# List of covers of Time magazine (2000s)

This is a list of people or topics appearing on the cover of Time magazine in the first decade of the 2000s. Time was first published in 1923. As Time became established as one of the United States' leading news magazines, an appearance on the cover of Time became an indicator of notability, fame or notoriety. Such features were accompanied by articles.
For other decades, see Lists of covers of Time magazine.

## 2000

| Date | Names or topics | Caption |
| January 1 | New Year's Eve 2000 | Welcome to a New Century |
| January 17 | Elian Gonzalez | Where Does He Belong? |
| January 24 | Steve Case & Jerry Levin | The Big Deal |
| January 31 | George W. Bush, Al Gore, Bill Bradley & John McCain | The Mad Dash |
| February 7 | Big Money & Politics | Who Gets Hurt |
| February 14 | John McCain | The McCain Mutiny |
| February 21 | Leonardo DiCaprio | Leo Up Close |
| February 28 | George W. Bush | What Drives Bush |
| March 6 | Amadou Diallo | Cops, Brutality & Race |
| March 13 | Katie Couric | Katie's Crusade |
| March 20 | The Rebirth of Design | Function is out. Form is in. From radios to cars to toothbrushes, America is bowled over by style. |
| March 27 | Stephen King | Do-It-Yourself.com |
| April 3 | John Paul II | The Pope in the Holy Land |
| April 10 | Visions of Space & Science | In the Future Will We... |
| April 17 | Elian & Juan Miguel Gonzalez | Elian and his Dad |
| April 24 | Testosterone | It restores sex drive. It boosts muscle mass. And soon you can get it as a gel. But is also can be dangerous. Is the edge worth it? |
| April 26 | Earth Day 2000: How To Save The Earth | |
| May 1 | Elian & Juan Miguel Gonzalez | "Papa!" |
| May 8 | The Untold Saga of the Vikings | They beat Columbus to the New World by 500 years. Fresh research show how they influenced us-and still do. |
| May 15 | The Love Bug | How it works How to protect yourself from viruses Bill Gates defends the Microsoft monolith |
| May 22 | Jobs of the Future | Tom Peters on which careers will flourish-and vanish |
| May 29 | America Remembers the Soldiers | Last Letters from Home |
| June 5 | What Ecstasy Does to Your Brain | The Science The Rave Scene Inside a Crime Ring |
| June 12 | Improving Your Memory | How to Improve Your Memory The pills, the fads-and the science |
| June 19 | Future of Technology | Smart Cars, uppity robots, and cybersex. Are you ready? |
| June 26 | Voyeur TV | We like to watch |
| July 3 | J. Craig Venter & Dr. Francis Collins | Cracking the Code! |
| July 10 | Life on the Mississippi | An eye-opening journey along America's river of dreams |
| July 17 | New Science of Alzheimer's disease | The drugs The genetics The latest theories What you can do now |
| July 24 | The New Philanthropists | They're hands on. They want results. Who gives and how much. |
| July 31 | Dr. Ingo Potrykus | This rice could save a million kids a year |
| August 7 | The Bush Dynasty | The Making of a Candidate |
| August 14 | Tiger Woods | Tiger's Tale |
| August 21 | Joe Lieberman & Al Gore | Chutzpah! |
| August 28 | Sex & The City | Who Needs a Husband? |
| September 4 | Kofi Annan | Kofi Annan |
| September 11 | Marion Jones | Marion Jones wants five golds. Can she do it? |
| September 18 | Dying in America | Dying on Our Own Terms |
| September 25 | What Divorce Does to Kids | What Divorce Does to Kids |
| October 2 | Shawn Fanning | What's Next for Napster |
| October 9 | Abortion pill | |
| October 16 | Serbia: Free at Last | Free at Last |
| October 23 | Terror in the Middle East | Terror in the Middle East |
| October 30 | Early Puberty | Why Girls are Growing Up Faster |
| November 6 | George W. Bush & Al Gore | The Choice |
| November 13 | Foster Care Crisis | The Shame of Foster Care |
| November 20 | George W. Bush & Al Gore | The Wildest Election in History |
| November 27 | George W. Bush & Al Gore | Unprecedented Is this any way to run an election? |
| December 4 | George W. Bush & Al Gore | 537 Votes Bush's New Margin |
| December 11 | George W. Bush & Al Gore | The Supreme Showdown |
| December 18 | U.S. Voting System | Yes, we'll survive. |
| December 25 | George W. Bush, Person of the Year | President-elect George W. Bush |

