Up until this point, most of my posts have been sports related. The concept of my blogs is basically nostalgia. I like how certain athletes can instantly take me back to a specific time in my life. Or how some players or games are directly mentally intertwined with events or memories from my own life. Music mirrors sports in that regard. They can both be mini time machines that can magically transport you to the past. An album cover can also do the same thing. Especially since I grew up in the days of CD binders. I remember obsessing over my first binder. Inserting the booklets in just the right order. I even snapped apart the CD cases and took out the back page to insert into the book as well, even though you had to fold them a little to make it fit. A person’s binder was a source of great pride. Getting in your friends car and flipping through their CD collection in preparation of being the passenger seat DJ was always a novel experience. You could either be in awe of their music library or utterly disappointed in their taste in tunes. Kids nowadays have virtually every song ever at their fingertips via streaming services. But back then we had to choose wisely and a lot of times an album’s cover was the deciding factor at the record store when choosing between two albums, when you only had enough money for one. I believe that album covers have lost some importance as the popularity of music subscriptions grew. I used to study album covers and CD booklets like I could find all the answers to life by doing so. Now I barely pay attention to them when they appear on my iPhone screen. Yes, album covers are definitely a big source of nostalgia and the following are The Top Album Covers…Of My Lifetime.

12. OutKast: ATLiens

ATLiens was the second studio album by the rap duo OutKast. I was a big fan of their debut album, Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik, so I was eagerly anticipating the group’s next effort. ATLiens was released on August 27, 1996. Four days before my 16th birthday. This record spent countless hours in the CD player of my first car. I immediately liked the title track from this album. The hook was catchy on a few levels. Throw your hands in the ay-urrr, wave ’em like you just don’t cay-urrr, and I’m from the South, of course I like fish and grits and all that pimp shit. Like most young new drivers, I had gasoline in my veins. I wanted to drive any and everywhere and ATLiens was one of my most consistent copilots. As for the cover itself, it was eye-catching with the bright green lettering, symbolizing aliens and tying in with the ATLiens title. Being somewhat of a comic book nerd, I geeked out that the album cover was designed to look like a traditional comic book cover, complete with the corner cover box with price and OutKast logo. It portrayed the tandem of Big Boi and Andre as super heroes and in a way they did grow to become heroes of mine. They’re my all-time favorite rappers and their music has traveled with me up and down the road literally, as well as on the road of life, complete with all of it’s ups and downs.

11. Green Day: Dookie

The cover of Green Day’s Dookie was, for lack of a better term, the shit. There’s a lot going on there and I spent my fair share of time scouring the cover of this album for hidden nuggets. The album itself was a breath of fresh air and helped unclog what had become a somewhat constipated period in music in the mid 90’s. Green Day and Dookie brought the pop-punk genre into the mainstream. The first single off the album, Longview, got things moving for the album, but it really exploded when the second single, Basket Case, was dropped. The song spent 5 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Charts before a suitable number 2 unseated it from the throne. The upbeat, melodic track is the one that made me a Green Day fan. Oftentimes when the strain of teenage life was getting the best of me I would listen to it and slowly feel my troubles being flushed away. All in all Dookie was a classic album with an unforgettable cover. Both leaving legacies that will never be wiped away.

10. Guns N’ Roses: Appetite For Destruction

Take me down to the Paradise City. Or in my case, take me down to The Big Pig Jig. A local barbecue cooking competition, where the grass was dead and the rides were iffy. Alongside the rides there were also booths with traditional carnival games where for a few bucks you could win glamorous prizes such as live gold fish, stuffed animals, fanny packs and the holy grail, glass mirrors with pop culture art on them. If your aim was true and you could manage to pop two under inflated balloons with two darts with blunt points, you could take home one of these beauties and bask in its glory when you hung it from your bedroom wall. 8 year old me was a virtual sniper with the dull darts and I amassed quite a collection of these mirrors with 80’s icons such as Alf, Max Headroom, Hulk Hogan, Spuds McKenzie and The Noid from Domino’s Pizza to name a few. But my absolute favorite was my Guns N’ Roses mirror with the Appetite for Destruction cover. Even though at my young age I was still finding my music listening identity, I knew I liked the band and the album. I wasn’t the only one as Appetite for Destruction went on to become the biggest selling debut album of all time in the United States. The record propelled the Guns N’ Roses in to rock god status and they ended up being one of the most popular bands…Of My Lifetime.

