On January 20th, 2007, Justin Drew Bieber—with the help of his mother Pattie Mallette—uploaded his first video to YouTube. It was a grainy clip of a 12-year-old Bieber, wearing a baggy button-up shirt and tie, performing Ne-Yo's R&B classic "So Sick."
The video, which now has 77 million views, is effectively the entry point to one of the great pop superstar runs of all time. You know the story: Bieber, from Stratford, Ontario, Canada, would upload dozens of homemade cover videos to YouTube to a growing audience. Eventually there would be a bidding war between Usher and Justin Timberlake. The Usher side would win out, with Scooter Braun—co-founder of the RBMG imprint—coming on as manager.
Bieber, 32, would grow from a wide-eyed, pre-pubescent teenager into a weathered adult. Of course there would be various ups and downs, celebrity hook ups, breakups, digressions, rumors, crash-outs, and public controversies. But throughout it all he's been prolific, putting out nine albums over the span of 15 years.
One of the hallmarks of a great artist is that their music doesn't mush together—that even as they're prolific, their work represents specific eras. Looking through his catalogue, each Bieber album feels like its own distinct chapter.
Right now we're in his Swag era: the dance music is mostly shelved, replaced with something emo, gritty, and intimate. He's taking it to Coachella, where he will be headlining the festival for the first time. (Rumor has it he's commanding the highest fee ever paid to a headliner, taking in more than $10 million.) This will be the first Bieber performance at this scale since 2022, even though he has done small shows teasing the new music.
With the return of Bieber, now is a perfect time to rank his discography. Here are Justin Bieber's albums, ranked.
My World 2.0 (2010)
Label: Label Island Teen Island/RBMG /US Schoolboy
Producers: Justin Bieber, Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Jerry Duplessis, Mel & Mus, Dapo Torimiro, Dirty Swift, Bruce Waynne, Benny Blanco, The Messengers, Bryan-Michael Cox, The Stereotypes, The Runners, "Mama Jan" Smith
Features: Ludacris, Jessica Jarrell, Sean Kingston
The awkwardly titled My World 2.0 was an introduction to Bieber, and despite its placement on this list, it was a relatively decent intro for a kid who was still 16. The album has some syrupy jams—the feel good smash "Baby" and "Stuck in the Moment." If anything, the album gets docked because grown Bieber is leaps better, and there's a 2009 crispness and childness to this record that dates it.
Under the Mistletoe (2011)
Label: Island/RBMG/ Schoolboy
Producers: Justin Bieber, Tricky Stewart, Aaron Pearce, The Messengers, Kuk Harrell, Sean K, Bernard Harvey, Josh Cross, Mariah Carey, James "Big Jim" Wright, Randy Jackson, Antwan "Amadeus" Thompson, Boogie Wizzard, Chris Brown, Nasri, Nick Turpin, Jay Riehl
Features: Usher, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, the Band Perry
Christmas albums have a reputation as cash grabs, and this one came at an interesting time for Bieber—a year after My World 2.0. but before a proper follow-up.
It deserves to sit at the back end of his catalogue—although if you're of a certain age, this is probably your White Christmas (no pun intended.) The album features a decent mix of covers and original songs, including the banger "Only Thing I Ever Get for Christmas." If anything, Under the Mistletoe gets docked for what is probably JB's worst song: the objectively terrible Busta Rhymes collab "Drummer Boy."
Changes (2020)
Label: JamRBMG
Producers: Boi-1da, CVRE, Harv, Jahaan Sweet, Josh Gudwin, Joshua Williams, Kid Culture, Laxcity, Philip Beaudreau, Pierre, Poo Bear, Sasha Sirota, Sons of Sonix, Tainy, The Audibles, The Messengers, Tom Strahle, Vinylz
Features: Quavo, Post Malone, Clever, Lil Dicky, Travis Scott, Kehlani, Summer Walker
Changes came five years after the blockbuster Purpose, and we got a very different Bieber. He's married, sober, and reckoning with the intensity of being one of the most famous pop stars in the world.
