Coming off the heels of a certain lime-green album’s worldwide impact, the 2026 GRAMMYs are bringing back the award for ‘Best Album Cover’ for the first time since 1973. It’s no coincidence that album art is back in the spotlight; fans are paying more attention than ever to the visuals that accompany their favorite music. On the resurgence of album covers and why the GRAMMYs chose to revive this recognition, the Recording Academy’s CEO Harvey Mason Jr. stated, "In today's digital world, album covers are arguably more impactful than ever. Chances are, there's an iconic cover that's instantly recognizable to you, even if you never owned the physical album. Their cultural significance is undeniable.” 4
In discussing the importance of the album cover, we would be remiss not to highlight its origin story, credited to graphic designer and artist Alex Steinweiss. In 1939, as Columbia Records’ art director, Steinweiss sought innovative ways to elevate music releases, and began personally designing the packaging for the label’s vinyl records. His artwork was eye-catching, innovative, and at times political, always reflecting the content within. The first record to receive his distinctive treatment was Rogers & Hart’s Smash Song Hits, whose unique design immediately captured consumer attention. Steinweiss went on to shape countless iconic covers, driving a nearly 900% sales increase for Beethoven’s Eroica and creating a politically charged design for Paul Robeson’s Songs of Free Men. 3
By the 1960s and 1970s, album covers became a zeitgeist, producing some of the most influential designs in history: The Beatles’ Abbey Road, The Velvet Underground & Nico’s The Velvet Underground & Nico, and Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, just to name a few. But after the 1973 win of The Siegel-Schwall Band’s self-titled album, the category was renamed “Best Album Package”, then later changed to “Best Recording Package” in 1994.
However the digital age is one of the biggest factors as to why the Academy have brought the award back.
Album covers have a true impact on pop culture again because of social media. Sabrina Carpenter’s album cover for Man’s Best Friend had the internet in an uproar, Lana Del Rey’s album cover for her 2019 album Norman F**king Rockwell! has since become an instantly recognizable visual touchstone, and, of course, Charli xcx’s Brat turned a single color and simple typeface into a cultural movement. Now, this year’s nominees for Best Album Cover at the GRAMMYs each carry their own distinct cultural significance.
Though the GRAMMYs would recognize artists and their teams for album packaging and record artwork, this category truly honors the artwork itself and its significance. Interestingly, it has allowed for some projects to receive recognition for their artwork despite not receiving any GRAMMY nominations for their musical content. The category looks to be very accessible and reflective of alternative artistry, as emphasized by Harvey Mason Jr.: “The Packaging Field has always thrived, but we expect this to be one of our most inclusive Categories to date.” This year, the nominees are as follows:
CHROMAKOPIA by Tyler, the Creator
Tyler is known for diverting to uniquely individual alter egos to present each one of his bodies of work, and this presentation of CHROMAKOPIA’s addition to the Tylerverse, “St. Chroma,” was incredibly inspired. The visual establishes the album’s themes of self-reflection and identity crisis, even going so far as to directly allude to one of the album’s strongest tracks, ‘Take Your Mask Off’ by presenting Tyler hidden behind a ceramic mask of his own face. Tyler’s art director, Luis Perez, describes the cover as reminiscent of 1930s/40s film noir, even citing Alfred Hitchcock’s style as a strong influence on the album’s overall cinematic universe. 5
The Crux by Djo
Also inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s cinematic visuals, Djo’s The Crux is our next nominee. The album is aptly named: by definition, the “crux” of something is its most important point, the culmination of everything it represents. This record marks the pinnacle of Djo’s career so far, and its cover is packed with the visual hallmarks of his style and worldbuilding. The image itself was shot in Los Angeles at the Paramount Pictures studio lot 6 and is overflowing with easter eggs: Djo himself hangs from a second-story window, a mouse dressed as a bellhop guards the door, and an airplane trails a banner declaring, “I’M SORRY CINDY AND I LOVE YOU,” all surrounding the fictional “Crux Hotel” at the heart of the album’s universe.
Glory by Perfume Genius
Mike Hadreas, who goes by the stage name “Perfume Genius,” has been building incredibly intricate visual worlds for each one of his projects since his first release in 2010. However, Glory is his best work yet, with an eerie yet strikingly beautiful cover that features Hadreas sprawled out on his living room floor, with a mysterious figure watching him from outside in the garden. The way that this cover captures fleeting motion and feeling in such a flamboyant, dramatic way is reminiscent of the Baroque era of art, with its grandeur and intricate detail. In describing what the cover for Glory means to him, Hadreas stated: “It feels like the music, in that it’s earnest and personal, but with absurdity and dramatics, and performance. They’re all allowed to exist at the same time: the meaningful, and the meaningless.” 2
moisturizer by Wet Leg
The co-creators of the English rock band “Wet Leg,” Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, are featured in the album cover for their newest project, moisturizer, in a photo that juxtaposes sinister energy with aesthetically pleasing surroundings. In describing the cover, Teasdale explained: “It had to kind of sit somewhere between, like, super pretty and girly and just menacing and grotesque.” 7 The creature that she has presented herself as is indicative of how unnerving being in love can be, and how animalistic it can make someone feel.
DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS by Bad Bunny
Bad Bunny’s recent album, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, is our personal favorite to take home the GRAMMY in this category. With this project, Bad Bunny returns to his roots in this immersive celebration of Puerto Rican heritage and culture. The cover features 2 white plastic chairs, an iconic symbol of community, backyard gatherings, and shared tradition. Moreover, their emptiness may be intentional to symbolize the displacement of Puerto Ricans both on the island and abroad, highlighting cultural neglect and marginalization. 1 In today’s political climate, Bad Bunny’s visibility as a proud Puerto Rican artist sharing his culture with the world is profoundly significant, and the album cover reinforces this message. Following his Super Bowl halftime performance, and the subsequent backlash from detractors who questioned his “American” status despite Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory, Bad Bunny winning this GRAMMY would cement his role in amplifying Puerto Rican heritage on a global stage.