When seven young men from Seoul released their debut EP in June 2013, few could have predicted what would follow.
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — most of whom started out in the group as teenagers — spent years grinding through late nights in practice studios and live venues to build a global fan base, the BTS Army, that would eventually help them rewrite the rules of global pop.
By the late 2010s, they were selling out stadiums worldwide and topping the Billboard charts. After a period of solo releases and mandatory military service, the group is reuniting this week with “Arirang.” Here’s a guide to key releases that came before it.
2013
‘2 Cool 4 Skool’ (2013)
A record scratch, boom-bap beats and a then-18-year-old RM introduce the group’s rebellious opening statement. BTS’s debut single, “No More Dream,” set the tone: Here were young men challenging societal expectations over call-and-response hip-hop production that felt contrarian and urgent to an increasingly internationally focused K-pop industry.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2013
‘O!RUL8,2?’
Less than three months after BTS’s debut, a quick follow-up expanded the concept with “N.O,” urging listeners to question authority and South Korea’s rigorous education system. The EP includes the first “BTS Cypher” — a chest-thumping tradition in the rap world — as a response to detractors.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2014
‘Skool Luv Affair’
The group donned school uniforms in promotional photos for “Skool Luv Affair,” which centers on raging teenage heartache. It connected with listeners in a big way: The EP was the group’s first to enter Billboard’s World Albums chart.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2014
‘Skool Luv Affair Special Addition’
A limited-edition repackaged edition added “Miss Right” and sold out its initial pressing. In 2020, BTS’s BigHit Music label announced a reprint thanks to fan demand, sending the 6-year-old record to No. 12 on the Billboard 200.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2014
‘Dark & Wild’
BTS’s first full-length pivoted to darker, more emotionally complex themes like jealousy and rage, heard in the singles “Danger” and “War of Hormone,” which incorporated harder electric guitars and booming percussion.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2015
‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1’
The opening chapter to a new era capturing the fragile joy of youth. Sporting a noticeably more singalong pop sound, “I Need U” kicked off a turning point for BTS, earning the group its first No. 1 ranking on Korea’s weekly music shows — indicating one’s arrival on the K-pop scene — with all seven members participating across songwriting and producing.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2015
‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2′
Deepening the era’s narrative themes while tackling subjects of loneliness and privilege, “Pt. 2” marked BTS’s debut entry on the Billboard 200. At No. 171, it was the first release outside Korea’s three major agencies to chart stateside. Thanks largely to BTS’s success, their label soon became the fourth contender, reshaping the country’s music industry.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2016
‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever’
BTS’s first compilation album combined “Pt. 1,” “Pt. 2,” three new songs and a series of remixes into a 23-track package. The singles “Fire” and “Save Me” were accompanied by the cinematic music videos and intricate group choreography that have become fan-favorite staples of their live shows.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2016
‘Wings’
This thematic LP drew from Hermann Hesse’s coming-of-age novel “Demian” to explore temptation and individuality. For the first time, BTS’s members recorded their own solo tracks. “Wings” debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting K-pop album in America.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2017
‘You Never Walk Alone’
A repackage of “Wings” offered four new tracks including “Spring Day,” a sentimental, noticeably slower-tempoed single about loss and grief.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2017
‘Love Yourself: Her’
While “DNA” became BTS’s first song to chart on Billboard’s Hot 100, reaching No. 67, the EP it appeared on peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, in part thanks to a distribution deal with Sony’s indie arm the Orchard. The mini-album also got a boost from its embrace of more gender-neutral lyrics, heard in Jimin’s “Intro: Serendipity,” which opted for a universal “you” and “me.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2018
‘Love Yourself: Tear’
The first Korean-language album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The emotional lead single “Fake Love” premiered live at the Billboard Music Awards in a sign of BTS’s swelling American appeal.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2018
‘Love Yourself: Answer’
The era concluded with a meditation on self-acceptance. The group’s United Nations General Assembly speech a month after release — in which RM urged listeners to “Speak yourself” — helped the album’s message resonate globally.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2019
‘Map of the Soul: Persona’
Inspired by Carl Jung’s psychology, this EP became BTS’s fourth No. 1 album, and third in less than a year, making them the first band since the Beatles to accomplish such a feat so quickly. “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey answered the group’s 2014 single “Boy in Luv” with a message of self-acceptance.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2020
‘Map of the Soul: 7′
“On” uses a militaristic marching beat to discuss the price of achieving one’s dreams, contrasting with 2013’s “N.O.” The LP reaped 422,000 units in its first week, easily earning a fifth No. 1 and setting a K-pop sales record that BTS still holds in the United States today.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2020
‘Be’
Conceived by the members during the pandemic, the intimate record included encouraging messages like the group’s first original English single, “Dynamite” (BTS’s first No. 1 single), and “Life Goes On” (the first Korean-language song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100).