Which leads to the most "adult" Bieber album of his career, despite the gloriously ridiculous single "Yummy." This ends up being non-essential Bieber—a low point in his discography—mainly because Bieber curbs some of the ambition reached on Purpose for something a little more one-note, subdued, and frankly nondescript. It's mostly ambient pop, with a few highlights, like the stunning "Confirmation" or the heater "Intentions.”
Swag II (2025)
Label: Def Jam/ILH
Producers: !DubMagic!, Buddy Ross, Camper, Carter Lang, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon, Eddie Benjamin, Eli Teplin, Hurricane Chris, Jackson Morgan, Mike Will Made It, Mk.gee, Sir Dylan, Will Miller, Zach Nahome
Features: Tems, Bakar, Hurricane Chris, Lil B, Eddie Benjamin.
You love Swag? How about even more Swag. This was the basic proposition of Swag II, which came two months after the release of the original.
This isn't a bonus cuts situation, either. Swag II is a WikiLeaks dump—20 more minutes of music that has a these-weren’t-good-enough-for-the-first-Swag energy. The songs aren't bad, but since this is so indebted to the first Swag what was once felt as novel—that vulnerable, spacey pop—just becomes played out by the time you get here.
Justice (2021)
Label: Def Jam, RBMG, Schoolboy
Producers: Aldae, Amy Allen, Andrew Watt, Benny Blanco, BMW Kenny, Capi, Darkchild Dreamlab, DVLP, Finneas, German, Harv, Ido Zmishlany, Ilya, Jake Torrey, Jason Evigan, Jimmie Gutch, Jon Bellion, Jorgen Odegard, Josh Gudwin, KCdaProducer, LeriQ, Louis Bell, Marvin Hemmings, Michael Pollack, Mr. Franks, Phillip Ferrell II, Poo Bear, Rami Yacoub, Sasha Sirota, Shndo, Skrillex, The Futuristics, The Monsters & Strangerz, Tommy Brown, TroyBoi, Trackz
Features: Khalid, Chance the Rapper, the Kid Laroi, Dominic Fike, Daniel Caesar, Giveon, Beam, Burna Boy, Benny Blanco, Lil Uzi Vert, Jaden, Quavo, DaBaby, Tori Kelly.
Because of COVID-19 lockdowns and in an attempt to get some of the stink of Changes off him, Justice came out a little over a year after its predecessor.
And it seems like Bieber took the critiques to heart, mostly ditching the one-note R&B and expanding his musical palette across a bunch of different genres—from afrobeats to electronic pop to hyperpop.
In that way, this follows the template of Purpose, with the biggest difference being how the album pivots from themes centered around devotion (whether it be religious, to a partner, or to one's own mythology) toward broader social issues. This is most heavy-handedly displayed on the Martin Luther King Jr. skits, which while not as funny as David Guetta doing “I Have a Dream” drops, have a similar level of cringe.
Believe (2012)
Label: Island/RBMG/Schoolboy
Producer: Justin Bieber, Adam Messinger, Nasri, Nolan Lambrozza, Mike Posner, Mason "MdL" Levy, Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, Andre Lindal, The Pentagon, Patrick "j.Que" Smith, SoFly & Nius, Hit-Boy, Jacob Luttrell, Dennis "Aganee" Jenkins, Travis Sayles, Ariel Rechtshaid, Diplo, Max Martin, Zedd, Bei Maejor, Dan Kanter, Harv & S, Soundz
Features: Ludacris, Big Sean, Drake, Nicki Minaj
Welcome to adult Bieber: two years after his debut, Bieber came back with a voice that was raspy and production more hip-hop inspired. Believe is a damn good album. Does it lean too much on contemporary sounds instead of leading the way? Sure—"Boyfriend" and "Beauty and a Beat" are the most 2012-sounding songs of all time, with this cheesy Las Vegas energy driving the music. But Believe still contains some of Bieber's best dance songs, and the powerhouse team around him—Darkchild, Diplo, Max Martin—provided songs that are impossible to fail.
