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Commercial Suicide by Alpha Safari sounded even better than it looked.

A Julie London album, back when I was in college. It was the sex appeal. Mediocre singing.

Ah. those damn enticing covers! For the most part they turned out to be duds. But I've also found a couple of tasty treats that I probably wouldn't have heard if I hadn't taken a chance on 'em.

Whipped Cream and Other Delights great album. Puts most Stereophile staff in short pants or dream stage.

Oh God, yes. Also, when I worked in college radio, we got way too many in the mail each day to listen to, so I'd only pick the ones that had the best artwork to audition.

Throbbing Gristle's 20 Jazz Funk Greats—bought in spite of the title.

A few times. Some have been good, some have not, but they all have one thing in common: The artist is always exceedingly attractive.

Lovedrive from the Scorpions. There is a European cover and the prudish US cover—guess which is better? It's a great album regardless!

It was easy to do years ago when vinyl was cheap. Some old vinyl goodies: Blodwyn Pig (1st), Savoy Brown (A Step Further),Mott The Hoople (1st). Used CDs: Brad (1st) & Jade Ell (Promises and Prayer).

The Psychedelic Furs debut. Never heard of them but bought for pink dayglo cover. Still love it!

Oh, that Blink 182 nurse.

Often and 80% of the time, it's a good bet.

Brain Salad Surgery by Emerson Lake and Palmer was a big hit with me. Awesome cover. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brain_Salad_Surgery

I was a great cover and no one can see the bullet hole in the wall now!

Many, many, times. That is how I pick out trance music CDs.

Peter Brown had an album back in the 1980s with a song "Do You Want to Get Funky with Me" that had an interesting silhouette. Only two great songs on the album—the rest were average.

Living With Lesbians featuring The Lesbian Power Authority on Woman's Wax Works LP A002. How did it turn out? More horrible than the cover, which would have to be the scariest LP cover ever.

Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick 25th Anniversary CD. It has the same newspaper that the original LP edition had (plus some bonus tracks). Album and newspaper are great.

It was the Joy Division album Closer. If you haven't seen it, check it out.

When I was 13 I bought Electric Ladyland because there were naked women on the cover. It made me a lifelong Jimi Hendrix fan

Back in the '70s in college, we used to go to the record shop and buy based on the cover—90% were pretty good. MeatLoaf; Bat out of Hell; Nectar: Remember the Future, etc.

This is also how they used to sucker you into renting really bad horror and sci-fi movies. The VHS boxes would have some really great art that probably represented most of that movie's budget, and you went home with an unwatchable stinker. The '70s were full of great album art with bland music in the sleeve. Formerly great artists feeding their coke habit off good cover art and their previous reputation.

As an avid motorcyclist, I ran across Prefab Sprout's Two Wheels Good LP in 1985 as a new release at a record store. Never even heard of the band, but liked the title and cover. To this day it remains one of the best-crafted collection of pop songs in my record library. And its sonics are as good as the best releases of today. There are probably other examples too, but this was a win-win all around from an impulse buy based on the cover photo and suggestive title.

Hugh Masekela: Home Is Where The Music Is. When I saw the cover, I thought it was dreadful which in a perverse way was what attracted me. I'm still not keen on it, but the music is superb township jazz. Recently released on CD, so close your eyes and enjoy.

Patricia Barber's Nightclub on SACD. Both the cover and the title caught my attention. I then went on to buy Modern Cool, this time for the music.

Santana

About 60/40 great/terrible really! More great than terrible.

I am a digital music lover but miss the artwork of the LP albums that I bought as a teenager.

I have bought a lot of albums for the cover. Here are a few which immediately come to my mind. Even though some of the albums are very famous, I had never heard about these artists/albums at that time as I was very young and in India: Pink Floyd: The Wall, I was visiting a record store when I was in my ninth grade and saw this album on the rack and I had to buy it immediately. To this day I am a great PF fan. I dont think there is/will be a better rock artist. Chris Rea: Auberge, I was captivated by the painting of a Caterham super seven on a country road. To me this is one of the best album covers. Again Chris Rea is an all time favouite artist for me. Recently I bought two used LPs: Mason Williams: Sharepickers and Harvey Mason: Funk in a Mason Jar, just because both the albums had a Mason jar in the cover. Mason Williams was awsome, I did not like Harvey Mason.

Any of the cover art done by Jim Flora. Mambo Cats is a work of art on the cover; the music is lame. I have it framed and never play it.