How often do you listen to an album just based on the cover art?

Music
1

Sometimes, I’ll check out and album just because the cover art catches my attention. The opposite is also true, I’ll choose not to sample an album based on cover art.

Anyone else?

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2

I must admit, me too :slight_smile:

Torben

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3

I think that an album cover is a manifestation of the artist’s sensitivity, so it can be an indication of the musical sensibility of the album. So if the cover piques my interest, I usually listen to the album and am rarely disappointed.

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4

It varies a lot with me, because I don’t find that covers are very informative, and are sometimes are misleading. Some covers have a picture of the artist which I might find more informative, or not. Other covers with artwork or various designs sometimes don’t have strong clues as to musical content.

I prefer to see mostly the albums in Roon that have the short reviews, or some descriptive text on the album page, but of course I have to click on it first. Often the cover combined with the genres will prompt me to click on the artist link to get a better idea if I want to listen to a quick sample of a track.

I guess my answer is sometimes. I do make an effort these days to be more open minded on what I’m willing to check out. There are a lot of surprises. I check out the new releases section on Roon’s home page, and as well as the Qobuz, and Tidal sections at least once a week, and pop a bunch of albums into Listen Later. I really like that option. My tastes are pretty broad, with the exception of classical (not often) and Rap categories. (Funk, modern black jazz, and reggae are some of my favorites). I’ll even check out country haha

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5

Yeah, probably why I never got into metal.

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6

Oops, I forgot that I don’t like metal either. So much that I forgot it exists.

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7

Yup. I’ll try anything if the cover art is compelling. On the other hand, I’ll never listen to albums with repulsive cover art. Or bands with stupid, disgusting or obscene band names. On the other other hand, how many of us would not have listened to the Beatles “Yesterday and Today” if we had seen the original cover? How many of us sought out the original cover version?

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8

Yep, same here.:+1:

I’m the same way.:+1:

9

Hmm, guilty…

But i think the opposite is more true with me. As an example i almost automatically dismiss any album with the artist posing with their instrument (most frequently, a guitar) on the cover.
Which i think rules out many metal albums, btw!

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10

There is a fine line though. Many might think this cover is disgusting. I like the cover and album.

11

Looks like the size of some of the mosquitoes we get here! :astonished_face::grin:

12

I never listen to an album based on the cover art, but I do use the cover art to locate the particular album that I want to play next.

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13

Yes, I do as well!:+1:

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14

Very often. Plus I noted that albums with good cover often really good.

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15

Once. After the first time I know the music

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16

Very very often!! :slight_smile:

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18

Crazy enough, the first album i ever bought was Freak Out by the Mothers of Invention. I had not sought it out. The album cover was what caught my attention. It did not hurt that, at the time, it was priced like a single album even though it was a double album. I had never heard of Zappa. Had no clue what the music was going to sound like, but certainly, the album art did hint at some aspects of the contents. Still one of my favorite albums and one that taught me to trust my gut if drawn to an album’s art.