The most important part of an album is what is inside. The sound has to be compelling enough to keep an audience entertained for an hour or so. But, as much as we don’t want to admit it, we judge an album by its cover from time to time. In fact, we have a short list of some of our favorites. Though it’s not an exhaustive list by any means, find 10 of the best country album covers of all time, below.
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10 of the Greatest Country Album Covers of All Time
1. Carrie Underwood – Blown Away
Sometimes you don’t need to overcomplicate your album cover. All that is really required is a stunning image that draws a listener in. Carrie Underwood’s Blown Away certainly checks that box. The scene has the proper amount of dramatics that this album requires, but it’s Underwood’s powerful stance and flowing gown that first catch our eye.
Shatter every window ’til it’s all blown away
Every brick, every board, every slamming door blown away
‘Til there’s nothing left standing
Nothing left of yesterday
Every tear-soaked whiskey memory blown away, blown away, blown away
2. Kenny Chesney – No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems
Where else should Kenny Chesney be but the beach? His music is summer incarnate, which makes the album cover for No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems the perfect choice. Chesney dons his titular look–cowboy hat and a muscle tee–while the ocean laps in the background. Though nothing compares to an actual beach vacation, listening to this album–and by extension seeing this cover–is a close second.
No shoes, no shirt and no problems
Blues, what blues? Hey, I forgot ’em
The sun and the sand and a drink in my hand with no bottom
And no shoes, no shirt and no problems
No problems
3. Taylor Swift – Fearless
Taylor Swift has many iconic album covers, but few are as indicative of their era as Fearless. Swift is pictured on the cover, whipping her hair with the title below. Something about it screams 2008, but it somehow remains timeless. For many young listeners in that era, this album was as good as gold–which is apt given the color palette chosen for the cover.
And I don’t know how it gets better than this
You take my hand and drag me head first
Fearless
And I don’t know why
But with you I’d dance in a storm
In my best dress
Fearless
4. Charley Pride – Burgers and Fries/When I Stop Leaving (I’ll Be Gone)
Not only do we love the title of this Charley Pride album, the cover is similarly affecting. Pride stands with his back to the camera, staring off into the distance. It’s a solemn look that imbues the feeling of heartbreak the title track demands.
Burgers and fries and cherry pies
It was simple and good back then
Walking in the sand, hand in hand
Never thinking that it could end
Making our love with the moon above
At the drive in picture show
And it was burgers and fries and cherry pies
In a world we used to know
5. Kacey Musgraves – Golden Hour
The rich colors on the cover of Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour are as kaleidoscopic as the sounds found on this album. You can almost feel the warmth of the final rays of sun in the summertime while looking at this record. It can be hard to capture the exact feeling of an album in a single picture. Musgraves more than managed it here.
Baby, don’t you know
That you’re my golden hour
The color of my sky
You set my world on fire
And I know, I know everything’s gonna be alright
6. Marty Robbins – Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs
There is something that feels nostalgic about the cover of Marty Robbins’ Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs–no matter what era you grew up in. The punchy red paired with Robbins’ gunslinger garb calls to mind the wild west. There is no mistaking what this album is about when you consider this cover.
Out in the West Texas town of El Paso
I fell in love with a Mexican girl
Nighttime would find me in Rosa’s cantina
Music would play and Felina would whirl
7. The Judds – Why Not Me
The Judds’ Why Not Me sees both Naomi and Wynonna Judd grace the cover, red hair ablaze. It’s oh-so-’80s, but the sentimentality of it spans generations. In the wake of Naomi’s death, it warms the heart to see this mother-daughter duo together again.
Why not me on a rainy day?
Why not me to love your cares away?
Why not me?
Why not me when the nights get cold?
Why not me when you’re growin’ old?
Why not me?
8. Kris Kristofferson – Kristofferson
The cover for Kris Kristofferson’s namesake album is as smoky and brooding as his vocals. Most known for his rendition of the iconic “Me and Bobby McGee,” this cover is simple but effective–much like Kristofferson’s beloved catalog.
Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose
Nothin’ ain’t worth nothin’, but it’s free
Feelin’ good was easy Lord, when Bobby sang the blues
Feelin’ good was good enough for me
Good enough for me and Bobby McGee
9. Kenny Rogers – The Gambler
The cover of Kenny Rogers’ The Gambler nearly reads like a Renaissance painting. Familiar faces of a gambling hall circa the 1800s overlap with one another in a dizzying display of debauchery. There is a movement to the image on this cover that puts the viewer right in the action.
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em
Know when to fold ’em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you’re sittin’ at the table
There’ll be time enough for countin’
When the dealin’s done
10. Johnny Cash – American Recordings
You know you’ve reached icon status when all you need on your cover is your last name. The cover for Johnny Cash’s American Recordings is sparse when compared to the rest of the albums featured on this list, but it is arguably the most striking. Cash stands in the center like the colossal figure he was. It’s a cover befitting a once-in-a-lifetime artist.
On my old guitar sell tickets
So someone can finally pick it
And tell the girls down at the Ritz I said hello
Tell the gossipers and liars
I will see them in the fire
Let the train blow the whistle when I go
(Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) / (Photo by Kevin Kane/WireImage) / (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images) / (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
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