Top 10 AC/DC Albums Covers

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AC/DC formed in Sydney, Australia in 1973, founded by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. The band quickly established itself as pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal with their raw, blues-influenced sound and electrifying live performances. Angus Young’s schoolboy uniform stage persona and wild guitar antics became iconic, while the band’s straightforward, riff-driven approach to rock music set them apart from their more experimental contemporaries. Their early albums, such as High Voltage and T.N.T., showcased a band that was unapologetically loud, energetic, and committed to pure rock and roll.

The band achieved massive international success throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, becoming one of the best-selling music artists of all time with over 200 million records sold worldwide. Despite facing tragedy with the death of original lead singer Bon Scott in 1980, AC/DC continued with Brian Johnson and released Back in Black, which became one of the highest-selling albums in music history. Their album covers have become as legendary as their music, featuring bold, often minimalist designs that perfectly capture the band’s no-nonsense attitude and thunderous sound. From lightning bolts to cannons, their visual identity has remained consistently powerful and instantly recognizable across five decades of rock dominance.

# 10 – Black Ice (2008)

We open up our AC/DC album covers list with an album that I feel is really underrated and hands down one of the best sounding Rock Records I have ever heard, especially on CD. Released October 20, 2008, with Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd all back in place, the album featured “Rock ’n’ Roll Train” as its lead single and sold millions worldwide, Joshua Marc Levy of Sandusky Lee designed the cover with multiple color variations issued, its bold AC DC logo set against a stylized black background carved with intricate filigree gave the record a striking and collectible presence.

# 9 – Ballbreaker (1995)

Arriving September 26, 1995, the band returned with Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd back behind the kit for the first time since the early eighties, songs like “Hard as a Rock” and the title track defined the release, the artwork was created by renowned illustrator Hugh Syme, presenting Angus as a devilish figure smashing through stone with his guitar, a dramatic visual that reinforced the title’s power.

# 8 – Powerage (1978)

Released May 5, 1978, featuring Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd, this record is revered for “Riff Raff,” “Sin City,” and “Rock ’n’ Roll Damnation,” the cover image of Angus Young with electrical wires seemingly jammed into his body, mouth agape as if in shock, was a perfect metaphor for the band’s surging energy, with Atlantic’s Bob Defrin credited for art direction and Jim Houghton shooting the unforgettable photograph.

# 7 – Stiff Upper Lip (2000)

Issued February 28, 2000, with Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd in full command, the singles “Stiff Upper Lip” and “Safe in New York City” drove the campaign, the cover featured a bronze statue of Angus Young created by German artist Gerhard Haderer, photographed for the sleeve and used in massive promotional displays, an image that gave the album a monumental feel.

# 6 – High Voltage (1976)

The first international album gathered prime cuts from the two Australian releases and introduced the world to Bon Scott with Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Mark Evans, and Phil Rudd driving the engine. “It’s a Long Way to the Top,” “T.N.T.,” and the title track made the case in three punches, all grit, humor, and swagger. The sleeve is a time capsule of attitude, Angus mugging for the camera in school uniform on the UK and US editions, photographed by Michael Putland, with the now legendary AC DC logo lettering by Gerard Huerta. Different territories saw different variants, but the attitude stayed the same.

# 5 – For Those About to Rock We Salute You (1981)

Recorded in Paris with Robert John Mutt Lange producing, this one followed Back in Black with Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd, and it became the band’s first number one album in the United States. The title track became a show closer, complete with live cannons that shook entire arenas, while “Let’s Get It Up” and “Put the Finger on You” kept the radio burning. The bronze cannon on the jacket is the whole mission statement in one image, stark and ceremonial, with art direction by Bob Defrin that turned a simple field gun into an icon every fan recognizes the second they see it.

# 4 – Blow Up Your Video (1988)

Released January 29, 1988, this lineup of Brian Johnson, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Simon Wright roared back under producers Harry Vanda and George Young, with “Heatseeker” and “That’s the Way I Wanna Rock ’n’ Roll” punching through on radio, the cover is pure late eighties electricity, Angus erupting from a television set in a staged studio scene photographed by Gered Mankowitz, with Bill Smith Studio handling the design, a loud visual that matches the record’s attack.

# 3 – Let There Be Rock (1977)

Issued internationally on July 25, 1977, with Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Mark Evans, and Phil Rudd in ferocious form, “Let There Be Rock” and “Whole Lotta Rosie” became road staples, the international sleeve is a live shot by Keith Morris from the Kursaal Ballroom in Southend, and it is the first appearance of the AC DC logo created by Gerard Huerta, a crucial moment where the imagery finally matched the sound’s raw power.

# 2 – Highway to Hell (1979)

Released July 27, 1979, the final studio album with Bon Scott finds Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd locked in with producer Mutt Lange, “Highway to Hell,” “Girls Got Rhythm,” and “Touch Too Much” defined the era, the stark cover is a straight ahead portrait with devil cues that became a cultural marker, photographed by Jim Houghton under Bob Defrin’s art direction, simple, menacing, and unforgettable.

# 1 – Back In Black (1980)

Sometimes less is more, and that concept couldn’t be more well defined than in this legendary album cover. Released July 25, 1980, the rebirth with Brian Johnson alongside Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Cliff Williams, and Phil Rudd turned grief into thunder with “Hells Bells,” “Back in Black,” “You Shook Me All Night Long,” and “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution,” the all black sleeve was conceived as a sign of mourning for Bon Scott, art directed by Bob Defrin, and it carries Gerard Huerta’s angular AC DC logo as an embossed statement of resilience.