The TOP 30 Album Jackets of 2013 - Part 2

This year SHINee released their 3rd official album in 2 parts. Chapter 2. Why So Serious? The Misconceptions of Me features a man with no face. Even the other people on the jacket don't have faces. There's no sign of the usual colorful jackets the members wore, and they came back with songs such as "Nightmare" and "Why So Serious?" Album jackets are indicative of the artists themselves. Psy, who brought so much joy to fans worldwide with his song "Gangnam Style," came back with "Gentleman" this year. Even just the black sunglasses and hairstyle silhouettes are enough for anyone to recognize that it is in fact world star Psy himself. Girls' Generation came out with their long-awaited 4th album I Got A Boy on January 1st. The jacket cover features the Korean words "Girls' Generation" in huge typography. The jacket is a fantastic full color romance type image that looks kitschy. It definitely is a change from their usual look, in which the members are pictured wearing skinny jeans. YAYA's 2nd album jacket seems to be announcing the start of a movie. It could be a western movie taking place in a desolate desert, or it could be about a bitter exotic woman who is being sold. This album is full of songs that belong in a movie, and is an uncommon jacket cover.

Yoon Young Bae's 3rd album Dangerous World is an official album that shows profound depth that cannot possibly be imitated by a digital single or a mini-album. You really need to listen to tracks 1 through 8 to understand why the singer songwriter sings that we live in a 'dangerous world.' Only after hearing the whole album will you understand why the picture on the jacket cover was chosen for this album. Rock band Eastern Sidekick really knows how to design a great album jacket. This year's album Hammer Lane captured the image of a black car that seems to be racing the streets at nighttime. Yoon Jong Shin is releasing a digital single every month this year under the name Repair for his monthly project. The jacket features an image of Yoon Jong Shin himself. Lee Juk's 5th album features the song "Lie Lie Lie." Even his album cover is painful to look at. The picture is of a man hugging a dog, who is already fading away into the wind. Maybe this was what he meant by The Meaning of Solitude.

Although Ilac's activities have been very seldom this year, his single jacket offered a refreshing look this July. The album featured a summer season song called "Life Is Wonderful" that gave off a merry camping feeling. G-Dragon's Coup D'état jacket cover simply had the album title stamped across the front, and is definitely something not any artist can pull off. Even the colors are a simple black and red. Cafe and club speakers constantly played his songs "Who You" and "Crooked" this year. Cho Yong Pil's April album jacket design was a little too plain and underwhelming. It just looks like a bunch of multi-colored flood lights onstage. However, the whimsical font for Hello and the words "CHOYONGPIL 19th" captures the viewers' attention. Coffee Boy has 4 years under the belt, and this album is at once recognizable as the Indie artist's work. It seems now that the boy has become a man.