I like to think that I'm above judging a CD by its cover. When I first started collecting classical music, I was a member of the Musical Heritage Society and their covers were truly dismal, but that seemed of small importance compared to the music inside. However, I simply cannot bear to purchase those CDs of historic performances (can't remember the company) that are laid out like a newspaper front page with screaming headlines. And for a long time I resisted buying any of those series of Bernstein recordings that feature paintings by Prince Charles on the cover. Not that they were particularly ugly, but I didn't like the fact that Prince Charles could get his unremarkable art published just because he was Prince Charles. I finally gave in when I found a Shostakovitch 9th that I was looking for to fill in my collection of his symphonies and having broken the ice now, I'd probably do it again if I saw something I really wanted. John Parker Tucson, Arizona