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The worst album covers of all time... ever!

By The MusicRadar team
published 10 May 2011

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Heavy metal
Contrary to what you might think, Boned are actually a female-fronted folk ensemble. Okay, not really.

Heavy metal

While we are busily counting your votes in our poll to crown the greatest album cover of all time, here's a timely reminder that not all album covers are created equal. Indeed, some appear to have been created at 4am following the consumption of enough booze and narcotics to take down Keith Richards' pet rhinoceros.

Now for the first time you can find all of our collections of album art misadventure in one place. Kicking things off, here's a genre in which even some of the biggest bands have been known to commit hideous atrocities in the name of cover art over the years:

Click here to see the worst heavy metal album covers of all time

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Hip-hop
Ladies: if your gynaecologist is wearing sunglasses during a consultation, run away.

Hip-hop

Like heavy metal, hip-hop is a genre that has seen more than its fair share of heinous taste crimes acted out on CD covers across the globe. Here are some of our favourites:

Click here to see the worst hip-hop album covers ever

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Page 2 of 6
Illustrated
Even Leonardo da Vinci had the occasional bad day at the office.

Illustrated

Got a great idea for an album cover but don't have the budget for the shoot? Simply commission an illustrator and let your imagination run wild. What could possibly go wrong?

Click here to see the worst illustrated album covers ever

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Page 3 of 6
Just plain wrong
Hopefully Julie's birthday presents included a can of pepper spray.

Just plain wrong

There's nothing wrong with any of these album covers, it's political correctness gone mad! Ahem...

Click here to see the worst album covers ever: just plain wrong

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Page 4 of 6
Christmas
The designer should have been...

Christmas

The festive season is a time for joy, a time for giving, and a time for all sense of style and taste to go out of the window when it comes to cover art.

Click here to see the worst Christmas album covers ever: part one

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Page 5 of 6
Christmas... again!
Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolf, modelled here by Liberace

Christmas... again!

Yes, that's right. Santa's sack is bulging with bad Christmas album covers and we had more than enough to fill two galleries. Laugh? These will sleigh you...

Click here to see the worst Christmas albums ever: part two

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Page 6 of 6
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The MusicRadar team
The MusicRadar team
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