Uploaded December 2021 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago
Here are my top 40 kpop albums of the year. They are NOT ranked cos it was already hard enough narrowing it down to 40.
These are all reliable albums that I can entrust to always deliver the most exquisite vibes. My criteria for an album is anything that has at least 4 songs, excluding intros, outros and instrumental or english/japanese etc versions of songs.
1. ππ² Querencia - CHUNG HA: I'm not the biggest fan of Bicycle but I can overlook that due to the exceptional quality of the b-sides.
2. ππ NOW: Where we are, here - GHOST9: everything about this era was perfect (and also this was the first Ghost9 album with a Dongjun produced song).
3. π€π― NOW: Who we are facing - GHOST9: this helped me get out of a rut.
4. ππ· Into Violet - PURPLE KISS: one of the greatest debut albums ever. Also can we just appreciate that this girl group debuted with a mini album? Thank you RBW.
5. π§ββοΈπ§ Hide & Seek - PURPLE KISS: this somehow topped Into Violet.
6. πΈπ₯ I burn - (G)I-DLE: this set off the year on the right foot. It perfectly embodies the winter vibes.
7. π₯πΆ Hot Sauce - NCT DREAM: we waited for a Dream full album for years and we finally got it. Also this dropped on my birthday which makes it even more special for me.
8. β€οΈβπ₯π§ Favorite - NCT 127: all of their albums are *immaculate*. Yes that was meant to be heard in Johnny's voice.
9. πβ¨ & - LOONA: Loona first full album when? BBC please get your sht together.
10. ππ Stereotype - STAYC: I would've put Staydom here but it's only a single. Stereotype nevertheless is superb.
11. ππ€ The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape - TXT: this beauty is home to Loser=Lover, Lovesong, Anti-Romantic, Dear Sputnik and countless other masterpieces.
12. π‘π Border: Carnival - ENHYPEN: Enhypen's discography is flawless.
13. πβοΈ Dilemma: Dimension - ENHYPEN: only wished this was a summer comeback.
14. βοΈπ 1/6 - SUNMI: I was amazed by You Can't Sit With Us but after I listened to the album it became my least favourite track. That's just how good the album is.
15. π¦β Zero: Fever Part. 3 - ATEEZ: Deja Vu isn't my favourite title track of the Fever series but this album contends with Part 1 as my favourite.
16. βοΈπ Zero: Fever Epilogue - ATEEZ: this album gave me goosebumps cos it had all of their songs from Kingdom so it felt like I was going back in time and watching them grow up all over again.
17. β‘οΈπ₯ NOEASY - Stray Kids: Stray Kids always deliver the absolute best.
18. βοΈπ° History of Kingdom: Part I. Arthur - KINGDOM: this is another one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
19. βοΈπ History of Kingdom: Part III. Ivan - KINGDOM: imo this is their best album yet. It sounds the most cohesive and well-produced - which just goes to show that them and their team are constantly improving.
20. ππ₯ Devil - ONEUS: I'm not the biggest fan of No Diggity but I fricken love every single one of the b-sides.
21. ππ¦ Blood Moon - ONEUS: this whole comeback was everything I love about ONEUS elevated.
22. π§πͺ Planet Nine: Alter Ego - ONEWE: all of the b-sides are somehow better than the title track.
23. ππ Gatcha! - LUCY: if you guys are missing taste buds, stanning LUCY is a great treatment.
24. ππ Blue - LUCY: Lucy is a group who's music always moves me. They manage to capture the feelings of young adulthood so well, it feels like a warm hug when you listen to their songs.
25. π½πΈ Eternal - Young K: Young K is another artist that knows how to make comforting songs.
26. πππ» Waterfall - B.I: I love how Hanbin takes you on a journey with this album. Waterfall got me through a lot and I greatly appreciate everything that B.I expressed in all of the songs.
27. πͺπ· Cosmos - B.I: certified liquid fire.
28. ππ₯ Alpha - CL: I waited for this album for so long but it was worth the wait.
29. βοΈπ Windy - Jeon Soyeon: the absolute serve this album was. She absolutely knew what she was doing rounding up Bibi and Youngji for Is this bad b number? What a queen.
30. π©π»βπ¬π Formula of Love - TWICE: I didn't think it was possible to top Eyes Wide Open yet this album exists.
31. ππΎ Savage - aespa: this was everything that I wanted from an aespa album.
32. π΄ββ οΈπͺ Return of the Girl - EVERGLOW: it's got new Everglow, sad Everglow, cute Everglow and OG "noise music" Everglow.
33. ππΊ Disharmony: Break Out - P1Harmony: this was an album that I grew to love over time.
34. πͺβ Rumination - SF9: do yourself a favour and just listen to SF9's entire discography. Please.
35. π€π ONF: My Name - ONF: it's got everything that I ever wanted from an ONF album. Also its title track got them their first win.
36. π¦π Only Lovers Left - WOODZ: king never misses.
37. ππ Universe - NCT: can always count on NCT to make the best albums (and you can always count on SM to do everything last minute).
38. πβοΈ OK Prologue: Be OK - CIX: this album took me by surprise by how good it is.
39. π§π»π¦ Fairyforest: Temptation - PIXY: the best album of their's so far.
40. π°πΊπ» timeabout, - YUKIKA: of course I had to put city pop on this list.
