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
  • Artist news
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
More
  • Christine McVie's masterpiece
  • Macca vs Phil Collins
  • Music theory tricks
  • Kiss From a Rose
  • 95k+ free music samples
  • Yes
  1. Artists
  2. Singles And Albums

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

News
By The MusicRadar Team
Published 10 May 2011

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

Heavy metal

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

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

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
Illustrated

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

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Just plain wrong

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

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Christmas

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

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Christmas... again!

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

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
The MusicRadar Team
The MusicRadar Team
Social Links Navigation

MusicRadar is the internet's most popular website for music-makers of all kinds, be they guitarists, drummers, keyboard players, DJs or producers.

GEAR: We help musicians find the best gear with top-ranking gear round-ups and high-quality, authoritative reviews by a wide team of highly experienced experts.

TIPS: We also provide tuition, from bite-sized tips to advanced work-outs and guidance from recognised musicians and stars.

STARS: We talk to artists and musicians about their creative processes, digging deep into the nuts and bolts of their gear and technique. We give fans an insight into the actual craft of music-making that no other music website can.

Read more
RHCP
Recording "The more you look at it like some tech-boy producer, the less you get it": 5 great songs with questionable mixes
 
 
Geese and music history
Artists Questionable music marketing didn't begin with the recent Geese scandal - it's been going on for decades
 
 
Two people hold up their vinyl copy of the Oasis record cover, 'What's the Story Morning Glory' on Soho's Berwick Street, on 26th January 2026, in London, England.
Singles And Albums As the UK album chart turns 70, the biggest seller of all time has been confirmed
 
 
Human brain listens to yellow headphones isolated view on blue background 3d render image
Bands Let's get quizzical: It's MusicRadar's Quiz of the Week #8!
 
 
Human brain listens to yellow headphones isolated view on blue background 3d render image
Bands The Battle of Clevermore: It's MusicRadar's Quiz of the Week #14!
 
 
Rivers Cuomo of Weezer performs during The Hella Mega Tour at Citi Field on August 04, 2021 in New York City
Singers & Songwriters “Who’s gonna tell Rivers it’s not private?”: Weezer frontman uploads a whole heap of acoustic covers onto YouTube
 
 
Latest in Singles And Albums
UNSPECIFIED - JANUARY 01:  Photo of SEAL  (Photo by Roberta Parkin./Redferns)
Artists Trevor Horn on the waltz-time song with the "crazy" vocal harmonies that gave Seal a '90s US number one
 
 
Olivia Dean (R) presents Sam Fender (L) with the 'Song of the year' award on stage during The BRIT Awards 2026 at Co-op Live on February 28, 2026 in Manchester, England.
Singles And Albums Sam Fender joins Olivia Dean at Lollapalooza as they celebrate a UK singles chart record
 
 
Olivia Dean performs 'Man I Need' on stage during The BRIT Awards 2026 at Co-op Live on February 28, 2026 in Manchester, England.
Music Industry Olivia Dean, Paul McCartney and Raye score Mercury Prize 2026 'best album' nominations
 
 
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JULY 19: RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook of BTS perform during the Topps Final Halftime Show in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final match
Music Industry Grammys CEO defends new 'Asian Pop' category after BTS rule themselves out
 
 
The Beatles
Singles And Albums The Beatles' Rubber Soul Special Edition contains a previously unheard John Lennon song
 
 
L-R: Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle of Roxette perform on stage at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, Docklands Arena, London, 11th November 1990. (Photo by Phil Dent/Redferns)
Artists How Roxette repurposed a Christmas song for the Pretty Woman soundtrack and ended up with a US No 1
 
 
Latest in News
Epiphone Marcus King El Dorado Limited Edition
Artists Marcus King’s signature Epiphone is a stunning dreadnought acoustic inspired by his first-ever guitar
 
 
Phil Collins - First Final Farewell Tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, United States on August 31, 2004 - Live performance.
Artists Phil Collins admits that there was one drum fill he just couldn’t unpick on his Motown covers album
 
 
Suno
Music Industry “No protection under the law”: German performing rights society wins significant victory over Suno
 
 
fender
Tech Fender’s Motion MIDI controllers have finally landed – and they come with a free copy of the Fender Studio Pro DAW
 
 
Corrosion of Conformity's Pepper Keenan and Metallica's James Hetfield at the Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California
Guitarists “You want some yahoos to come jump in and try and be Hetfield?": When Pepper Keenan auditioned to front Metallica
 
 
Susanna Hoffs
Artists Susanna Hoffs recalls the time that Prince invited the Bangles to the studio then upped and left
 
 

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 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...