The best album artwork in 2025

The internet is awash with end-of-year roundups right now, with music platforms racing to declare who released the best singles or albums of the year, who their top artists were, and which acts you should be watching in 2026 (we’ll be sharing our picks soon – patience, please). But won’t anyone give a second thought to the often-overlooked medium of album art? The designs that accompany the records that artists have poured their souls into, for months or even years on end? You can count on us, dear readers.

In this instalment of Sound and Vision, we’re shining a spotlight on the album covers that truly stood out in a crowded market this year – those that grabbed us by the scruff of the neck, pulled us in for a closer look, and demanded we pay more attention.

So, here they are! Explore our pick of the best album artwork of 2025, and see why we think each deserves a spot in our top 10.

Blawan – SickElixir

A pioneer of the industrial techno revival in the UK, revered producer Blawan released his first album in almost seven years in October, titled SickElixir, the follow-up to 2018’s Wet Will Always Dry. And the album art is pretty abstract to say the least.

Featuring one of the UK’s most ubiquitous and historically significant creatures, the pigeon, the cover has been borrowed from a photography series titled “Paloma al Aire (Dove Into the Air), captured by Spanish artist Ricardo Cases. In the image, we see racing pigeons from the southeastern regions of Spain, painted in their vibrant racing colours, in an attempt to help their owners identify them as they compete and fly through the sky. 

Seems a strange choice for an album cover, we hear you say. Not necessarily. Blawan has come out, stating that the LP reflects his most personal work to date, exploring themes of grief, trauma and other major changes in his life. It could be that the experimental nature of the cover simply reflects his mood and mirrors the music found on the record. Whatever he was going for, we’re into it. 

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Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer

Acclaimed film composer (Good Time, Uncut Gems, The Bling Ring) and producer of avant-garde electronic landscapes, Daniel Lopatin – better known as Oneohtrix Point Never – returned in 2025 with his eleventh studio album, Tranquilizer. Like Blawan’s recent release, it features a striking artwork: Blue Interval, a 1972 painting by Nebraska-born artist Abner Hershberger.

Lopatin selected Blue Interval for its deep connection to the album’s themes. Tranquilizer is built on ideas of time and childhood memory, crafted from chopped-up samples sourced from a vast online archive of forgotten ‘90s sample CDs. These fragmented sounds echo his recollections of mundane yet vivid moments, such as childhood trips to the dentist, where he would stare at palm-tree images on the grey ceiling tiles above him, placed strategically in an attempt to soothe patients.

In Hershberger’s painting, Lopatin saw these elements converge. The white geometric shapes suggested a sense of structure and metronomic rhythm, while the green scribbles evoked the unruly movement of time and the memories embedded within it. Speaking to Tone Glow, he explained: “I really liked the symmetry of the blades, as if to suggest distinct metronomic time. And then the chaos of what I think of as lime-green grass… That to me is just so romantic.”

Such thoughtful visual storytelling earns Tranquilizer a well-deserved place in our top 10.

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Clipse – Let god sort them out

For those with a keen eye for art – especially street art and toy design – the artwork fronting the latest release from legendary hip-hop duo Clipse, brothers Pusha T (Terrence Thornton) and No Malice (Gene Thornton), will be instantly recognisable. It is, of course, the work of renowned designer KAWS.

The pop culture artist, whose collaborators range from Kanye West and Pharrell Williams to Nike, Dior and Supreme, is best known for his now-collectable ‘Companion’ figure, a reimagined take on Mickey Mouse. This character takes centre stage on the cover of Clipse’s new LP, Let God Sort Them Out.

This isn’t the first time KAWS and Clipse have joined forces. He previously created the iconic cover for the duo’s 2009 album Till the Casket Drops. Now, in a full-circle moment – a deliberate decision by the brothers, who reunited the original creative team from that era – KAWS returns to oversee all visual elements of the new record almost 20 years on.

Street art and hip-hop have always been intertwined. And when the design work is this strong, reflecting the music so accurately, it was an easy choice for us when curating our list.

