My TOP 10 Kpop albums and favorite songs of 2025

KAI – Wait On Me

As usual, Kai delivers a no-skip solo EP. After he was gone for so long bc of military enlistment, it felt genuinely good to have new Kai music to jam to. This album is only not his personal best because his solo debut EP is genuinely one of the best kpop mini albums of all time (in other words, impossible to outdo). My personal favorite tracks are Wait on Me and Walls Don't Talk.

NMIXX – Fe3O4: FORWARD

NMIXX had their most successful year so far and imo, released their career-best in the shape of this EP. It's delightful, well-crafted and dynamic, as usual from them. And don't get me started on the vocal delivery. Slingshot and High Horse take the cake and are among the best songs of the year.

CLOSE YOUR EYES – blackout

This top 10 list includes a few groups I did not know or did not exist this time last year, and make up my favorite kpop discoveries of 2025. CLOSE YOUR EYES is the first I'm mentioning out of those 3 groups. They debuted this year and released already 3 EPs, all of them worth a listen but they saved the best for last - blackout came out in November and has been on heavy rotation over here ever since. The best tracks? CHIC and X are the MVPs but all songs in this EP are really good!

82MAJOR – Trophy

82MAJOR are my absolute favorite discovery of this year. Not only is the music extremely well-produced, these dudes are excellent live performers. Definitely recommend checking out their music show appearances because they are serving live vocals and stage presence every single time!

Trophy is a no-skip EP and is only not higher in my top 10 because it's still quite a recent release that is bound to grow more on me. Trophy and Need that Bass are incredibly addictive and both CLOSE YOUR EYES' blackout album and this one sit at the same table.

KiiiKiii – UNCUT GEM

KiiiKiii's debut EP occupies the highest placing for a rookie group in my top 10 list. Judging from the pre-release I DO ME I never expected this album to have this type of sound. This entire EP was on my daily playlist for the entire year and the songs, combining experimental/industrial touches with a more atmospheric soundscape, never get old, especially ONE OFF and GROUNDWORK.

ZEROBASEONE – BLUE PARADISE

The first album to make it to my top 5 is from a group that was similarly a highlight for me in 2024: ZEROBASEONE. They've solidly grown to be one of my favorite groups of the new generation and I'm dreading the fact that they have an expiration date coming up, since they are a Boys Planet survival show temporary group. This mini album was a delicious buffet of pure bubblegum kpop bg fruity flower boy music. Hao and Taerae's vocals are always a joy to listen to and I hope we get to hear them often in the new year, even if not in ZB1 anymore (*wipes tear*). Top 2 tracks: BLUE and Doctor! Doctor!.

izna – Not Just Pretty

Just outside of the top 3 is izna. Look, I'm surprised too. But no one can deny WakeOne and THEBLACKLABEL production team has been killing it lately. Killing some eardrums with some artists yes, but killing it nonetheless. I can appreciate and recognize an amazing release when I see (or hear) one, and this EP is by far the highlight of Teddy, Kush, VVN & friends' material in 2025. Not Just Pretty consists of 4 new tracks that are not just pretty (hehe) great, but are also a reminder that this production team knows exactly what they are doing. Supercrush is my favorite track here, and then it's a toss up between Mamma Mia and Racecar.

SUHO – Who Are You

Surprising a total of 0 people, SUHO has made it to my annual best of list. What else to say about kpop's best soloist? He is simply allergic to releasing anything other than brilliant albums. The entire album is incredible, but Medicine and Golden Hour have me feeling some type of way.

LE SSERAFIM – HOT

This was released really early in the year and at that time I already knew this was going to be fighting for the top spot. I'm always excited and locked in for a LE SSERAFIM release and every year they prove me right. Ash is astronomically good, with HOT chasing behind as the 2nd best track of the album. Honorable mention to Born Fire which continues the tradition of excellent intro tracks to their albums.

