If you are just getting into KPop, you know that there is a whole new world to explore. You will honestly feel like you are on a magic carpet ride, and you have met the Korean version of Aladdin and you will never want to go back to the life that you had before. When diving into this world, it can still be a bit overwhelming, which is why I am here. I will be your magical KPop genie who will help you figure out what is good and what ain’t good with a side of fangirling.
Today, in order to help you navigate this world, just like my post on my 10 favorite KPop albums, today we will discuss the albums that I think you should add to a KPop starter collection. As a beginner, if you want a good place to start accumulating your collection without having any regrets in the albums you are getting, start here. All of the albums on this list are stellar musically, and they’re pretty, which is a massive bonus. I will also do my best to ensure that these albums do not overlap with my top 10 list as well. None of these albums will be special editions, as I want to make sure that they are a little bit more budget friendly.
BoA, One Shot, Two Shot:
This is an extremely recent release, but every single track on the album is stellar. She took her time producing this album, and only let the best tracks make it onto the album. Every track on this album is hit, after hit, and if you read my review on the album, you will know that I had nothing bad to say about this album. I also have a review up of the packaging of the album here. You can pick up a copy of this album for 25 bucks on Amazon, with a folded poster here.
iKON, Return:
The title track on this album has swept the chart since it’s release in January
of 2018, and has 
managed to have an “All Kill” on all of the charts in Korea since it’s release. This has only been done for this long, once before, by Big Bang in 2009. Every single track on this album is baller, and I definitely do not regret buying both copies of the album, as the physical copies of the albums are such a treat. If you want to read my initial review of the album after it was released, you can do that here. If you want to see what comes with the album, you can read about that here. You can pick up a copy of this album, with all the extra junk on Amazon for about 30 bucks here.
SHINee, Sherlock:
So the reason that this one is on this list is because
not only is this an amazing album, but the photo books are also hysterical. They are all really strange photos of all of the members awkwardly shirtless (before they all got killer abs), and it is the funniest thing I have ever seen. Above all of that, the album really is a quality album, and I still believe that Sherlock is one of the best K-Pop songs in the history of KPop. If you want to see the contents of the album, you can take a look at them here. You can pick up a copy of the album for around 20 bucks on Amazon here.
EXO, Lotto:
As this is the first full KPop album that I had ever heard, it has naturally made it’s way into this list, 
as it is a good place to get you acquainted with the genre, as well as make you fall off of your seat, like you will read here in my post about the first time I ever heard a song that wasn’t Gangnam Style. All in all, every track on the album is really good, and the album really shows the transition into the style that EXO has now for their music, such as the Power of Music. The packaging of this album is also clean, and unassuming, which I really like as well. If you want to read more about the album you can do that here. You can pick up a copy of this album for 30 bucks here.
Twice, Twicetagram:
I figured I need to add smore ome women in my lists of
albums that people should buy, and honestly you cannot go wrong with Twice. They are so stinking cute that you cannot help but like them. On top of that, all of their music is extremely catchy, and is a MASSIVE ear worm. So, you will know the dances after a very short amount of time. If you want to see what came with this album (I own only 1 version of the three), you can see that here. If you want to pick up a copy for yourself here for 25 bucks.
Super Junior, Sexy, Free & Single:
This is another album where the photo book is 100% 
what is even happening right now. You open it up, and it is extremely avant garde, and the members are all wearing crazy makeup with wild hair pieces. For example, Siwon has on a really long blond wig. When I opened this album the first time, I honestly lost it in laughter when I saw the photo album. It is truly hysterical, and it makes me wonder what SM was thinking. That is the main reason I love it. I live for the strange and unconventional. If you want to see more from this album, you can read about it here. If you want to add it to your collection, you can add it here from around 25$.
Red Velvet, Bad Boy:
This is a repackage of their album from November of 2017, and a couple of brand new songs were added. The title track on here is Bad Boy and that track is fire. This also has Peek-a-boo on it as well. On top of that, the girls look truly killer in this photo book. I don’t like how the CD case is made of plastic, but the quality of the album itself outweighs this. If you want to see the contents of the album, you can check it out here. You can pick up a copy on Amazon here for 28 bucks.
When it comes to building a K-Pop collection, you really can’t do it all at once. You have to add in the pieces one by one. Finding a place to start can definitely be challenging, especially when there are so many options. All of the albums in this list are an excellent place to start. They aren’t ridiculously expensive, and the music on all of them is top notch. They also will look very pretty on a shelf and make any bad day better.
Are there any albums that you would live to get a copy of, K-Nuggets? Let me know down in the comments below!
사랑합니다!
—Rachel
