An album cover can often dictate the reason behind why we picked up the album in the first place. In the 90s, when we all bought CDs, a good album cover would jump off the shelf and spark interest even if we'd not heard of the band or artist previously.
We march back and look at 10 that did exactly that, and you can click on the album cover to listen to it on Spotify.
Blur – Parklife (1994)
Honestly, who would think to feature racing greyhounds on the cover of an album? What was the thought process that landed on that? Britpop was raging and people probably thought that the lifestyle would be high end, but these guys kept it blue collar style.
Beastie Boys – Check Your Head (1992)
So the red-hot rumour of this was that the lads were posing in the shape of the Adidas logo. I dunno if I buy that theory. Whatever the case, I like this cover because it seems raw and true to who they were.
Janet Jackson – Janet (1993)
Ok, so the front cover may not seem that impressive, but as a young man, when you opened the gatefold and it revealed a topless Janet with her breasts being cupped from behind, I mean c’mon.
PJ Harvey – Rid Of Me (1992)
There’s something so cool about this cover. Sure we’ve seen people do the slow-mo wet hair whip a million times, so maybe it’s PJ’s blank expression that adds so much to this? She’s cool, the photo just proves it.
Read more: 90s Rock Quiz
Pantera – Vulgar Display Of Power (1992)
Another cover with an urban legend attached to it. The late great Pantera drummer, Vinnie Paul said that man was paid $10 per punch and it took 31 times to get the right photo. This has been refuted however and the man was never actually hit. I like Vinnie Paul's story better.
Nirvana – Nevermind (1991)
The photo that made Spencer Elden a household name to Nirvana fans. Yep, he’s the 4-month-old swimming with the dollar bill on fish hook on the famous cover. The idea came from Kurt Cobain after watching a show about water births with Dave Grohl. So glad they decided to keep it somewhat clean and iconic. They recreated the covers for anniversary specials, luckily, Spencer wore swim shorts on those shoots.
Green Day – Dookie (1994)
This is what albums covers are all about as far as I’m concerned. Something that you can stare at for ages and find little nuggets (pun intended) with every look. Billy Joe Armstrong has said that "there’s little pieces of all of us in it".
Jane’s Addiction – Ritual de lo habitual (1990)
After the cover of Nothing’s Shocking in 1988, fans were salivating at the thought of another cool album cover from Jane’s Addiction, and they weren’t disappointed. Designed by lead singer Perry Farrell, complete with male and female nudity, an alternate ‘clean’ cover had to be made so it could be sold in stores that wouldn’t stock such vivid and confronting artwork. Original is best.
Rage Against The Machine – Rage Against The Machine (1992)
A political album deserves a political cover, and the self-immolation of Vietnamese Monk Thích Qung c in 1963 is just that. Iconic.
Megadeth – Rust In Peace (1990)
This was their magnum opus, to this day people want another Rust album from Megadeth. The cover is absolutely spot on and in line with their messages on this album. Referencing Hangar 18, surrounded by world leaders of the era (George H.W. Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev, Richard Von Weizsaker, Toshiki Kaifu, and John Major) the bands' mascot, Vic Rattlehead is examining an alien lifeform.
Of course, this is just scratching the surface of great album covers of the 90s, so fire away with yours, we’d love to hear about them over on our Facebook page.
And if 90s rock floats your boat, here's our playlist of gems from that era...
