The Top 32 Kpop Girl Groups of All Time

Disclaimer: This is a personal taste list, not an overall accomplishment list, that isn’t as fun. If you disagree or think something is missing, give me your rankings in the comments or send me an article or video you made yourself, I’ll check it out, the beauty of life is we get to explore our differences.

Personal Girl Group rankings from all time? Yeah, this one was really tough, I’ve been contending with my ranking for months now actually, but I think I’ve got it where I’m happy. That said, a little peek behind the curtain here: I always change my list as I write my article. Also note: I am a 2012 entry into kpop, so I’m pulling from a wide range here, but also, there are so many more good groups now than there were then, so we’ll look pretty heavily recency biased.

32. Brave Girls (2016)

Brave Girls’ re-debut was a massive success for me. Deepend is an incredible song, into fun high energy songs like High Heels and Yoo-hoo. Then of course, in 2017 we got the legendary chair dance of Rollin, which finally got its well deserved appreciation years later. That said, the 2020 and on music from Brave Girls is only okay for me, and I’m not too into watching their non-music content, so 32 feels pretty good.

31. Kara

Kara is the group that got me into kpop thanks to Pandora. A lot of their earlier songs are great too, such as Step, which is one of my wife’s favorites, and Mister. Also, as somebody who was directed to watch Invincible Youth as I entered kpop, Hara instantly became a favorite for me.

30. Itzy

I think Itzy has a really interesting and diverse discography while always having their own distinct sound throughout. Personality wise they seem super nice, we went to their American showcase and it was a ton of fun. That said, this group has fallen off a little for me musically and in terms of variety.

29. Woo!ah

Woo!ah has some fantastically fun and weird music, Bad Girl, Purple, and Danger are all great titles. On top of that they have a few really great b-sides, Round & Round, I Don’t Miss You, Scaredy Cat, and Pandora could have all been title tracks. But wait, there’s more, Nana is one of the best 4th gen idols, well rounded, fun, and with a super pleasant vocal color, one of my favorite idols in the last few years..

28. 9muses

This group has some absolutely fire music from their earlier years. The big standouts for me are Wild and Drama which are just crazy good, they have so much energy. Even some of their later stuff is pretty good, Lovecity is solid and Remember is great and unlike anything else in their discography. I will also give credit where it’s due, the company was bad, but their stylists were always doing a good job.

27. Lovelyz

I didn’t really pay attention to Lovelyz until later in their career, as their early music just never quite clicked for me. But I do like a lot of their later content, and Mijoo on variety is an absolute treat every single time.

26. Twice

Legends, arguably have passed SNSD as the greatest kpop girl group of all time, sales are insane, views are crazy, variety presence is top tier. For me the music has been up and down, the early stuff was great, Signal is their title track. They lost me for a while and I’m not huge on their English music, but More & More, Fancy, and Alcohol Free have been getting my attention.

25. Purple Kiss

Yuki is it, top 5 4th gen idol for me, her rapping is so much fun to listen to, and her charisma is fantastic. The whole group is a ball of talent though, RBW is great at fostering that, as seen with the ultra talented Mamamoo. Swan is probably the best singer in 4th gen, breaking the trend of the best singer in each gen being from SM.

24. Aespa

One of the two 4th gen idols that is keeping Purple Kiss Yuki from the top is Karina, I think she is the complete package as an idol. She is the idol to beat in 4th gen to me. But wait, just like Purple Kiss, the rest of the group aren’t slouches either, with a lot of talent across the board. I just wish the sound would settle a little bit more.

23. Weeekly

Have you ever thought about how funny it is that every member’s stage name was going to be a day of the week, and then the company said nah, but this one girl is still gonna be called Monday. Very funny. Weeekly’s music is incredibly good, they are fun kids, what’s not to like.

22. Stayc

Lots of really great vocal color between J, Sumin, Sieun, and Isa. I love how unique every member is musically because it all still fits together really well and makes some of the most fun songs in recent memory. ASAP’s punchy dance is also my favorite dance move since NCT did the wavy arm line in Boss.

21. Miss A

There are a couple songs that just click with me from Miss A, Breathe, Hush, and Only You are absolute bangers. Suzy was also the quintessential idol when I got into the genre, and in some ways the most dominant “it girl” in the history of the scene.

