The 10 Best-Selling K-Pop Artists Dominating Gaon Each Year Over The Last Decade

The best-selling artist went from 1.5 million sales in 2012 to over 28 million sales today!

Gaon first started keeping track of physical K-Pop album sales back in February 2010. While this means that they don’t have the data for album sales before this date, they’re still a great resource to use to see which modern-day artists have been making the most sales over the last eleven years! Here’s a look back at which K-Pop artists sold the most albums at the end of each year from the last decade.

2012

10. INFINITE

426.6k sales

9. KARA

453.1k sales

8. CNBLUE

512.8k sales

7. SHINee

551.2k sales

6. JYJ

609.1k sales

5. BEAST

609.5k sales

4. BIGBANG

796.3k sales

3. TVXQ!

892.0k sales

2. Girls’ Generation

1.35 million sales

1. Super Junior

1.45 million sales

2013

10. JYJ

614.7k sales

9. CNBLUE

698.7k sales

8. BEAST

729.8k sales

7. INFINITE

827.2k sales

6. BIGBANG

878.2k sales

5. TVXQ!

939.6k sales

4. SHINee

1.09 million sales

3. Super Junior

1.53 million sales

2. Girls’ Generation

1.71 million sales

1. EXO

1.80 million sales

2014

10. JYJ

772.4k sales

9. CNBLUE

830.2k sales

8. BIGBANG

905.7k sales

7. BEAST

944.7k sales

6. INFINITE

1.13 million sales

5. SHINee

1.15 million sales

4. TVXQ!

1.30 million sales

3. Girls’ Generation

1.92 million sales

2. Super Junior

1.96 million sales

1. EXO

2.90 million sales

2015

10. BTS

852.1k sales

9. CNBLUE

919.9k sales

8. BEAST

1.04 million sales

7. INFINITE

1.31 million sales

6. BIGBANG

1.34 million sales

5. SHINee

1.43 million sales

4. TVXQ!

1.46 million sales

3. Girls’ Generation

2.16 million sales

2. Super Junior

2.24 million sales

1. EXO

4.72 million sales

2016

10. VIXX

1.12 million sales

9. BEAST

1.12 million sales

8. INFINITE

1.45 million sales

7. TVXQ!

1.47 million sales

6. BIGBANG

1.50 million sales

5. SHINee

1.70 million sales

4. Girls’ Generation

2.19 million sales

3. Super Junior

2.25 million sales

2. BTS

2.31 million sales

1. EXO

6.69 million sales

2017

10. TVXQ!

1.47 million sales

9. SEVENTEEN

1.52 million sales

8. GOT7

1.58 million sales

7. BIGBANG

1.66 million sales

6. SHINee

1.71 million sales

5. TWICE

1.80 million sales

4. Girls’ Generation

2.37 million sales

3. Super Junior

2.55 million sales

2. BTS

5.03 million sales

1. EXO

8.63 million sales

2018

10. TVXQ!

1.71 million sales

9. SHINee

2.09 million sales

8. SEVENTEEN

2.22 million sales

7. Girls’ Generation

2.37 million sales

6. GOT7

2.45 million sales

5. Super Junior

2.83 million sales

4. TWICE

3.26 million sales

3. Wanna One

3.54 million sales

2. BTS

10.19 million sales

1. EXO

10.73 million sales

2019

10. TVXQ!

1.72 million sales

9. SHINee

2.09 million sales

8. Girls’ Generation

2.37 million sales

7. GOT7

3.10 million sales

6. Super Junior

3.26 million sales

5. Wanna One

3.62 million sales

4. SEVENTEEN

3.69 million sales

3. TWICE

4.46 million sales

2. EXO

11.62 million sales

1. BTS

16.40 million sales

2020

10. Girls’ Generation

2.37 million sales

9. NCT 127

2.77 million sales

8. NCT

2.79 million sales

7. Super Junior

3.39 million sales

6. Wanna One

3.62 million sales

5. GOT7

3.92 million sales

4. TWICE

5.76 million sales

3. SEVENTEEN

6.43 million sales

2. EXO

11.71 million sales

1. BTS

25.74 million sales

2021 (So Far)

10. NCT 127

3.20 million sales

9. NCT

3.52 million sales

8. Wanna One

3.62 million sales

7. Super Junior

3.88 million sales

6. GOT7

3.96 million sales

5. NCT DREAM

4.88 million sales

4. TWICE

6.43 million sales

3. SEVENTEEN

7.97 million sales

2. EXO

13.10 million sales

1. BTS

28.14 million sales

Source: Image (1), (2) and (3)