Neko Case: 'Middle Cyclone' – The photo of a barefooted, hunter-like Case, poised on a Mercury Cougar car bonnet with a sword in hand, could quite easily become one of the defining music images of the year. Genius.

Dinosaur Jr: 'Farm' – Imagine watching the Ents on the Lord Of The Rings movies after taking a shit-ton of acid. This is probably what you'd see. Way out maaaaan.

Black Lips: '200 Million Thousand' – We like an optical illusion here at Gigwise and Black Lips gladly provided one on this album sleeve. If you can't quite make out the hidden image, move your head slowly away from the screen...

N.A.S.A: 'The Spirit Of The Apollo' – The Brazlian indie-hip-hop outfit drafted in the skills of renowned street artists Shepard Fairey, Mark Gonzalez and Marcel Dzama to create this striking image. Their skills clearly paid off.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs: 'It's Blitz!' - An action photography shot of the moment an egg is crushed by a hand, the sleeve is stunning and devastatingly effective in its sheer simplicity. We wouldn't be surprised if this album cover became iconic in future decades.

Prefuse 73: 'Everything She Touched Turned Ampexian' – The crown for the best sci-fi cover of the first half of 2009 goes to Barcelona's Prefuse 73! It fits the title perfectly too.

Morrissey: 'Years Of Refusal' – Taken by photographer Jake Walters, the image of Mozza holding a baby caused a stir when it was unveiled late last year. A truly unforgettable image. The baby used is the son of Mozza's assistant tour manager Charlie Browne.

Delta Spirit: 'Ode To Sunshine' – Released last year in the US, for its European release this March the San Diego indie-rockers issued an alternate sleeve, and it's a killer. Worthy of its place on this list for comedy value alone.

Mastodon: 'Crack the Skye' – Created by long-term Mastodon collaborator Paul Romano, the mythical images are all connected to themes on the album. A lasting image, the limited-edition 3D version is even better.

Wilco (The Album)' – The cover couldn't be more different from 2007's 'Sky Blue Sky'. Yep, they've switched from an award-winning image of a hawk swooping on a flock of birds for a gregarious, ridiculous photo of a Bactrian camel crashing a tea party. Amazing.

Empire Of The Sun: 'Walking On A Dream' – The Aussies' artwork is as preposterous as it is brilliant. Parodying iconic Star Wars posters, the duo have switched R2-D2 and co. for tigers, extinct dinosaurs and futuristic cityscapes.

Bonnie Prince Billy: 'Beware' – A simple yet striking sleeve, the sketch of Will Oldham's silhouetted head looks almost skeletal. Dark and eerie, it perfectly reflects the music the album contains.

Animal Collective: 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' – A truly mind-bending optical illusion, set this as your computer wallpaper and stare at it for five minutes. It completely fucks with your head, trust us.

The Mars Volta: 'Octahedron' – You can always rely on The Mars Volta releasing an impressive album cover, and they've done it again with Octahedron. Vastly different from their previous efforts, this time Cedric and Omar plumped for a surrealist painting complete with naked woman and giant garlic clove. Nice.

Manic Street Preachers: 'Journal For Plague Lovers' – Jenny Saville, the artist who painted the iconic cover for The Holy Bible, makes a welcome return on the Manics' ninth studio album. The band have used her poignant 2005 painting 'Stare' – an image of a young girl with a birthmark across one side of her face.