Annie Leibovitz’s picture of John Lennon and Yoko Ono – taken on the last day of the former Beatle’s life – has been judged as the best front cover of any magazine in the past 40 years.

And guess what? It almost wasn’t used…

The image shows Lennon clutching Yoko just hours before he was gunned down, and was uncomfortable viewing for many Rolling Stone readers who purchased the Lennnon issue just six weeks after his death.

Often referred to as Leibovitz’s greatest shot, the assignment to capture Lennon on film was her first for Rolling Stone, to accompany a piece on the Double Fantasy album.

Rolling Stone had wanted to feature Lennon on the cover without Yoko, but Leibovitz’s persistence in arguing for her image of the couple to be used finally won the day.

And now, a group of 52 experts proclaimed the image the winner from a shortlist of more than 400 other front covers. Well done Annie. We reckon you deserve all the credit for this one.

The competition, ‘Magazine 40/40′, was created earlier this year by the American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME).

Here’s a full list of the top 40 US magazine covers, as chosen by ASME:

1. Rolling Stone – Jan. 22, 1981 – John Lennon and Yoko Ono laying in bed

2. Vanity Fair – Aug. 1991 – Nude Demi Moore

3. Esquire – April 1968 – “The Passion of Muhammad Ali”: Ali with arrows in his body

4. The New Yorker – March 29, 1976 – Drawing of New York from Hudson River and rest of the country to Pacific Ocean

5. Esquire – May 1969 – Andy Warhol drowning in Campbell’s soup can – “The decline and collapse of American avant-garde”

6. The New Yorker – Sept. 24, 2001 – 9/11 – Twin towers drawing in all black against a gray skyline

7. National Lampoon – January 1973 – “If you don’t buy this magazine, we’ll kill this dog” – Man pointing gun at terrified dog

8. Esquire – October 1966 – “Oh my God – we hit a little girl.”

9. Harper’s Bazaar – Sept. 1992 – Linda Evangelista holding up the letter ‘A’ in magazine’s title: “Enter the Era of Elegance”

10. National Geographic – June 1985 – Afghan girl – “Haunted eyes of an Afghan refugee’s fears”

11. Life – April 30, 1965 – “Drama of life before birth” – fetus in womb drawing

12. Time – April 8, 1966 – “Is God Dead?”

13. Life – 1969 – Man on the moon: “To the moon & back”

14. The New Yorker – December 10, 2001 – “New Yorkistan” map: New York divided into Middle Eastern names

15. Harper’s Bazaar – April 1965 – Model’s face peering through pink cutout

16. The Economist – Sept. 10-16, 1994 – Two camels portraying: “The Trouble with Mergers”

17. Time – June 21, 1968 – Lichtenstein drawing: “The gun in America”

18. ESPN – June 29, 1998 – Michael Jordan jumping against all-white background

19. Esquire – December 2000 – smiling Bill Clinton photo

20. Blue – October 1997 – Man diving

21. Life – November 26, 1965 – Vietcong prisoner with eyes and mouth taped shut: “The blunt reality of war in Vietnam”

22. George – Oct/Nov 1995 – Cindy Crawford dressed as George Washington

23. The Nation – November 13, 2000 – George Bush: What me, worry?

24. Interview – December 1972 – Andy Warhol photographing model for the Christmas issue

25. Time – September 14, 2001 – 9/11: Photo of twin towers terrorist bombing

26. People – March 4, 1974 – Young Mia Farrow biting a strand of pearls, set to star in Gatsby

27. Entertainment Weekly – May 2, 2003 – Nude Dixie Chicks – “Country’s controversial superstars take on their critics”

28. Life – April 16, 1965 – Black and white photo: “Vietcong zero in on vulnerable U.S. copters”

29. (tie) Playboy – October 1971 – African American woman posing on Playboy bunny chair

29. (tie) Fortune – Oct. 1, 2001 – “Up from the ashes”: Man covered in ashes after 9/11 terrorist attacks

31. Newsweek – November 20, 2000 – Half Bush, half Gore photo: “And the winner is…”

32. Vogue – May 2004 – Nicole Kidman’s back profile – dress in an elegant gown

33. (tie) Newsweek – July 30, 1973 – “The Nixon Tapes”: Aerial view of the White House turned into a tape recorder

33. (tie) Wired – June 1997 – Apple symbol covered in barbed wire: “Pray”

35. New York – June 8, 1970 – “Free Leonard Bernstein”

36. People – September 15, 1997 – Black and white Princess Diana photo

37. Details – February 1989 – Cyndi Lauper photo

37. (tie) Fast Company – Aug/Sept 1997 – “The brand called You” – against a Tide background

37. (tie) Glamour – August 1968 – “Best Dressed College Girls” with a black woman as the cover model (first time a black woman appeared on the cover of a national women’s magazine)

37. (tie) National Geographic – October 1978 – Gorilla taking photograph: “Conversations with a gorilla”

37. (tie) Time – April 14, 1997 – Ellen DeGeneres: “Yep, I’m Gay”

We can’t help but think of a few UK covers that might have made it into that list (if the judging criteria were broadened). Can you suggest any obvious omissions?

Read more:

Naked Lennon tops magazine poll – BBC