There are a number of acts who have debuted in the past few decades and have dozens of song ratings on this blog. I thought it would be fun to lay these ratings out in chronological order, line-graph style, and take a macro view of their careers so far. Then, similar to my “Underrated K-pop” features, I can average their ratings into one mega-score and place them in a pantheon alongside other acts.
As always, this feature has some rules of its own. I’m including any “Song Review” ratings as part of this graph, including Japanese releases and collaborations with one other artist. I’m not including Buried Treasures or solo/sub-unit releases. For the ratings themselves, I’m using the most current number on this blog, so if a song was part of a “Risers and Fallers” or “Legendary Songs Inauguration” post, that’s the rating you’ll see displayed here. That means there will still be a few ratings here and there I find slightly inaccurate, but it’ll mostly reflect my up-to-date feelings.
Finally, these scores are completely subjective. Feel free to agree, disagree and argue (that’s part of the fun!), but know that this chart reflects the opinion of only one person (me).
Check out SHINEE’s placement on the ULTIMATE ARTIST RANKING page!
SHINEE: A Career In Song Ratings
The Breakdown
Highest Rated Songs
Replay, Lucifer, Sherlock (Clue + Note), Dream Girl, Why So Serious?, Everybody, View, Married To The Music, Kimi No Seide, Atlantis
Lowest Rated Songs
Imperial Phases
Replay -> Tell Me What To Do (2008-2016)
Get The Treasure -> The Feeling (2017-2023)
Slump Phases
None
Rating Average: 9.01
Overall Trendline:
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
One of the most solid singles run in kpop, I have been HOOKED to their discography lately 😭
Ngl, I didn’t expect Ring Ding Dong to be rated so high but it’s just so oddly fascinating and ridiculous, you can’t even hate it 😭 it’s a nightmare to play on Superstar SMTOWN though
I have yet to listen to their JP discography but judging by your ratings, I must be missing out lol. I hope their comeback doesn’t disappoint so they maintain this average 🤞
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Also, it’s random, but what are your thoughts on I Really Want You now? You mentioned how you nearly gave it a 10 but wanted to see if it’ll get there for you over time, so is it still a 9.75 or did it change?
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I honestly haven’t listened to that song in ages so I’d have to get back into it to let you know!
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atlantis reminds me so much of f(x)’s rum pum pum pum, probably because of the guitar that loops in the background for each one? anyways, those songs are absolutely fantastic.
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I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a SHINee single. Kings of kpop frfr. Another artist with great B-sides, too!
T5 in no particular order:
Sherlock
Replay (replay, replay)
Lucifer
View
Everybody
And since I forgot to comment on the SNSD one, I’ll list my T5 here for my ults, also in no particular order:
Genie
Paparazzi
Flower Power
INTW
All Night
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my kings
they (almost) never miss
I’m do excited for their comeback
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Thanks, Nick😭🙏🙏🙏
I was like, I’m sure he’s going to do this when they drop their comeback next month. 😂😂
I’m so happy they got an outstanding rating from you.
I personally would give all singles from The Story of Light a 10 because they always hit my heartstrings.
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THE group that got me into all this! Love that you dropped it near their debut anniversary.
The amount of 10s and 9+s is iconic and deserved honestly. My fave title track of theirs changes from day to day depending on how I’m feeling, but Sherlock will always be that bitch. And Dream Girl. And View. And Married to the Music. And—
(…also it makes me quite happy you have Why So Serious as a 10, hearing the over-the-top exuberance of that song specifically in a stadium setting as my first exposure to the group is what hooked me right away and I’ll never forget the experience haha)
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(Sorry the above was supposed to be an individual comment lol. But I agree wholeheartedly Good Evening and I Want You deserve 10s, they capture the “upbeat and dancey while also melancholic and wistful” vibe so perfectly
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Haha that’s fine!!! 😆😆 DW about it. Happy that you also agree with me.
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Except for Hard they have never disappointed me! They truly are my ultimate group!
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kinda curious as a fellow Hard hater (although I like the bridge I guess), would JUICE have gone over better as the title track for that album do you think ? I personally think it is a slightly stronger song even though it does feel like Don’t Call Me 2 in a lot of ways ( but so does Hard, so….alas)
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I would say the same, but Hard grew on me tbh, huge riser 😭
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SHINee fans brag about their group like another rating in the 8’s won’t send them back to the low-income tier….
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I love SHINee, this comment was just in reference to that LowTierGod meme.
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I guess we won’t have to worry about that quite yet since Atmos is above a 9 😄
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Shineeeee!!! I’ve been waiting for this one 🙏 Replay to Tell Me What to Do is an INSANE imperial phase. That’s basically 10 years of flawless music. I would rank Winter Wonderland and Hard higher so my imperial phase would probably be the entire thing LOL 😭 I agree with all the tens but would probably add Juliette and Tell Me What to Do. Can’t wait for the comeback!!
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Fantastic b-sides all throughout their career as well. I’ve been re-listening to the Odd/Married to the Music album lately…so freaking good. Possibly THE summer album? My favorite Shinee b-sides ever though are Heart Attack, Beautiful, and Picasso. Pop perfection
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I want to thank you for doing all this and for free! It’s cool that you manage to post 3-4 every single day in such a short timeframe.
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Kings of Kpop. For me “Lucifer” is the best kpop song of all kpop. I know Nick puts Infinite “The Chaser” on top, but for me “Lucifer” is the better song. This praise coming from an ELF – Super Junior being more like the Uncles of Kpop.
Jonghyun ❤ forever
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2NE1, SHINEE, BigBang, Girls Generation were my childhood.
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the year was 2008 and they didn’t yet know they would become one of the biggest K-pop groups… my boys, my OT5 💔
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SHINee have so many great singles. I’m happy to see my favourites — Dream Girl, View, Married to the Music, Everybody, and Why So Serious? (my pick for No. 1 SHINee title track, I mean it has the best intro, the bridge is just amazing and the energy is unmatched) — all rated 10s.
They were just one of those rare K-pop groups that could tackle many genre — rock, funk, house, complextro — and still put out solid singles consistently.
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that is a pretty great and deserved rating! Hopefully they won’t fail us this time either 👏👏👏🩵🩵
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very expected, also very deserving.
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shinee are so peak. hard was awful (with a p good album though) but everything else >>>
looking forward to recent release
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While they don’t come to mind as my favourite idols, Shinee is definitely the boy group with the most consistently terrific discography for me. I know I can always rely on them to release something great.
Also, since I’m commenting well after initial posting, it’s great to see Atmos already on the board. Does this mean you’ll be updating every artist’s ‘A Career in Song Ratings’ post going forward when they release a new single?
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That’s the plan! (and one of the reasons I’m not adding 5th gen groups to the board yet)
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