A building is to an architect what an album is to a musician or band. Now, excuse us for extending the analogy when we say that the façade of a building is like the sleeve cover of an album — it is (kinda). A sleek façade is integral to the experience of moving through a building just as an album’s artwork — yes, even now in the digital age — changes how you hear a record, at least for the first few times.

South by Southwest kicks off today in Austin, Texas, and to console ourselves for being stuck in wintry New York, we’ve combined our two loves of music and architecture. (No, not this.) Here are 20 album covers whose jewel-cases prominently feature architecture. From world-famous landmarks to surreal, fantasy structures, these cardboard buildings are candy for your eyes (and ears!). Click through! 

CFCF, Exercises EP (2012)
Phillips Exeter Academy Library by Louis Kahn

Eminem, Recovery (2010)
Renaissance Center by John Portman & Associates

Azari & III, Azari & III (2012)
Burj Khalifa by Adrian Smith of SOM
Artwork: Guillaume Gilbert

Pink Floyd, Animals (1977)
Battersea Power Station by John Mowlem & Co.

Peter Bjorn and John, Writer’s Block (2006)
Artwork by Kerstin Hanson and Graham Samuels

Tape, Revelationes (2011)
Cover features panorama of Istanbul, including relief of Hagia Sophia

Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Unknown Mortal Orchestra (2011)
Monument to the Uprising of the People of Kordun and Banija by Vojin Bakić

Deltron 3030, Deltron 3030 (2000)
1939 New York World’s Fair Perisphere by Wallace K. Harrison

Cut/Copy, Zonoscope (2011)
Empire State Building by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, and Chrysler Building by William Van Allen
Artwork: Toshi Wa Sawayakana Asa Wo Mukaeru by Tsunehisa Kimura

Modest Mouse, The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)
The Westin Seattle by John Graham & Associates

Real Estate, Real Estate (2009)
Hexahedron Arcology by Paolo Soleri

Air, 10,000 Hz Legend (2001)
Artwork: Monument Valley by Ito Morabito

Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2002)
Marina City by Bertrand Goldberg

(But ew really, Owl City?)

Owl City, Ocean Eyes (2009)
Burj Al Arab by Tom Wright of Atkins

The Streets, Computers and Blues (2011)
Norfolk Terrace Halls at the University of East Anglia by Denys Lasdun

Glenn Branca, Ascension: The Sequel (2010)
Artwork: Robert Longo

Genghis Tron, Dead Mountain Mouth (2006)
Artwork featuring geodesic dome: Jon Beasley

Sufjan Stevens, Illinois (2005)
John Hancock Center (in foreground) by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill
Artwork: Divya Srinivasan

Beastie Boys, To the 5 Boroughs (2004)
Artwork: Illustration of Downtown Manhattan by Matteo Pericoli

R. Kelly and Jay-Z, Unfinished Business (2004)
Collage of Chicago and New York City skylines by Akisia Grigsby

by James Bartolacci

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