## 2001

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 8 | Economic Survival Tips |
| January 15 | Future of Drugs |
| January 22 | John Ashcroft |
| January 29 | Power Failures |
| February 5 | Living Healthy |
| February 12 | AIDS in Africa |
| February 19 | Human Cloning |
| February 26 | Bill Clinton |
| March 5 | Dale Earnhardt |
| March 12 | SATs |
| March 19 | School Violence |
| March 26 | Recession |
| April 2 | Phobias |
| April 9 | Global warming |
| April 16 | Jerusalem: Then & Now |
| April 23 | The Science of Yoga |
| April 30 | How to Educate Our Kids |
| May 7 | Bob Kerrey |
| May 14 | Alzheimer's disease |
| May 21 | Timothy McVeigh |
| May 28 | Drugs That Fight Cancer |
| June 4 | George W. Bush |
| June 11 | The U.S.-Mexico Border |
| June 18 | Erik Weihenmayer |
| June 25 | How the Universe Will End |
| July 2 | Privacy Online |
| July 9 | Julia Roberts |
| July 16 | War Over the West |
| July 23 | Human Evolution |
| July 30 | Sharks |
| August 6 | Modern-Day Children |
| August 13 | The Kennedy Family |
| August 20 | James Thomson |
| August 27 | Home Schooling |
| September 3 | Venus & Serena Williams |
| September 10 | Colin Powell |
| September 14 | Special Edition: Sept. 11 |
| September 15 | Music Goes Global: Björk, Brenda Fassie, Marc Anthony, Hikaru Utada, Max de Castro, Shakira |
| September 17 | Preacher T.D. Jakes |
| September 24 | George W. Bush |
| October 1 | Osama bin Laden |
| October 8 | How Real Is The Threat |
| October 15 | Facing the Fury |
| October 22 | The Fear Factor |
| October 29 | War on terrorism |
| November 5 | George W. Bush |
| November 12 | Osama bin Laden |
| November 19 | Thanksgiving 2001 |
| November 26 | Osama bin Laden |
| December 3 | Women of Afghanistan |
| December 10 | George Harrison |
| December 17 | The Taliban |
| December 24 | Closing In |
| December 31 | Rudy Giuliani, Person of the Year |

## 2002

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 14 | Steve Jobs |
| January 21 | The Science of Staying Healthy |
| January 28 | Personal Finance |
| February 4 | Enron |
| February 11 | Sarah Hughes |
| February 18 | Breast Cancer |
| February 25 | Jamie Sale & David Pelletier |
| March 4 | Bono |
| March 11 | Stopping the Next Attack |
| March 18 | The War on Terror |
| March 25 | Middle East |
| April 1 | The Catholic Church Dilemma |
| April 8 | Yasser Arafat |
| April 15 | Babies vs. Career |
| April 22 | Medical Testing |
| April 29 | Yoda |
| May 6 | Autism |
| May 13 | Saddam Hussein |
| May 20 | Spider-Man |
| May 27 | While America Slept |
| June 3 | The Bombshell Memo |
| June 10 | Anxiety |
| June 17 | George W. Bush |
| June 24 | Tom Cruise |
| July 1 | The Bible & & The Apocalypse |
| July 8 | Lewis & Clark |
| July 15 | Being a Vegetarian |
| July 22 | Hormones |
| July 29 | Retiring |
| August 5 | Bruce Springsteen |
| August 12 | Nine Months Before 9/11 |
| August 19 | Young & Bipolar |
| August 26 | How to Save the Earth |
| September 2 | Carbs & Fats |
| September 9 | September 11 Memorial Issue |
| September 16 | Saddam Hussein |
| September 23 | Al-Qaeda Terrorist |
| September 30 | Abraham |
| October 7 | Preventing Headaches |
| October 14 | Inside the New American Home |
| October 21 | The Science of Catching a Killer |
| October 28 | Al-Qaeda Terrorist |
| November 4 | Legalizing Marijuana |
| November 11 | Inside the Tomb |
| November 18 | George W. Bush & Karl Rove |
| November 25 | Osama bin Laden |
| December 2 | Return of the Rings |
| December 9 | Arthritis |
| December 16 | American Indians & Casinos |
| December 18 | Pictures of the Year |
| December 23 | Trent Lott |
| December 30 | The Whistleblowers, Persons of the Year |

