diff --git a/src/components/CachedImage.tsx b/src/components/CachedImage.tsx
index 3b46fbdc..f2009851 100644
--- a/src/components/CachedImage.tsx
+++ b/src/components/CachedImage.tsx
@@ -1,23 +1,16 @@
 import React, { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
-import { getCachedBlob } from '../utils/imageCache';
+import { acquireUrl, getCachedBlob, releaseUrl } from '../utils/imageCache';
 
 interface CachedImageProps extends React.ImgHTMLAttributes<HTMLImageElement> {
   src: string;
   cacheKey: string;
 }
 
-// Delay between the consumer dropping a cached URL and the actual revoke,
-// giving the DOM <img> time to finish its decode of the URL we just took
-// away. 500 ms is comfortably above any realistic decode latency without
-// being long enough to leak meaningful memory.
-const URL_REVOKE_DELAY_MS = 500;
-
 /**
- * Returns an object URL for a cached image. Each call owns its own URL: it
- * is created when the blob arrives and revoked (after a small grace delay)
- * on cleanup. There is no shared URL pool — the previous global LRU caused
- * "Failed to load resource" errors when an in-use URL got revoked because a
- * different consumer pushed it out of the cache.
+ * Returns a shared, refcounted object URL for a cached image. Multiple
+ * consumers of the same cacheKey see the exact same URL string, so the
+ * browser's decoded-image cache hits across instances — critical on
+ * Chromium/WebView2 (Windows), which keys decode results by URL.
  *
  * @param fallbackToFetch  If true (default), returns the raw fetchUrl while the
  *   blob is still resolving — useful for <img> tags so the browser starts
@@ -25,27 +18,58 @@ const URL_REVOKE_DELAY_MS = 500;
  *   should only see a stable blob URL (prevents a double crossfade).
  */
 export function useCachedUrl(fetchUrl: string, cacheKey: string, fallbackToFetch = true): string {
-  const [resolved, setResolved] = useState('');
+  // Synchronously acquire on first render when the blob is already hot. This
+  // makes the very first <img src> a blob URL, avoiding a fetchUrl→blobUrl
+  // swap that would trigger a redundant network request and decode pass.
+  const [resolved, setResolved] = useState(() => fetchUrl ? (acquireUrl(cacheKey) ?? '') : '');
+  // Tracks whichever cacheKey we currently hold a refcount on, so we know
+  // exactly what to release on cleanup or when keys change.
+  const ownedKeyRef = useRef<string | null>(resolved ? cacheKey : null);
+
   useEffect(() => {
-    if (!fetchUrl) { setResolved(''); return; }
-    const controller = new AbortController();
-    let createdUrl: string | null = null;
-    setResolved('');
-    getCachedBlob(fetchUrl, cacheKey, controller.signal).then(blob => {
-      if (controller.signal.aborted) return;
-      if (blob) {
-        createdUrl = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
-        setResolved(createdUrl);
+    const release = () => {
+      if (ownedKeyRef.current) {
+        releaseUrl(ownedKeyRef.current);
+        ownedKeyRef.current = null;
       }
+    };
+
+    if (!fetchUrl) {
+      release();
+      setResolved('');
+      return;
+    }
+
+    // Lazy initializer (or a previous run) already acquired the right key.
+    if (ownedKeyRef.current === cacheKey) return release;
+
+    // Different key than we're currently holding: drop the old one.
+    release();
+
+    // Fast path: blob is hot in memory → grab the shared URL synchronously.
+    const sync = acquireUrl(cacheKey);
+    if (sync) {
+      ownedKeyRef.current = cacheKey;
+      setResolved(sync);
+      return release;
+    }
+
+    // Slow path: fetch (or read from IDB), then acquire.
+    setResolved('');
+    const controller = new AbortController();
+    getCachedBlob(fetchUrl, cacheKey, controller.signal).then(blob => {
+      if (controller.signal.aborted || !blob) return;
+      const url = acquireUrl(cacheKey);
+      if (!url) return;
+      ownedKeyRef.current = cacheKey;
+      setResolved(url);
     });
     return () => {
       controller.abort();
-      if (createdUrl) {
-        const url = createdUrl;
-        setTimeout(() => URL.revokeObjectURL(url), URL_REVOKE_DELAY_MS);
-      }
+      release();
     };
   }, [fetchUrl, cacheKey]);
+
   return fallbackToFetch ? (resolved || fetchUrl) : resolved;
 }
 
