The present invention includes lithium cobalt oxides having hexagonal layered crystal structures and methods of making same. The lithium cobalt oxides of the invention have the formula Li_wCo_1-;xA_xO_2+y wherein 0.96w1.05, 0x0.05, -;0.02y0.02 and A is one or more dopants. The lithium cobalt oxides of the invention preferably have a position within the principal component space defined by the relationship ax_i+by_ic, wherein x_i={right arrow over (S)}_i{right arrow over (P)}_c1; y_i={right arrow over (S)}_i{right arrow over (P)}_c2; the vector {right arrow over (S)}_i is the x-ray spectrum for the Li_wCo_1-;xA_xO_2+y compound; the vectors {right arrow over (P)}_c1 and {right arrow over (P)}_c2 defining the principal component space are determined by measuring the x-ray powder diffraction values {right arrow over (S)}_i between 15 and 120 using a 0.02 step size and CuK rays for a large sample set of lithium cobalt oxides and using the regression of {right arrow over (S)}_i of the sample set against the capacity fade after 50 cycles of a lithium coin cell that includes a lithium negative electrode and the lithium cobalt oxide as the positive electrode material and that is cycled between 3.0 and 4.3V at a constant current of C/3 during both charge and discharge cycles; and the values a, b and c are determined by using only the x_i and y_i values for Li_wCo_1-;xA_xO_2+y compounds in the sample set that have a capacity fade after 50 cycles of less than or equal to 15%.