## 2003

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 13 | Kim Jong-il |
| January 20 | How Your Mind Can Heal Your body |
| January 27 | Donald Rumsfeld |
| February 3 | The CIA's Secret Army |
| February 5 | Style & Design 2003 |
| February 10 | Columbia Disaster |
| February 17 | DNA Turns 50 |
| February 24 | Living in Terror |
| March 3 | George W. Bush |
| March 10 | Saddam Hussein |
| March 17 | Tommy Franks |
| March 24 | Families at War, featuring Lieut. Colonel Laura Richardson |
| March 30 | Time's 80th anniversary |
| March 31 | Gulf War II |
| April 7 | What Will It Take to Win? |
| April 14 | Saddam's Last Stand |
| April 21 | After the Fall |
| April 28 | Women & Heart Disease |
| May 5 | The Truth About SARS |
| May 12 | Secrets of the New Matrix |
| May 19 | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| May 26 | Hey, Where's My Raise? |
| June 2 | What Makes You Special |
| June 9 | The Doctor Is Out |
| June 16 | Hillary Clinton |
| June 23 | Why Harry Potter Rules |
| June 30 | Should Christians Convert Muslims? |
| July 7 | Benjamin Franklin |
| July 14 | Peace Is Hell |
| July 21 | Untruth and Consequences |
| July 28 | Overcoming Dyslexia |
| August 4 | The Science of Meditation |
| August 11 | Howard Dean |
| August 18 | Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| August 25 | Blackout |
| August 28 | Style & Design: Inside Fashion |
| September 1 | Is the Army Stretched Too Thin |
| September 8 | What's Next |
| September 15 | The Saudis |
| September 22 | Johnny Cash |
| September 29 | Ronald Reagan |
| October 6 | Mission Not Accomplished |
| October 13 | The War Over the Leak |
| October 20 | The Secrets of Eating Smarter |
| October 27 | Inside the New SATs |
| November 3 | Medicating Young Minds |
| November 10 | Russell Crowe |
| November 17 | Jessica Lynch |
| November 24 | Where the New Jobs Are |
| December 1 | George W. Bush |
| December 8 | Diabetes: Are You at Risk? |
| December 15 | The Hidden Enemy |
| December 22 | We Got Him |
| December 29 | The American Soldier, Person of the Year |

## 2004

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 12 | Howard Dean |
| January 19 | Love, Sex & Health |
| January 26 | Mission to Mars |
| February 2 | Why Your Drugs Cost So Much |
| February 9 | What Kind of President Would John Kerry Be? |
| February 16 | Does Bush Have a Credibility Gap? |
| February 23 | Inflammation: The Secret Killer |
| March 1 | Are Too Many Jobs Going Abroad? |
| March 8 | Afghanistan: The Other War |
| March 15 | Iraq: Looking for a Way Out |
| March 22 | The Case for Moms Staying Home |
| March 29 | Al-Qaeda: The Next Generation |
| April 5 | Feeling the Heat |
| April 12 | Why Did Jesus Have to Die? |
| April 15 | Style & Design: Retro Modernism |
| April 19 | State of Siege |
| April 26 | The Time 100 |
| May 3 | Low-Carb Nation |
| May 10 | Secrets of the Teen Brain |
| May 17 | Iraq: How Did it Come to This? |
| May 24 | Moment of Truth |
| May 31 | D-Day |
| June 7 | Overcoming Obesity in America |
| June 14 | Ronald Reagan |
| June 21 | Faith, God & the Oval Office |
| June 28 | Bill Clinton |
| July 5 | Thomas Jefferson |
| July 12 | Michael Moore |
| July 19 | John Edwards & John Kerry |
| July 26 | It's Vegas Baby |
| August 2 | John Kerry |
| August 9 | Michael Phelps |
| August 16 | Al-Qaeda in America |
| August 23 | Saving the Big Cats |
| August 30 | How to Live to be 100 |
| September 6 | George W. Bush |
| September 13 | The Struggle Within Islam |
| September 14 | Style & Design: Luxury Fever |
| September 20 | America's Border |
| September 27 | Who Owns the Truth? |
| October 4 | The Tragedy of Sudan |
| October 11 | Visions of Tomorrow |
| October 18 | George W. Bush & John Kerry |
| October 25 | The God Gene |
| November 1 | The Morning After |
| November 8 | The Joy of Sox |
| November 15 | George W. Bush |
| November 22 | Street Fight: The Battle for Fallujah |
| November 29 | The Most Amazing Inventions of 2004 |
| December 6 | The Stealth Killer |
| December 13 | Secrets of the Nativity |
| December 20 | The New Science of Sleep |
| December 27 | George W. Bush, Person of the Year |