@@ -66,7 +90,10 @@ export default function CachedImage({ src, cacheKey, style, onLoad, onError, ...
   }, []);
 
   // Pass empty string when not yet in view so useCachedUrl skips the fetch entirely.
-  const resolvedSrc = useCachedUrl(inView ? src : '', cacheKey);
+  // fallbackToFetch=false: avoid the fetchUrl→blobUrl src swap, which causes the browser
+  // to start a server fetch, then abort it when we replace src with the blob URL —
+  // visible in DevTools as a flood of "Pending / 0 B" requests on Chromium/WebView2.
+  const resolvedSrc = useCachedUrl(inView ? src : '', cacheKey, false);
   const [loaded, setLoaded] = useState(false);
 
   // Reset only when the logical image changes (cacheKey), not on fetchUrl→blobUrl
diff --git a/src/utils/imageCache.ts b/src/utils/imageCache.ts
index 54bb0103..0b9ed528 100644
--- a/src/utils/imageCache.ts
+++ b/src/utils/imageCache.ts
@@ -8,10 +8,59 @@ const MAX_CONCURRENT_FETCHES = 5;
 
 // In-memory blob cache: cacheKey → Blob (insertion-order = LRU approximation).
 // Only the Map entry is dropped on overflow — the underlying Blob is freed by
-// the GC once no <img>/<canvas>/object URL still references it. Each consumer
-// is responsible for its own URL.createObjectURL lifecycle.
+// the GC once no <img>/<canvas>/object URL still references it.
 const blobCache = new Map<string, Blob>();
 
+// Refcounted object URLs shared across all consumers of the same cacheKey.
+// Chromium/WebView2 keys its decoded-image cache by URL, so handing every
+// <img> its own URL.createObjectURL forces a fresh decode for each instance —
+// catastrophic on Windows even for tiny cover thumbnails. Sharing a single
+// URL per cacheKey lets the renderer reuse the decoded bitmap.
+const URL_REVOKE_DELAY_MS = 500;
+type UrlEntry = { url: string; refs: number; revokeTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null };
+const urlEntries = new Map<string, UrlEntry>();
+
+function purgeUrlEntry(cacheKey: string): void {
+  const entry = urlEntries.get(cacheKey);
+  if (!entry) return;
+  if (entry.revokeTimer) clearTimeout(entry.revokeTimer);
+  URL.revokeObjectURL(entry.url);
+  urlEntries.delete(cacheKey);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Returns a shared object URL for the cached blob of `cacheKey`, or null if
+ * not currently in memory. Pair every successful call with releaseUrl().
+ * Subsequent acquires reuse the same URL and just bump the refcount.
+ */
+export function acquireUrl(cacheKey: string): string | null {
+  const blob = blobCache.get(cacheKey);
+  if (!blob) return null;
+  rememberBlob(cacheKey, blob); // refresh LRU position
+  let entry = urlEntries.get(cacheKey);
+  if (!entry) {
+    entry = { url: URL.createObjectURL(blob), refs: 0, revokeTimer: null };
+    urlEntries.set(cacheKey, entry);
+  } else if (entry.revokeTimer) {
+    clearTimeout(entry.revokeTimer);
+    entry.revokeTimer = null;
+  }
+  entry.refs++;
+  return entry.url;
+}
+
+/** Decrements the refcount; revokes (after grace delay) when it reaches zero. */
+export function releaseUrl(cacheKey: string): void {
+  const entry = urlEntries.get(cacheKey);
+  if (!entry) return;
+  entry.refs--;
+  if (entry.refs > 0) return;
+  entry.revokeTimer = setTimeout(() => {
+    URL.revokeObjectURL(entry.url);
+    urlEntries.delete(cacheKey);
+  }, URL_REVOKE_DELAY_MS);
+}
+
 let activeFetches = 0;
 const fetchQueue: Array<() => void> = [];
 
@@ -160,6 +209,7 @@ export async function getImageCacheSize(): Promise<number> {
 
 export async function invalidateCacheKey(cacheKey: string): Promise<void> {
   blobCache.delete(cacheKey);
+  purgeUrlEntry(cacheKey);
   try {
     const database = await openDB();
     await new Promise<void>(resolve => {
@@ -181,6 +231,7 @@ export async function invalidateCoverArt(entityId: string): Promise<void> {
 
 export async function clearImageCache(): Promise<void> {
   blobCache.clear();
+  for (const key of Array.from(urlEntries.keys())) purgeUrlEntry(key);
   try {
     const database = await openDB();
     await new Promise<void>(resolve => {