The 10 Best Psychedelic Rock Album Covers

In this blog post, we’ll be taking a look at the 10 best psychedelic rock album covers. From The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, these album covers are some of the most iconic and influential in music history.

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

The Beatles’ classic album cover for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is one of the most iconic and influential album covers of all time. Designed by Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, the collage style cover features dozens of famous faces from the worlds of art, music, film, and politics. The Beatles themselves are dressed in colorful military-style uniforms, add to the overall psychedelic effect.

Jimi Hendrix – Electric Ladyland

Released in 1968, Electric Ladyland was the third and final album by Jimi Hendrix’s band, The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album cover, designed by Karl Ferris, is a photograph of Hendrix surrounded by nude women. Electric Ladyland is widely considered to be one of the best psychedelic rock albums of all time.

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon

Released in 1973, “The Dark Side of the Moon” was an immediate success, reaching #1 in the US and UK. The album’s iconic cover, designed by Hipgnosis, features a refracting prism surrounded by rainbow-colored light. The image was inspired by a live performance of “The Great Gig in the Sky”, during which a light show was projected onto a backdrop of hanging cloth.

The Doors – Strange Days

Doors’ second album marks the beginning of the group’s turn to psychedelia. The artwork is a close-up of a tattooed man’s chest, with the words “Strange Days” inked across it. The photo is actually a composite of two different shots, one of Doors drummer John Densmore and the other of singer Jim Morrison.

Led Zeppelin – Houses of the Holy

Led Zeppelin’s fifth studio album, Houses of the Holy, was released in 1973. The psychedelic artwork was created by the English artist George Hardie and inspired by the work of the Serbian-American artist Max Ernst. The album cover features a crowd of children climbing the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland.

The Rolling Stones – Their Satanic Majesties Request

number 9 on our list of the 10 best psychedelic rock album covers is the 1967 release from The Rolling Stones, Their Satanic Majesties Request.

This album was released during the psychedelic music era and it’s safe to say that its album cover reflects that. The photo on the front is a collage of various images that are meant to create an otherworldly feel, and it definitely succeeds in doing that. Everything from odd creatures to portraits of the band members themselves are included in this trippy image.

David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars

David Bowie – The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is one of the most iconic album covers of all time. It features a painting of Bowie as his alter ego Ziggy Stardust, surrounded by his backing band, the Spiders from Mars. The painting was done by British artist Mick Rock, who also took the now-famous photographs of Bowie that appear on the inside of the album.

King Crimson – In the Court of the Crimson King

An album cover should not only be visually appealing, but it should also perfectly capture the spirit and the atmosphere of the music contained within. In the Court of the Crimson King is a perfect example of an album cover that does just that.

The striking and at times unsettling image by artist Barry Godber captures the highly experimental and classically influenced sounds of King Crimson perfectly, while also managing to be one of the most iconic images in rock history.

Yes – Close to the Edge

The Yes album cover for Close to the Edge is an excellent example of psychedelic rock album artwork. The image, a painting by Roger Dean, features a giant peach with a blue and white spiral on it. The peach is surrounded by trees, and the whole scene is set against a background of rolling hills. The album title is written in psychedelic font, and the whole effect is very trippy and eye-catching.

Genesis – Foxtrot

Even if you don’t know anything about the band Genesis, you can tell that this is one of the most psychedelic rock album covers ever created. The vibrant colors and intricate details make it a true work of art. The cover was designed by Paul Whitehead, who also did the covers for some of the band’s other albums, including “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” and “A Trick of the Tail.”