Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Black Friday
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
Rush in the '70s
Artists “The high priests of conceptual rock!” Every Rush studio album ranked – from worst to best
NEW YORK: Todd Rundgren posed at a studio mixing desk in New York in 1974 (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
Artists “Sometimes it’s best not to meet your idols”: Todd Rundgren’s Top 5 favourite album productions
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Singles And Albums Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
Tom Waits
Artists The DIY attitude that led to Tom Waits’ greatest album
Stone Roses single and cover
Singles And Albums “Sounds like four lads trying to get out of Manchester”: The Stone Roses’ debut single to be reissued for charity
English singer-songwriter FKA twigs attends the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025
Music Industry "It shows the breadth of talent from across all of our nations”: The Mercury nominations are out and diverse as ever
Ace Frehley on stage with Kiss in 1979
Artists “All I did was crank it up to 10 and start to rock and roll!”: The 10 greatest Ace Frehley songs from his days with Kiss
Johnny Marr plays a Fender Jaguar with lipstick pickups onstage, with his name in bold behind him.
Artists “Look for one that says ‘80’s Icon on the case”: Johnny Marr says UPS has lost his guitars
PORTSMOUTH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 26: Neil Hannon from The Divine Comedy performs at Victorious Festival 2023 at Southsea Common on August 26, 2023 in Portsmouth, England. (Photo by Rob Ball/Getty Images)
Artists “It’s pretty rancid!”: The Divine Comedy’s Neil Hannon isn’t a fan of modern pop music
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 18: Tyler Joseph of Twenty One Pilots performs onstage during the Twenty One Pilots THE CLANCY TOUR: BREACH 2025 Kickoff at TQL Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Live Nation)
Bands “It carries significant meaning for the band and its history”: Twenty One Pilots are hit again by gear theft
A heavy metal band whose members are sheep - generated with Adobe Firefly AI
Bands Anthrax become the latest artists to be imitated by poor quality AI
(MANDATORY CREDIT Ebet Roberts/Getty Images) UNITED STATES - JANUARY 01: Photo of Terence Trent D'ARBY (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)
Artists “I didn’t think it was the most important album since Sgt Pepper”: Sandanda Maitreya on why he made his claim
CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
Singles And Albums “I wasn’t just writing about the weather”: John Fogerty unpacks rock’s jauntiest ode to the apocalypse
Stu Mackenzie of King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard Rock band performs in a concert at Alcatraz in Milan
Music Industry King Gizzard albums dominate the Bandcamp album chart after bold ‘name your price’ move
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2025/10/26: Dave Mustaine of Megadeth seen performing live on stage. Megadeth played London's O2 Arena as Special guests of the Band Disturbed on their 25th Anniversary tour Sick Things. Megadeth consists of Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitars), Teemu Mäntysaari (guitars), James LoMenzo (bass), and Dirk Verbeuren (drums). (Photo by Bonnie Britain/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Bands "It’s kind of like a cover, kind of like my song”: Are Megadeth including Ride The Lightning on their final album?
More
  • Black Friday plugin deals - LIVE
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Artists
  2. Singles And Albums

The 15 worst album covers of 2011

News
By Si Truss published 2 December 2011

A compendium of the year's most wonderfully bad record sleeves

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The 15 worst album covers of 2011

The 15 worst album covers of 2011

In the past, we’ve delved right back through the history of recorded music to marvel at some of the worst, most-offensive and downright unpleasant album sleeves ever to be released onto the unsuspecting public.

Fortunately for us though, musicians never seem to learn. And so, we present you with a fresh crop of unspeakably poor album designs from the past 12 months - many of which come from big, respectable artists that really should know better.

Read on to check out our least favourite record sleeves from the past year, and use the comment section below to draw our attention to any monstrosities we might have missed.

Page 1 of 16
Page 1 of 16
Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow

Kate Bush - 50 Words For Snow

Page 2 of 16
Page 2 of 16
Drake - Take Care

Drake - Take Care

Page 3 of 16
Page 3 of 16
Def Leppard - Mirror Ball

Def Leppard - Mirror Ball

Page 4 of 16
Page 4 of 16
Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding

Beady Eye - Different Gear, Still Speeding

Page 5 of 16
Page 5 of 16
Sebastian Bach - Kicking & Screaming

Sebastian Bach - Kicking & Screaming

Page 6 of 16
Page 6 of 16
Steve Miller Band - Let Your Hair Down

Steve Miller Band - Let Your Hair Down

Page 7 of 16
Page 7 of 16
Vanilla Ice - WTF

Vanilla Ice - WTF

Page 8 of 16
Page 8 of 16
Justin Bieber - Under The Mistletoe

Justin Bieber - Under The Mistletoe

Page 9 of 16
Page 9 of 16
Chris Brown - F.A.M.E

Chris Brown - F.A.M.E

Page 10 of 16
Page 10 of 16
Journey - Ecl1ps3

Journey - Ecl1ps3

Page 11 of 16
Page 11 of 16
Omar-S - It Can Be Done, But Only I Can Do It

Omar-S - It Can Be Done, But Only I Can Do It

Page 12 of 16
Page 12 of 16
David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

