Ranking All TVXQ Albums

This post has been months in the making. As I have been vocal in stating, TVXQ are my favorite K-Pop group, and one of my favorite musical acts of all time. This has been a task I've been wanting to do for quite some time, but was always a little daunting to handle. TVXQ have a shockingly high amount of albums, but I finally felt ready to tackle them all.

This ranking includes all albums released under the TVXQ banner, Korean or Japanese. JYJ albums received their own ranking here. An album here is defined as any release containing more than six new TVXQ songs. Live and remix albums are excluded. For albums with multiple versions, only one will be included, generally the one with the most tracks, or the best.

With that said, let the ranking commence!

24. New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love (2018)

Returning after military hiatus, and one of their best Korean albums in years, The Chance of Love had a lot to live up to. Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much with its admittedly interesting ideas. The eponymous lead single, The Chance of Love, proved quite a highlight with its contemporary New Swing sound, but the rest of the album sounds extremely milquetoast. Despite being a sizable hit upon release, the first entry in the two-part New Chapter series tried to play it safe with some R&B, but remained unwilling to commit fully to the sound, leading to the album sounding half-baked.

23. With (2014)

2014 was quite a prolific year for TVXQ, it is quite unfortunate though that they ended it with a whimper. With does not suffer from a lack of ideas, but td does suffer from a lack of thorough conceptual planning. Each song sounds much better in a vacuum than it does as part of the album, and even then, the album has time for a shocking amount of duds. That is not to say there is nothing worth a listen in the album, especially songs like the title track Spinning, which does exactly what this album wanted to, provide a harder, more aggressive version of TVXQ’s new jazz style.

22. 20&2 (2023)

Given the few months it has had to settle, 20&2 seems to be quite similar to the debut era of TVXQ, in many ways. Much like Tri-Angle, 20&2 is braced together by a few fantastic singles, in this case Rebel and Down, and let down by an underwhelming set of b-sides. It is not that the album tracks are bad, just quite inconsistent. Life’s A Dance and Starlight are both solid, but don’t work together. And other than the two solo songs (Take My Breath Away and Fix It), the b-sides are unoriginally fun. The short tracklist means that every single questionable choice, such as the Way U Are de-mix, cost more dearly than normal. (Full Review)

21. Epitaph (2022)

Epitaph’s low placement is somewhat of a misnomer, as it stands as quite a consistent offering. However, it also was TVXQ’s first EP intended as such, and acting as the band’s only album release through a full year. As a result, a few errors, such as Maharoba make it harder to appreciate what Epitaph does right. When it works, however, Epitaph sees TVXQ at their very best. The opening single, Epitaph – For the Future provides an apocalyptic blend of symphonic rock, while closing track Light My Moon Like THIS provides a look at a classic SMP Frankenstein song. Epitaph’s producers clearly love TVXQ’s history, and the band performed the hell out of each track. (Full Review)

20. Tri-Angle (2004)

All legends have to start somewhere, and Tri-Angle is where TVXQ started theirs. Even in their freshman release, some of the elements that would make them K-Pop legends can be seen. We have the SMP Yoo Young-Jin production of lead single Tri-Angle, featuring absurd cameos from none other than BoA and TraX. Way U Are remains one of the band’s best R&B offerings, and Hug is still one of the most iconic K-Pop debuts ever for a reason. Even beyond the singles, Whatever They Say’s A Capella version remains an underrated gem. These four songs would have made a fantastic EP, but unfortunately, there are ten other tracks on this album (including a cameo-less (and more boring) version of Tri-Angle), and none of them provide even an ounce of excitement. Had the executives at SM Entertainment worked to combine the best of this album with some other fantastic tracks from their first year of existence, we might have gotten a true classic.

19. Tree (2014)

While the release of Time in the previous year had ended TVXQ’s run of A-Tier albums, Tree marked the beginning of a brief dip in quality for TVXQ. The issue here is not so much that the songs are bad, but that there is no connection between them. In a vacuum, Ocean, Tree of Life, Time Works Wonders, Scream, and the Japanese version of Something are all enjoyable. Put them together, however, and tonal whiplash is the only sentiment that carries through. Tree feels like a weird mish-mash of sounds compiled into a Second-Tier Hits compilation for those unwilling to sit through a full album.

