I can't think of an album cover that has inspired me more.
My first copy of Brotherhood, and my first exposure to New Order, was via a badly dubbed tape casette. I recall the tape just had 'Brotherhood' scrawled on it, with no mention of the band. I played it to death. When I finally saw the album in a shop, I was sold.
I've always considered Peter Saville's work for New Order to be some of the most tasteful and respectful work around.
Care to share a favorite? Please cite the artist, if possible.
Yours:
briandmyers: by Roger Dean, Yes
thenewgreen: by Rostand Batmanglij and Asher Sarlin, Discovery
ecib: typeface by Wim Crouwel, design by Saville Associates, Joy Division
sounds_sound: More Songs About Buildings and Food, by Jimmy de Sana, Talking Heads
But the first album cover that truly excited my mind was probably Joy Division's Substance: http://i.imgur.com/UaT0G.jpg (SFW). The typeface on Substance's cover was developed by Wim Crouwel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wim_Crouwel and the font itself is called New Alphabet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Alphabet_(typeface) Here is it's entry in the MoMA: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?object_id=...
http://www.scottmcd.net/artanalysis/wp-content/uploads/2009/...
