diff --git a/frontend/src/components/cover-grid/cover-grid.ts b/frontend/src/components/cover-grid/cover-grid.ts
index 540f4ad..21038a5 100644
--- a/frontend/src/components/cover-grid/cover-grid.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/components/cover-grid/cover-grid.ts
@@ -1480,12 +1480,16 @@ export class CoverGrid
             source: 'cover-grid',
         });
 
-        // Single album: show cover art thumbnail.
-        // Multiple albums: show track-count badge.
+        // Single album: show its cover, badged with how many tracks are
+        // on the way -- an album is 1 track or 30 and the thumbnail is
+        // the same picture either way, so the number the drop is about
+        // was the one thing this drag did not say.
+        // Multiple albums: show the track-count badge alone.
         if (isSingleAlbum && hit.album.CoverArtPath) {
             this.dragImageEl =
                 createAlbumArtDragImage(
                     this.getCoverUrl(hit.album),
+                    filePaths.length,
                 );
         } else {
             this.dragImageEl = createDragImage(
diff --git a/frontend/src/utils/drag-image.ts b/frontend/src/utils/drag-image.ts
index d0dff31..6002dcb 100644
--- a/frontend/src/utils/drag-image.ts
+++ b/frontend/src/utils/drag-image.ts
@@ -29,11 +29,23 @@ export function createDragImage(count: number): HTMLElement {
 }
 
 /**
- * Creates a drag image showing an album cover art thumbnail.
- * Falls back to the track-count badge if the image fails to load.
+ * Creates a drag image showing an album cover art thumbnail, with a
+ * corner badge saying how many tracks are on the way.
+ *
+ * The count is not decoration. The cover says *what* is being dragged
+ * and nothing said *how much* — an album is 1 track or 30 and the
+ * thumbnail is identical either way, so the one number the drop is
+ * about was the one thing the drag did not show. Every other drag in
+ * the app says it (`createDragImage` is a count and nothing else);
+ * this one was the exception because it had a picture to show instead.
+ *
+ * A count of 1 draws no badge: "1" over a single album cover is noise,
+ * and the absence is unambiguous next to a badge that only ever
+ * appears when there is more than one.
  */
 export function createAlbumArtDragImage(
     coverUrl: string,
+    count = 1,
 ): HTMLElement {
     const size = 64;
     const wrapper = document.createElement('div');
@@ -44,6 +56,12 @@ export function createAlbumArtDragImage(
         'left: -1000px',
         'pointer-events: none',
         'z-index: 9999',
+        // The badge is positioned against this box, and the box stays
+        // exactly the cover's size: anything outside it risks being
+        // clipped out of the snapshot the browser takes, and padding
+        // it instead would move the cover away from the cursor.
+        `width: ${size}px`,
+        `height: ${size}px`,
     ].join(';');
 
     const img = document.createElement('img');
@@ -61,11 +79,44 @@ export function createAlbumArtDragImage(
     ].join(';');
 
     wrapper.appendChild(img);
+
+    if (count > 1) {
+        wrapper.appendChild(countBadge(count));
+    }
+
     document.body.appendChild(wrapper);
 
     return wrapper;
 }
 
+/** The corner badge on a multi-track drag image. */
+function countBadge(count: number): HTMLElement {
+    const badge = document.createElement('span');
+
+    badge.className = 'drag-count-badge';
+    badge.textContent = String(count);
+    badge.style.cssText = [
+        'position: absolute',
+        'top: 3px',
+        'right: 3px',
+        'min-width: 20px',
+        'height: 20px',
+        'padding: 0 5px',
+        'box-sizing: border-box',
+        'border-radius: 10px',
+        'background: #ffd43b',
+        'color: #000',
+        'font-size: 12px',
+        'font-weight: 600',
+        'font-family: inherit',
+        'line-height: 20px',
+        'text-align: center',
+        'box-shadow: 0 1px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.5)',
+    ].join(';');
+
+    return badge;
+}
+
 /**
  * Creates a drag image styled like a queue track card showing the
  * track title and artist.  Used when dragging a single track.
diff --git a/frontend/test/components/drag-image.test.ts b/frontend/test/components/drag-image.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c436e5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/frontend/test/components/drag-image.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,71 @@
+/**
+ * A drag says how much it is carrying.
+ *
+ * Every drag in the app already did — `createDragImage` is a count and
+ * nothing else — except the one with a picture to show instead. An
+ * album dragged to the queue put its cover under the cursor and said
+ * nothing about how many tracks that was, and an album is 1 track or 30
+ * with the same thumbnail either way. The number is the thing the drop
+ * is about.
+ *
+ * A count of 1 draws no badge: "1" over a single cover is noise, and
+ * the absence reads unambiguously beside a badge that only ever appears
+ * when there is more than one.
+ */
+import { describe, expect, it, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+
+import {
+  createAlbumArtDragImage,
+  removeDragImage,
+} from '@utils/drag-image';
+
+const made: HTMLElement[] = [];
+
+function dragImage(count?: number): HTMLElement {
+  const el =
+    count === undefined
+      ? createAlbumArtDragImage('data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACw=')
+      : createAlbumArtDragImage(
+          'data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACw=',
+          count,
+        );
+
+  made.push(el);
+
+  return el;
+}
+
+const badge = (el: HTMLElement) =>
+  el.querySelector<HTMLElement>('.drag-count-badge');
+
+describe('the album drag image', () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    while (made.length > 0) removeDragImage(made.pop()!);
+  });
+
+  it('says how many tracks are being dragged', () => {
+    expect(badge(dragImage(12))?.textContent).toBe('12');
+  });
+
+  it('says nothing when there is only one track', () => {
+    expect(badge(dragImage(1))).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('still draws a bare cover for a caller that gives no count', () => {
+    // The count is optional so the helper stays usable from a call site
+    // that has a cover and no list; it must not badge such a drag "1".
+    expect(badge(dragImage())).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the badge inside the cover', () => {
+    // setDragImage snapshots the element, and anything outside its box
+    // risks being clipped out of that snapshot — while padding the box
+    // instead would move the cover away from the cursor.
+    const el = dragImage(30);
+    const outer = el.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const mark = badge(el)!.getBoundingClientRect();
+
+    expect(mark.right).toBeLessThanOrEqual(outer.right);
+    expect(mark.top).toBeGreaterThanOrEqual(outer.top);
+  });
+});