There were tons of great album covers to choose from this year. As with any year, though, there were also tons of shit covers to sift through. Believe me, I've seen more album covers this year than I ever want to see again. Which brings up a question: why would an artist or band go through the process of making an album just to slap some half-assed thought on the front for potential buyers? Their loss I suppose. After spending countless hours digging through websites like a beat junkie searching for the next rare 45 fix, I feel pretty confident that I have found the best of the best. It took surfing websites compulsively -- sometimes all night and into the morning, but I'm finally done. The hardest part was narrowing the list to a trim 20 covers.
The first thing you will probably notice about this year's list is that I was heavily drawn to artwork with tons of color, which is ironic because my favorite cover of the year is black and white. There were a couple other things that stuck out to me about my list once I finalized it -- FACES and SKELETONS! Oh, and... THE '70s! As I reflect on the hours upon hours I spent looking for this year's covers, I can now relax and tell you Happy Holidays, Happy New Year, and Best Wishes! My search is finally over. Now I can get some goddamn sleep around here.
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20
Acid Mothers Temple
Starless and Bible Black Sabbath
[Alien8 Recordings]
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19
Drop the Lime
We Never Sleep
[Tigerbeat6]
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18
Decemberists
The Crane Wife
[Capitol]
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17
Loney, Dear
Sologne
[Dear John]
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16
Subtle
For Hero: For Fool
[Astralwerks]
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15
Wolf Eyes
Human Animal
[Sub Pop]
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14
James Blackshaw
Walking Into Sleep
[Kning Disk]
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13
Deftones
Saturday Night Wrist
[Maverick]
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12
Pontiak
Valley of Cats
[Fireproof]
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11
Flying Canyon
Self-Titled
[Soft Abuse]
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10
Tirath Singh Nirmala
Bluster Cragg & Awe
[Digitalis Industries]
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09
peeesseye (PSI)
Commuting Between the Surface & the Underworld
[Evolving Ear]
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08
OM
Conference of the Birds
[Holy Mountain]
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07
Benoît Pioulard
Précis
[Kranky]
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06
Man Man
Six Demon Bag
[Ace Fu]
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05
Keith Fullerton Whitman
Biprosia
[Melted Mailbox]
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04
Brand New
The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me
[Interscope]
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03
Wiggle
Fabric 28
[Fabric]
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02
Genghis Tron
Dead Mountain Mouth
[Crucial Blast]
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01
Windmills by the Ocean
Self-Titled
[Robotic Empire]