## 2005

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 10 | Tsunami |
| January 17 | The Science of Happiness |
| January 24 | They Just Won't Grow Up |
| January 31 | Iraq: How Soon Can We Get Out? |
| February 7 | The Most Influential Evangelicals in America |
| February 14 | Merchant of Menace |
| February 21 | What Teachers Hate About Parents |
| February 28 | The Right (and Wrong) Way to Treat Pain |
| March 7 | Women and the Math Myth |
| March 14 | How to End Poverty |
| March 21 | Hail, Mary |
| March 28 | Has TV Gone Too Far? |
| April 4 | The End of Life: Who Decides? |
| April 11 | John Paul II |
| April 18 | The 2005 Time 100 |
| April 25 | Ann Coulter |
| May 2 | Benedict XVI |
| May 9 | The Last Star Wars |
| May 16 | A Female Midlife Crisis? |
| May 23 | Bill Gates |
| May 30 | The Class of 9/11 |
| June 6 | How to Get Fitter & Faster |
| June 13 | Home $weet Home |
| June 20 | Inside the Wire at Gitmo |
| June 27 | China's New Revolution |
| July 4 | Abraham Lincoln |
| July 11 | The Supreme Battle |
| July 18 | Rush Hour Terror |
| July 25 | Karl Rove |
| August 1 | Eyewitnesses to Hiroshima |
| August 8 | Being 13 |
| August 15 | The Evolution Wars |
| August 22 | The 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America |
| August 29 | Kanye West |
| September 5 | How to Stop a Heart Attack Before it Happens |
| September 12 | An American Tragedy |
| September 19 | System Failure |
| September 26 | Is It Too Late To Win the War? |
| October 3 | Are We Making Hurricanes Worse? |
| October 10 | The Battle Over Gay Teens |
| October 17 | Andrew Weil |
| October 24 | Steve Jobs |
| October 31 | The Great Retirement Ripoff |
| November 7 | How to Save a Life |
| November 14 | The Secrets of Ambition |
| November 21 | The Most Amazing Inventions of 2005 |
| November 28 | New Orleans Blues |
| December 5 | The Year in Medicine from A to Z |
| December 12 | Steven Spielberg |
| December 19 | The Best Photos of 2005 |
| December 26 | Bill Gates, Bono & Melinda Gates |

