To summarize a decade’s worth of brilliant design with 20 covers is little more than an exercise in futility. We can all agree, however, that the best part of passing into a new digit bracket is the lists that come with it. This collection is little more than a representation of my own tastes, but I tried to choose works which were representative of their respective years.
I beat myself up quite a bit when putting this together, but there are still a handful of notables worth mentioning:
- Any of gray318‘s covers for Safran Foer.
- Any of Kidd or Gall’s covers for Murakami
- Anything from Henry Sene Yee
- Anything from Paul Buckley or Darren Haggar over at Penguin US.
![2000](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2000.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_abomination.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/faster_1.large.jpg)
The Abomination, Chip Kidd
Art Direction by Carol Devine Carson
Runner-up
Faster, Jamie Keenan
Art Direction by John Gall
![2001](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2001.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/a_general_theory_of_love.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_darkness_and_the_light.large.jpg)
A General Theory of Love, John Gall
Photographer, Boris Schmalenberger
Runner-Up
The Darkness and The Light, Chip Kidd
![2002](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2002.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_egg_code.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/lullaby_1.large.jpg)
The Egg Code, Evan Gaffney
Art Direction by Carol Devine Carson
Runner-up
Lullaby, Rodrigo Corral
![2003](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2003.jpg)
![](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/jimmy_corrigan.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/oryx_and_crake_1.large.jpg)
Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest Kid on Earth, Chris Ware
Runner-up
Oryx And Crake, John Gall
![2004](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2004.jpg)
![](http://admin.bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/a_shortcut_through_time.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/killing_the_buddha.large.jpg)
A Shortcut Through Time, Peter Buchanan-Smith
Runner-up
Killing the Buddha, Paul Sahre
Photograph by Jason Fulford
![2005](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2005.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/murder.large.jpg)
![](http://admin.bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/chip_kidd_book_one.detail.jpg)
Murder, gray318
Representative of the Penguin 70th anniversary box set.
Runner-up
Book One, Mark Melnick
Art Direction by Chip Kidd
![2006](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2006.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/The_Prisoner_of_Guantanamo.large.jpg)
![](http://admin.bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/race_riots.large.jpg)
The Prisoner of Guantanamo, John Gall
Runner-up
Race Riots, David Drummond
![2007](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2007.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/Exile_and_the_Kingdom.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/one_perfect_day.large.jpg)
Exile and the Kingdom, Helen Yentus
Art Direction by John Gall
Representative of the Camus Series
Runner-up
One Perfect Day, Evan Gaffney
Art direction by Darren Haggar
![2008](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2008.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_work_of_art_in_the_age_of_mechanical_reproduction.large.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/obsession_a_history.large.jpg)
The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, David Pearson
Representative of the Penguin Great Ideas series.
Runner-up
Obsession, Isaac Tobin
Illustration by Lauren Nassef
![2009](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_2009.jpg)
![](http://bookcoverarchive.com/images/books/the_way_through_doors.large.jpg)
![](http://blog.bookcoverarchive.com/wp-content/images/bca_original_of_laura.jpg)
The Way Through Doors, Helen Yentus, Jason Booher
Art Direction by John Gall
Runner-up
The Original of Laura, Chip Kidd
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Feel free to tell me how wrong I am in the comments.