ONTD

Over the last 13 years, we've seen Britney Spears go from not-yet-a-woman to full-on sexy mama. Brit's career has had both tumbles and triumphs, but one thing has remained constant — the girl knows how to pose for one helluva photo. In honor of the Forbes mega earner's highly anticpated album of the year, we've boiled the pop icon's essence down to 15 of her greatest photos. Click through to countdown with us—and if you disagree with our number one pick, we hope you won't hold it against us.







#15 Kicking off our list is Britney’s 2003 shoot for GQ. Some boots are made for walking, but Brit’s thigh-highs are doing a fine job of putting the pop star’s gorgeous gams on display.



#14) Britney’s 2000 Rolling Stone cover made us stand and sing The National Anthem. Stars and stripes forever? Yes, please.



#13) Brit was back on the cover of Rolling Stone in 2001, this time she wanted to show us the womanly curves she’d acquired over the year.



#12) We’re not usually fans of swimsuits worn in place of a top—perhaps it was laundry day in the Spears house—but somehow this totally works for Brit."



#11) Blondes have more fun, unless you’re Britney Spears rocking a new brunette ‘do in the pages of Allure magazine.



#10 Britney Spears posing for 2002’s Elle magazine. This shot made the list because it perfectly captures Britney’s certain je ne sais quoi.



#9 When Britney posed pregnant and au natural for Harper’s Bazaar it was as if she was saying, “Take that, Demi Moore!”



#8 Britney can even make a simple white tank top and cutoff shorts look like the sexiest outfit on the planet, as shown here by her November 2003 GQ cover.



#7) When Britney teamed up with photographer David LaChapelle for this 1999 Rolling Stones shoot, we’re sure the result was a lot of angry parents and a new male fanbase.



#6 We loved the cheekiness of Britney’s 2006 cover of Britain’s Q magazine.



#5 We absolutely adored Britney’s high fashion look for 2003’s W magazine—and the nod to “Slave 4 U” with the snakes.



#4 It’s just Britney pushing a little girl’s pink bicycle, wearing shorts with the words “Baby” rhinestoned on the back, but somehow when David LaChapelle takes a photo of it, it’s so much more than that.



#3) It’s no wonder a topless Britney, post Justin and pre K-Fed (and having recently smooched Madonna on live TV), covered Rolling Stone’s 2003 Hot List issue.



#2) Britney shows off her lovely jewelry for Esquire magazine.



#1) And our top pic is Britney’s cover of Esquire magazine’s ‘Women We Love’ issue from 2003. The shot was a re-creation of a 1966 Angie Dickinson shoot to celebrate the mag’s 70th anniversary—but we’re pretty sure no one paid attention to anything other than the fact that Brit is tan, pantsless and seems to be channeling Marilyn Monroe in this shoot.

The end.