Say all you want—you can’t go wrong with art. Even if it’s bad, you can still appreciate the effort, the amount of time and talent it took, and other aspects. Even getting to a point where it’s so bad, it’s good becomes an art form in and of itself in that sense.
Consider music album covers: there is a certain kind of approach to album cover art, yet folks still manage to create something that makes you scratch your head. For any reason. Calling it bad would be wrong because at least you can laugh about it, and bad doesn’t make you laugh. It’s still good. Right?
So, with that said, scroll down to have some laughs at questionable album cover art, as seen on the Bad Record Covers page.
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One Of My All Time Favourites
As an alternative, I recommend Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park".
Here's A Classic From Carlos
Incredible Albums No.1
So, there’s this page on X as well as Facebook that’s all about sharing, let’s just say, very questionable album art. It doesn’t have to be bad, it doesn’t have to be weird, heck, it even doesn’t have to be flat out are you seeing this [shirt]? But it can. And often is at least one of that, but bad is just a matter of taste.
The page has been around for nearly 10 years now and amassed nearly 30,000 followers since its launch in December of 2013. However, two years ago, it announced that the page had run its course and that it was fun while it lasted. There was a seemingly brief return as per nostalgia, sharing some of the older stuff and considering a resurrection of the page, but it's been radio silence since then.
The Whole Glory Gang
How much coke do you you have to do to make this album sound good?
About Time, I've Nearly Worn Out My Stylus Playing This While Waiting
I Really Don't Want To Know, Thank You Very Much Dean
It's mostly farting burping and the sound of eating, and drinking beer
Load More Replies...That's like the title of an adult movie in an independent movie's festival
I'm not always alone when I start to sing, but I always end up that way.
As you’ve probably understood by now, the page shares old album cover art that asks more questions than it answers. These are typically albums from older generations of music, back when deliberate posing while mom snaps a picture in your living room, your backyard or with a view of the creek outside your house was considered the bees knees. And while the '60s-'80s aesthetic (maybe even '90s) has aged well for the most part, there’s this other entire contingent of wow album art that we just can’t help but appreciate, but not for the usual reasons as it aged as well as the economy.
I Can Help..... Bath Your Swan
Shame
He What?
So, what makes an album cover bad? Let’s flip this around and start from what makes it good.
An article on Creative Review explains that the music on the album as well as what the album looks like physically have a symbiotic and vital relationship. While a record becomes famous because of the music on it, there can’t be an album without a cover. And it doesn’t really have to be anything—it just has to be there. It’s the first contact people have when looking up songs.
Snigger, Snigger
My 'Favourite'
Divine Disco
Christian Rock. Christian Metal. But Christian Disco is a new one for me.
And while there is a claim that cover art can elevate the brand of the musician, it can go the other way too—the music can elevate the album artist. By proxy, folks speculate that it can go the other way—if one is bad, the other can become tainted by it.
Folks on a “music nerds” subreddit—one for a music critic named Fantano—have raised this question. The general consensus is the above statement, but bad albums can have good art. However, because of the little attention bad albums get, the artwork gets forgotten just as fast. And good albums, even if their art is bad, tend to still make it memorable.
You Can Leave Your Hat On
Goodnight. Sleep Well
Do What, Mate?
One Redditor in the same thread pointed out that Radiohead’s The Benders album is great, but the album cover art is oof. They’ve seen bad albums with better cover art than that.
Others, however, were quick to joke about it and it’s a question of if it’s actually that bad or just a little bit. One thing’s for sure—The Benders does have a very meme-like aesthetic.
Moose Knuckle Alert
See how even on these outfits it's only the man that gets pockets!
What?
Check These Gals Out
The conclusion most reach when it comes to what makes album art bad is the sheer fact of it being not fit for what the album is. It can be too weird, cringe or cursed, plain or uninspired, poorly photographed or crafted, inappropriate for what the album stands for (thematically or content-wise) or, if it doesn’t fit any other criteria, it’s all a matter of taste. And that includes poor taste, but that already alludes to the above.
Get Happy, It's Friday
Wow! The genetics are strong with this family! I could match the daughters with the mother in a crowd of 10.000!
That Would Make For A Great Hardcore Album Cover
The Title Says It All
And that’s pretty much what Bad Record Covers is all about. You've got inappropriate wording, Christian cringe, sponsored albums, trying to be relatable, being too self-aware, just being too much in general, and you don’t even know how funny this one really is. A lot of it is religious, family, or a product of its time. The rest is something that we all wish we could have listened to in order to bring context as to why we’re laughing.
Yeah
He Is Over There
Dudes
Another side of what might make album art bad (or good, depending on how you look at it) is the controversy that it spurs. And there are a lot of examples in history.
These can include album covers that display explicit nudity and sexuality, takes a taboo spin on religion, glorifies violence or flat out infringes on copyright. Other themes in album cover art that can get flak are politics, tobacco, cultural offense, plagiarism and indecency.
Fancy A Brew?
The Village People Of The Corn
Creepy! Hella cursed. Now Idea who they are but they vibe like children of the corn.
No Mother's Day Is Complete Without A Bit Of Heino
Here he is on stage with a band called Rammstein. :) heino_ramm...7d-png.jpg
Alice Cooper’s Love It to Death (1971) is one that stirred quite a bit of controversy as the original art featured Cooper himself sticking a finger out of his zipper, making it look like a part of him is exposed, but later versions airbrushed it out.
Slayer’s Christ Illusion (2006) takes a jab at religion, specifically Christianity by portraying Jesus Christ as a zombie all the while body parts are scattered around the figure.
