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Well, I have to take a bit of issue with the idea that popular music is necessarily easier to learn than classical.
I do think it's true that we hold classical players to a higher standard. Partly I think that is because the standard is a little easier to measure, in the sense that there are many recordings and performances of much of the well-known repertoire by the best pianists in the world. If one is going to perform a Beethoven sonata, one had better do it well because the standard is so high.
With poplular music I think we tend to accept a lower standard, maybe partially because the listeners are typically less critical. I'd guess that with a rock group, for instance, keyboard virtuosity would be about tenth on the list of things people were listening for, if indeed they were listening at all.
But, if you take "popular" as anything outside the classical repertoire, then you have to look at pianists like Michel Camillo, Chucho Valdes, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Bill Evans, Chick Corea, etc., many who could be listed, who also exhibit virtuosity, and yet they are all unique and it's difficult to establish a similar standard.
I think it's a different skill set, but at the highest levels no less difficult.

I was considering pop music in the basic rock/pop genre - anything from the Beatles to R.E.M to Coldplay where the emphasis is on chord loops. I can play most pop/rock songs on the piano relatively well even though I've only played for two years, this because they are only based on left hand chords and simple right hand melodies. Maybe it's because the genre is so heavily guitar based that there's no room for any complex piano arrangements?

Agreed!
My real point was that for any piano student to reach the level of those pianists is a lifelong commitment, just as it is for those who aspire to the heights of the classical repertoire.

i wasn't really serious when i said about Chopin's etude to be a breakpoint divide me from a beginner to intermediate player. but there is definitely some threshold between beginner and intermediate levels, which you will know when you reach it.

i have my experience to say this. i was interested very much in ballroom dancing at one time, and started virtually from ground zero without much of prior experience. i was terrible at the beginning but determined to reach my goal "to dance like a pro". i took about 2 year lessons with a teacher to learn the basic techniques and fundamentals (not just steps or routines most people would be interested only). shortly after i quit my teacher (as i moved away), i suddenly felt one day that i was at the next level (above beginner's) because i had the technique and fundamentals in my body and in my move, where nothing seems difficult anymore. of course, it didn't mean that i didn't need any improvement anymore, which i do and so do those pro dancers. but this is the new beginning on a new level, which is totally different from the previous plateau i was standing on. this is what i call "The Threshold". as to dancing, many people take lessons year after year and never could in their life to reach such a threshold, but i did it in 2 years, not that i have much use of the skills though.

i believe the same is true with piano playing. there will be such a threshold in the process, which once you pass you become a totally different level player. obviously those talented piano students who enroll in conservatories or enter piano competitions are way beyond such a point. i wonder when or if ever i would reach such a point or threshold myself in piano playing. but when i do, i would definitely know!