Not only is BTS the world’s biggest boy band at the moment, they are also one group that you don’t want to miss out on. Debuting in 2013, BTS, Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bulletproof Boyscouts, consists of seven members who write and produce a majority of their songs.
In the year’s since BTS’ debut album, “2 Cool 4 Skool,” they’ve released more than 150 songs across both Korean and Japanese albums. Through all their albums, you can follow the members’ growth from teenagers to adults, “nobodies” to famous, and their life and friendships as a group. With 15 Korean albums under their belt, there’s no sign of BTS stopping anytime soon.
So without further ado, here are our top five BTS Korean albums of all time in descending order.
5. Map of the Soul: 5
Release Date: February 21, 2020
Title Track: ON
Music Videos For: ON (2 versions), Black Swan (2 versions), Intro: Persona, Interlude: Shadow, Outro: Ego, We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal, and Boy With Luv.
Map of the Soul: 7 is BTS’ fourth full-length studio album and serves as a beautiful bridge between BTS and their passionate fans — ARMY. It’s a self-reflection album told through group songs, solos, and subunits that shows their journey not only as artists but people. The album also is a treat for long-time listeners as the group sampled tracks from their albums O!RUL8,2? And Skool Luv Affair and remixing them into new songs. While some reviewers have mixed feelings about the cohesiveness of this album, b-side tracks “Louder than bombs,” “Ugh!” and “Dionysus,” are some of the group’s best tracks to date.
4. Wings
Release Date: October 16, 2016
Title Track: Blood Sweat Tears
Music Videos For: Blood Sweat Tears
Wings skyrocketed BTS to an entirely new level. Not only is it the first album in BTS’ discography that all seven members have a solo track — a trend that ARMY now look forward too, but also a cohesive and emotional poignant album from beginning to end. eavily influenced by Hermann Hesse’s coming of age novel, Demian, the album descends the highs and lows of coping with temptation. Whether you like the beautiful tempting lyrics of “Blood Sweats Tears,” or the elegant solo tracks “Lie,” and “MAMA,” the group also delivered their first fan dedicated song “2!3!” and their final cyper, “BTS Cypher 4.”
3. Love Yourself: Tear
Release Date: May 18, 2018
Title Track: Fake Love
Music Videos For: Airplane Pt. 2, Fake Love, Singularity
Love Yourself: Tear is the second mini-album in their Love Yourself EP trilogy. The album takes listeners on a poetic and emotional journey about the difficulty of loving someone else when you don’t love yourself first. Two days following the album’s release, “Fake Love” made its worldwide television debut on May 20, when BTS performed it live at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards — marking the first time a Korean musician performed at the award show. Aside from the overwhelming popularity of “Fake Love,” b-side tracks “Magic Love,” “Love Maze,” “134340,” and “Anpanman,” prove that the album is full of nothing but exceptionally tracks.
2. Dark & Wild
Release Date: August 14, 2014
Title Track: Danger
Music Videos For: Danger & War of Hormone
Dark & Wild is BTS’ first full-length album. It brings back the theme of young relationships seen in their first mini-albums released in 2013 but leans heavily into the hip-hop stylings of the rapline — RM, J-Hope, and Suga. Living up to the name of the album, the lyrics and music videos give off a much edgier vibe than ARMY are used to, making them both dark and wild. Aside from fan favorites “Danger” and “War of Hormone,” this album includes notable b-side tracks “BTS Cypher Pt. 3: Killer,” and “Hip Hop Phile,” that showcase the genius lyrics and singing capabilities this group is known for.
1. 화양연화 The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever
Release Date: May 2, 2016
Title Track: Fire
Music Videos For: Fire, Butterfly, Dope, Run, I Need U, Save Me
The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever is a compilation of the group’s three “Most Beautiful Moment In Life” mini-albums along with several new tracks. The album signified BTS’ shift away from the heavily hip-hop-influenced sound and set the tone for the type of music and lyrics fans could expect from here on out. The album is a great mix of youthful nostalgia and bittersweet songs that get you in your feels or make you want to dance around the room too. The album was also a turning point for the group, as they not only won their first music show award on “The Show” for I Need U, but also won their first daesang for album of the year at the 2016 Melon Music Awards. Aside from the songs that have music videos, “Young Forever,” is an emotional and youthful song, that ARMY still hold dear in their heart today.
What’s you favorite BTS album of all time? Let me know in the comments below!
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