There are also more tame cases, like Richard Pryor’s self-titled album from 1968 which featured Pryor himself in the style of a National Geographic cover. He later got 2 letters about it—one from NG suing him for defamation and the other from the Grammy awards nominating the album for best cover.
I've Got Two Words For This 1. Legendary 2. Quartet 3. Trousers
Too Much Information
Gastabud
Your scrolling journey doesn’t have to end here, though, because we've got more bad album cover art where that came from. Or you can visit the Bad Record Covers page on X as well as Facebook.
But if you've had enough of that, there’s something nobody should ever get enough of and that’s sharing your thoughts and stories in the comment section below!
I'd Love To But I'm Going The Other Way
Just Don't Go Into The Basement
A Classic
Moody
Do The Limbo Dance
Sweet And Powerful
One Of My Favourites
Yes, This Really Happened
Stupid Hats
Evening
Totas
If You Go Down In The Woods Today, You're Sure Of A Big Surprise
I Knew That Barak Obama Portrait Reminded Me Of Something
Super Stars
Goodbye My Love, Goodbye
Bloody Hipsters
Azerbaijan Covers Have Mainly Been Quite Good
Crowley and Aziraphale have branched out after breaking up.
Ideal Camouflage For Hunting Keyboards
The keyboard in its natural habitat is normally a quiet animal. It does react loudly to touch.
Saw This In A Charity Shop Earlier
Look Out, Here I Come
You know that little thing in your head that stops you from saying things you shouldn't? Yeah I don't have one of those, so I better stop here.......
Lads
Do What?
And Last?
We All Do Mate
Non Stop Disco Dancing
Bathroom Music
Disturbingly, this makes for so much better of an album cover than most. And its from a bathroom salesman's conference.
Sometime, Sometime Soon
Camilla Tribute Band?
More Killer Clowns
The Happy Three And 2 Miserable Bastards
I Want To Go To That Party
Lol. Vikingarna is quite famous here in Sweden. But I have never seen this cover before.
Bit Too Late For That Request
Where's My Daddy?
Signed Copy
How You Doin' ?
Hanging Out
Taste Of Something
It looks like they tasted a few hits before posing for this album cover.
I'm Off
Don't let the door hit you in the backside on the way out, Craig.
I Know It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll But I Like It, Like It
Fonting Hell!
How Far Is It To Hell? I Suppose It Depends Where You Are Starting From
Bob And Barbara
Happy Easter
Lads!
I had that same outfit except it was blue and had two little white pom-pom things dangling at the bottom of the neck. Oh, and it was made for a little girl
Whoa
Oh, dear... the sound of my childhood... although it looks terrible, the music was pretty good.
Good Evening
The title is Turkish and means "The Price of our Love". I just don't know what that has to do with doing the splits in a karate outfit.
Lots Going On Here
If You Go Down To The Woods Today. You're Sure Of A Big Surprise
Put the one on the left in a wheelchair and you have a "Little Britain" sketch
Napolean Dynamite Cosplay
Reminds Me Of Someone
Volume 2?
Solid Gold From Listerine
Dressing Gown Friday
Schytts On My Facebook
Conjoined Twins. Joined At The Lapel
Only For A Short While I Reckon
Morning All. Here's A 7 Person Quartet
Bow Tie Klaxon
this guy is still going strong, singing and comedic sketches, at age 71...
Brothers
Concertina Concert
Gloryland Is Overrated I Reckon
More Outstanding Trousers
My elder cousins graduated in the late '70's. Their graduation photos were just as awful.
Something Good Is About To Happen? I'm Not So Sure
This song is such an iconic song in the denomination I grew up in. It perpetuated the toxic positivity that people were expected to live out. Either the idea that God only loved you if you were happy, healthy, and wealthy or the flipside of that, that if you only loved God enough you would be happy, healthy, and wealthy. Instead of the hope the song is supposed to offer it is just another cog in the wheel of the distortion of reality.
Good Evening
Get In The Van
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band made me think of all the perfect Pink Floyd album covers, which then made me think of Atom Heart Mother. 1851_1.jpg
One noticeable feature is how neatly dressed they all were; except the naked ones of course.
These remind me of a segment on the Australian show Spicks and Specs. They would cover up part of an album and the teams had to guess what it said/the picture was. There were a lot of ones like these.
My boyfriend once texted me an album cover he found at a Second and Charles called "Jerry Colonna Entertains at Your Party" referring to it as "Jerry Colonna Has a Bad Acid Trip at Your Party." Being brought up on a lot of old cartoons and recognizing him instantly, I had to explain to my boyfriend that the absolutely deranged, manic expression on Jerry's face was 100% on purpose. download-6...0bfe88.jpg
The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band made me think of all the perfect Pink Floyd album covers, which then made me think of Atom Heart Mother. 1851_1.jpg
One noticeable feature is how neatly dressed they all were; except the naked ones of course.
These remind me of a segment on the Australian show Spicks and Specs. They would cover up part of an album and the teams had to guess what it said/the picture was. There were a lot of ones like these.
My boyfriend once texted me an album cover he found at a Second and Charles called "Jerry Colonna Entertains at Your Party" referring to it as "Jerry Colonna Has a Bad Acid Trip at Your Party." Being brought up on a lot of old cartoons and recognizing him instantly, I had to explain to my boyfriend that the absolutely deranged, manic expression on Jerry's face was 100% on purpose. download-6...0bfe88.jpg