I basically live my life like a Nick Hornby novel, primarily High Fidelity. Not that I’m a loser who obsesses over ex-girlfriends and listens to “sad bastard” music through out the day (though some might care to argue), but more from the standpoint of the fact that I divide my life into top 5 lists.

Whenever I meet a new and interesting person, most of my favorite questions revolve around the top 5 game, sometimes daring into top 10 lists. Favorite bands, favorite movies, favorite novels, favorite albums… so on and so forth.

But seldom do I ever hear anyone ask the question, what are your favorite albums… in terms of artwork?

There are a lot of beautiful records out there, and some absolutely horrible ones (see Pitchfork: Top 25 Worst Album Covers of 2006 for examples), and people tend not to notice the artwork as much as the music.

With today’s trends of downloading music illegally and using iTunes to purchase one or two songs from a record, I really believe that album art is an incredibly important aspect of how a record sells. Sure, some terribly designed records do go on to have platinum album status (example a: Yellowcard’s Ocean Avenue), simply because the music is that good that the consumer can see past the bad design jobs, but I think examples like that are far and in between.

So here are my favorite pieces of album art, specifically those of indie bands. And while these groups don’t exactly the multi platinum album status of mainstream groups that often grace the top art lists (ie: covers for groups like the Beatles, Nirvana, Pink Floyd, etc), I still think they are bold examples of what artwork should look like. As music moves more into the digital landscape, artists should pay attention to these great examples.

Hey Mercedes - Every Night Fireworks
This is easily my hands down favorite cover, which happens to be on one of my favorite albums. For those of you who aren’t familiar, this amazing record came out on Vagrant in 2002, and was Hey Mercede’s first studio LP. The photography is simply gorgeous, and the concept is just incredibly simple. Look at that sky and the contrast between the blue and the green… amazing.
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Mae - Destination: Beautiful
Ah, Mae. I remember discovering these guys my freshmen year of college via the once great MP3.com. This album, entitled Destination: Beautiful, wasn’t just cleverly named. The artwork itself is gorgeous, full of vivid, pulsating color, directly contrasting with the wonderfully melodic songs and lullaby-esque voice of Mae’s lead singer. These guys have their next album coming out on a major label, so watch out world.
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Further Seems Forever - How To Start A Fire
Further Seems Forever’s amazing second full length album, which came out on Tooth & Nail in 2003, received a little mainstream success with the single The Sound. The artwork features a beautiful painting, cut up perfectly, and a new logo for the band. Jason Oda’s design for the breathtaking 2004 release Hide Nothing was also incredible.
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Saves The Day - Stay What You Are
This is argueably the best Saves The Day album. You can all fight me, those who claim Through With Being Cool is better. Not only are the tunes more major and catchy as all hell, but the artwork is, to date, the best Saves The Day has ever had. A simple concept, a boy running through a field, the lush natural yellows and golden browns make this cover easily frame-able.
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Nightmare Of You - Self Titled
This is an album cover you have to see to beautiful. TONS of color, bright, and beautiful. A mash of flowers, just a very easy photo, makes for an amazing cover. The band’s logo is done in a fantastic script as well, I have GOT to find that font somewhere. It’s a new record, but hey, it counts. It’s also one of my favorite recent releases, Brandon from The Movielife shows us a different side of his talent.

Honorable Mentions:
The Academy Is… - Almost Here - A gorgeous illustration done by the ever talented Evan Leake.
Copeland - In Motion - Not only is the artwork lovely, but the packaging is fantastic.
Nada Surf - This Weight Is A Gift - Great artwork for a great comeback.
Paramore - All We Know Is Falling - I hate this band, but man, what fantastic artwork and photography.
Underoath - They’re Always Chasing Safety - Extremely memorable cover, ruined in the re-release.

That’s all! Keep in mind, I’m no music journalist. I just take photos. You have a favorite indie that’s not in this list? Let me know.