The 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years

Albums from Madonna, Katy Perry, and Sky Ferreira make the cut.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Pop, derived from the word "popular," is a genre that's continually hard to define. Pop music shifts constantly, but over time, it has been known to include catchy melodies and hooks, repeated choruses, and widespread appeal. Today, pop music borders on a lot of rap and dance music, but at its core, the aforementioned qualities define it.

Picking a list of The 50 Best Pop Album Covers of the Past Five Years is hardly an easy task, but it's one that reveals a lot about how these album covers work. Especially in the context of recent pop releases—Katy Perry's Prism, Lady Gaga's ARTPOP, Sky Ferreira's Night Time, My Time, and M.I.A.'s Matangi—one realizes the tendency for pop covers to be direct facial portraits, sometimes without much more styling or design.

When it comes to more indie releases, the imaging naturally gets more experimental. Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion is an abstract optical illusion, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs photographed a fist crushing an egg for It's Blitz, and three versions of Santigold pose in front of a painting of herself for Master of My Make Believe

This list includes pop albums that came out between November 8, 2008 and today. Enjoy this visual tour of pop music, and its best covers, from the last five years.

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50. Foster the People, Torches

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49. Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety

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48. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy

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47. Antony and the Johnsons, The Crying Light

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46. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel

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45. Haim, Days Are Gone

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44. Chester French, Love the Future

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43. Woodkid, The Golden Age

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42. Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

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41. The Weeknd, House of Balloons

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40. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening

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39. M83, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

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38. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz

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37. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

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36. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca

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35. MGMT, Congratulations

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34. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion

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33. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz

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32. Icona Pop, This Is...Icona Pop

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31. Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans

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30. Beyonce, 4

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29. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience

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28. Passion Pit, Gossamer

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27. Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto

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26. Blood Orange, Coastal Grooves

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25. Toro y Moi, Underneath the Pine

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24. The xx, xx

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23. Lady Gaga, ARTPOP

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22. Maroon 5, Hands All Over

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21. Adele, 21

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20. G-Dragon, Coup D'Etat

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19. Robyn, Body Talk

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18. Best Coast, Crazy for You

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17. Jessie Ware, Devotion

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16. Katy Perry, One of the Boys

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15. M.I.A., Maya

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14. Beyonce, I Am... Sasha Fierce

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13. Santigold, Master of My Make Believe

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12. Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes

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11. Madonna, MDNA

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10. Arcade Fire, Reflektor

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9. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

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8. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die

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7. Grimes, Visions

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6. Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster

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5. Florence and the Machine, Lungs

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4. fun., Some Nights

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3. Vampire Weekend, Contra

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2. Bjork, Biophilia

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1. Michael Jackson, Michael

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