Album Cover Research

Typical Features

Front
The name of the band/artist.
The name of the Album.
Album art - usually a picture of some sort (photograph/animation) representing either the artist or something about the album's name or what the songs represent.
Often a sticker on the front saying 'includes all the hits...'
Usually a 'parental advisory explicit content' logo

Back
A ordered tracklist of all the featured songs.
Often artwork, usually similar or continuing the artwork on the front cover.
The name of the record company who produced the album.
The name of the record label who promotes the band.
The year the album was released.
A bar code.

What is the point of an album cover?

Lets you know who the artist is and what the album is called.
Often artists make their covers as creative and visually excellent as possible so consumers will immediatly notice it out of a group of CD's.
It can advertise the genre of the music.
It can show characteristics of the band and make them seem appealing.
It lets you know who produced the band. If they are a new, unheard of band then if you recognise the record label you may want to hear them.
It lets you see what tracks are on the album - ones you may or may not recognise. It advertises all their hits so if you've heard a song on the radio you can buy the album if that song it on it.