18. Rising Sun (2005)

I have gone on record several times to state that the single Rising Sun is my favorite K-Pop song of all time. Its ambition is vast, its composition delightful, its harmonies fantastic, and its storytelling out of this world. Rising Sun is TVXQ’s peak, and frustratingly, an outlier on the album named after it. It's not that Rising Sun, the album, is bad, it's just that it needed some polishing. Much like Tri-Angle, it has its highlights (One, Free Your Mind, Tonight, of course, Rising Sun itself), but is bogged down by a heavy number of duds. In this case, had the album shrunk to a nice nine tracks, it probably could enter the top five. As it is, however, you would be better off just hearing the highlights.

17. Tense/Spellbound (2014)

The lowest ranked repackaged album in this entire list, Tense/Spellbound is often considered by both fans and critics as one of, if not the, best offering TVXQ have made as a duo. It's not a bad album, 10 Years, Spellbound, and of course, Something alone are worth the time of listening to the album, it is just that the album is almost too smooth for its own good. There are peaks, there are valleys, but the album listening experience blends together a little too much for my liking. Nonetheless, if one loves a nice jazz/swing album, this is easily the best offering in idol K-Pop. As a concept album, Tense/Spellbound is suave, if just a tad too predictable.

16. Five in the Black (2007)

Considering how beloved TVXQ’s five-member era Japanese albums are, Five in the Black stands out as a little bit of a sore thumb. Yes, it helped TVXQ become quite commercially successful in Japan, and it led to one of the band’s most iconic tours. However, it stands somewhat eclipsed by what came before and after. Nonetheless, we can see the roots of some of the best TVXQ elements here. Miss You’s ballad version showcases what Daisuke Suzuki would do with the band its next two Japanese releases, Choosey Lover is a blast from dance-R&B heaven, and the Japanese version of O-Jung.Ban.Hap is just about as good as the Korean version. The highlight of the album, however, is Begin, one of TVXQ’s best ballads, and an undisputable fan favorite, and for good reason. 

15. Time (2013)

Minus Five in the Black, nearly every Japanese studio album of TVXQ had been an undisputed classic, and they had been in the midst of a golden era, even the band’s split couldn’t stop them. This is perhaps why Time feels just a little underwhelming. It has good ideas, expanding the sci-fi scope of Catch Me/Humanoids, and even teasing a concept album about TVXQ waking up after ten years to find a world dominated by androids, even if the concept suffers in execution. Time has a few duds, but that does not take away from the absolute gold the album can provide with songs such as Y3K, Blink, Android, Really Want To See You, and One More Thing. All this ambition led to arguably the greatest moment of TVXQ as a duo, performing in all red (the Cassie fandom color) in the drenching rain at the Nissan Stadium. Even if Time as a studio album is mid-tier for their discography, that performance is anything but.

14. New Chapter #2: The Truth of Love (2018)

After bumbling out of the gate with their first entry in the New Chapter series, TVXQ’s producers took their lessons to heart and greatly improved. Gone is the meandering, fourteen-plus song track list and instead we get seven top-tier tracks. Additionally, the wishy-washy ambitions of The Chance of Love are completely replaced by lyrical grit on heartbreak and urban loneliness. Musically too, The Truth of Love devotes itself to future R&B and aces it. If the album was already good, the one-two punch of the single Truth’s coffee shop jazz and Yunho’s solo City Lights make The Truth of Love one of the best entries in the post-military K-Pop canon.

13. The Christmas Gift from TVXQ (2004)

This is going to get some stares.

Yes, the best release of TVXQ from their first two years, was this compilation of Christmas covers. I admit that it is as absurd as it sounds, but the album commits to the one element that makes TVXQ great when as five, their A Capella harmonies. Additionally, legendary composer Kenzie made an early appearance as the creative head of this project, and she completely understood what should be done to support the golden harmonies of the five. Whether you are hearing Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring, Angel’s We Have Heard on High, or Magic Castle, The Christmas Gift from TVXQ is a surprisingly smooth release for any holiday season.