20. Rocket Punch

Rocket Punch were my number 2 current group for a while but have slipped pretty far down sadly. Their first albums were great, but the music has dipped for me, especially in the b-side department. They did just have their Japanese debut, Fiore, which I enjoyed though, and they have great personalities, just not enough variety content.

19. AoA

This group has had so much turmoil that it’s made it a lot harder for me to go back and enjoy their music, and they were one of my favorite groups for a few years. A big highlight here is actually the original band concept they had running, as the band version of Moya is, in my opinion, the best AoA song.

18. Rainbow

I think Rainbow is the most underrated girl group of all time, especially by new kpop listeners. They had so many great songs, A, Sunshine, and Tell Me Tell Me being the standouts. But they go deep with Black Swan and their subunit Rainbow Blaxx’s song Cha Cha. They also have some standout personalities and I’m always ready to support any projects that any of the members get into.

17. Sistar

Sistar are the queens of summer, and they always will be to me. Great songs, incredible variety personalities with Bora and Soyou, and some real talents as well, especially Hyolyn and Soyou as vocalists. Sistar19 is also one of the greatest subunits of all time, Ma Boy and Gone Not Around Any Longer are straight fire.

16. Ive

Under their grandma group Sistar is IVE, who I think has everything to keep climbing higher on this list. Starship understands how to put together a good and unique girl group, and tends to be good at picking good title tracks. They’ve also done a great job of getting attention on the non-Iz*one girls which is impressive when Wonyoung and Yujin were two of the most popular Iz*one members. Still very early in their career, but I’m watching it with great interest.

15. Stellar

Stellar’s career was something, over-sexualized, earned basically no money, and had all the talent to be something more. The real kicker here is that the music was good, Mask, Marionette, Vibrato, Sting, Insomnia, Crying, all great songs. Stellar deserved better.

14. Red Velvet

Consistently great across both their Red and Velvet concepts, Red Velvet has been one of the biggest highlights of 3rd gen kpop. While they never are at the top of my rankings, they also never drop low, and consistency is pretty rare in this industry, so that’s actually a big deal.

13. Apink

Mr. Chu was my favorite song in kpop until Oh My Girl released Step By Step. This group is maybe the best of the early variety groups outside of SNSD, the difference here is I like Apink’s music and don’t really care for SNSD’s (they won’t be appearing on this list). Eunji is an incredible vocalist and leads the way for this group's music even through their evolution that started with I’m So Sick. That evolution was also the most successful concept change of all time in my opinion, they moved from strength to strength.

12. Pristin

I initially had Pristin higher because, had their career actually existed, they would have been, but the reality is they disbanded too soon and even their variety show just vanished from the face of the earth. I loved Pristin, they were my number one and I tried so hard to tell myself they would come back, but they didn’t. Wee Woo is amazing, the b-sides were great, the subunit Pristin V was great, and I liked all the members.

11. Iz*one

Iz*one did a lot in a very small amount of time, but the biggest for me is it produced my current favorite idol, Eunbi, and the idol I want to have everybody love, Yena. See, the magic here is that the individuals are amazing, and then they were just smashed together into a group with a cool elegant sound that worked for them perfectly. If they had been a permanent group, they would probably be higher, but the small time span holds them back.

10. Everglow

Everglow have been on a pretty long break, over 7 months, so they aren’t active in our minds, but their discography is super good. On top of that, they show an incredible range, obviously their strong girl crush style is what most people recognize, but on the b-sides we get so much variety and Everglow is good at all of that. We also have some great members: Yiren's charisma, E:U’s rap, Onda’s fantastic personality, Aisha’s unique vocal color, Mia’s being good at everything, and Sihyeon’s talent and presence. This group is filled with threats in every possible way.

9. Dreamcatcher

Speaking of talent, Dreamcatcher is stuffed to the brim with it, great vocals, performances, and rapping while tied to a cool metal concept. I’m not going to list out all the good songs because it would take too long. What I will say is even if you aren’t a Dreamcatcher fan, but they come to your area for a concert, go to the concert and you will become a fan, they are some of the best performers in terms of girl groups, maybe the best.