## 2006

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 9 | The Secret Agony of Martin Luther King Jr. |
| January 16 | Jack Abramoff |
| January 23 | Bode Miller |
| January 30 | Bill Ford |
| February 6 | Inside America's Secret Workforce |
| February 13 | Is America Flunking Science? |
| February 20 | Larry Page, Eric Schmidt & Sergey Brin |
| February 27 | Dick Cheney & George W. Bush |
| March 6 | Iraq Breaking Point |
| March 13 | Daria Werbowy |
| March 13 | The Untold Saga of Early Man in America |
| March 27 | Are Kids Too Wired for Their Own Good? |
| April 3 | Global Warming: Be Worried. Be Very Worried |
| April 10 | Who Gets to Be an American? |
| April 17 | Christine Harden |
| April 24 | The Ways of Opus Dei |
| May 1 | What Doctors Hate About Hospitals |
| May 8 | The Time 100 |
| May 15 | Nick Furth |
| May 22 | Michael Hayden |
| May 29 | Dixie Chicks |
| June 5 | Congo: The Hidden Toll of the World's Deadliest War |
| June 12 | Haditha |
| June 19 | Abu Musab al-Zarqawi |
| June 26 | India Inc. |
| July 3 | Theodore Roosevelt |
| July 10 | How Your Siblings Make You Who You Are |
| July 17 | The End of Cowboy Diplomacy |
| July 24 | Why They Fight and Why It's Different This Time |
| July 31 | The Way Out...Of This Mess. The Six Keys To Peace in the Middle East. |
| August 7 | The Truth About Stem Cells: The Hope, The Hype and What it Means For You |
| August 14 | Life in Hell: A Baghdad Diary |
| August 21 | Who Needs Harvard? |
| August 28 | Hillary Clinton |
| September 4 | How The Stars Were Born |
| September 10 | Doutzen Kroes |
| September 11 | What We Lost |
| September 18 | Does God Want You To Be Rich? |
| September 25 | What War With Iran Would Look Like (And How To Avoid It) |
| October 2 | How I Lost My Hand But Found Myself |
| October 9 | How We Became Human |
| October 16 | What A Mess... |
| October 23 | Why Barack Obama Could Be The Next President |
| October 30 | The United States of America |
| November 6 | George W. Bush |
| November 13 | God vs. Science |
| November 20 | Why the center is the New Place to Be |
| November 21 | Style & Design Winter 2006 |
| November 28 | Benedict XVI |
| December 4 | Why We Worry About the Wrong Things |
| December 11 | George W. Bush |
| December 18 | How To Build a Student For the 21st Century |
| December 25 | You, Person of the Year |

## 2007

| Date | Names or topics |
| January 15 | The Surge |
| January 22 | China: New Dawn of a Dynasty |
| January 29 | Mind & Body Special Issue: The Brain |
| February 5 | Only 648 Days until the Election |
| February 12 | Back To Reality |
| February 19 | Haji Bashar Noorzai |
| February 26 | The Abortion Campaign You Never Hear About |
| March 4 | Style & Design Spring 2007 |
| March 5 | Sunni vs. Shi'ites: Why They Hate Each Other |
| March 12 | Forget Organic. Eat Local |
| March 19 | Dick Cheney |
| March 26 | Ronald Reagan |
| April 2 | Why We Should Teach The Bible in Public School |
| April 9 | The Global Warming Survival Guide |
| April 16 | Why Our Army Is at the Breaking Point |
| April 22 | Style & Design Summer 2007 |
| April 23 | Don Imus |
| April 30 | Trying To Make Sense of a Massacre |
| May 7 | America at 400 |
| May 14 | The Time 100: The Most Influential People in The World |
| May 21 | Mitt Romney |
| May 28 | Al Gore |
| June 4 | Report Card on No Child Left Behind |
| June 11 | The Science of Appetite |
| June 18 | Why Amnesty Makes Sense |
| June 25 | Michael Bloomberg & Arnold Schwarzenegger |
| July 2 | John F. Kennedy |
| July 9 | Rupert Murdoch |
| July 16 | How We Get Addicted |
| July 23 | How The Democrats Got Religion |
| July 30 | Iraq: What Will Happen When We Leave |
| August 6 | The Myth About Boys |
| August 13 | Why New Orleans Still Isn't Safe |
| August 19 | Style & Design Visionaries |
| August 20 | The Political Confessions of Billy Graham |
| August 27 | The Genius Problem |
| September 3 | Mother Teresa |
| September 10 | The Case for National Service |
| September 16 | Hilary Rhoda |
| September 17 | David Petraeus |
| September 24 | The Running Mates |
| October 1 | Who Owns the Arctic? |
| October 8 | V-22 Osprey |
| October 15 | Why Breast Cancer Is Spreading Around The World |
| October 22 | John Roberts |
| October 29 | The Secrets Of Birth Order |
| November 5 | Why California Is Burning |
| November 12 | Best Inventions of 2007 |
| November 19 | Hillary Clinton |
| November 25 | Style & Design: The Luxury Index |
| November 26 | America by the Numbers |
| December 3 | What Makes Us Good/Evil |
| December 10 | Barack Obama |
| December 17 | Now They Tell Us? |
| December 24 | This Space Available |
| December 31 | Vladimir Putin, Person of the Year |