Deftones – Private music

Sacramento’s finest, Deftones, have always paired their genre-defying music with striking album art. From the haunting white barn owl on Diamond Eyes to the optical illusion of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Room on Koi No Yokan, the alternative rock veterans, who’ve been delivering anthems since the late ’80s, clearly treat the visual aspect of their records as carefully as the music itself. It’s no surprise, then, that the artwork for their latest release, Private Music, makes our top 10.

Following a design concept similar to Diamond Eyes (2010), the new LP features another animal: a large albino Mexican Black Kingsnake on a vivid green background, its tongue flicked out and its yellow eye staring directly ahead.

But why all the animals? In the case of Private Music, the snake likely represents ecdysis, the biological process of shedding skin. Spiritually, it suggests rebirth or transformation. Paired with the album’s lyrical themes, it may symbolise Deftones entering a new chapter in their long, illustrious career.

For their clever use of symbolism, if we’ve correctly interpreted the design, that is, Deftones earn the number seven spot on our list.

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Pulp – More

Marking a triumphant comeback this year, with their first album in almost a quarter of a century, influential Britpop act Pulp’s latest LP, More, is a statement piece.

Picking up from where they left off in 2001 with We Love Life, the Sheffield ensemble proves that their creativity hasn’t waned at all. If anything, it’s evolved. Not to the point where you’d mistake their output for someone else’s – Jarvis Cocker’s northern voice remains as prominent as ever – but refined by time, shaped by decades of life experience. The album’s artwork reflects this evolution perfectly.

Designed by graphic artist Julian House, a renowned name in album art who has worked with Primal Scream, Broadcast, and Stereolab, the cover reworks a photograph Jarvis took while hiking in Iceland with his son. In the distance, small silhouettes stand atop a volcanic rock mass: cardboard cutouts of the band, echoing their 1995 album Different Class, where similar figures appeared among wedding guests.

The artwork acts as a homage to the passage of time, while subtly memorialising the band’s late bassist, Steve Mackey, with fewer silhouettes than before. Personal, reflective, and understated, it proves how a stripped-back image can convey so much emotion. A perfect visual companion to Pulp’s latest chapter.

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Ninajirachi – I love my computer

A fast-rising name in the world of hyperpop-electronica, Aussie producer Ninajirachi has had a remarkable 2025. Aside from releasing her debut album, I Love My Computer, in August, the 26-year-old bedroom artist earned multiple award nominations at home, and even went on to win several, including Best Solo Artist, Breakthrough Artist, Best Independent Release, the Australian Music Prize, and Album of the Year.

Ninajirachi’s work is rooted in the digital space. A bedroom producer at heart, she loves nothing more than tinkering with technology to pioneer her own sound. That ethos is central to her debut, which acts as a love letter to the tools she uses: her computer, software, and other instruments that have shaped her creativity and identity.

The cover of I Love My Computer reflects this perfectly. Ninajirachi is pictured amid a chaotic sea of wires, screens, keyboards, headphones, and personal items – from anime portraits and figurines to cassette tapes and CDs, hinting at nostalgia and the music of yesteryear. Her attachment to her equipment is made even more apparent by the eye-catching lettering on the black cap to her right.

An impressive cover from an impressive emerging artist, it captures the inventive, digital world Ninajirachi has built for herself.

Pigsx7 – Death Hilarious

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, or Pigsx7, released their latest album, Death Hilarious, in spring 2025 with one of the gnarliest album covers we’ve ever seen.

The British heavy metal group, formed in Newcastle in 2012 and revered for their face-melting riffs and visceral stoner rock, push their musical DNA even further on this record. More punishing than ever, Death Hilarious blends elements of noise rock and hypnotic rhythms with their signature doom-laden sound. It also features special guests, including EL-P of American rap duo Run The Jewels, delivering bars on track five, ‘Glib Tongued.’

