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Columbia Records' Peter Goldmark invented the LP in 1948, and until the late '80s, when CDs surpassed them in sales, it was the primary medium for recorded music. Here is a sampling -- by no means exhaustive -- of some distinctive album covers.
Capitol Records
"Abbey Road," the Beatles: Any number of Beatles albums could make this list, whether it's Robert Freeman's great cover for "With the Beatles" or the phantasmagoria of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Yet 1969's "Abbey Road" features a much-parodied Iain Macmillan photograph and showcases the band going out on top. No wonder they considered calling it "Everest."
Eric Poppleton
"Straight Outta Compton," N.W.A.: This photograph is considered one of the most provocative to ever grace an album cover: six guys staring toward the ground, one pointing a handgun. As the cover art for "Straight Outta Compton," the pioneering debut album by N.W.A., it's the image of the record that revolutionized gangsta rap and redefined hip-hop.
Columbia Records
"Bringing It All Back Home," Bob Dylan: Dylan's album covers have ranged from great ("Freewheelin'," "Nashville Skyline") to abysmal ("Empire Burlesque"). But perhaps the most Dylan-esque is this 1965 entry, photographed by Daniel Kramer. A fallout shelter sign? A woman in red (manager Albert Grossman's wife, Sally)? That gray cat? Whatever Dylan's trying to say, this cover encapsulates it ... somehow.
Epic Records
"London Calling," the Clash: "The only band that mattered" did Elvis Presley one better with their 1979 album, using the design of Presley's 1956 debut and coupling it with a ferocious Pennie Smith photograph of Paul Simonon smashing his bass. The music was equally fierce.
Motown Records
"What's Going On," Marvin Gaye: Like most Motown artists, Marvin Gaye stayed with the label's don't-rock-the-boat program in the 1960s. But his landmark 1971 album, inspired in part by his brother's return from Vietnam, took on the woes of America and the black experience. The cover photo, of a brooding Gaye in the rain, captures the tone perfectly.
Capitol Records
"Wish You Were Here," Pink Floyd: No gallery of album covers would be complete without at least one representative from the design team of Hipgnosis, known for its surreal photographic imagery. Hipgnosis' works include Led Zeppelin's "Houses of the Holy," 10cc's "Deceptive Bends" and Peter Gabriel's first three solo albums. "Here," Pink Floyd's 1975 record, is particularly arresting: two men shaking hands, one of whom is on fire, with the flames licking the frame of the photograph.
Epic Records
"There's a Riot Goin' On," Sly and the Family Stone: Steve Paley's photograph of an American flag with suns in place of stars (on a black field) served as the cover of Sly's 1971 album, but in later years it was replaced by a picture of the band in concert.
Avenue Records
"The World Is a Ghetto," War: The loose and socially conscious California funk of War made for a terrific sketch of urban life, and the cover of the band's 1972 album -- Howard Miller's drawing of a luxury car with a flat tire amid the clotheslines and apartments of an inner-city streetscape -- was a nice representation.
Universal Japan
"Live and More," Donna Summer: The Queen of Disco seldom looked more alluring than she did on the cover of her 1978 album. From the eyeshadow to the backlit hair, the picture was as exciting as Summer's songs.
Prestige
"Relaxin' with the Miles Davis Quintet": Esmond Edwards' minimalist illustration of a reclining woman is all angles and as sharp as the band itself on Davis' 1956 album. The band included John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones.
Blue Note
"Sonny Rollins Vol. 2": Rollins' 1957 cover, with a photograph by Francis Wolff, is so distinctive that Joe Jackson copied it practically note-for-note (so to speak) for his 1984 album "Body and Soul."
Warner Archives/Rhino
"Ramones": The cover of the band's 1975 debut, with a black and white photograph of the band by Roberta Bayley and "RAMONES" in Franklin Gothic font, offered some inkling to the blunt music within: direct, aggressive and no-holds-barred.
ABKCO Records
"Between the Buttons," the Rolling Stones: The Stones' bad-boy image was often just that -- an image -- but you'd never know from looking at the cover of their 1967 album. Gered Mankowitz's photograph shows a group looking positively sinister, with Charlie Watts, of all people, the obvious mastermind.