12. O-Jung.Ban.Hap (2006)

O-Jung.Ban.Hap found TVXQ in an interesting situation. They had become mega-stars in Korea, but their Japanese debut had underperformed. Nonetheless, with their success in Korea and experience in the studio and on the stage, they released arguably the most polished version of their K-Pop sound so far. Part of that was simply how ready every collaborator was to give it their all. Yoo Young-Jin lets his heavy-handed messaging of the Hegelian dialect and his love of rap-metal-pop-R&B SMP assist each other on the title track, which is shockingly lean given its heavy themes and dramatic moments. 

Kenzie finally gets her moment to shine on album track Phantom with its stirring spaghetti western pop, and with her orchestral rearrangement on the classic cover of Balloons. Even beyond the instant classics, O-Jung.Ban.Hap is surprisingly consistent when it comes to its ballads. Yes, they are typical boy band slow-jams at times, but I’ll Be There and Remember let TVXQ showcase just what their vocals can do with a melody that just works well. O-Jung.Ban.Hap may not be different from what came before, but the practice and work pays off, as it is much more polished.

11. Tomorrow (2018)

After returning from military service with their worst album, and following a somewhat weak streak of albums, Tomorrow had a lot to do as their Japanese return. Thankfully, it is fantastic. Tomorrow accomplishes a rare task for a boy band; sensibly maturing their sound while still making sure it sounds contemporary and unique. Every element that worked for TVXQ in the past and distilling its elements till it comes off as a lean and consistent machine. Minus the shockingly dated misfire of Jungle, it remains one of the most consistent albums of the late ‘10s.

Tomorrow is an album that acknowledges TVXQ’s past, with remakes of both Begin and Asu Wa Kuru Kara, the former of which is fantastic, and nearly equals the perfect original. But the album thrives with its new songs. From the ‘80s pomp-rock of Electric Love to the road-trip pop of This Is My Love to Make A Change’s twinkling balladry to the experimental Reboot, Tomorrow is both calm and lean, but still grand and experimental like few TVXQ albums have ever been.

10. Rise As God (2015)

TVXQ have always been, first and foremost, an R&B band, which makes it weird that it took them twelve years and an impending military hiatus for them to finally release an R&B-focused album. The best way to describe Rise As God is the best example of TVXQ mastering their commercial sound. There are no bizarre twists and turns, no experimentation, but strong melodies and classy beats.

With four of the ten songs being solos, Yunho and Changmin, for one of the first times in their careers, got to show their individual skills. Yunho became the groovy, MJ-esque star he was always destined to become on Komplikated’s house beat and Champagne’s memorable chorus, and Changmin became a vocal legend on Rise As One and Apology. Even together, the group pulled out highlights, such as Vertigo. Rise As God is an example of what an experienced group can do with much practice.

9. Keep Your Head Down/Before U Go (2011)

More than Keep Your Head Down/Before U Go’s quality, greater amazement exists because it actually exists. After a messy lawsuit split the band and sent them into hiatus, Keep Your Head Down brought TVXQ back in theatric fashion. This is as much of a Yoo Young-Jin album as a TVXQ one, his touch is felt even in the tracks he didn’t produce, and is all the better for it. Despite acting as a grand statement of return, Keep Your Head Down/Before U Go is perhaps one of their safer albums, playing to their strengths of smooth R&B and balladry. However, most tracks have a tinge of mournful SMP-adjacent electronic production, which makes a lot of sense given the situation behind the album.

Despite a few tracks, Keep Your Head Down is shockingly consistent when it comes to R&B classiness. From the wrath of title track Keep Your Head Down and Our Game, to the bombast of Rumor and Maximum, and the ever-underrated Athena, the album never forgets to provide some slow jams, including the awfully-titled, but excellent, Honey Funny Bunny.

8. Best Selection 2010 (2010)

The Best Selection 2010 is a compilation, and thus technically ineligible for this list. However, it does include six new songs (Share The World, Stand By U, Break Out, Toki O Tomete, With All My Heart, Endlessly Sweet), and thus just those six qualify as Best Selection 2010 for the purposes of this list. By 2010, TVXQ were no longer working together, and the scraps for their last Japanese albums as five were in disarray. While SM Entertainment completely re-recorded and remade their potential last Korean album as five into Keep Your Head Down, TVXQ’s Japanese recordings were placed on a best-of collection.

