The ranking of the 65 greatest rock album covers in history, according to Ultimate Classic Rock

Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words. Starting from this premise, the US magazine Ultimate Classic Rock has drawn up a ranking of what it considers the 65 greatest album covers of all time. It's a list that spans more than fifty years of record history and shows how a well-conceived photograph or illustration can be enough to define an identity.
"An album cover doesn't necessarily have to reflect the music it contains, but many of the most famous and imitated ones are an effective, concise representation of it," the magazine points out, citing, among others, the artwork for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” by the Beatles and “Bitches Brew” by Miles Davis, both able to "perfectly capture the scope and revolutionary reach of those records." From Elvis Presley's scream to Bruce Springsteen's denim-clad backside, all the way to the Beatles' famous walk across the zebra crossing — as UCR reminds us — "these are images that have become as embedded in the collective imagination as, and sometimes more so than, the music contained in the grooves themselves."

So here is the ranking of the 65 greatest album covers of all time, according to Ultimate Classic Rock (full feature here)

65. Johnny Cash – “American IV: The Man Comes Around”
64. Willie Nelson – “Red Headed Stranger”
63. Cyndi Lauper – “She’s So Unusual”
62. The Who – “Tommy”
61. Alice Cooper – “Raise Your Fist And Yell”
60. Santana – “Abraxas”
59. Patti Smith – “Horses”
58. Metallica – “Master Of Puppets”
57. The Smashing Pumpkins – “Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness”
56. Santana – “Supernatural”
55. Roxy Music – “For Your Pleasure”
54. The White Stripes – “Elephant”
53. Blur – “Parklife”
52. Madonna – “True Blue”
51. Black Sabbath – “Black Sabbath”
50. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin”
49. Carole King – “Tapestry”
48. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin III”
47. Elvis Presley – “Elvis Presley”
46. Kiss – “Alive!”
45. Slayer – “Reign In Blood”
44. R.E.M. – “Murmur”
43. Van Halen – “1984”
42. Marvin Gaye – “What’s Going On”
41. King Crimson – “In The Court Of The Crimson King”
40. Janis Joplin – “Pearl”
39. Talking Heads – “Remain In Light”
38. Ween – “The Mollusk”
37. Big Brother & The Holding Company – “Cheap Thrills”
36. Sex Pistols – “Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s The Sex Pistols”
35. AC/DC – “Powerage”
34. Iron Maiden – “Killers”
33. Supertramp – “Breakfast In America”
32. Duran Duran – “Rio”
31. Fleetwood Mac – “Rumours”
30. Kiss – “Hotter Than Hell”
29. Prince – “Dirty Mind”
28. Judas Priest – “British Steel”
27. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin IV”
26. New York Dolls – “New York Dolls”
25. The Rolling Stones – “Some Girls”
24. Aerosmith – “Toys In The Attic”
23. Bruce Springsteen – “Born To Run”
22. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – “Electric Ladyland”
21. Bruce Springsteen – “Born In The U.S.A.”
20. Joy Division – “Unknown Pleasures”
19. Sly & The Family Stone – “There’s A Riot Goin’ On”
18. Devo – “Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Devo!”
17. Elton John – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
16. The Beatles – “The Beatles”
15. David Bowie – “Aladdin Sane”
14. Bob Dylan – “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”
13. Def Leppard – “Pyromania”
12. The Who – “Who’s Next”
11. Beastie Boys – “Licensed To Ill”
10. Miles Davis – “Bitches Brew”
9. The Velvet Underground & Nico – “The Velvet Underground & Nico”
8. The Beatles – “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”
7. The Clash – “London Calling”
6. Nirvana – “Nevermind”
5. Funkadelic – “Maggot Brain”
4. Pink Floyd – “The Dark Side Of The Moon”
3. Pink Floyd – “Wish You Were Here”
2. The Beatles – “Abbey Road”
1. The Rolling Stones – “Sticky Fingers”

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