It’s fantastic to see the return of innovative vinyl record cover artwork in 2013, with outstanding album cover artwork by Babyshambles, Daft Punk, Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Edwyn Collins being shortlisted for the Art Vinyl prize.

Leading music acts are turning to leading artists, sculptors and photographers to enhance their music with vibrant cover / sleeve artwork. One such artist is Damien Hirst, nominated for his work on the Babyshambles’ album “Sequel To The Prequel”. Damien Hirst’s psychedelic album cover for Babyshambles is reminiscent of his “spin” paintings, in which wet paint is thrown at a rotating canvas.

Meanwhile Daft Punk are nominated for their million-selling single “Get Lucky” – the Daft Punk cover art sees the band wearing their trademark robot outfits, silhouetted against the ochre of a setting sun, alongside singer Pharell Williams and Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers. Elton John’s cover for “The Diving Board” is a photograph taken by US artist and curator Tim Barber, portraying a man about to dive off a cliff, somewhere in British Columbia.

Nine neon tubes spell the title of Paul McCartney’s album “New”, with the cover inspired by the sculptures of artist Dan Flavin, whilst Edwyn Collins designed his own album cover artwork using a linocut of a salmon for his album “Understated”. Canadian art-rock band BRAIDS are also nominated for the artwork design of the cover of their Flourish/Perish album,

The 50 nominees for this year’s prize will be displayed in the Art Vinyl Gallery in East London’s Broadway Market, as well as Malmaison hotels across the UK. Visitors can vote for their favourite work, with the winner announced on 3 January, 2014. All in all, 2013 has been an exceptional year for album cover artwork and many of the nominees will join the pantheon of great album cover artwork, started by artist Peter Blake in 1967, when he creared the photographic collage that became the iconic album cover for the Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper” album. This tradition has continued ever since with iconic album cover artwork like Meatloaf “Bat Out Of Hell”, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side Of The Moon” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind”.

Which is your favourite album cover artwork? Let us know in the Reply Box below.

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