A&M Records
"Breakfast in America," Supertramp: The clever cover of Supertramp's 1979 bestseller is Manhattan expressed through diner furnishings: cutlery, coffee cups and boxes. (And oh, yes: a waitress named "Libby" looking distinctly statue-esque.) Mike Doud did the design.
Zappa Records
"Weasels Ripped my Flesh," the Mothers of Invention: Frank Zappa's band, known for its satirical work, had already parodied "Sgt. Pepper's" cover with "We're Only In It for the Money." For this 1969 record, the cover matched the absurd title impeccably. Rzzzz!
Def Jam
"Licensed to Ill," the Beastie Boys: CDs and MP3s can't approach the versatility of the LP album cover in its expansiveness. From the front, the Beasties' 1986 debut looks like the tail section of a plane. Open the cover, though, and you see the picture is continued on the back ... with the plane crashed into a mountainside. Art by World B. Omes.
Warner Bros/Wea
"More Songs about Buildings and Food," Talking Heads: This most artistic of bands -- in fact, they were once called "the Artistics" -- liked artsy album covers. 1978's "Buildings and Food" cover consisted of a band portrait constructed with Polaroids. Jimmy De Sana did the work.
Rykodisc
"Season of Glass," Yoko Ono: Six months after her husband, John Lennon, was shot to death in front of their apartment building, Ono put out 1981's "Season of Glass." The cover couldn't have been a more stark image of grief and perseverance: Lennon's blood-stained glasses and a half-full glass of water.
Polydor
"Disraeli Gears," Cream: You can practically taste the sugar cube of psychedelia coming off Cream's 1967 album: lightning bolts, wings, trees and bubbles, all in Day-Glo colors. The band stares at you from the top. Design by Martin Sharp.
Elektra/Asylum
"Hotel California," Eagles: The Southern California band's 1976 magnum opus was a world-weary look at El Lay culture, starting with the cover: a photo of the Beverly Hills Hotel by David Alexander, with tweaks by design great John Kosh (ELO's "A New World Record," REO Speedwagon's "Hi Infidelity"). You can almost smell the colitas.
Motown Records
"ABC," Jackson 5: During its '60s heyday, Motown was not known for its album cover art, but sometimes an idea is so simple, it's brilliant -- hence having the Jackson 5 pose among three giant letters of the alphabet for the 1970 album "ABC." It's colorful, it's energetic, and it's a nice companion to the exciting songs on the LP, including "ABC" and "The Love You Save."
Motown Records
"Live at the Apollo, 1962," James Brown: James Brown in the studio was thrilling, but James Brown on stage was electrifying. The impressionistic cover of his 1963 album, with vibrant audience members milling outside a marquee, was done by Dan Quest.
Columbia/Legacy
"Spirit," Earth, Wind & Fire: Funk could go to otherworldly places, and Earth, Wind & Fire's covers regularly showed off a love of pyramids and Egyptian imagery. "Spirit," a 1976 release, was one of the band's more minimalist efforts; check out "All 'n' All" and "I Am" for more dramatic illustrations.
A&M Records
"Ghost in the Machine," the Police: There's something creepy about the chaotic digital display on the cover of the Police's 1981 album, though the image -- by Mick Haggerty -- is supposed to represent the three band members' faces. Others see something even more sinister.
Island Records
"The Joshua Tree," U2: A band known for big statements went truly expansive for its 1987 album, posing in California's Death Valley in a panoramic shot by Anton Corbijn. The photos were taken in December, so if you think U2 looks serious because they're cold, you're right.
Def Jam
"Radio," LL Cool J: Few items were as indicative of early rap than the boombox, and for his 1985 album, LL Cool J went with a big closeup of the necessary item. "I can't live without my radio," he raps -- but fans picked up the LP.
Paddle8
"Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," Wu-Tang Clan: The legendary rap crew from New York's Staten Island said in March 2014 that there would be only one copy of this album, which comes in a hand-carved box with a leather-bound book of parchment paper containing lyrics. It sold for $2 million.