Don’t let the lack of marketing fool you, the four new singles off Best Selection 2010 are some of TVXQ’s best-known, and also some of their best. Share The World might be one of the most iconic anime openings ever, Stand By U’s teary last performance is a fan favorite, and Toki O Tomete is a fantastic send-off for the band. Of course, the real highlight here is Break Out, one of the best J-Pop songs ever.

7. XV (2019)

XV is bloated, a little over-produced, and frankly the most exciting TVXQ album in recent memory, and my favorite album of 2019. Compared to their R&B and balladry-heavy Japanese discography up to that point, XV is a mix of bubblegum pop and rock. Despite the two genres not exactly sounding like something that would work together, it is the moment when these genres collide that XV proves its most addictive. Make no mistake, XV is not cartoonish, TVXQ perform every song with the theatricality normally reserved for glam rock or classical opera. The producers are also clever to use a bit of autotune in some places, adding a rough, electronic edge to XV. 

XV’s tracklist is one of TVXQ’s best. That first run of six songs is almost perfect, and even after that there are some incredible songs. Master is my favorite post-military TVXQ song, Hot Hot Hot is the best TVXQ summer song since Hi Ya Ya, and Jealous is the dramatic TVXQ return that the band deserved. Overall, XV is the confident return that showed that TVXQ are once again back in business.

6. Catch Me/Humanoids (2012)

In 2011, TVXQ had proved they could survive as a duo. It was only with Catch Me, later repackaged as Humanoids, that they proved that they could have a long-lasting career and still succeed. Gone was the rough R&B of Keep Your Head Down, and instead influence was drawn from the EDM and electro-pop of Tone. Sure, there might be some filler, but when Catch Me gets good, it is nearly unstoppable.

And get good it did, with some of the best electronic work in the midst of the golden age of Korean EDM. Obviously singles Catch Me and Humanoids are excellent, and some of the greatest K-Pop songs ever written, but the b-sides are great too. In a rather excellent batch, Getaway’s rock tinge and Viva’s chorus stand out. Catchy choruses, hooks to get lost in, and some of the densest electronic production ever, what’s not to love?

5. Tone (2011)

Despite the majority of their discography taking place as a duo, TVXQ’s two-member era has yet to top their second album. Nearly every great TVXQ album after has taken its sound from some element of Tone. Catch Me’s EDM? XV’s pop-rock? Tomorrow’s contemporary pop-R&B? They all feature in some aspect from Tone. That said, Tone is easily TVXQ’s most dated album. It was released in the midst of the early 2010’s electro-pop boom, and it certainly sounds like that. Nonetheless, this never becomes a downside to enjoying the album, but rather adds to charm, as an album that stands out as distinct in their overall discography.

And what a tracklist to provide! B.U.T., I Think U Know, Thank You My Girl, Duet, Telephone, and I Don’t Know, and this doesn’t count the (this time well-made) remakes of some Keep Your Head Down tracks. Each of these songs are extremely well-produced and performed, and have the hooks to talk down nearly every other TVXQ album. Even the weakest track off the entire album (Superstar) is unbelievably addictive and well-produced. The best song off the album, however, is Back To Tomorrow, one of the most sublime pieces of pop balladry ever, hands down.

4. Mirotic (2008)

To talk of TVXQ without Mirotic is to talk of The Beatles without Sgt. Pepper's, Pink Floyd without Dark Side of the Moon, Michael Jackson without Thriller. Whenever TVXQ’s members get involved in anything in the future, news articles will call them “the “Mirotic” singer.” It is their best Korean album, the one that broke a nearly ten-year-long slump for Korean sales, and frankly changed the game for what K-Pop could be.

