
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.
RELATED: The 50 Best Rap Album Covers of the Past Five Years
RELATED: Green Label - 10 Coolest Hip-Hop Album Covers of All Time
RELATED: Pigeons & Planes - Classic Album Covers Remade with Clip Art
RELATED: Green Label - The Best Rock Album Cover Art of All Time
50. Foster the People, Torches

49. Autre Ne Veut, Anxiety

48. St. Vincent, Strange Mercy

47. Antony and the Johnsons, The Crying Light

46. Fiona Apple, The Idler Wheel

45. Haim, Days Are Gone

44. Chester French, Love the Future

43. Woodkid, The Golden Age

42. Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

41. The Weeknd, House of Balloons

40. LCD Soundsystem, This Is Happening

39. M83, Hurry Up, We're Dreaming

38. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, It's Blitz

37. Arcade Fire, The Suburbs

36. Dirty Projectors, Bitte Orca

35. MGMT, Congratulations

34. Animal Collective, Merriweather Post Pavilion

33. Miley Cyrus, Bangerz

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

31. Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans

30. Beyonce, 4

29. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience

28. Passion Pit, Gossamer

27. Coldplay, Mylo Xyloto

26. Blood Orange, Coastal Grooves

25. Toro y Moi, Underneath the Pine

24. The xx, xx

23. Lady Gaga, ARTPOP

22. Maroon 5, Hands All Over

21. Adele, 21

20. G-Dragon, Coup D'Etat

19. Robyn, Body Talk

18. Best Coast, Crazy for You

17. Jessie Ware, Devotion

16. Katy Perry, One of the Boys

15. M.I.A., Maya

14. Beyonce, I Am... Sasha Fierce

13. Santigold, Master of My Make Believe

12. Lykke Li, Wounded Rhymes

11. Madonna, MDNA

10. Arcade Fire, Reflektor

9. Frank Ocean, channel ORANGE

8. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die

7. Grimes, Visions

6. Lady Gaga, The Fame Monster

5. Florence and the Machine, Lungs

4. fun., Some Nights

3. Vampire Weekend, Contra

2. Bjork, Biophilia

1. Michael Jackson, Michael
