But, the other side of that were the bands that put out incredible works of art. Art in which the packaging played an integral part of the artistic process.
The infrared pyramid poster included with Dark Side and the candy included in Wish you Were Here are just two great examples that perfectly demonstrate that they were great not only for the brilliance of the music. But how Floyd worked with hypnosis to create those posters in Dark, and the postcard, flaming man, etc on Wish.
Same with Yes. Roger Deans art work made Yessongs and Tales From Topographic Oceans damn near a religious experience. He created an entire fucking world through a medium that added a visual experience that complimented the extreme complexity of the music itself.
Reading the lyrics, seeing the photographs and reading line by line credits about who did what, and hanging a poster made the experience far more personal then simply downloading a song.
So yeah, there was shit. But, buying the right album made for a hell of a nice day.