This personal narrative relates to the discovery in 1981 of stoichiometric LiM₂O₄ spinel electrodes (where M = metal cation) for lithium-ion batteries by the Goodenough group at Oxford University, UK, and the subsequent identification and evolution of stable lithiated-spinel Li₂M₂O₄ (or LiMO₂) cathodes at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa and Argonne National Laboratory (USA). The competition that occurs between the formation of lithiated-spinel and layered (LiMO₂) structures at 400 °C, and recent efforts to design high-capacity, Mn-rich composite cathodes with partial disorder, are discussed. The paper is written in honor of John Goodenough’s 100th birthday.