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Best Album Covers Of 2022: 10 Great Artworks Of The Year So Far

From radical surrealism to the visual equivalent of a race through modern technology, the best album covers of 2022 are modern classics.

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Izzy Sigston

02 April 2022

They say “never judge a book by its cover”, but admit it – when it comes to albums, that’s exactly what we do. We’ve already heard some outstanding music this year, much of it wrapped in even more fascinating album artwork that stands among the best album covers of 2022. Here are the ten greatest sleeves of the year so far…

Listen to our Chart playlist here, and check out the best album covers of 2022, below.

10: Rex Orange County: ‘WHO CARES?’

Three years after releasing his debut album, Rex Orange County took the charts by storm with his first UK No.1, WHO CARES?. The OG bedroom-pop boy has been championed by the likes of Tyler, The Creator (who makes an appearance on the record) and continues to flourish as one of the UK’s untouchable multi-instrumentalists. Reflecting the sunny essence of the music within, there’s everything to love about an album cover featuring Rex Orange County himself among a pack of dalmatians.

Photographer: Aidan Zamiri

9: Amber Mark: ‘Three Dimensions Deep’

After four years of dabbling in EPs and singles, Amber Mark stamped her name onto 2022 with her debut album, Three Dimensions Deep, through which she delivered her creative flow across a concept record divided into three delicate parts. Dedicating the album to her late mother, Mark’s soulful melodies and poignant lyricism make the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end, while triumphant horn sections and head-nodding basslines ensure the whole becomes the ultimate crowd-pleaser. One of the best album covers of 2022, Three Dimensions Deep’s artwork pictures Mark on the creative and spiritual plane where she began to find herself again, and is a stunning visualisation of the process that took place in order for her to create the record.

Photographer: Wendy Ngala

8: Charli XCX: ‘CRASH’

Charli XCX has been on quite the journey ever since bursting onto the music scene with her feature on Icona Pop’s iconic cut I Love It, in 2013. Seven studio albums later, and she is back with the long-awaited CRASH, which is packed with anthems that veer just to the left of conventional pop. If an album artwork ever replicated the ethos of the record itself, it’s this one. Glamorously stretched across a car windscreen in just a bikini, with blood trickling down Charli’s face, it’s like a GTA loading screen that’s all gone a bit wrong. But that’s what we all love about Charli XCX: always expect the unexpected.

Photographer: Terrence O’Connor

7: Bastille: ‘Give Me The Future’

In a world where reality increasingly seems too close to an episode of Black Mirror, it’s not unusual to feel overwhelmingly anxious about the near future. And it’s this concept that Bastille delve into on their 2022 album, Give Me The Future. Through a record that explores everything from online dating to navigating life in a virtual world, and the uncertainty of what the future holds, Bastille have maintained their talent for creating pop earworms. While we still come to understand what an NFT actually is, Give Me The Future’s album cover seems to encapsulate the feeling of being caught in the rush of modern technology – but with a way out that assures us it’s not all that terrifying after all.

Design: Dan Smith, Ryan Vautier, Dunishu Perea

6: Palace: ‘Shoals’

One of London’s most serene indie groups, Palace dive to a deeper place on their third album, Shoals – one where reflections effortlessly appear. With purity taking centre-stage, frontman Leo Wyndham’s vocals float with falsetto charm while reverb-heavy chord progressions swim alongside, generating a sound that can take you to sun-kissed beaches on even the drizzliest of days. As ever, Palace’s long-standing artist, Wilm Danby, does what he does best with the album cover, painting the dreamiest scene possible to go with, arguably, the dreamiest album yet from this beloved four-piece.

Illustrator: Wilm Danby

5: alt-J: ‘The Dream’

Self-critique weighed heavily on alt-J’s previous album, Relaxer. At just eight songs long, it seemed more like a last-minute EP in contrast to their previous records, which both contained almost twice the number of songs. It seems 2022 is the year in which alt-J land back on their feet, with the heartfelt stories and modern-day dilemmas that make up The Dream. Enveloping a multitude of genres, from blues to folk and indie, in a quintessentially British chorus line, alt-J continue to prove they will not be pigeonholed. Delivering one of the best album covers of 2022, artist Joel Wyllie’s pencil drawing perfectly evokes the weird and wonderful sound of the music.

Illustrator: Joel Wyllie

4: The Weeknd: ‘Dawn FM’

A force to be reckoned with in the world of R&B, The Weeknd attracts new fans daily, whether that be through older records brimming with trap drizzles, or with a more recent sound that dips into a new wave of 80s nostalgia. Back with a vengeance in 2022, he released Dawn FM, an incredible concept album that sticks you in the driving seat in the early hours of the morning, with 103.5 Dawn FM as the only radio station available. Complete with frequency tweaks and a host DJ, the album is impressively diverse and arguably Abel Tesfaye’s best yet. Reflecting those red-eye journeys that make you feel like you’ve aged significantly, Dawn FM’s album cover flashes forward to a stage of The Weeknd’s life that should be a long way off yet…

Photographer: Matilda Finn

3: The Wombats: ‘Fix Yourself, Not The World’

Unbelievably, it’s been 15 years since one of the UK’s biggest names in indie music, The Wombats, released their breakthrough album, The Wombats Proudly Present… A Guide To Love, Loss & Desperation. After all this time, the group seem to be at the peak of their career, with their 2022 album, Fix Yourself, Not The World, earning them their first UK No.1. In that time, most of the group’s contemporaries have either changed their sound completely or stayed strictly in their lane; The Wombats have done a bit of both, creating indie anthems while building up their repertoire – encompassing a bit of pop here, a bit of dance there. And hasn’t it paid off? A packed visual counterpart to a sound that incorporates everything, Fix Yourself, Not The World’s artwork earns its spot among the best album covers of 2022 while also recalling the 2000s game Habbo Hotel.

Illustrators: eBoy

2: Years & Years: ‘Night Call’

The past year has been an absolute showstopper for Olly Alexander, aka Years & Years. After parting ways with his former bandmates, Alexander’s creative fluidity runs rampant on Night Call, a concept album which portrays a genderless utopia set thousands of years in the future. While Years & Years’ breakout singles were heavy with feel-good dance tracks, Night Call is an outrageously free showcase of Alexander’s musical maturity. A statement pop record that couldn’t be anymore relevant today, it comes replete with a perfectly fitting album cover that will continue to spark conversation in years and years to come.

Illustrator: Unknown

1: Kojey Radical: ‘Reason To Smile’

There aren’t many rappers who use their bass-heavy vocals in conjunction with music that’s an equal mix of soul and grime – think the theoretical love child of Loyle Carner and Kendrick Lamar. Step forward East Londoner Kojey Radical, whose debut album, Reason To Smile, is a unique offering the world needs to lend its ears to. Featuring the sultry vocals of Masego and old-school rapper Wretch 32, the record bursts with a creativity and musical versatility which is ridiculously refreshing. Topping our list of the best album covers of 2022 so far, Reason To Smile’s artwork comes across like a modern-day Salvador Dalí, and is as revolutionary as Radical’s music.

Photographer: Nwaka Okparaeke

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Best Album Covers Of 2022: 10 Great Artworks Of The Year So Far