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2021
‘Butter’
Building on the Grammy-nominated success of “Dynamite,” BTS unleashed the original English tracks “Butter” (which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100) and “Permission to Dance.”
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2022
‘Proof’
A three-disc retrospective collecting BTS’s career with singles, the members’ favorite cuts and new tracks like “Yet to Come,” “Proof” was released as they announced a group hiatus to pursue solo projects and complete their mandatory South Korean military service.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2022
J-Hope, ‘Jack in the Box’
Released ahead of J-Hope’s slot as the first member to headline a major U.S. festival solo at Lollapalooza, the album showcased experimental hip-hop while honoring its inspirations. (See: the production of “What If …”, which borrows from Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.”)
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2022
RM, ‘Indigo’
RM’s first full solo album was a genre-hopping journey through his late 20s with collaborators like Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak and Youjeen, the frontwoman of the Korean punk act Cherry Filter.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2023
Jimin, ‘Face’
Among a brooding mix of dark, electro-pop numbers, Jimin launched “Like Crazy” to a milestone No. 1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, a first for a K-pop soloist after the No. 2 peak of Psy’s “Gangnam Style” in 2012.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2023
Agust D, ‘D-Day’
Under his alternative moniker for solo music, the BTS rapper-producer Suga confronted mental health issues, societal pressures and personal trauma with unflinching directness. “D-Day” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by a solo world tour.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2023
V, ‘Layover’
Embracing his longtime love of jazz, V’s velvet-toned solo debut marked an intimate departure from BTS’s massive sound. With every track boasting its own music video, “Layover” also debuted at No. 2.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2023
Jung Kook, ‘Golden’
Going full-fledged pop star, Jung Kook put out his own album after a string of successful singles including the Hot 100 No. 1 “Seven” featuring Latto. With contributors like Major Lazer, Shawn Mendes and Jack Harlow, the English-language LP debuted at No. 2 with 210,200 copies sold, a new best sales week for K-pop soloists.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2024
J-Hope, ‘Hope on the Street Vol. 1’
J-Hope released this six-track project tied to a Prime Video documentary series exploring street dance, featuring a fun mix of collaborators like the Chic co-founder Nile Rodgers and the Korean hip-hop legends Gaeko and YoonMirae.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2024
RM, ‘Right Place, Wrong Person’
RM’s second album stemmed from creative unfulfillment following “Indigo,” and examined it through an indie-influenced sound with collaborators like the British rapper Little Simz and the jazz duo Domi and JD Beck, to critical praise.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2024
Jimin, ‘Muse’
“Muse” deepened Jimin’s ongoing quest for love with an eye toward the Western market: The Disney Channel breakout Sofia Carson features on “Slow Dance,” while the fully English lead single “Who” recalls the Neptunes’ ’00s production.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2024
Jin, ‘Happy’
Jin’s first proper solo record, released following his discharge from military service, featured a global take on modern rock with collaborators like Gary Barlow of the British band Take That, plus Taka and Toru of the Japanese rock outfit One Ok Rock.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2025
Jin, ‘Echo’
Following up with another EP six months after his first, Jin cemented his reputation as a rock star — touching on Britpop and even country-rock this time — alongside more mature songwriting.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2025
‘Permission to Dance on Stage — Live’
An official live record capturing the Permission to Dance on Stage concerts, BTS’s stadium-sized 2021-2022 return to in-person performances in Los Angeles, Seoul and Las Vegas after the pandemic.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Music or YouTube
2026
‘Arirang‘
BTS’s long-awaited comeback album is named after a Korean folk song. The members have credits across the LP alongside Mike Will Made-It, Diplo, Ryan Tedder, Flume, El Guincho and more.
The post BTS: A Guide to the K-Pop Group’s Discography appeared first on New York Times.