9. Beastie Boys: License To Ill

Ok, full disclosure, I never actually owned The Beastie Boys debut album License to Ill. At least not in the traditional way. I was only six years old when the record was released and my parents weren’t about to buy me an edgy rap album with adult themes. However my brother Lee, who is older than me by 4 years, was able to procure a copy of the album recorded on a blank cassette tape. The album’s hit single “Fight for Your Right” was wildly popular at the time and having a copy of the record was a big deal. Me and Lee spent a lot of time in our shared childhood bedroom listening to License to Ill. Oftentimes with one of us positioned at the door, listening for any signs of our parents, with the other manning the boombox, ready to hit the stop button at a moment’s notice if need be. I did actually end up purchasing this album later in life as a CD when I had my own money. The pull of nostalgia from those covert brotherly listening parties was too strong to resist. I was familiar with the album artwork from magazines and Columbia House catalogs, but until I had my own copy I never realized that it folded out to show the plane’s nose crashed into the side of a mountain, causing the entire aircraft to resemble a snubbed out joint. Looking back now, my parents probably knew what they were doing.

8. Snoop Doggy Dogg: Doggystyle

My parents must’ve softened up a little in the years between the releases of License to Ill and my next entry, Snoop Doggy Dogg’s debut album, Doggystyle. For Christmas of 1993 I asked for a discman and a copy of this album. Somewhat to my surprise, my parents came through with both. It was the only CD I had at first and it was really the only one I needed. This album was filled with hits such as Who Am I? (What’s My Name?), Murder Was the Case, and an all-time rap classic, Gin and Juice. I spent a lot of time with my headphones on listening to this album, sometimes while flipping through the CD booklet that contained a little Snoop mini comic. It tied in with the cover art which has become iconic just like the album itself. Although I’m not entirely sure that my folks knew exactly how explicit this album really was, it’s cool that at 13 years old they allowed me to explore my listening tastes and make my own music decisions.

7. Bruce Springsteen: Born in the U.S.A.

Yes, my parents gave me musical freedom as I got older but Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen is the type of music they raised me on. In particular my dad. He was always more into rock while mama preferred oldies. Born in the U.S.A. is the first album cover that I remember. Although I was only 3 years old at the time of its release and 4 years old when the album really took off, I still remember a lot of songs from this record as well as the cover art itself. This album was huge during 1984 and 85 as it dominated the charts both years. My dad and his friends evidently fed into the record’s success as I can remember many weekends spent with them grilling, throwing horseshoes, or just hanging out, usually with “The Boss” blaring in the background. This album and its cover oozed Americana. Kind of like a group of guys hanging out on the weekends, grilling hot dogs, popping the top on a few brews and listening to rock and roll music.

6. Drake: If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late

If you’re still reading this post it’s not too late to reminisce with me about Drake’s classic mixtape from 2015. It’s kind of hard to believe that it’s been almost ten years since this album dropped. A lot has changed in that time period. A decade ago Drake was unquestionably at the top of the rap game. Now coming off of his sound defeat by Kendrick Lamar in “The Great Rap Beef of 2024”, Drake’s future position in hip hop is somewhat in question. A lot was changing for me as well back in February of 2015 at the time of IYRTITL’s release. I had just received a promotion to a supervisor position at my job. I was set to start off-site training once a week at a location about an hour and a half away. The night before my first day of training Drake shocked the world by dropping this album unannounced. I woke up that morning and was checking social media and news of the surprise release was everywhere. I was excited about being able to really dig into the mixtape during my drive. I was blown away by how good it was. Maybe I was influenced a little by the hype the record was getting but I was really enjoying it, especially the first half of the album. I played it on repeat on the drive back and forth that day and for about the next month or so. I’ll always remember this album as well as it’s iconic cover art because of the excitement generated by its shock drop as well as the excitement of leveling up in my own life at the same time.

5. Dr. Dre: The Chronic

When Dr. Dre’s first solo album, The Chronic, was released in late 1992, it changed everything. It put Dre on the map as a solo artist and producer, it launched the career of Snoop Dogg, it shifted the eyes of the rap world back to the West Coast and it catapulted Death Row Records into the stratosphere. The Chronic sounded like nothing I’d ever heard before. I remember hearing the album’s first single, “Nothin’ but a “G” Thang” and being instantly hooked and immediately intrigued. A group of students from my middle school went on a trip to Washington D.C. in the summer between my 7th and 8th grade years. We stopped at a mall somewhere on the way and I went into one of those chain record stores where I mustered up the courage to make my way to the counter with The Chronic cassette tape in tow. Despite the large “Parental Advisory” label in the bottom right corner, and the fact that the cover art is made to resemble Zig Zag rolling papers (something I didn’t realize until a few years later), the clerk didn’t bat an eye and rang me up like it was no big deal. I felt like I’d just pulled off the biggest coup as I made my way back to the charter bus. I spent the majority of the rest of the trip locked in with my Walkman, The Chronic and my battery bullying Sega Game Gear. This album ended up being the soundtrack of my summer that year and is still a staple of my music library to this day.