So why is it anywhere except number one? Well, frankly it is a little bloated. For every Wrong Number and Hey! Don’t Bring Me Down there is an average TVXQ R&B track. Even with that, however, Mirotic’s batting average is incredible, assisted by a band and a series of producers at the top of their game. Mirotic is filled to the brim of moments where, eight years after debut, TVXQ made you scream, “wow, they can do that!?” Jaejoong’s rap on Wrong Number, the sheer everything of Hey! Don’t Bring Me Down, the climax of the Korean version of Love in the Ice, and Changmin’s high note and the following coda at the end of the title track, Mirotic itself, are the group at their very best, and thus at the industry’s best. One only wonders where they’re career would have gone as five after this.

3. Heart, Mind, and Soul (2006)

Heart, Mind, and Soul flopped on release. The fact then that nearly every song on it is a fan favorite years later shows just how thorough its revival was. Prior to Heart, Mind, and Soul, TVXQ had released some promising albums, and a few excellent songs, but had yet to master how to use their vocal talents for balladry, or make a classic album. Heart, Mind, and Soul changed that. If anyone asks to see TVXQ’s vocal chops, Heart, Mind, and Soul is a great example, and perhaps one of the greatest ballad albums ever.

There is something so timeless to Heart, Mind, and Soul. Every song recalls nostalgia for memories you never had. Part of that is just how good the melodies are. Hear that refrain on Somebody to Love, or the sheer pain in No Words Are Needed. Every small detail on TVXQ’s Japanese debut shows a world of care, just see how Hug was completely rearranged to great effect, or how My Destiny’s harmonies crescendo so well. Even the bonus versions of songs are incredible, just hear the a cappella versions of Somebody to Love and Stay With Me Tonight for exactly why. If there was ever an album that confirmed that these five bright-eyed Korean teens were worth keeping an eye on, it was with Heart, Mind, and Soul, the very moment Asu Wa Kuru Kura begins.

2. T (2008)

By 2008, TVXQ were already the biggest boy band in the planet, but T marked the start of an imperial era for the group; the reason why twenty years after debut and thirteen years after their split, they still have an intensely passionate fandom. The streak of seven (six if you exclude Best Selection 2010) from T to Humanoids is the stuff legends are made from. Compared to some of the later albums in this streak, T is less sonically or conceptually cohesive. That said, it pretty much acts as a greatest hits collection, with just how many classic songs it has.

Let’s start with the basics; from Purple Line to the album’s conclusion with Love In The Ice, we have pretty much a perfect streak of songs, and that is eleven songs! Purple Line seriously gives Prince’s Purple Rain a challenge for the best song with “purple” in its title, Summer Dream is one of the most infectious pop songs ever, Darkness Eye is TVXQ at their symphonic best, Lovin’ You is one of the greatest J-Ballads ever put to pen, the band’s version of their Koda Kumi collaboration Last Angel is still perfect, and bonus track Together is an addictively simple song. The true masterpiece here, however, is Love in the Ice. Put simply, Love in the Ice is one of those musical masterpieces that make end-of-the-century lists, and a must-hear for everyone, even if balladry isn’t for you. It stands at the heart of T, a masterpiece. I would have no qualms calling it TVXQ’s best, if not for one other album…

1.The Secret Code (2009)

Yep, TVXQ’s last album as five is their best. The Secret Code is a masterpiece, and one of the greatest pop albums of the 21st century. If T is TVXQ’s Revolver, and Mirotic is the band’s Sgt Pepper's, then The Secret Code is their Abbey Road. The most popular band in the world on the verge of breaking up releasing one final masterpiece. In The Secret Code, you can hear every force inside the group pulling and pushing for dominance, each garnering a heart inside its sonic palette, especially if counting all tracks across all versions.

You can hear the burgeoning sounds of each member in their own solo tracks. Additionally, you can hear Jaejoong grappling with the legacy of TVXQ on 9095. You can hear Daisuke Suzuki’s flurry of emotions on Bolero, the last song he wrote for the band. You can hear hope for the future in the tantalizing chorus of Survivor. Even in the boy band-esque Why Did I Have To Completely Fall In Love With You, you can hear Jaejoong’s pain as he rips on the final high note. The Secret Code is an incredible statement, that left the band on a high note. Even if they continued after it, topping it would have been difficult (though not impossible) for even TVXQ.

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