As far as album covers go, I don't think it gets much cleaner than Unkown Pleasures by Joy Division. Played out, I know, but there it is. Fits the music perfectly- spare, tastefully monochromatic, skeletal, somehow coiled and claustrophobic. And it's just a satisfying image. There's a reason why half the world's wispy indie community has it tattooed on their forearms.

As far as whole-hog album art design goes, I'm a big fan of Kid A. I think the "themes" that Radiohead incorporated into the art are a little basic/obvious, but the physical layout and the overall aesthetic is great, and does match the music well. I just remember getting this album and loving the textural aspect of the tracing paper against the glossy pages. Before that, all the albums I'd ever gotten were just your standard stapled booklet. God, everything about this album was great.

When I was a kid, I would flip through my dad's old record collection and my eyes would constantly be drawn to this one and this one- the second appealed to my pubertal self- boobs and middle fingers? Sign me up! The first just kind of intrigued me. Once I bothered taking the records out of their sleeves and listening, it got even better. Zuma is great, but I became obsessed with Remain in Light. It remains one of my all-time favorite albums. And again, matches up with the artwork well- synthetic, antisocial, stark contrast between warm and cold tones. And there's something oddly mechanical about the red blotches covering the faces- a nice compliment to the glitchier aspects of Eno's production.

This is making me realize how central artwork was to my early experiences with my favorite music. It drew me in, convinced me to take chances on things I'd otherwise have ignored, and then acted as a guide to the music. We've really lost something with the whole digital distro thing.