And someone already mentioned Velvet Underground and Nico, which I think may be the single most iconic album cover of all time. Perhaps tied with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I don't think the post digital world can duplicate the shared experience of engaging with music through a physical medium where the artwork is a prominent feature. Hence why no modern album covers will feel iconic.
Albums being less relevant obviously means that album covers will be less relevant but I think that visual artwork is still a prominent feature of music just in different forms. The main barrier to being iconic is just the general degree of diversity and stratification of music taste in modern times which is the real reason that most examples in this thread are from the payola era of the music industry.
Minor Threat
Bad Brains
Public Enemy
And someone already mentioned Velvet Underground and Nico, which I think may be the single most iconic album cover of all time. Perhaps tied with Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. I don't think the post digital world can duplicate the shared experience of engaging with music through a physical medium where the artwork is a prominent feature. Hence why no modern album covers will feel iconic.
Operation Ivy
Albums being less relevant obviously means that album covers will be less relevant but I think that visual artwork is still a prominent feature of music just in different forms. The main barrier to being iconic is just the general degree of diversity and stratification of music taste in modern times which is the real reason that most examples in this thread are from the payola era of the music industry.