When looking back at this year in K-pop, there wasn’t really an album that caught my attention until April. Thankfully, things moved in a more positive direction after that. However, for the first time that I can recall all of the albums on this list are minis. I’m not sure what (if anything) that says about the output this year, but it makes me miss the days of killer full albums with equally awesome repackages.
What are your thoughts, readers? Leave your own picks in the comments!
Hearts2Hearts – Lemon Tang
So far, this is the one release that’s filling the “summer concept album” schtick I tend to love in K-pop. It’s a great listen all the way through with a surplus of peppy pop hooks.
Best album tracks: heart emoji (♡), 15-LOVE
KickFlip – My First Kick
Consistency is the game for these guys, as they released yet another super-solid mini brimming with youthful pop/rock energy. There may not be a ton of musical growth on display, but if it ain’t broke there’s no need to fix it!
Best album tracks: Scroll, Stup!d
RIIZE – II
If you’re judging II solely by its polarizing title track, give the b-sides a listen because this is easily one of the strongest albums of the year. It’s a whistlestop tour of SM’s boy group sounds, delivered with flair and energy.
Best album tracks: Soar, Like A Bomb
SHINee – Atmos
Not only is the title track Atmos completely epic, but the accompanying mini is also a huge achievement. In particular, the first four tracks present a matured vision of SHINee’s dynamic dance sound.
Best album tracks: Anti Believer, Hours
TWS – No Tragedy
TWS have yet to miss on this list and that streak continues with another super-solid mini. They explore different genres here, offering peeks at a variety of roads they may travel in the future.
Best album tracks: Fire Escape, Get It Now
XngHan&Xoul – Glow
Though it peters out a bit towards the end, I so appreciate this collection of dancefloor grooves. XngHan has found his sweet spot within the club and I hope this is only a teaser of what’s to come.
Best album tracks: Dancing Anyway, Light The Fire
YOUNITE – Inyun Part.1
YOUNITE are the “little group who could,” punching well above their weight with this dynamic blend of K-pop styles. There’s something for everyone here and it’s all so polished and exciting.
Best album tracks: Parallel, Nothing
ZEROBASEONE – Ascend
ZEROBASEONE’s reshuffling into a quintet worked even better than I would have expected on this strong suite of groovy material. Pound for pound, it’s one of their strongest albums.
Best album tracks: Zero To Hundred, Exotic
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
will u still do legendary song inaugurations and top 10 song revisions from past years?
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Yes and maybe
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Glow, Atmos and II are definitely my favourite albums of this year so far. Glow really commits to the dance sound even if some of it are subdued, and II is so sonically diverse and all are so strong and massive growers!
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my favorites:
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Are there any B1A4 b-sides you’d recommend outside of your Top Ten Album tracks?
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my absolute favorites so far this year are:
top spot – another dimension – top
atmos – shinee
animated – lavin
onf: my self – onf
lemon tang – h2h
honorable ments:
ascend – zb1
first, again – seeya
motto – itzy
ceremony – qwer
dead and – xdinary heroes
lost and found – kino
love catcher – yena
unfortunately alot of my usual favorite groups had albums that didn’t do much for me, and some of them i straight up hated, so hopefully things turn around in the second half of the year!
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for me, Pureflow pt. 1, Ode to Love album, and Daydream by Jang Haneum all stand out for the first half. Overlap with this list is II by RIIZE coz it’s just so cohesive.
(Also, sampled the Glow mini; my standout there is Lovin’ on Me)
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Good to see YOUNITE on here. I am quite fond of that album too. Here are some others that weren’t mentioned:
SeeYa – First, Again / Such a cozy, warm album that makes no attempt to be trendy.
NCT WISH – Ode to Love / Best full album of the year. KickFlip had the best mini. SHINee 2nd.
IVE – REVIVE+ / Not completely no-skip, but damn close. Rare that I like so many solos.
ONEWE – The Quiver / If you thought Icarus was good, definitely check out the whole offering cuz it really delivers.
I spent the first 1/4 of the year listening to WAYV – Eternal White, an overlooked December album. It’s Chinese but idc.
Other really solid albums from ITZY, izna, tripleS, HEART OF WOMAN, xikers, CRAVITY (a step down from last year, but still very good), Xdinary Heroes.
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RIIZE – II
Despite listening to lots of SM groups, RIIZE has never clicked with me until this mini. Love listening to it while I go on walks in the evening.
(Soar, D-D-Done, Overdrive, Like a Bomb)
NCT – Ode to Love
Lots of the songs remind me of 2013 Shinee. Skate is one of my fave Wish tracks so I’m glad we got another song with similar vibes in Street (2AM).
(Feel the Beat, Street (2AM))
ZeroBaseOne – Ascend-
Was nervous about how they would sound with just 5 members, but I like this far more than And2ble’s debut.
(V for Vision, Zero to Hundred)
Shinee – Atmos
Fantastic from start to finish.
(Anti-Believer)
P1Harmony – Unique
Became obsessed with Duh! earlier this year and this scratches the itch.
(Triple 7, Ice (VVS))
aespa – Lemonade
The run from Lemonade to Switchblade is great—Can’t Help Myself reminds me of SNSD and Camouflage of Charli XCX songs by AG Cook. The rest is unremarkable with Roll being the worst offender.
(Camouflage, Switchblade)
Honorable mentions: IVE – Revive+, love Bang Bang and enjoy the rest enough to get tickets to see them live. TXT – 7th Year: A Moment of Stillness in the Thorns, the songs should’ve been longer. Take Me to Nirvana being 2:31 long is a travesty.
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Since Nick’s too kind: What are your worst/most disappointing albums so far?
BTS – ARIRANG kinda hard to beat…
EXO – Reverxe and Cortis – GreenGreen were huge letdowns. Oh yeah NMIXX – Heavy Serenade. Not terrible, but a huge fumble. I think some of you are in denial just as bad as ARMY on that one!
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Just wait until tomorrow. 😉 The kindness ends.
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Oh, sorry about that. I tried searching for worst-ofs, but didn’t see anything. Feel free to delete if you want and I’ll repost my toxicity tomorrow.
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Not a problem!
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Will there still be best J-pop and best global pop songs so far posts this year?
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I don’t think I’ll do a midyear this time. For J-pop, I just don’t have enough songs I genuinely love. For pop, I might just wait until the end of the year. We’ll see.
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Okay.
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