Story highlights
Eric Poppleton was 28 when he snapped iconic photo
He says he had no idea photo would symbolize gangsta rap
"We were making stuff up. It wasn't a big deal to us at the time"
CNN
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The photograph is considered one of the most provocative to ever grace an album cover: six guys staring toward the ground, one pointing a handgun. It was the cover art for “Straight Outta Compton,” the pioneering debut album by N.W.A that revolutionized gangsta rap and redefined hip hop.
The photographer was a 28-year-old white guy scraping by a year after graduate school. “Straight outta Cal Arts,” quips Eric Poppleton.
He and his art director, Kevin Hosmann, followed the members of N.W.A around alleys in Los Angeles. There was no entourage. That was long before the members became household names: Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, Lorenzo ‘“MC Ren” Patterson and Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby. A movie about the rap group’s rise hits theaters Friday.
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“Dr. Dre was spinning records in his garage, and now he’s a billionaire,” Poppleton says.
Eric Poppleton
Of that particular day, he says, “We were just making photographs, ripping locations.”
At one point, they strolled down an alley. Poppleton hopped on the ground.
“We were just trying stuff. It wasn’t lit. It was raw, just like those guys,” he says. “Photographically, I just laid on the ground and looked up and all these guys stood over me with a gun.”
“We were making stuff up. It wasn’t a big deal to us at the time.”
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic/getty images
Dr. Dre, left, and Snoop Dogg were two of the hottest hip-hop stars of the 1990s. In August, Dre announced that he has a new album coming out. Here's a look back at some of the other stars of '90s rap.
Steve Eichner/Getty Images
They really did make you wanna "jump, jump." From their backward clothes to their infectious hit single "Jump," the rap duo Kris Kross signified the fun that was 90s rap. Chris Kelly died of a drug overdose in May 2013.
Johnny Nunez/Getty Images
Gang Starr was known for their prolific and profound lyrics. In 2010, founding member Guru, at right with DJ Doo Wop in 2005, died of cancer.
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
"Here's a little story all about how ..." DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince (whom you may know now as movie star Will Smith) kept us grooving with "Summertime."
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
He may want to be known as "Snoop Lion" now, but back in the day, Snoop Dogg played up the gangsta/pimp image.
Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Remember when A Tribe Called Quest left their wallet in El Segundo or fell in love with "Bonita Applebum"?
Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images
Da Brat was a labelmate of Kris Kross on So So Def Records and became one of rap's top-selling female artists.
Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
They didn't have a long career in the rap world, but Digable Planets' "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" in 1993 helped introduce a generation to a fusion of jazz and hip-hop.
Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images
We still love the Beastie Boys. MCA, aka Adam Yauch, died of cancer in 2012.
From MCA Records
Wreckx-n-Effect helped popularize New Jack Swing with their hit "Rump Shaker."
Catherine McGann/Getty Images
Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth are best known for their hit "They Reminisce Over You," which paid tribute to the death of one of the members of Heavy D & The Boyz.
Djamilla Rosa Cochran/Getty Images
Das EFX had heads bopping in the 1990s.
Chris McKay/Getty Images
Heavy D, right, fronted Heavy D & the Boyz and was much beloved before his death in 2011. Here he performs with singer Tyrese at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta.
Toby Canham/Getty Images
Two words for you: "Wild Thing." Tone Loc's hit peaked in 1989, but we were still kind of jamming to it in the '90s.
From Motown
The Michael Bivins-produced group Another Bad Creation was viewed as an attempt to ride the wave of kid rappers like Kris Kross. Their album "Coolin' at the Playground" was released in 1991.
Bryan Bedder/Getty Images
Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin of Kid 'N Play had us all trying to do the kick step.
Dan Callister/Getty Images
New Jersey natives Naughty by Nature gave the world the ultimate in party jams and an ode to the genre with "Hip Hop Hooray."
He had no idea the photograph would become an iconic symbol of gangsta rap. It was named the best gangsta rap album cover of all time in 2008 and Digital Arts once listed it as one of the 25 best album covers ever.
