Our kids are going to grow up listening to music on their computer, iPod, iPhone or whatever new contraption makes it easy to carry tunes around. But years ago we used to have these things called LPs, as in long playing records, and while music wasn’t as portable as it is today, the  size of the album cover artwork more than made up for it. The album art was as much a part of the experience as the music was.

Good design lets you in on what the artist is thinking about and what they are trying to convey with their music. Certain CD covers are so great, they overcome the size limitation, but I wonder if the album cover is becoming a lost art in this age of digital music delivery. I hope not.

So I thought I would make a list of the top 5 rock album covers that you should share with your kids to get them talking about music, art, or anything the pictures suggest to them. Be sure to add your favorite album covers in the comments!

5) Jay Z – Blueprint 3

Yes, the album just came out in 2009 but the cover is both striking in its simplicity and grand in its message. Combining all the instruments into one big bland white structure, Jay may be asking “Whatever happened to all the great music?” Kids will get a kick out of the structure and trying to identify all the instruments.

4) Supertramp – Breakfast in America

Their 1979 album takes a cheeky look at New York City from an airplane window. Instead of the Statue of Liberty, we see a woman holding a glass of orange juice. I think kids will like the funny perspective, and it seems like the recording industry did too because the album won the 1980 Grammy Award for Best Recording Package.

3) Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon

Simple yet colorful, Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album remained on the charts for over 741 weeks, longer than any other album in history. The prism that shines the colorful spectrum was exactly what the band wanted, something smart, neat and classy. Kids will dig the rainbow and it is definitely a good catalyst to spark a conversation on colors.

2) Nirvana – Nevermind

According to Kurt Cobain he conceived the idea for Nevermind’s album cover while watching a television program on water births. Nirvana’s second album showed infant Spencer Elden chasing a dollar bill on a hook in a pool. Kids will probably find the image funny and engaging.

1) Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Like most lists about rock music, this one ends with the Beatles. There were many trippy images on album covers in the sixties (see Jimi Hendrix) but the Beatles dressing up as a psychedelic marching band surrounded by cardboard models ruled them all. The cover was art directed by Robert Fraser who was a London art dealer and a friend of McCartney’s. The collage included over 70 people such as Marilyn Monroe and Bob Dylan. So if nothing else it could be a good history lesson for the kids. See who else you can spot!

Classic rock radio staples Pink Floyd have driven more than one young man to a life of collecting black light posters or playing “Wish You Were Here” for spare change, but few were probably aware that the soulful guitar impresario, David Gilmour, did a bit of busking himself before joining the band. Students of The Wall might also be surprised to know that Gilmour was an excellent student.

Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour started out going to school up the street from his future band mates, Roger Waters and Sid Barrett, at a place called the Perse School in Cambridge. Waters and Barrett attended a rival school, the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys. Gilmour spent most of his time studying modern languages to A-Level (which is British for nerd), and like the man he’d eventually replace, Barrett, he also spent his lunchtime learning to play the guitar. Wish I went to a school that had allowed us to take our recess with a guitar.

Gilmour eventually started playing in the band Joker’s Wild in 1962 until 1966 when he decided to busk around Spain and France with some friends, though he found little success. In a July 1992 interview, Gilmour stated that he actually ended up being treated for malnutrition in a hospital because of how badly remunerated his music was then. After bumming around a bit more, in 1967 Gilmour returned to England driving a van with fuel that had been stolen from a building site in France. This adventure kind of sounds like the British version of Road Trip, or something from an episode of Benny Hill, at least.

It wasn’t until December of 1967 that Nick Mason, Pink Floyd’s drummer, approached Gilmour about joining the band to make it a five piece. This was of course before Barrett would go mad and be replaced by Gilmour. But we all saw that one coming after hearing his song “Bike” for the first time. Want to hear more baby Floyd? Check out Lullaby Renditions of Pink Floyd!