4. 50 Cent: Get Rich or Die Tryin’

We go from Dr. Dre’s debut solo album, to a debut album that he co-produced, 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’. After signing with another member under the Doc’s Aftermath Entertainment umbrella, Eminem, 50’s first studio album was highly anticipated. It didn’t disappoint. Propelled by the hit single “In da Club” the album debuted at number 1 on the charts and didn’t slow down. This album was everywhere in 2003 and so was I. At house parties, at spring break, in the gym and of course in the club. I’d just gone through a breakup after a six year relationship and I was out there having fun while trying to deal with all the emotions of my first broken heart. Get Rich or Die Tryin’ was right there with me through it all. The cover art is one of the most recognizable in rap history. The bullet hole in the glass made 50 Cent appear bullet proof and that’s a lot like how I felt after this album helped me come out the other side of one of the darkest times…Of My Lifetime.

3. Smashing Pumpkins: Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

To be honest the cover art for The Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness never did much for me. But the cover is obviously directly linked to the album, which is mentally woven into the fabric of my life, which is basically what this post is about. So the cover didn’t really speak to me, but the music did. Often considered a defining album for a generation, it deeply resonated with the youth of the era. I was 15 when MCIS was released. An age that is often tumultuous, uncertain and emotional. This album helped to encapsulate that experience. I’m probably not a gifted enough writer to put into words what this album meant to me as a teenager. I just remember how it felt to listen to and how it helped me feel. The first edition of PlayStation released around the same time as this CD. The console had a little known feature with certain games that allowed you to start a game disc and then remove it and insert an audio disc and continue to play the game uninterrupted. I used this feature with MCIS often. I would get lost in the game and the music and feel my teenage angst wash away. For a little while anyway. Throughout the years I’ve come across several people who had the same feelings toward this record. It’s always an instant bond when I find another person my age who connected with Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness in the same way that I did.

2. 2 Pac: All Eyez on Me

Once again we have a Dr. Dre connection. This time with his Death Row Records label mate, 2 Pac. In October of 1995 2 Pac was incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility, broke and unable to come up with the $1.4 million bail. Enter Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row. Knight bonded Pac out of jail on the contingent that he sign with the label. 2 Pac agreed and got right to work making rap history with his legendary double disc album, All Eyez on Me. The record was released on February 13, 1996. Just four months after Pac’s release from prison. It debuted at number 1 on the charts and of course I had to have a copy. I was immediately engulfed by this album. It had a little of everything. Angry aggressive gangsta rap, dance rap, club bangers, poetic rap, introspective rap. It showed Pac’s scope as an artist and range as a rapper. 2 Pac already had a huge following due to his prior rap success, his acting career and his controversial personal life. This album helped solidify him as a true musical and pop culture legend. The CD came with a poster of the album artwork which I turned into a book cover. Maybe I should’ve actually cracked said book a little more as I ended up needing to attend summer school in 1996 to stay on pace with my credits. Fortunately for me, my best friend Herndon was also going. I was only 15 at the time but he already had his license and a ride. We had to go to summer school in a different county about a 30 minute drive away. Every day on the ride over we would listen to this album exclusively. Then after the half day at school we would meet two of our other friends, Ross and Adam, at McDonald’s for lunch. Then we would head back home with Pac playing again and usually find a pick up basketball game somewhere or find some other teenage mischief to get into. Having to go to summer school should have been a bad thing but thanks to my best friend and All Eyez on Me, it was one of the best times of my life.

1. Nirvana: Nevermind

I still vividly remember the first time I heard “Smells Like Teen Spirit” off of Nirvana’s album Nevermind. I was actually watching MTV and the song was one of their “buzzworthy” pics, which I paid attention to wanting to be on the cutting edge. It started out slow and rose to crescendo with a chorus that angrily exploded. The music video tied in perfectly showing the band playing at a high school pep rally where the students were sent into a riotous frenzy when the chorus hit. It was different from anything else MTV was playing at the time, different from anything I’d ever heard really. I immediately wanted to hear it again. But back then you couldn’t just pull it up on Spotify or YouTube or whatever. I had to wait around the television in the afternoons and hope it would show up on MTV’s afternoon video countdown show. Eventually it did and before long it was at number 1 as the song had a firm grip on the country’s youth. I was 12 years old at the time and I begged my mom for the cassette tape. I’m sure she must’ve been beyond reluctant to buy me an album with a naked baby swimming after a dollar bill on the cover, but she eventually relented. The group turned out to be far more than a one hit wonder as the album was full of great songs. Nevermind shifted the music landscape of the time and led the charge of the grunge movement coming from the Pacific Nothwest and sweeping across the country. Lead singer Curt Kobain’s mumbled, guttural singing style and thought provoking lyrics helped produce a sound that resonated with America’s youth and for a short period of time before his suicide, Nirvana was the biggest band in the world. I listened to this album a lot when I was a kid but it was later in life when I really started to appreciate how good it was. Nevermind helped shape my youth and frame my adulthood. The cover art is instantly recognizable, unmistakable and unforgettable. It takes me back to simpler times and it’s tied into several personal memories throughout the past 30+ years and that is why Nirvana’s Nevermind is The Top Album Cover…Of My Lifetime.