A good album cover is a huge turn-on for me. I would listen to an album simply if the album cover was good. It's a mark of the band's or artist's taste. A bad album cover on the other hand, is like watching a hobo take a shit. Remember Millie Jackson with Back to the Shit? Yeah, that pretty much personifies a bad album cover for me.

This is my own personal list of best album covers, taken straight from my own MP3. You might notice a lack of albums classically considered by critics far and wide to have the best artwork. For instance, there's no SLAYER, JUDAS PRIEST, or IRON MAIDEN. That's because it's a personal list, and I'm not trying to rewrite what's already written, but instead fish out the albums I personally think have standouts visuals. Now brace yourselves:

The Best:

Just wow. Look at that scary ass ghost lady watching you. Look at her! This is not just SABBATH's best album covers it's one of metal's best album covers. It's eerie and effective, much better than their half-assed 13 or wonky Paranoid. I do question the font for the band name though. I know it would have been considered "psychedelic" in the 70s, but as a kid who grew up with Microsoft Word, it just looks kinda "Curlz MT" to me. And honestly, font is important. BOLT THROWER very nearly made this list with The IVth Crusade what with that gorgeous painting, but the font totally threw me off. They even embellished it with jewels uggghhh.

A lot of CHTHONIC'S other album covers were strong contenders for this list but Bu-Tik is by far the most refined and understated of all their material. I don't think any other artist has portrayed a bionic girl in such a pure and serene light before. The sensibility in "showing the other side" is the kind of mature depth many metal album covers lack, making this one of a kind.

Another album cover that looks like Bu-Tik is MASTODON'S Leviathan, both of which feature prominently a large white object as the focal point, each using the finest strokes of skillful mastery to bring to fruition the beautiful contrast and artistic symbolism behind the color white.

CONVULSE's Evil Prevails is a marvel of blending. This is blending. This is it. Blending doesn't get any better than this. When I first saw the art for Evil Prevails, I was hypnotized. No need for detail, extravagance, or gore ' just pure colors and impressionism. Fucking great.

A DAY TO REMEMBER'S Homesick is also a brilliant example of blending. Like Evil Prevails, the human figure is darkened and foggy, but emphasis is placed on the environment instead. And what an environment that is.

Mmmm. DEEP PURPLE'S album cover is very Hieronymus Bosch. I like. Perhaps it's a trend for artists to only bother with their eponymous albums? Fireball was certainly not one of the album covers DEEP Purple bothered much with. To this date, Fireball still gives me an uncomfortable fit of giggles and cringes every time I think about it.

Another experiment in the bizarre is DIMMU BORGIR'S infamous In Sorte Diaboli. Whether because of its occult imagery or use of medieval styles and motifs, In Sorte Diaboli is an intriguing piece of work mirroring the curious and peculiar gradations of Deep Purple.

Many of DIO'S other albums are all sorts of epic, but this one has to be the most awe-inspiring. Sure, the others range from eerie to ethereal, but this is plain awesome. I mean, look at that giant fucking monster coming for all the little people and that blazing light of justice and destiny emanating from his midriff! I know Holy Diver is probably more popular because of its controversial depiction of a demon whipping a priest, but I still say The Last in Line is my favorite.

Another curator of the 'large demon/god person looming over little people' theme is AMON AMARTH with Surtur Rising. Like DIO, many of AMON AMARTH's other album covers are sheer works of art, but Surtur Rising has to be the most representative of their powerful music and ideology as a Viking Metal band.

Remember how I talked about super-detailed, sometimes overstated metal album covers? Well, there is a way to bask in artistic abandon without coming off as trashy or cheap, and this is the way. In these album covers, the atmosphere is perfect and there is no short of refined artistry and detail. If you want to be elaborate, this is the way to start. But what really caught my attention about both of them was their sheer darkness. The light is very low, but the way brightness and blending was brought to the fore really struck me, adding further realism and eeriness to the art.

Cosmic infiniteness in the form of album artwork. Need I say more? Just look at them. They are awe-inspiring and humbling, taking inspiration from the skies and rendered in unearthly colors.

Just look at these two badass sphinx/griffin motherfuckers going all "wachoo lookin' at". Both are a stylish combination of ancient malice and apocalyptic future.

It's not every day that the color purple is put to such dramatic, emotional effect. Purple is an exquisite, rich color that is usually spoiled by some artists' inability to wield it properly, making it look cheap. Over here though, it looks exactly as MORBID ANGEL and would've wanted it to: morbid. Ha. Ha. Ha.

The colors blue and green are represented too. There's EMPEROR with In the Nightside Eclipse and AETERNAM'S Sycronomica also coming on strong with its color theme. They're both Black Metal bands, and needless to say, the colors on their albums are massively impressive and effective, encapsulating perfectly the mood of their music and foretelling the morose tunes to come in the album.

That's right, to hell with big corporations and politicians! Seeing the Golden Arches there right next to Scum puts a smile on my face every time. Big company logos amidst a sea of skulls? Hell yeah.

And if you're into pop culture, OBITUARY'S Dead has that cult culture inspired black and white comic book art thing going for it, making it a haven for those who like pop culture and details.

RATM has always been very symbolic and political with their album covers, making sure the artwork fittingly represents their message. This, I think, is the most powerful of all images they have chosen for any album. Actually, this is one of the most powerful images, period.

This is so unabashedly cultural ' something Chinese people exalt, and seeing as I'm Chinese, this rings true with me. Normally, metal artwork doesn't get cultural, save for a few here and there like SEPULTURA'S Roots, but this is the most vivid portrayal of culture I have seen so far.

Look at that monster man god. This is one of the more brilliantly rendered album covers, colored and designed with sheer finesse and professionalism. 'Nuff said.

And if you're into big faces looming majestically in the night, DIO'S Master of the Moon has got to do it for you. Both these albums feature brilliant, cosmic colors and utter fantastical shamelessness.

This is as detailed as it gets. I've not seen anything more meticulous or fine. That scroll the demon priest is holding? It has the names of all countries on it, written out in alphabetical order. Hardcore.

Award for Artist with Consistently Great Artwork:

This one was a tie between ATHEIST and MASTODON. But in the end, I went with MASTODON. Why? Because the artwork of ATHEIST impresses me as a whole, but it isn't striking enough to impress me by individual albums. I have to take all of the album covers and lay them out before I see the colors bursting out. That's why ATHEIST wasn't included in the list above. But for MASTODON, my god ' I had to create an entire category for them. Paul Romano, the artist, is a damned genius.

The Best Album Artwork of Forever:

The demon reminds me of the Mouth of Sauron, and being a massive LOTR fan, I'm obviously drawn to this. But on top of that, I find this to be the most professional and refined of all the artworks.

Hail art!