Worst Album Covers

Story posted September 8, 2021 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by CommRadio Arts & Entertainment Department

There are some fantastic album covers out there, but that also means there are some really bad ones. In this listicle, the Arts Department takes a look at some of the worst album covers to surface in the music world.

Kevo Muney – “Baby G.O.A.T.”

There is a lot to unpack with this one. It is hard to believe that Kevo Muney, or anyone on his team, thought that this was okay to release to the public. If Muney wanted to call himself the GOAT, there are definitely other, and better, ways to illustrate that.

Why is a goat giving birth to a full-grown man? By size comparison, humans are much larger and wider, not entirely sure how Muney fit in there. The screams of terror and the look of horror expressed by mother goat is completely offset when looking at her bling.

Why was Kevo Muney born with bling too? If one tries to overanalyze this cover, a headache is sure to follow. Baby G.O.A.T. is disturbing and an utter nightmare to look at. – Caelan Chevrier

Gucci Mane – “Breakfast”

Really, any of Gucci Mane’s mixtapes, or studio albums for that matter, could have been on this list. What hurts the most in particular about “Breakfast” is that it was released in 2015.

As poorly aged as it was then, six years later it looks even worse. Gucci is clearly starving as the waiter/waitress is already placing down more pancakes before he could even get the first bite in.

The wad of cash Gucci is holding also really makes the art more aesthetic. There is also a lack of understanding of why he is at a fake iHop. Food rap has been done before, but there is no cohesion between the cover and the tracks. Overall, “Breakfast” is awful to look at, and just one of many classic Gucci Mane covers. – Caelan Chevrier

Maroon 5 – “Red Pill Blues”

Maroon 5’s sixth studio album “Red Pill Blues” may be known as the album with the smash hit “Girls Like You”, however, it should be known as the album with the dreadful cover art.

The band was about two years too late on using the snapchat filter trend. The cover looks like a parody of the band and it shows a lack of interest or care the band has for their own album art.

It is very sloppy and looks like a child was playing on their mothers iPhone, testing out snapchat filters. It was clear this album would suck before listening to the first song, since this is truly one of the worst album covers of all time. – Jack Freiser

Katy Perry - “Witness” 

Although this cover art was definitely unique, Katy Perry clearly cared more about the cover looking shocking than it looking good. The art looks very fake. The background looks green screened and her hair looks photoshopped on.

The whole cover looks like a failed photoshop job. This cover looks more tacky than cool, and just like the album itself, Perry tried and failed to do something new and edgy. – Jack Freiser

Drake – “Certified Lover Boy”

Some might be biased toward this opinion (because of the Kanye West and Drake drama), but this is one of the worst album covers for so many reasons.

Many people can agree that an artistic point to an artist’s music is their cover art and the themes they bring with the album to get people more excited about the music.
 
When this album cover was posted by Drake, and over-hyped by his fans, it became one of the worst album covers in history. It is basic, easy to replicate, and embarrassing for Drake. It became a meme overnight, and if that’s something to brag about, that's humiliating.
 
Maybe this was a good stunt by Drake and his team, but he has done excellently in the past with his cover art — many are disappointed. – Emily McGlynn

Weezer – “Red Album”

Weezer, to say in the nicest way, is a lot. They are the kind of band that writes a couple of good songs throughout their career and the rest sound like they hired middle schoolers to write their lyrics.
 
One thing that is the most painful about the group is their album covers. They named several of their albums “Weezer” with a new color. Weezer has done the colors red, white, blue, green, teal and black. The rest of their albums are random names.
 
The red album, specifically, is one of their worst and one of the most awful album covers of all album art. The photoshopping is decent, all they had to do was put on ugly clothes and stand in front of a green screen. Probably took them two pictures to get the “perfect” shot.
 
Yes, albums are about actual music, but cover art can really draw a person in to want to listen. This was a half-effort job and very disappointing. – Emily McGlynn


Caelan Chevrier is a second year majoring in journalism. To contact him, email cjc6789@psu.edu.

Jack Freiser is a second-year majoring in telecommunications. To contact him, email jef5614@psu.edu.

Emily McGlynn is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email her at esm5378@psu.edu.

About the Contributors

Emily McGlynn's photo

Emily McGlynn

Third-year / Broadcast Journalism

Emily McGlynn is a third-year from Birmingham, Michigan majoring in broadcast journalism at Penn State. She is the Co-General Manager alongside Alex Rocco and Dylan Price. She is involved in the news, arts and entertainment, sports and production department. In the news department, she is one of the news producers. She frequently writes reviews for the Arts Department as well. Listening to music, watching movies, and staying updated with news and pop culture are some of her favorite things to do. To contact her, email her at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Caelan Chevrier's photo

Caelan Chevrier

Third Year / Marketing & Journalism

Caelan Chevrier is a third-year student in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University studying marketing and broadcast journalism with the goal of graduating with a bachelor’s degree in four years. His career goal is to spread informative, meaningful, and entertaining content across various platforms and to be a positive impact on the community. He has also spent time working at WWE in the communications department and writing for The Westport Local Press in his hometown of Westport, CT. If you’d like to contact him, email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Jack Freiser's photo

Jack Freiser

Third-Year / Telecommunications

Jack Freiser is a third-year student in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State University studying telecommunications. He is very passionate about both music and film. He aspires to impact the music business as a successful A+R by signing artists who will be culturally relevant and will leave an impact on the world, and through keeping a strong relationship with the artist and their team. Email him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).