diff --git a/host/mprisplugin.cpp b/host/mprisplugin.cpp
--- a/host/mprisplugin.cpp
+++ b/host/mprisplugin.cpp
@@ -29,14 +29,17 @@
 #include <QDebug>
 #include <QImageReader>
 
+#include <limits>
+
 #include "mprisroot.h"
 #include "mprisplayer.h"
 
 #include "settings.h"
 
 #include <unistd.h> // getppid
 
 static const QString s_serviceName = QStringLiteral("org.mpris.MediaPlayer2.plasma-browser-integration");
+static const int s_maxThumbnailSize = 512;
 
 MPrisPlugin::MPrisPlugin(QObject *parent)
     : AbstractBrowserPlugin(QStringLiteral("mpris"), 1, parent)
@@ -451,7 +454,8 @@
 
     // for simplicity we just use the biggest artwork it offers, perhaps we could limit it to some extent
     // TODO download/cache artwork somewhere
-    QSize biggest;
+    qreal best = std::numeric_limits<qreal>::max();
+
     QUrl artworkUrl;
     const QJsonArray &artwork = data.value(QStringLiteral("artwork")).toArray();
 
@@ -465,32 +469,51 @@
             continue;
         }
 
-        // why is this named "sizes" when it's just a string and the examples don't mention how one could specify multiple?
-        // also, how on Earth could a single image src have multiple sizes? ...
-        // spec says this is a space-separated list of sizes for ... some reason
-        const QString sizeString = item.value(QStringLiteral("sizes")).toString();
-        QSize actualSize;
-
-        // now parse the size...
-        const auto &sizeParts = sizeString.splitRef(QLatin1Char('x'));
-        if (sizeParts.count() == 2) {
-            const int width = sizeParts.first().toInt();
-            const int height = sizeParts.last().toInt();
-            if (width <= 0 || height <= 0) {
-                continue;
-            }
-
-            actualSize = QSize(width, height);
-        }
-
         const QString type = item.value(QStringLiteral("type")).toString();
         if (!type.isEmpty() && !supportedImageMimes.contains(type.toUtf8())) {
             continue;
         }
 
-        if (!biggest.isValid() || (actualSize.width() >= biggest.width() && actualSize.height() >= biggest.height())) {
-            artworkUrl = url;
-            biggest = actualSize;
+        // Sizes is a space-separated list of width x height pairs separated by X or x
+        const QString sizeString = item.value(QStringLiteral("sizes")).toString();
+        QStringList sizes = sizeString.split(QLatin1Char(' '), QString::SkipEmptyParts);
+        // Sizes is optional, treat anything without a size as lowest priority so it is still used if neccessary
+        if (sizes.isEmpty()) {
+            sizes = QStringList{QStringLiteral("1x1")};
+        }
+
+        for (const QString &size : sizes) {
+            QSize actualSize;
+
+            // now parse the size...
+            const QVector<QStringRef> sizeSegments = size.splitRef(QLatin1Char('x'), QString::SkipEmptyParts, Qt::CaseInsensitive);
+            if (sizeSegments.count() == 2) {
+                const int width = sizeSegments.first().toInt();
+                const int height = sizeSegments.last().toInt();
+                if (width > 0 && height > 0) {
+                    actualSize = QSize(width, height);
+                }
+            }
+
+            auto dist = std::numeric_limits<qreal>::max() - 1;
+
+            if (!actualSize.isEmpty()) {
+                // Tries to find a thumbnail closest to 512x512 in size.
+                // Unfortunately we don't know at what size it will be displayed but this should be fair enough.
+                const auto targetSamples = s_maxThumbnailSize * s_maxThumbnailSize;
+                const auto xscale = (1.0 * s_maxThumbnailSize) / actualSize.width();
+                const auto yscale = (1.0 * s_maxThumbnailSize) / actualSize.height();
+                auto sampleScale = std::min(1.0, std::min(xscale, yscale));
+
+                const auto effectiveSamples = actualSize.width() * actualSize.height() * sampleScale * sampleScale;
+
+                dist = targetSamples - effectiveSamples;
+            }
+
+            if (dist < best) {
+                artworkUrl = url;
+                best = dist;
+            }
         }
     }