Song Writing

10. Green Day - American Idiot (2004)
Why? Politics

Green Day released American Idiot two months before the U.S. Presidential election, and tried like hell to keep George W. Bush from getting reelected. Nothing too shocking about the grenade-heart, but politically charged enough to crack this list.

Key Tracks:

• American Idiot


• Boulevard Of Broken Dreams


• Holiday

9. Lynyrd Skynyrd - Street Survivors (1977)
Why?: Eerie Reminder of Tragic Events

Three members of the band died in a plane crash just 3 days after this album was released, so the label had to put out the fire in a hurry. Last we checked, the original was going for about $100 on eBay.

Key Tracks:

• I Know A Little


• That Smell


• What's Your Name

8. The Slim Shady LP - Eminem (1999)
Why? Violence

The Slim Shady LP was our introduction to Eminem, and it featured a picture of a corpse in the trunk of a car, giving a glimpse of his hit "Stan," which came out the next year. He quickly proved to have much more complex issues than the typical thug rapper, and a lot more talent as well.

Key Track:

• My Name Is

7. Oral Fixation Vol. 2 - Shakira (2006)
Why? Sex, Religion

Shakira portrayed Eve in the Garden of Eden on this one, which rubbed some people the wrong way. The Colombian singer said that with this cover, she wanted to give Eve a reason to taste the forbidden fruit.

Key Tracks:

• Hips Don't Lie


• Don't Bother

6. Get Rich Or Die Tryin' - 50 Cent (2003)
Why? Violence

Did you know that 50 Cent was shot 9 times? When he came on the scene in 2003, every story about him hit on that talking point. The cover played this up as well, with the bullet hole in the glass.

Key Tracks:

• In Da Club


• 21 Questions

5. Beggars Banquet - The Rolling Stones (1968)
Why? Filth, Possible Blasphemy

Quickly replaced with an image of a white invitation, the original Beggars Banquet cover showed a cleverly-graffitied public toilet. The "God Rolls His Own" message under the band name helped expedite the recall of the cover.

Key Tracks:

• Street Fighting Man


• Sympathy For The Devil

4. Mechanical Animals - Marilyn Manson (1998)
Why? Nudity, Weirdness

For the album cover of Mechanical Animals, Marilyn Manson was photographed naked, covered with paint and several layers of latex on specific parts of his body. The resulting androgynous alien look spread the rumor that he had undergone plastic surgery.

Key Tracks:

• Mechanical Animals


• The Dope Show

3. Nevermind - Nirvana (1991)
Why? Baby Nudity

Kurt Cobain got the idea for this one while watching a documentary about birthing pools, and of course the record company wanted to hide the little unit, a request Cobain denied. It made Spencer Elden, who was 4 months old at the time, famous.
 
Key Tracks:

• Smells Like Teen Spirit


• In Bloom


• Come As You Are

2. Whipped Cream & Other Delights - Herb Alpert (1965)
Why? Sex

Pretty tame by today's standards, but the sensuous beauty wearing nothing but whipped cream was quite an attention-grabber at the time. Did you know that Alpert had the #1 album slot longer than any other artist in 1966? And no, we didn't forget about The Beatles.

Key Track:

• A Taste of Honey

1. Yesterday and Today - The Beatles (1966)
Why? Doll Mutilation

Known as "The Butcher Cover," this compilation album showed The Beatles having a marvelous time amid various bloody doll parts and pieces of meat. Released only in America and Canada, the record company didn't anticipate the outrage, and ended up recalling about 750,000 copies that were initially shipped. Those that slipped through are now collector's items.

Key Tracks:

• Day Tripper


• Paperback Writer


• Drive My Car

Thanks to Bertrand - Paris, France for his help with this. For more on controversial album covers and other great music discussion, check out the Songfacts Forums.