Here are my top 40 kpop albums of the year. They are NOT ranked cos it was already hard enough narrowing it down to 40.
These are all reliable albums that I can entrust to always deliver the most exquisite vibes. My criteria for an album is anything that has at least 4 songs, excluding intros, outros and instrumental or english/japanese etc versions of songs.
1. ππ² Querencia - CHUNG HA: I'm not the biggest fan of Bicycle but I can overlook that due to the exceptional quality of the b-sides.
2. ππ NOW: Where we are, here - GHOST9: everything about this era was perfect (and also this was the first Ghost9 album with a Dongjun produced song).
3. π€π― NOW: Who we are facing - GHOST9: this helped me get out of a rut.
4. ππ· Into Violet - PURPLE KISS: one of the greatest debut albums ever. Also can we just appreciate that this girl group debuted with a mini album? Thank you RBW.
5. π§ββοΈπ§ Hide & Seek - PURPLE KISS: this somehow topped Into Violet.
6. πΈπ₯ I burn - (G)I-DLE: this set off the year on the right foot. It perfectly embodies the winter vibes.
7. π₯πΆ Hot Sauce - NCT DREAM: we waited for a Dream full album for years and we finally got it. Also this dropped on my birthday which makes it even more special for me.
8. β€οΈβπ₯π§ Favorite - NCT 127: all of their albums are *immaculate*. Yes that was meant to be heard in Johnny's voice.
9. πβ¨ & - LOONA: Loona first full album when? BBC please get your sht together.
10. ππ Stereotype - STAYC: I would've put Staydom here but it's only a single. Stereotype nevertheless is superb.
11. ππ€ The Chaos Chapter: Fight or Escape - TXT: this beauty is home to Loser=Lover, Lovesong, Anti-Romantic, Dear Sputnik and countless other masterpieces.
12. π‘π Border: Carnival - ENHYPEN: Enhypen's discography is flawless.
13. πβοΈ Dilemma: Dimension - ENHYPEN: only wished this was a summer comeback.
14. βοΈπ 1/6 - SUNMI: I was amazed by You Can't Sit With Us but after I listened to the album it became my least favourite track. That's just how good the album is.
15. π¦β Zero: Fever Part. 3 - ATEEZ: Deja Vu isn't my favourite title track of the Fever series but this album contends with Part 1 as my favourite.
16. βοΈπ Zero: Fever Epilogue - ATEEZ: this album gave me goosebumps cos it had all of their songs from Kingdom so it felt like I was going back in time and watching them grow up all over again.
17. β‘οΈπ₯ NOEASY - Stray Kids: Stray Kids always deliver the absolute best.
18. βοΈπ° History of Kingdom: Part I. Arthur - KINGDOM: this is another one of the greatest debut albums of all time.
19. βοΈπ History of Kingdom: Part III. Ivan - KINGDOM: imo this is their best album yet. It sounds the most cohesive and well-produced - which just goes to show that them and their team are constantly improving.
20. ππ₯ Devil - ONEUS: I'm not the biggest fan of No Diggity but I fricken love every single one of the b-sides.
21. ππ¦ Blood Moon - ONEUS: this whole comeback was everything I love about ONEUS elevated.
22. π§πͺ Planet Nine: Alter Ego - ONEWE: all of the b-sides are somehow better than the title track.
23. ππ Gatcha! - LUCY: if you guys are missing taste buds, stanning LUCY is a great treatment.
24. ππ Blue - LUCY: Lucy is a group who's music always moves me. They manage to capture the feelings of young adulthood so well, it feels like a warm hug when you listen to their songs.
25. π½πΈ Eternal - Young K: Young K is another artist that knows how to make comforting songs.
26. πππ» Waterfall - B.I: I love how Hanbin takes you on a journey with this album. Waterfall got me through a lot and I greatly appreciate everything that B.I expressed in all of the songs.
27. πͺπ· Cosmos - B.I: certified liquid fire.
28. ππ₯ Alpha - CL: I waited for this album for so long but it was worth the wait.
29. βοΈπ Windy - Jeon Soyeon: the absolute serve this album was. She absolutely knew what she was doing rounding up Bibi and Youngji for Is this bad b number? What a queen.
30. π©π»βπ¬π Formula of Love - TWICE: I didn't think it was possible to top Eyes Wide Open yet this album exists.
31. ππΎ Savage - aespa: this was everything that I wanted from an aespa album.
32. π΄ββ οΈπͺ Return of the Girl - EVERGLOW: it's got new Everglow, sad Everglow, cute Everglow and OG "noise music" Everglow.
33. ππΊ Disharmony: Break Out - P1Harmony: this was an album that I grew to love over time.
34. πͺβ Rumination - SF9: do yourself a favour and just listen to SF9's entire discography. Please.
35. π€π ONF: My Name - ONF: it's got everything that I ever wanted from an ONF album. Also its title track got them their first win.
36. π¦π Only Lovers Left - WOODZ: king never misses.
37. ππ Universe - NCT: can always count on NCT to make the best albums (and you can always count on SM to do everything last minute).
38. πβοΈ OK Prologue: Be OK - CIX: this album took me by surprise by how good it is.
39. π§π»π¦ Fairyforest: Temptation - PIXY: the best album of their's so far.
40. π°πΊπ» timeabout, - YUKIKA: of course I had to put city pop on this list.
