Just read Claus's thread about cd artwork and I pretty much agree that the larger size of LP's etc. made the artwork more important but what about the discs themselves? I never liked the plain silver discs with plain printing but the last few years have brought some outstanding designs on the discs themselves. Since they are about the same size as labels on vinyl they still impress me on a regular basis. Rhino often has exceptional designs. The Sun Ra discs on the Evidence label are very colorful and would look good if blown up to poster size. The imported Apple releases were much better than the standard U.S. issues. The Hendrix reissues are another example where most of the releases have unique artwork. I also like the discs that duplicate old vinyl labels that are rarely seen anymore. The George Martin 6 disc box that come out a couple years ago has beautiful reproductions of 6 different Parlophone labels from the past. The Sundazed Microdots series (is there ever going to be more of these?) have fun psychedelic designs. There are many more outstanding examples. Anybody else have one to share. I can't get any examples on line right now but would enjoy seeing some discs you think rise above the rest.
I agree that the Evidence Sun Ra labels look very nice, but for me, a large part of the appeal of record label designs was to watch them spinning round on the TT. (Swirled Vertigo and German Ohr label were always favourites.)
Some of my favorite CDs from an aesthetic standpoint: * West German Rocket Records (Elton John CDs) * West German Vertigo (orange swirls or blue spirals) * West German Casablanca and Charisma (yellow swirls) * West German and Japanese WEA targets * West German and Japanese Planet (RCA label -- purple Planet Records logo)