Given the dark and aggressive tone of the LP, we were stoked to see a cover that matches it pound for pound. Mythical creatures that could have leapt straight from a Japanese tattoo flash book clash with feral animals – tigers, crocodiles, and birds of prey – limbs missing and blood flowing. The intricate arrangement, vibrant colours, and sheer ferocity make it a visual spectacle.

It’s undoubtedly one of the standout album covers of 2025, mirroring the tension and intensity that runs through its 45 minutes of relentless play.

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Lily Allen – West End Girl 

Is it really necessary to give a full overview of the next album on our list? This is surely one of those ‘living under a rock’ scenarios.

Lily Allen’s West End Girl shot to stratospheric heights shortly after its release in October, largely thanks to the spicy narrative at its core: the breakdown of her relationship and subsequent marriage to Stranger Things star David Harbour. For anyone still in the dark – seriously, that’s a big rock – the album details their complex sexual relationship and Harbour’s affair with a stylist known to Allen, known by the alias ‘Madeline.’

Back story covered, it’s the artwork we’re here for. The LP features an arresting portrait of Allen in her now-famous polka dot bubble coat, her expression nonchalant, staring straight at the viewer. It exudes power and, in our view, showcases her strength and composure in the face of personal upheaval. Allen collaborated with Spanish painter Nieves González, who drew inspiration from 16th- and 17th-century oil painting to create the piece.

It’s a classic tale, rendered in Baroque-inspired portraiture, but with a modern, fashionable twist. Sublime work from Lily and her team.

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CMAT – Euro Country

Taking the penultimate spot in our top 10, Ireland’s favourite singer-songwriter, CMAT, grabbed our attention with the striking cover of her latest album, Euro Country. The Dubliner, known for her witty and often humorous country-inspired pop anthems, has, like Lily Allen, drawn inspiration from artworks of old for this new collection, which includes hits such as ‘Take a Sexy Picture’ and ‘The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station.’

The cover is said to be based on Jean‑Léon Gérôme’s 1896 painting ‘Truth Coming Out of Her Well’, which depicts a furious naked woman emerging from a sculpted stone well, whip in hand. CMAT’s version mirrors the pose, but she’s fully clothed and climbing out of what appears to be a fountain in a shopping centre. There’s plenty to unpack here.

In Gérôme’s work, the naked figure represents truth, having had her clothes stolen by a lie. Facing judgment from the world, she ultimately decides to retreat and hide. CMAT’s take builds on this, offering a commentary on society and the ways people conform or embrace falsehood for comfort. At the same time, it pokes fun at modern Irish identity and capitalism’s influence on her homeland, two topics she frequently addresses in interviews and reviews.

It’s a clever, astute reflection of society, captured as effectively in visual form as in her music. Five stars.

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David Byrne – Who is the sky?

When you hear the name David Byrne, you can be almost certain that whatever project he’s working on will deliver gold, especially when visual media is involved. The former Talking Heads frontman, part of one of the most innovative and inspiring acts of the 1980s, famed for their weird and wacky music videos (see ‘Once in a Lifetime’), is still very much at it in 2025. Now 73 years old, time doesn’t appear to be slowing the icon down, as he continues to knock out banger after banger, each packed with his customary artistic flair. The cover for Who Is the Sky? is proof in the pudding.

This kaleidoscopic wonder, a journey through a rainbow of colours, textures and patterns, is the work of New York-based graphic designer and long-time Byrne collaborator Shira Inbar. Responding to a brief from Byrne that drew on his archive of traditional costumes and masks collected from around the world, Inbar and a team of costume designers and photographers brought the concept to life.

At the centre of the spiralling artwork, Byrne appears in full technicolour regalia: an amalgamation of his collected pieces. It’s this coming together of ideas from around the globe that shapes the final image, reflecting the album’s focus on the human experience and the interconnectedness of people across cultures, religions, and geographies. In uncertain times, it serves as a timely reminder that, at our core, we are all the same.

A vivid, aptly timed and unforgettable album cover, it’s one that will continue to resonate with audiences worldwide, and is fully deserving of number one on our top ten list.

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Header image credit: Dao En Wong / Unsplash.com