While I'm not a Gaga fan by any means, I do have to say that her music is a notch above typical canned pop. Sure, it borrows heavily from pop idioms, but it's got an edge to it that seems unique to her, and the lyrics address themes a tad more deep than most pop music does.

Even that's subjective, of course, but at least she writes and arranges all her own music which isn't typical of factory-produced pop stars.