Why did that image stand the test of time?
“In hindsight, it was just so provocative. You’re taking the perspective of someone who is about to be killed essentially. Not that they were going to do that to me,” Poppleton says. “We don’t even print that stuff in newspapers. Even at CNN, would you print an image like that?
“So how could we even propose this as an album cover?”
Still, he described the double-platinum album as a perfect blend of music and photography.
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Prince's song "Darling Nikki" was about a young lady who did something ... naughty with a magazine. According to Time Magazine, the song's lyrics inspired wife of then Sen. Al Gore, Tipper Gore, to found the Parents Music Resource Center, which led to "Parental Advisory" labels on albums. So thanks for that, Prince. The Purple One announced in March 2016 that he'd be releasing a memoir--perhaps it will also include some titillating passages. Here are just a few other tunes that have have also caused controversy.
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Rapper Rick Ross apologized in April 2013 for what he said was a misinterpretation of the lyrics "Put Molly all in her champagne/ She ain't even know it/ I took her home and I enjoyed that/ She ain't even know it" as advocating date rape in the song "U.O.E.N.O." That didn't stop him from losing an endorsement deal with Reebok over the controversy.
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Lorde enjoyed having a chart topper with her single "Royals," but sparked some criticism after a blogger cried racism over some of the song's lyrics.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Robin Thicke, right, had the song of the summer in 2013 with "Blurred Lines." But the hit was dubbed "rape-y" by some with its lyrics "I know you want it" which critics said promoted sexual assault. The music video also came under fire for its use of nude women and spurred a parody video with scantly-clad men. Not to mention ... well, you know.
Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Beatles' 1968 hit "Revolution" angered some in its urging of peace and love when so many were protesting the war in Vietnam and calling for rebellion against the establishment.
M. Caulfield/WireImage/Getty Images
Michael Jackson's song "They Don't Care About Us" featured the line "Jew me, sue me, everybody do me/ Kick me, kike me, don't you black or white me" and led to charges of anti-semitism in 1996. The singer apologized and promised that later versions of his single and album would not contain the references.
Ruthless Records/Amazon
NWA's 1988 debut studio album "Straight Outta Compton" included the tune "F*** Da Police" which as you can imagine did not go over well with the law enforcement community.
Central Press/Getty Images
The line "Imagine there's no heaven" was enough for John Lennon to run afoul of religious groups in 1971 when he released the now iconic tune "Imagine."
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Blondie's 1981 hit "Rapture" has a line that sounds pretty risque. We will leave you to Google that.
Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel
Rapper LL Cool J, left, and country artist Brad Paisley wanted to stir dialogue with their 2013 collaboration "Accidental Racist." Let's just say that did not go as planned.
Getty Images
Guns N' Roses' 1988 song "One in a Million" was deemed homophobic and racist. Lead singer Axl Rose later said in an interview that he was "pro-heterosexual."
Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Clear Channel
The Anti-Bullying Alliance took on rapper J. Cole in July 2013 for his use of the word "retarded" during a guest appearance on fellow rapper Drake's song "Jodeci Freestyle." Both Cole and Drake apologized.
Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Bing
Before he was an actor, Ice T was a rapper and also performed with the heavy metal band Body Count. In 1992 their collaboration on the song "Cop Killer" drew criticism from then-President George Bush.
Here you had this controversial new group that “inspired a generation of listeners to a new level,” Poppleton says. “Equally important in this case is the original album artwork. The ‘Straight Outta Compton’ album cover art summed up the album’s lyrics at the time. I’m not sure this type of imagery would be so widely accepted or presented in today’s commercial marketplace.
“Back then, it was more free rein.”
Poppleton would go on to shoot four other N.W.A album covers. He has since traveled the world documenting people and landscapes through his photography. He was in Nepal earlier this year when the earthquake struck. CNN documented his journey to bring home the body of his best friend killed at Everest Base Camp.
An advocate for peace, Poppleton has mixed feelings about being the man behind the N.W.A image.
“Starting a whole movement with an image like that,” he says, “is so opposite of me. But it was the time, so I did it.”