Swag (2025)
Label: Def Jam/ILH
Producers: Justin Bieber, Carter Lang, Daniel Caesar, Daniel Chetrit, Dijon, Dylan Wiggins, Eddie Benjamin, Eli Teplin, Harv Knox, Fortune, Mk.gee
Features: Gunna, Druski, Dijon, Lil B, Sexyy Red, Cash Cobain, Eddie Benjamin, Marvin Winans
Let's start with the fact that fans thought they were getting hip-hop Bieber.
Leading up to the surprise release of Swag, JB was teasing rap-adjacent music and paying homage to artists ranging from Drakeo the Ruler to 2Pac. So the 180 was jarring—what we got ended up being so lo-fi and intimate, with production carried by sparse acoustics and muffled drums.
A lot of it is the hand of Mk.gee and Dijon, who helped craft a dreamlike, hazy soundscape. And then there is the performance itself, carried by a vulnerable register. The acoustic "Yukon" and the centerpiece "Walking Away" are the standouts. This intimacy was perfectly manifested in his Grammy performance, where he stripped down to his underwear with a guitar.
Journals (2013)
Label: Island/RBMG/Schoolboy
Producers: T-Minus, Sir Nolan, D.K. The Punisher, Diplo, Poo Bear, Maejor Ali, Soundz, Darkchild, Andre Harris, the Audibles Chef Tone
Features: R. Kelly, Chance the Rapper, Lil Wayne, Future, Big Sean
Society failed Journals, Bieber's first real dalliance with R&B and hip-hop.
Real heads know how ill this album is, which came during Bieber's first crash-out era, where there was everything from a monkey being abandoned in Germany to visits to brothels in Brazil.
The album was rolled out over a 10-week stretch with a new song dropping every week. It bricked commercially—mainly due to the label treating it as a bastard child—but became a cult favorite.
More than anything, the album is a reminder that Bieber has real roots in R&B—again, back to those Ne-Yo and Chris Brown videos—and there is something energizing about seeing him be this upfront with his creative inspirations. The album would foreshadow elements of what would later manifest in his Swag era, including this dreamy, almost unfinished quality to some of the songs. It also marks the introduction of Pooh Bear to the JB club, sparking one of the great creative duos in pop music.
Purpose (2015)
Label: Def Jam RBMG Schoolboy
Producers: Justin Bieber, BloodPop, Skrillex, MdL, Benny Blanco, Axident, Gladius, Big Taste, Poo Bear, The Audibles, Soundz, Mike Dean, Ian Kirkpatrick, The Mogul, Diplo, Maejor, Nico Hartikainen, Jeremy Snyder, Steve James, Josh Abraham, Oligee, A.C., Andre Harris, D.K. The Punisher, DJ Tay James, Josh Gudwin, Andre Watt, Louis Bell, Jordan Ware, Karl Rubin Brutus, Tom Strahle
Features: Big Sean, Travis Scott, Halsey, Jack Ü, Ariana Grande, Nas
Forgive me for being a broken record, but in 2015, Justin Bieber was—once again—coming off a series of mild transgressions, which included everything from a bad breakup, some public outbursts, and a commercially ignored album that flew too close to the Black music sun. That's when he made Purpose.
A self-serious pop record with strong Christian undertones might have seemed like a disaster if not for one savvy artistic decision: embracing the dancehall-infused EDM of Skrillex, whose work on "Where Are Ü Now" gave Bieber a new creative direction. That energy drives the album, which somehow manages to be bright and airy while solemn and deep, juggling some of the most innovative production methods—that clock on "What Do You Mean?" though!—with songwriting that is more classically emotive.
There's some filler here—what's happening with "Children"?—but the highs are phoenix-level. Not only the album of Bieber's career, but one of the best pop albums of the century.
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