Ryu Sujeong – NEW CAR

This was a slow grower and somewhat a surprise for me. But as of today I'm officially Ryu Sujeong's biggest fan and shooter for Lovelyz until I die. In all honesty, Lovelyz was never a group I got excited about when they were active, but their members' solo work is vastly superior to the group's. I had already been a fan of Ryu Sujeong when I first listened to her 1st full album Archive of Emotions, but it was only this year that I completely fell in love with her music when NEW CAR came out (which ended up in me revisiting Archive and falling in love again with that brilliant album).

NEW CAR is a much shorter EP, but by no means less good. Literally the soundtrack of the last half of this year for me, I've grown very attached to it and relate so much to Sujeong's lyrics. My pick for album of the year could not be anything else. The title track is my personal favorite, but Venus & a bowl soup and Bad Bye are also highlights.

JENNIE – Ruby

It takes a lot of effort for an album to have so many songs be consistently good, but Jennie has pretty much passed that test with a great score, with 13 out of 14 songs (not counting the intro) being added to my playlist. It's 0% surprising to see this album showing up on top of all year-end kpop lists of best albums because it IS, objectively, the album of the year. I applaud Jennie for her execution, and her A&R team for picking very tasteful songs and great collabs; this is exactly what a debut solo album should be like. My top picks - start a war and like JENNIE. Here's to more music in 2026! (please...!)

25. IVE – "REBEL HEART"

rare IVE 2025 serve and I mean that in the nicest way possible

24. SUHO – "Medicine"

Suho Glastonbury 2026 headlining act

23. ARrC – "awesome"

nachos stolen from some 2000s Eminem album and reheated with sprinkles of excellent taste

22. KATSEYE – "Gnarly"

there's a life pre-gnarly and post-gnarly

21. ARrC – "nu kidz"

this group is an unofficial NCT sub-unit you cannot argue with me on this

20. NCT DREAM – "BTTF"

19. YEJI – "Air"

GAY RIGHTS

18. WOODZ – "I'll Never Love Again"

Woodz sounds like GDragon but from an alternate universe where he's the main vocal of Bigbang and went through 16 divorces

17. ATEEZ – "Slide To Me (YUNHO Solo)"

GAY RIGHTS [2]

16. ZEROBASEONE – "BLUE"

thank you KENZIE

15. JENNIE – "like JENNIE"

do you guys think KAI bops to this one when he's home alone?

14. RIIZE – "Another Life"

If you listen closely you can hear Haechan in this

13. CLOSE YOUR EYES – "Close Your Eyes"

this song is overplayed in heaven when and if you get there

12. ATEEZ – "In Your Fantasy"

Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland - Sexy Back, but better and fruitier

11. KiiiKiii – "ONE OFF"

an instrumental that cures diseases

10. JAEHYUN (w/ Emotional Oranges) – "Call It Off"

I'm a military wife devouring all the crumbs I can

9. Ryu Sujeong – "NEW CAR"

bye bye my clunker I got a new pink lamborghini

8. NCT DREAM – "CHILLER"

desperate for that inevitable Jeno & Jaemin sub-unit

7. ALL(H)OURS – "GIMME GIMME"

Pull up to the RAVE

6. SEVENTEEN – "Shake It Off (MINGYU Solo)"

GAY RIGHTS [3]

5. NMIXX – "Slingshot (﹤★)"

if you listen to this song in reverse, something spooky will happen to your left knee

4. JENNIE – "start a war"

reheated nachos from [insert artist] but the best kind of nachos. they'll never make me hate you.

3. NMIXX – "High Horse"

whitney_houston_I_listen_to_singers_meme.gif

2. NMIXX – "Reality Hurts"

reality when this song did not exist hurt badly

1. LE SSERAFIM - "Ash"

I'm thankful I was born with functioning ears without which I would not be able to experience the feeling of listening to this song

Here's the TOP 100 in order:

And here's the extended list of best songs of the year. Enjoy! Or cover your ears! Whatever fits your case.

NMIXX

Couldn't be anyone else tbh.

Isn't it amazing when, in the end, talent wins?

Congratulations on the incredible year both musically and chart-wise. And don't forget those who were there for you the day you debuted with O.O!