Top 10 Hilariously Bad Album Covers

 
It is a widely-known fact that everybody poops. However, we all don’t need to be remembering this whenever we put on some music.  Millie Jackson, however, went out of her way to remind everyone of their natural bodily functions with her 1989 album Back to the Shit. Featuring a 45-year-old Jackson sitting and straining on a toilet with her panties around her ankles, we don’t know who to feel worse for; her, or the people who bought the album. However, we might actually feel worse for the poor flowerpot, which was somehow added into the image for aesthetic purposes. 
 
 

 
Who doesn’t love a good dose of powerful rock n’ roll? Musically, this AC/DC clone hits it out of the park for rehashing their predecessor’s sound. However, they seem to fail in the cover department by leaving very little to the imagination. In a genre of music where sexual innuendoes are key to creative song writing, this album cover just left more fans laughing at the poorly photo-shopped guitar neck sticking out of an unknown man’s open jeans. Along with an AC/DC style font for the band’s name, they lost a lot of points for originality and never truly made it as big as their heroes. Maybe next time they will be more metaphoric.
 


 
 

 
We gotta hand it to this 1970s country rock star for courageously baring it all for the camera in what we can only assume was an attempt at channelling a 1970s shampoo commercial. Instead of a glamorous shot, however,  the public got a bizarre yet hilarious image of Jim staring at us with a semi-crazed look in his eyes while being rained on by a torrent of water. Along with a moustache that borders on pervy, this album cover provides way more questions than answers, considering country music’s usual emphasis on manlier things than showering in your backyard.
 
 
 

 
Modern art, meet bad album cover! Electronic artist Marc Cerrone surely did when he conceived that exact combination for his second solo record.  Only he also threw himself in there wearing a zipped-open white jump suit. Taken in what looks like a high school gym shower, this album cover is thrust into weirdness overload. More worthy as a piece of performance art, the original cover was released only in Europe while the North American market got a way more  toned down image of Cerrone wearing a Hawaiian shirt. However, those ugly black shower tiles still made it into the final product.   
 

 
Even some of the greatest music icons have released something that deserves a double take. Iron Maiden fans surely got a run for their money in 2003 when the popular heavy metal band  released this monstrosity, a mashup of terribly rendered 3D images that would make a first-time Adobe user blush. This laughably bad cover was actually an unfinished image created by artist David Patchett. Already featuring standard heavy metal themes with cloaked monks and Maiden mascot Eddie, the band then turned to its fans to add some nudity into the mix. What they got was a confused mosaic of mannequin-like people and over top of the dark imagery. Patchett justifiably removed his name from the credits. 
 
 
 
 

 
In an era where artists like Michael Jackson and Prince were topping the charts with flamboyant and slightly bizarre album covers, Spanish pop star Tino Fernández decided to give the sexy vibe a go with his first solo album PorPrimeraVez…and failed miserably. Seen groping himself while lying spread-legged seems a little much when considering that Tino was 16-years-old at the time. Although the music in the album itself garnered attention in Spanish-speaking countries, the cover has outlasted the content in the 30-plus years since its release.  



 
 
 

Sometimes the biggest flaw of an album cover is the fact that the artist’s face is on it.  Christian pop singer Ken Snyder didn’t get this memo and managed to double his efforts by having himself grace the cover image not once but twice. In true D.I.Y. fashion, Ken sold copies of his record out of the trunk of his car after gaining a following in Gospel music. He surely must have scared a few customers away when they finally saw the album cover depicting what could only be described as a wax sculpture of a serial killer.  However, exposure on the Internet has led this album cover to become a meme of it’s own. With those sideburns, it’s not hard to understand why. 
 
 
 

 
If at first you don’t succeed, maybe don’t try again. Country music superstar Dolly Parton became the subject of ridicule upon releasing her twelfth studio album Bubbling Over. Already featuring an image of Parton standing on a lawn, the concept artists working on the album cover decided to add a second Parton face magically appearing in the waters of a sprinkler, obscuring the image. Not only is the effect horrible, it raises many questions as to why they chose to invest the time in adding it to the final image. We get that editing technology has advanced since 1973, but this image should have been left on the cutting room floor. 
 
 
  
 

 
While heavy metal music seems inclined to offend those who aren’t in its target audience, this one certainly crossed a line.  Depicting their portly and dirty lead singer Garry Dalloway caressing a large pig, this album sought to disgust just about anyone who dared to look at it. The British metal band obviously did not learn their lesson when the “large man and pigs” theme was revisited 13 years later on  cover of their equally badly designed album 04. Although we gotta hand it to them for sticking to their guns. 
 
 
 
 
 
Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions:


"Sour Cream and Other Delights" (1966) 
The Frivolous Five  
 

"Waking and Dreaming" (1976) 
Orleans


  

"In Darkest Africa" (1957)
Anna Russell    
 

 
 

With a name like Pooh-Man, you’re bound to turn some heads. However, when you match head-turning monikers with gross imagery, you get Funky As I Wanna Be. Although a witty play on words, the fun quickly turns to disgust upon seeing an  album cover essentially featuring Pooh-Man, for lack of a better word, exiting a woman’s body. More conservative views of the picture could say that the gangsta rapper is merely looking into a woman’s spread legs, but given the obvious puns in the album’s title, and the name “Pooh-Man,” it is pretty obvious where the joke is going.
 
 
   
 
 
Do you agree with our list? What awkward album covers made you laugh or gag uncontrollably? For more creative top tens published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.