The most iconic album covers revealed – is your favourite on the list?

Coming in at number one, Nirvana’s Nevermind picked up 44% of the vote. Its cover, depicting a naked baby swimming underwater alongside a US dollar bill on a fishhook, has long been a fan favourite.

In 2021, its subject, Spencer Elden, sued Nirvana, claiming that the image constituted child pornography, but a US federal judge dismissed the case.

Some covers on the list – such as The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, featuring artist Peter Blake’s psychedelic who’s-who, and Pink Floyd’s much-discussed-never-explained The Dark Side of the Moon – have routinely appeared in “best of” lists over the years. But others – like Blink- 182’s Enema of the State and Gorillaz’ Demon Days – are more surprising entries. As music writer and Saga Exceptional columnist John Robb notes, no poll is definitive and is very much determined by who’s being asked. 

He told us: “Nevermind is a classic cover – the right mixture of cynicism and innocence, and very much captured Kurt Cobain’s mindset. It’s a striking image and sums up the contradictions of being a multi-million-selling anti-capitalist rock ‘n’ roll band!

“For me, the artwork is as important as the record itself, and it’s a tough act to pull off. The history of rock is peppered with great sleeves, from the late Jamie Reid’s iconic Never Mind the Bollocks by the Sex Pistols to the Clash’s London Calling.”

Commenting on some of the list’s surprises, Robb adds: “Where is Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures? You see that one every day on a T-shirt or as a pastiche. How can that be missing and Blink-182 be in there? No one has ever mentioned Blink-182 in this context!” 

Here are the top ten albums:

A programme Kurt Cobain watched about water births was reportedly the initial inspiration for the cover.

The album nearly featured a comic book character called the Silver Surfer, before the graphic of a prism turning light into colour was unanimously agreed by the band to be “the one”.

The title is thought to represent Bowie’s own artistic split personality, with the lightning bolt becoming one of the his most iconic and copied looks.

Originally conceived by Paul McCartney, Peter Blake’s cover art depicts Mae West, Karl Marx, Bob Dylan, Oscar Wilde and many others.

Recorded in the wake of several personal breakups within the band, the album’s cover shows Mick Fleetwood and Stevie Nicks in one of the most perplexing tableaux in rock history.

The cover of Winehouse’s second and final album captures the mood of its content, which deals with the aftermath of her break-up with Blake Fielder-Civil.

The cover, featuring a photograph of Springsteen taken by Annie Liebovitz, has become a symbol of the American blue-collar worker.

Beyoncé said she created Fierce as an alter-ego in order to keep her confident stage persona separate from her shy real-life personality.

Gorillaz’ dark second album, from 2005, features sombre side profiles of the virtual band’s four characters: Noodle, 2-D, Murdoc and Russel.

The band wanted a “sexy nurse” for the cover and porn star Janine Lindemulder stepped up. The back cover features the Blink boys in their boxer shorts, awaiting Lindemulder’s “treatment”.