I feel that every kpop group tends to have a strength in either having awesome title tracks, but a tendency towards worse b-sides, or the opposite. That said there are a few groups that I think have a more robust discography, title tracks that make you want to listen to the whole album, and b-sides that make that listen feel worth it. This is a list of my top 6 groups in terms of overall discography, this list is unordered, instead I’m just putting the groups alphabetically, and for one I do have a full song rankings, which I’ll post with them, it is the last group in the list. Of course, this is all my opinion, it isn’t right or wrong, but if you’re looking to do a deeper dive into some groups that you may have heard a bit, or even not at all, then this is a great starting point.
Ateez
I’ve mentioned previously that although I heavily favor girl groups, I think Ateez is one of the stronger groups in kpop, and one of the reasons I feel that way is their robust discography. The fact that they typically release two music videos for each comeback speaks volumes in my opinion, as I’m not sure other groups have b-sides strong enough to promote to music video levels. I would point to Treasure Ep. 3: One to All as their strongest and deepest album, great songs front to back.
Dreamcatcher
This is a group that has great energetic title tracks, and then b-sides so good you wonder if they need to switch their musical style in said title tracks. Dreamcatcher leans heavily into jazzy music in a lot of their b-sides, and it works for them so well, as they have great voices and a knack for performance. I would point to Dystopia: Tree of Language for being maybe Dreamcatcher’s best showcase of their fantastic musical flexibility, although Alone in the City is probably my favorite release they’ve had, as Wonderland and July 7th are two of my favorite songs they’ve put out.
GWSN
This is a group that truly grabbed me off their music being good, I didn’t even learn their names for a while because I was in it exclusively for that musical quality. I would point to Park in the Night Part 2 as the go to album from them, as it has my favorite title track in Pinky Star (Run) and my favorite b-side in TOKTOK. I will say that they are broadening themselves stylistically with their most recent album, the Keys, and it’s still working really well, so it’s safe to bet on them putting out more good music in the future.
Oh My Girl
Oh My Girl are title track monsters in my opinion, every single one is top tier every time, no slips at all. That said, they have one of the most perfect kpop songs of all time, and probably my favorite, 1 Step 2 Step, or Step by Step depending on who you ask, just hiding as a b-side on their Windy Day album. When that’s the kind of b-side quality you get from a group that I think typically shines in their title tracks, you know that group is the real deal.
Rocket Punch
Taking the title of the group with the most limited discography on this list, Rocket Punch doesn’t have a ton of material, which makes it easier to look consistent, but it’s also so good they have earned this spot. Both their albums are filled with good songs, but their newest release, Red Punch, is one of the best kpop albums I have ever heard. Bouncy is a fun and energetic, and endlessly quotable title track, and backed up by songs like Girlfriend, Lilac, and Fireworks, you can really see how good the songs Rocket Punch have been getting are. The fact that 3 of those songs are in my top 23 for the year is truly a testament to my personal love of the album, and I am excited to see what comes next.
WJSN
My current bias group, so that may be seen as an opinion skewing statement, but the reason they rose to that spot was on the strength of the music. WJSN has covered a decent amount of stylistic group, and succeeds across the board, from cute, to sexy, confident, ethereal, and ballads, WJSN can do it all. As You Wish is the album I would point to for showing the insane quality that this group has reached, as every single song on it is amazing, I’m not into ballads, so for me to say that Lights Up is my favorite song from WJSN is wild for me, but that’s just how good it is. Additionally, I’ve recently ranked all, or at least most, of their songs, so I’m ending the article with that. I encourage you all to check out these groups on more a deep dive, and would love to hear any groups that you think I missed.
Rank Song
1 Lights Up
2 Don't Touch
3 Butterfly
4 Full Moon
5 As You Wish
6 Boogie Up
7 ROBOT
8 Badaboom
9 WW
10 Save Me, Save You
11 MoMoMo
12 La La Love
13 Secret
14 Hola
15 I Wish
16 Where You Are
17 Luckitty-cat
18 Oh My Summer
19 Love O'clock
17 BeBe
18 Dreams Come True
19 I-Yah
20 Starry Moment
21 Catch Me
22 Tra-la
23 Our Garden
24 Prince
25 Ujung
26 Renaissance
27 Let's Dance
28 Memories
29 Good Night
30 Tick-Tock
31 Kiss Me
32 Sugar Pop
33 Perfect!
34 Thawing
35 Cantabile
36 Baby Come To Me
37 12 O'clock
38 My Type
39 Take My Breath
40 Say Yes
41 Would You Kiss Me?
42 You & I
43 Hug U
44 Pantomime
45 Star
46 You, you, you
47 Masquerade
48 Hurry Up
49 You Got
