix Experience, ”Electric Ladyland”
24 The Beatles, ”Yesterday… And Today” (Butcher sleeve)
25 Kraftwerk, ”The Man Machine”
26 Small Faces, ”Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake”
27 Björk, ”Post”
28 Led Zeppelin, ”Houses of the Holy”
29 The Velvet Underground, ”The Velvet Underground & Nico”
30 David Bowie, ”Diamond Dogs”
31 Buzzcocks, ”Orgasm Addict”
32 Manic Street Preachers, ”Holy Bible”
33 Slade, ”Slayed”
34 Earl Brutus, ”Tonight You Are the Special One”
35 Hawkwind, ”Space Ritual”
36 The Chemical Brothers, ”Surrender”
37 Frank Sinatra, ”Sings For Only the Lonely”
38 Primal Scream, ”Xtrmntr”
39 Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, ”Troutmask Replica”
40 Happy Mondays, ”Pills N Thrills and Bellyaches”
41 Spiritualized, ”Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space”
42 The Stooges, ”Raw Power”
43 Durutti Column, ”The Return of the Durutti Column”
44 Big Bear, ”Doin’ Thangs”
45 Blur, ”Parklife”
46 Ian Dury, ”New Boots and Panties”
47 Roxy Music, ”Country Life”
48 Black Sabbath, ”Black Sabbath”
49 Bruce Springsteen, ”Born To Run”
50 The Smiths, ”The World Won’t Listen”
51 Echo & the Bunnymen, ”Porcupine”
52 Pet Shop Boys, ”Actually”
53 Robbie Williams, ”Sing When You’re Winning”
54 Dead Kennedys, ”Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables”
55 Elvis Presley, ”Aloha From Hawaii”
56 Prince, ”Sign o’ the Times”
57 Marilyn Manson, ”Mechanical Animals”
58 Blondie, ”Parallel Lines”
59 Iron Maiden, ”Sanctuary”
60 Saint Etienne, ”Foxbase Alpha”
61 The Beatles, ”With the Beatles”
62 Talking Heads, ”Remain in Light”
63 Kate Bush, ”Never Forever”
64 Motorhead, ”Bomber”
65 The Faces, ”Ooh La La”
66 Julian Cope, ”Fried”
67 ”1970s Top of the Pops”
68 The Louvin Brothers, ”Satan Is Real”
69 Yes, ”Fragile”
70 Elvis Costello, ”Get Happy!!”
71 Meat Loaf, ”Bat Out of Hell”
72 Sly Stone, ”Fresh”
73 ”Saturday Night Fever” Soundtrack
74 Prodigy, ”Fat of the Land”
75 Human League, ”Dare”
76 Pixies, ”Surfer Rosa”
77 Cream, ”Disraeli Gears”
78 Bob Marley, ”Catch a Fire”
79 The Verve, ”This Is Music”
80 Badly Drawn Boy, ”EP1”
81 Joni Mitchell, ”The Hissing of Summer Lawns”
82 Underworld, ”Dubnobasswithmyheadman”
83 Basement Jaxx, ”Remedy”
84 Aphex Twin, ”Come to Daddy”
85 Add N to X, ”On the Wires of Our Nerves”
86 ”Tommy Boy’s Greatest Beats”
87 The Jam, ”Setting Suns”
88 Eric B & Rakim, ”The Microphone Fiend”
89 Age of Chance, ”Don’t Get Mad Get Even”
90 Mr. Lee, ”Pump Up London”
91 Beach Boys, ”Surf���s Up”
92 Isaac Hayes, ”Black Moses”
93 Half Man Half Biscuit, ”This Leaden Pall”
94 Alliance, ”We Could Get Used to This”
95 Queen, ”A Night at the Opera”
96 Daft Punk, ”Homework”
97 The Pogues, ”Rum, Sodomy and the Lash”
98 R.E.M., ”Green”
99 ”Now That’s What I Call Music 44”
100 Cabaret Voltaire, ”Microphonies”

Hello — the White Album?! Which of your favorites are missing?