BTS’ 60 Best Songs: Critics’ Picks

BTS celebrates its 10th anniversary on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, ringing in an entire decade of historic accomplishments at the milestone anniversary.

In an industry marked by imminent expiration dates, 10 years is considered unheard of for many pop groups—no matter where they call home. But BTS have risen far above any short, rise-and-fall arc, as they continue to reach new heights even in their current “Chapter Two” by balancing solo careers alongside their group activities. Both as a septet and on their own, members RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V and Jung Kook keep breaking their records after remapping an entirely new future for South Korean crossover success in the States.

Formed in 2013 by Big Hit Entertainment (the humble record label that eventually had a corporate rebranding into today’s HYBE), all seven members used to share one bedroom. The image of the group handing out flyers to a Los Angeles concert in 2014 was immortalized in their show, American Hustle Life. But now, the K-pop phenoms are living comfortably in luxury apartments, selling out stadiums in minutes and earning recognition from the industry’s most prominent artists and awards shows.

To continue the celebrations for BTS’ annual Festa, Billboard updated its critics’ list of top tracks and extended it to a clean 60 songs. The initial Top 50 created for BTS’ fifth anniversary in 2018 sees new BTS classics (including their several Hot 100 No. 1s) join the list as well as beloved B-sides (scroll through to see where tracks like “Blue & Grey” or “Run BTS” land). For the purposes of this list, the only songs considered were those released by the group or credited to BTS, and not solo releases—those solo songs could make their own stacked Top 60 as well. 

Happy birthday to Bangtan and here’s to all the hits “Yet to Come.”