David Lynch - Crazy Clown Time

Page 13 of 16
Page 13 of 16
Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Lady Gaga - Born This Way

Page 14 of 16
Page 14 of 16
Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

Dream Theater - A Dramatic Turn Of Events

Page 15 of 16
Page 15 of 16
Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra

Limp Bizkit - Gold Cobra

Liked this? Now read: The worst album covers of all time... ever!

Connect with MusicRadar: via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Page 16 of 16
Page 16 of 16
Si Truss
Social Links Navigation

I'm the Managing Editor of Music Technology at MusicRadar and former Editor-in-Chief of Future Music, Computer Music and Electronic Musician. I've been messing around with music tech in various forms for over two decades. I've also spent the last 10 years forgetting how to play guitar. Find me in the chillout room at raves complaining that it's past my bedtime.


Deals not to miss
Rush in the '70s
“The high priests of conceptual rock!” Every Rush studio album ranked – from worst to best
 
 
NEW YORK: Todd Rundgren posed at a studio mixing desk in New York in 1974 (Photo by Gijsbert Hanekroot/Redferns)
“Sometimes it’s best not to meet your idols”: Todd Rundgren’s Top 5 favourite album productions
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Birdy performs at the VIP Opening of the David Bowie Centre, V&A East Storehouse, on September 10, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse)
Jeff Beck, Roxy Music and Miles Davis all make the list of David Bowie’s 15 favourite tracks
 
 
Tom Waits
The DIY attitude that led to Tom Waits’ greatest album
 
 
Stone Roses single and cover
“Sounds like four lads trying to get out of Manchester”: The Stone Roses’ debut single to be reissued for charity
 
 
English singer-songwriter FKA twigs attends the MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on September 7, 2025
"It shows the breadth of talent from across all of our nations”: The Mercury nominations are out and diverse as ever
 
 
Latest in Singles And Albums
 Japanese experimental musician Yoko Ono, wife of the late John Lennon
“John and I would be standing there like two school children": What did producer Jack Douglas do to provoke the ire of Yoko Ono?
 
 
Simon Cowell and Bob Dylan
“I would’ve gone, ‘Forget it’": Bob Dylan would fail American Idol audition, according to Simon Cowell
 
 
Michael Jackson's original handwritten lyrics
“I don’t think any of us knew how huge it was going to be”: The production tricks behind Michael Jackson's Billie Jean
 
 
The Power Station
“The most expensive bit of drumming in history”: When stars of Duran Duran and Chic formed a decadent ’80s supergroup
 
 
Matt Cameron, Kim Thayil, Ben Shepherd and Hiro Yamamoto of Soundgarden at 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
"It’s bittersweet, of course”: Soundgarden’s final album is “pretty close” to completion
 
 
Close up of Bono with a cigar
“Suddenly we were presented with this gift”: How One saved Achtung Baby and saved U2
 
 
Latest in News
Roland Aira TR-8S Cyber Weekend deals
In my opinion, x0x machines are the best way to make beats and Amazon has the craziest deal I’ve seen on the Roland TR-8S, and besides, I can’t afford a TR-1000
 
 
Apple gift card giveaway
If you’re planning on buying a new MacBook Air or iPad this Cyber Monday, you’ll kick yourself if you miss out on Apple’s great gift card giveaway
 
 
Roland TD716 Black Friday
Roland's TD716 electronic drum set is designed to be a VST killer. Now it's had a massive $1,800 wiped off the price at Sweetwater for Cyber Weekend – you’ll get a drum rug and throne worth nearly $500 for free, too!
 
 
Apple MacBook Air M4
If I was buying my first Apple MacBook for music-making, this is the bargain $749 Black Friday deal I’d go for
 
 
Toontrack Hitmaker SDX
I've waited for Toontrack's Hitmaker SDX Expansion to be discounted ever since it was released. Now it's nearly half-price for Black Friday and I'm about to ruin Christmas by spending way too much on Superior Drummer samples in Thomann's Cyber Week Sale
 
 
TC Electronic Plethora X1 pedal
Just £99 for 14 effects pedals in one? Surely this TC Electronic Plethora X1 compact multi-effects deal makes it the most value-packed stompbox this Black Friday
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...