Summary
- BTS has released a total of 36 albums, showcasing their versatility in incorporating various genres and themes like mental health and self-love.
- Each member of BTS is heavily involved in the production and writing of their music, with Suga and RM gaining recognition for their hip-hop-infused dance style.
- BTS has broken numerous records, including the most-viewed YouTube video, reaching No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and selling 2.27 million copies of their album within the first week. Their achievements highlight their talent and long-lasting impact in the music industry.
One of the most popular boy bands ever, the prolific K-pop group BTS has released a total of 36 albums, so while this provide hours of entertainment, it can be tough to figure out how to listen to every BTS album in order. Formed in 2010, the BTS members consist of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Rap Monster (RM), Jimin, V, and Jungkook. The boy band began as a hip-hop group, but since then, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a variety of genres, with their lyrics centering on themes of mental health, self-love, and individuality, subjects not always found in pop music, which often focuses on romance.
This has allowed the boy band to cast a wide net, and the result is a thoroughly passionate fanbase, widely referring to themselves online as ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth). ARMY consists of not just people from South Korea, but all over the world. BTS has become so big that they were even able to visit Joe Biden at The White House (via Billboard). It all began for BTS with the release of their first single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool in 2013. As of today, the K-pop group has released 36 albums, including 9 studio albums that are both critically acclaimed and financially successful.
Every BTS Album In Order
- 2 Cool 4 Skool (2013)
- O!RUL8,2? (2013)
- Skool Luv Affair (2014)
- Skool Luv Affair: Special Addition (2014)
- 2 Cool 4 Skool / O!RUL8,2? (2014)
- No More Dream (2014)
- Boy In Luv (2014)
- Dark & Wild (2014)
- Danger (2014)
- Wake Up (2014)
- The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt. 1 (2015)
- For You (2015)
- The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt. 2 (2015)
- I Need You (2015)
- Run (2016)
- The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever (2016)
- Youth (2016)
- Wings (2016)
- The Best of Bangtan Songyeondan – Korea & Japan Edition (2017)
- You Never Walk Alone (2017)
- Blood Sweat & Tears (2017)
- Love Yourself: Her (2017)
- MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow (2017)
- Face Yourself (2018)
- Love Yourself: Tear (2018)
- Love Yourself: Answer (2018)
- FAKE LOVE/Airplane Pt. 2 (2018)
- Map of the Soul: Persona (2019)
- BTS World Original Soundtrack (2019)
- Map of the Soul: 7 (2020)
- Map of the Soul: Persona (2020)
- Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey (2020)
- BE (2020)
- Butter (2021)
- BTS, the Best (2021)
- Proof (2022)
With a total of 36 albums, BTS has proven to be some of the biggest musicians working within the music industry, not just K-pop. Each of the seven members is heavily involved with the production and writing of their music. However, rappers Suga and RM have also gained recognition not only as producers but also for the band’s distinct hip-hop-infused dance style that is seen in both their live performances and music videos (via Billboard).
Additionally, BTS has consistently showcased that they enjoy creating trilogies within their discography, and a lot of the songs and albums that make up these trilogies are connected through themes or storylines. For example, the Love Yourself trilogym which consists of Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear, and Love Yourself: Answer; all serve under an overarching theme about self-love, a favorite subject of BTS that is commonly explored in a wide variety of their music. The Love Yourself series perfectly highlights why the band became incredibly successful as it highlighted their ability to mix engaging storytelling with powerful music.
Similarly, their first three albums; 2Cool 4Skool, O!RUL,2?, and Skool Luv Affair; also serve as the «school trilogy», with the songs on each album exploring the lives of school students who give up their dreams and their individuality to fit within societal norms, doing what is expected of them, like as getting corporate jobs, instead of being true to themselves. Additionally, on top of powerfully worded lyrics, BTS also experiments with their music itself, combining elements of K-pop, rap, hip-hop, rock, and other genres, resulting in a style of music that is wholly refreshing and unique.
Every BTS Studio Album In Order
- Dark & Wild (2014)
- Wake Up (2014)
- Youth (2016)
- Wings (2016)
- Face Yourself (2018)
- Love Yourself: Tear (2018)
- Map of the Soul: 7 (2020)
- Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey (2020)
- BE (2020)
A lot of BTS’s popularity stems from the numerous records they have broken and the achievements they have gained from producing such influential popular music. One of BTS’ most significant achievements was when their «Butter» music video for «Butter» broke the record for the most-viewed YouTube video within 24 hours with a total of 108.2 million views. Additionally, BTS also broke two different Billboard records: being the first Korean artist to reach No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and having the longest-charting Korean album on the Billboard 200 with Map of the Soul: 7 (via Leisure Byte).
BTS also broke records at the Grammy Awards by becoming the South Korean group/artist with the most Grammy nominations in history, with a total of five. And in addition to the accolade, BTS has also found huge financial success. BE became the fastest-selling album in South Korean history as a total of 2.27 million copies were sold within the first week. Additionally, BTS’s single, Butter, received a total of 11.04 million streams within the first 24 hours of its release on Spotify, the largest streaming debut ever for the company.
With such massive critical and financial accomplishments under their belt, BTS has been emboldened to innovate and push itself to create the best possible music, and recently that has included exploring other fields of music production. During the production of BE, each member of the group took a more active role in the overall production of the album with Jimin being the project manager, V and RM in charge of the graphics and designs of the album, and the rest of the group involved in the film and music production withJungkook directing the music video for «Life Goes On» (via Teen Vogue).
This more direct involvement ultimately paid off because, as mentioned before, BE became their fastest-selling album, and all these achievements highlight just how talented BTS has become. From their ability to combine layered storytelling with engaging and bombastic music to taking on active roles in the production of an album showcases that BTS isn’t just another popular K-pop boy band that got lucky. Their award nominations and record-breaking success prove that BTS and their music are here to stay.
