The Best Album Covers of the Last 5 Years

Well, the Grammys are trying to be cooler.

The Recording Academy announced this week the show will take place Feb. 1, 2026, as well as that they’re adding a couple of new categories—including Best Album Cover.

Yes, that’s right: The Grammys will go beyond Best Recording Package and acknowledge the album cover specifically. That’s made it fun to imagine who might’ve taken the trophy home in recent years if the category had existed all along. After all, album art is sometimes the first impression fans get, and after the recent hoopla about Sabrina Carpenter’s newest cover, it obviously still creates conversation.

So, in the spirit of honoring cover art that made an impression on us, here’s a short list of the album covers we think would have snagged the gold over the past five years.

2024: Charli XCX, Brat

Artist: Brent David Freaney

Honorable mentions: Mk.Gee, Two Star & The Dream Police; Beyoncé, Cowboy Carter; Doechii, Alligator Bites Never Heal

It should be kind of obvious that 2024’s winner would be Charli XCX’s Brat cover. Like, was there even another contender? The neon-green art was INESCAPEABLE last year. It became a lifestyle for some, a vibe for others, and somehow a meme template and campaign poster all in one. From billboards in Times Square to a presidential campaign, Brat was everywhere.

And we’re not being dramatic—Charli took home the Grammy for Best Recording Package this year, which makes the hypothetical Best Album Cover win less a guess and more like a given.

2023: Tyler, The Creator, Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale

Artist: Gregory Ferrand

Honorable mentions: Kali Uchis, Red Moon in Venus; Kelela, Raven; Don Toliver, Love Sick

The cover for Call Me If You Get Lost: The Estate Sale swaps the crisp, official-travel-ID aesthetic of the original for something far cooler and more creative with a sort of painted cover. It’s Tyler in a fuzzy ushanka, luxury suitcases in hand, looking like he catches flights, not feelings. The background’s washed-out yellow and lo-fi painted texture make it feel like a found photo. It’s peak “effortless effort,” the kind of cover art that sticks out for a long time.

2022: Beyoncé, Renaissance

Artist: Carlijn Jacobs

Honorable mentions: Kendrick Lamar, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers; Bad Bunny, Un Verano Sin Ti; SZA, SOS

Perched atop a glowing, translucent horse that fans nicknamed Reneigh, like a disco deity, Beyoncé gave us Studio 54-meets-celestial rodeo with the Renaissance album cover. It’s camp, couture, and memorable. She’s practically nude, draped in silver, serving face like she owns the galaxy. Had the Best Album Cover Grammy existed that year, this would’ve galloped away with it. No competition.

Courtesy of New Funk Academy/Black Canopy

2021: Topaz Jones, Don’t Go Tellin' Your Momma

Artist: Jason Sondock

Honorable mentions: Tyler, The Creator, Call Me If You Get Lost; Japanese Breakfast, Jubilee; Olivia Rodrigo, Sour

Topaz Jones’ Don’t Go Tellin’ Your Momma album cover went triple platinum on my X page. When I tell you I couldn’t not see this photo everywhere, I mean it—like, it was haunting my feed (in the best way). The surreal, spiraling faces grab you, making you pause, zoom in, and then maybe question what, exactly, you’re looking at, and what it means. For people like me, the cover was so striking it doubled as a recruitment tool, and I checked out the music. It’s giving museum piece. It’s giving Black surrealist portraiture. It’s giving “this belongs in the MoMA, not just your Spotify queue.”

2020: Tame Impala, The Slow Rush

Artist: Neil Krug

Honorable mentions: Playboi Carti, Whole Lotta Red; Taylor Swift, Folklore; 21 Savage and Metro Boomin, Savage Mode II

Tame Impala’s The Slow Rush cover art looks like what I imagine heaven does—if heaven got hit by a sandstorm and had no cleaning crew. It’s giving “vintage Airbnb that’s been abandoned mid-renovation” and also “I fell asleep at Burning Man.” The blood-red walls, the golden-hour lighting, the sand swallowing everything in sight—it’s oddly serene, but also low-key stressful. Like, is someone gonna sweep this up or nah?

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