## 2008

| Date | Names or topics | Caption |
| January 14 | Benazir Bhutto | No One Could Save Benazir Bhutto. Why We Need to Save Pakistan |
| January 21 | Voters in voting booths | New Hampshire Special: It's the Voters, Stupid |
| January 28 | Comic book style illustration of couple kissing | Annual Minds & Body Special Issue: The Science of Romance |
| February 4 | John McCain | The Phoenix: Can John McCain Keep Rising? |
| February 11 | Group of young voters | Why Young Voters Care Again |
| February 18 | Hillary Clinton & Barack Obama | Super Tuesday Special: The Battle For the Soul of the Democrats |
| February 25 | Julie Court, 6th grade teacher at Queens Village, NY, Middle School | How To Make Better Teachers |
| March 3 | George Clooney | The Last Movie Star: How George Clooney Plays the Game |
| March 10 | Barack Obama | How Much Does Experience Matter? |
| March 17 | Hillary Clinton | The Fighter: How she came back – and why it could be too late |
| March 24 | The number 10 with the Earth in place of a zero | 10 Ideas That Are Changing the World |
| March 31 | Dalai Lama VII | The Dalai Lama's Journey |
| April 7 | Ear of corn with dollar bills instead of husks | The Clean Energy Myth |
| April 14 | Benedict XVI and American landmarks | Why the Pope Loves America |
| April 21 | Ann Dunham & Barack Obama | Raising Obama |
| April 28 | Flag raising at Iwo Jima with tree in place of flag | Special Environmental Issue: How to Win The War On Global Warming |
| May 5 | Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton split in half | There Can Only Be One |
| May 12 | Collage of Time covers | The Time 100 |
| May 19 | Barack Obama | And the Winner* Is... (*Yes, we're pretty sure this time) |
| May 26 | Skinny piggy bank | Surviving the Lean Economy |
| June 2 | Baby making face at vaccine | The Truth About Vaccines |
| June 9 | Fire alarm | How to Survive a Disaster |
| June 16 | Prozac pill in Army camouflage | The Military's Secret Weapon |
| June 23 | Obese child on skateboard | Special Health Issue: Our Super-Sized Kids |
| June 30 | United States-Mexico border wall | The Great Wall of America |
| July 7 | American flag pin | The Real Meaning of Patriotism |
| July 14 | Mark Twain | Annual Making of America Issue: The Dangerous Mind of Mark Twain |
| July 21 | Nelson Mandela | Mandela at 90: The Secrets of Leadership |
| July 28 | U.S. soldier in Afghanistan | Afghanistan: The Right War |
| August 4 | LeBron James | Beijing '08 Summer Olympic Preview |
| August 11 | Barack Obama & John McCain | Special Report: Job #1 – The Economy |
| August 18 | Rick Warren | The Purpose Driven Pastor |
| August 25 | Russian soldier on road to Tbilisi | How to Stop a New Cold War |
| September 1 | Barack Obama | Special Issue: The Democrats |
| September 8 | John McCain | Special Issue: The Republicans |
| September 15 | Sarah Palin | The Education of Sarah Palin |
| September 22 | Barack Obama & John McCain as construction workers | Second Annual National Service Issue: 21 Ways to Fix Up America |
| September 29 | Legs sticking out of hole | How Wall Street Sold Out America |
| October 5 | Tom Ford | |
| October 6 | Ballot with options of John McCain, Barack Obama, and None of the Above | Who Can Rescue The Economy? |
| October 13 | Soup line during Great Depression | The New Hard Times |
| October 20 | Barack Obama split into white half and colored half | Campaign Special: Why the Economy is Trumping Race |
| October 27 | Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, John McCain & Franklin D. Roosevelt | Does Temperament Matter? |
| November 2 | Sylvia Tamburo | |
| November 3 | Electronic voting machine | 7 Things That Could Go Wrong on Election Day |
| November 10 | Barack Obama & John McCain | Special Issue: The Choice |
| November 17 | Barack Obama, Chicago, November 4, 2008 | Commemorative Issue: "Change has come to America" |
| November 24 | Barack Obama as Franklin D. Roosevelt at his 1933 inauguration | The New New Deal |
| November 30 | The Luxury Index | |
| December 1 | Patient having throat examined with tongue depressor | Annual Checkup: The Sorry State of American Health |
| December 8 | Michelle Rhee | How to Fix America's Schools |
| December 15 | Wrenches tightening bolts in a rusty GM logo | The Case for Saving Detroit |
| December 22 | Collection of lists | The List Issue |
| December 29 | Barack Obama in style of Hope poster | 2008 Person of the Year |