8. Loona

If this group didn’t have the solo and subunit debuts and just debuted with Hi High and had the discography that came after, they probably wouldn’t be on this list. That said, the solos are incredible, the subunits are great, and LoonaTV was maybe the best variety series in the history of kpop. OEC in particular stands out here, if that had been a permanent regular group not part of Loona there’s a decent shot that they would be my number one group of all time, the members are perfect, and the music was absolutely top tier.

7. Fromis_9

I always like Fromis’s music, it’s been good since debut, but they only started to shoot up after their hiatus, where the music leveled up and Channel_9 has become the clear best variety show for any group. DM is a top 2 song for me this year so far, and they’ve had a presence in basically every year’s rankings since their debut. They also have really strong personalities, Jiwon, Hayoung, Nagyung, and Gyuri really stand out in this regard.

6. Gfriend

Although it was only a slightly early disbandment, Gfriend’s disbandment hit pretty hard, because it was sudden and so close to the logical endpoint for the group. They had a really strong career, some great songs, a bad concept change, more great songs, a good concept change, new concept great songs, and a disbandment. Love Whisper and Apple really stand out in their discography, and for the members Sowon, Yuju, and Eunha are great.

5. EXID

EXID are great members with great music from the beginning of the modern line-up until its disbandment. Literally every title track is incredible, so I’m going to mention a few b-sides that are great, such as Boy, How Why, and Cream, which you should check out after going through all the music videos. Then of course, we have some great personalities, especially Hani, and strong talents across the whole vocal line, and LE’s rap, and Junghwa’s unique dance vibes and vocal tone.

4. GWSN

Making this website made me realize something very important, I just love GWSN. Every list where I can rank them, they end up super high on the back of having one of the best discographies in kpop that feels practically built to please specifically me. I won’t recommend a specific song, just go to any of them and be happy. I actually really like their dance practices, they have some really nifty formations that are super beautiful. In terms of members, Minju and Anne are the standouts for me. But every member provides something good to the final product.

3. Oh My Girl

This group will be the group I like the longest in my whole time as a kpop listener I guarantee you, not because I expect to stop listening to kpop, but because I don’t think any other group will stay consistently good for as long as Oh My Girl has, and continues to do. Someday I’ll put them in first on this list, probably in 5 years, but I value the peaks of the groups above them a little higher than Oh My Girl’s longevity currently. But, again, they’ll eventually take the top barring a disbandment. They have the greatest kpop song of all time, Step By Step, and that’s on top of incredible singles like Closer, Liar Liar, Windy Day, and Shark, and other great b-sides like Dolphin.

2. WJSN

My current favorite group, and the first group that I’ve ever signed up for the official fandom of, WJSN have been the biggest mainstay group for me over the last 2-3 years. That said, while I love the members, especially Luda, Yeoreum, and Bona, the musical direction they’ve gone in is not my personal favorite. The music is still great, but the ethereal style was so good and unique. That said, they have a robust title track catalog with literally no misses, and a b-side catalog that’s almost as good. I could toss WJSN’s entire discography, hit shuffle play, and have a blast listening through it, it’s just that good. Also, they have incredible album photobooks, their separate photobooks are great, and the lightstick is fantastic, as are their posters and season’s greetings.

1. Girl’s Day

There are multiple sides to Girl’s Day, and a lot of people think of the sexy era, Expectation, Female President, Ring My Bell, Something, and I’ll Be Yours, which are peak sexy era kpop, but everything before that was also incredible, they have maybe the craziest range and function perfectly in all of it. Hug Me Once is a cute song masterpiece, the greatest of its kind. Don’t Forget Me is that soft romantic jam, which is also just insanely well executed, and I actually can’t think of a similar song that I think is better. And then we’ve got the super high energy, fun concept in Twinkle Twinkle and Oh My God, which are also best in class. All four members are fantastic, Yura is my personal favorite, she has the greatest laugh in kpop history, Dreamcatcher Sua feels like her spiritual successor in that sense. They also had a stylist that clearly liked them, because through everything they always looked good, which wasn’t true for a lot of groups back then. Girl’s Day was my favorite group since I discovered them through Expectation all the way to their disbandment, and even now their music puts a smile on my face when I listen to it more than any other group.