Lazy album covers??
 

The album covers I find lazy are the ones where the Singer or Singers or Musicians are just looking at the camera. Mariah Carey's album covers are generally lazy like this. Just her face staring at the camera. Daydream is a prime example of this. If you're going to have the Singers and or Musicians stare at the camera, at least do it creatively. For example, Guns N'Roses Appetite For Destruction Cross Version has the Lead Singer and the Musicians/Backing Singers staring at the camera in animated skull form, which is actually cool.

While I agree that an album cover is - or was - often the first point at which I would be interested in a new artist, it doesn't necessarily have to be "exciting". It is, after all, only a picture, and I'd much rather the artist or label expend less effort on the cover and the music be great, than have a cool cover with terrible music. Some of the greatest albums have had simple covers, though I suppose it depends on what you consider a "lazy" one. Is this lazy?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...heInnocent.jpg
This?
https://i.discogs.com/fGtjXh6WjBa02M...I0LnBu/Zw.jpeg

Or this?
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...omes_Alive.jpg
or this
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...e_-_Prince.jpg
Eye of the beholder, as they say.

How bout this one?

Kanye West - Donda (2021)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._black.svg.png

While I love a unique and interesting album cover, I think it's not at the top of many artist's or labels' priority list. Given that most of the time these days, the target market for new music is streaming or downloading their music digitally, an eye-catching album cover isn't as much of a necessity as it was when the standard way people were buying new music was browsing new records in a shop.

Also used by Metallica.

Well since were on a colors kick


https://www.beatlesbible.com/wp/media/white_album.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...s_Volume_1.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...s_Volume_2.jpg

Yes, as a kid buying albums, some of those boring album covers used to annoy me too. I always thought, given the innovations and intricasies of the music inside, that the cover of Pet Sounds should've been better. Instead, it looks like they handed off the cover for an intern to knock up during his lunch break.

I think the Pet Sounds album cover was set up by the brains at Capitol Records. Brian Wilson is said not to have been happy with that cover.

Yeah, I heard it really got his goat.