The Year’s Worst Album Covers

As 2009 draws to a close, list makers around the world are busy counting down the year’s best and worst in various realms. The hardcore music buffs at Pitchfork are concerned with album covers—specifically, graphically tragic ones. Among this year’s group of 20 “goofy, offensive, amateurish, and puzzling” covers are Green Day’s sad take on street art, a Neil Young cover that appears to be the work of a third-grader, and Razorlight’s presentation of its four members inside squares that recall the opening credits of The Brady Bunch. Other highlights include the appearance of mermaids, sprinkle-covered donuts, and endless night skies. Pitchfork cautions that the list is “Not safe for people at work or those prone to nausea.”