What is a Picture Disc Record Album? 

A picture disc record album is different from a regular record album in that the picture of the group, or anything that you would normally find on the cardboard record album cover, was imprinted right into the vinyl of the album. The vinyl used to make these was clear colored instead of black. These were more expensive to produce and so less of them were made. 

The sound quality on picture discs is not as good as the standard black vinyl recordings and was purchased more for looks than for actual playback. In other words, they were just cool to own and even when first released, were considered collectibles.