## 2009

| Date | Names or topics | Caption |
| January 12 | Sweater with energy-efficient lightbulb in collar | Why We Need To See the Light About Energy Efficiency |
| January 19 | Star of David behind barbed wire and wall | Why Israel Can't Win |
| January 26 | Barack Obama | Great Expectations |
| February 2 | Barack Obama & Michelle Obama | President Barack Obama: January 20, 2009 |
| February 9 | Stem cells | How the Coming Revolution in Stem Cells Could Save Your Life |
| February 16 | Fish wrapped in issue of The New York Times | How to Save Your Newspaper |
| February 23 | Woman meditating | Mind and Body Special Issue: How Faith Can Heal |
| March 2 | Kate Winslet | Best Actress: Why It's Kate Winslet |
| March 9 | Hands grasping frayed rope | Holding On for Dear Life/The Economy & You: A Special Report |
| March 16 | Bottle of pills | So You Think You're Insured? |
| March 22 | Arlenis Sosa | |
| March 23 | The Earth | 10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now |
| March 30 | Bomb with AIG logo | The Bailout Bomb |
| April 6 | Reset button | The End of Excess |
| April 13 | Sumatran tiger | Special Environment Issue: Vanishing Act |
| April 20 | A U.S. soldier | How Not To Lose in Afghanistan |
| April 27 | Coin jar | The New Frugality |
| May 3 | Style & Design: The Green Design 100 | |
| May 4 | Barack Obama | 100 Days |
| May 11 | Collage of Time covers | Time 100 |
| May 18 | GOP elephant | Endangered Species |
| May 25 | Man split into casual upper half and formal lower half | The Future of Work |
| June 1 | Michelle Obama | The Meaning of Michelle |
| June 8 | Sonia Sotomayor | Latina Justice |
| June 15 | Tweet advertising cover story | |
| June 22 | Empty hospital bed | The Health Issue: It's All About Prevention |
| June 29 | Mousavi supporters | Iran vs. Iran |
| July 6 | Franklin D. Roosevelt | Annual Making of America Issue: What Barack Obama Can Learn From FDR |
| July 7 | Michael Jackson | Special Commemorative Issue |
| July 13 | Wedding cake with couple figurines pushed inside | Unfaithfully Yours |
| July 20 | Sarah Palin | The Renegade |
| July 27 | Buzz Aldrin on the Moon, 1969 | Moonstruck: 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11 |
| August 3 | Dick Cheney & George W. Bush | Special Report: The Final Days of Bush and Cheney |
| August 10 | Barack Obama in doctor's garb | Health Care Special Report: Paging Dr. Obama |
| August 17 | Woman exercising on treadmill visualizing cupcake | The Myth about Exercise |
| August 24 | Las Vegas sign with "Las" changed to "Less" | Less Vegas |
| August 31 | Package of hamburger meat | The Real Cost of Cheap Food |
| September 7 | Ted Kennedy | Ted Kennedy: 1932–2009 |
| September 13 | Style & Design: Fashion's Bright Side | |
| September 14 | Jay Leno | Jay Leno Is the Future of Television. Seriously! |
| September 21 | Jobless Americans | Out of Work in America |
| September 28 | Glenn Beck | Mad Man |
| October 5 | Derelict scene in Detroit | The Tragedy Of Detroit |
| October 12 | Chet Millard | The War Up Close |
| October 19 | 401(k) text amid rising waters | Why It's Time to Retire the 401(k) |
| October 26 | Elena Evangelo | The State of the American Woman |
| November 2 | Computer chip in shape of California | Why California Is Still America's Future |
| November 9 | Man with cartoon eyebrows, mustache, and mouth | Why Main Street Hates Wall Street |
| November 16 | Hillary Clinton | The State of Hillary |
| November 23 | Nidal Malik Hasan | Terrorist? |
| November 30 | Child with strings attached | The Case Against Over-Parenting |
| December 7 | Crying baby at New Year's party | The Decade from Hell |
| December 14 | President Obama amid West Point cadets | It's His War Now |
| December 21 | Collage of pictures | Special Issue: The Year in Pictures |
| December 28 | Ben Bernanke | Person of the Year 2009 |