Top-Tier NFT Collections Worth Your Attention in 2024

When stepping into the world of digital assets, deciding which NFT projects deserve your investment can feel overwhelming. Thousands of collections flood the market daily, yet only a select few demonstrate lasting value and community strength. This guide explores the best NFT to buy by examining established collections that have proven their staying power.

Understanding What Makes an NFT Collection Stand Out

Before diving into specific projects, it’s important to understand that truly valuable NFT collections share common characteristics: strong community backing, legitimate utility beyond just art, and clear development roadmaps. The collections listed here have all demonstrated these qualities over extended periods.

The Category Leaders Reshaping NFT Markets

Profile Picture NFTs Dominating the Space

The PFP (profile picture) category has become the most influential segment in the NFT ecosystem. Bored Ape Yacht Club stands as the category’s undisputed leader, launched by Yuga Labs in April 2021 with 10,000 unique ethereum-based apes. What distinguished BAYC from competitors was its revolutionary approach: holders gained access to exclusive products, received free NFTs from related collections (Mutant Ape Yacht Club and Bored Ape Kennel Club), and obtained commercial rights to their artwork. The strategy worked brilliantly—floor prices climbed from 0.08 ETH at mint to 60 ETH currently, representing a 750x increase in ethereum terms.

The precedent that made BAYC special has since influenced nearly every serious NFT project launching today. Yuga Labs’ momentum continues through ApeCoin, the ecosystem’s native token, airdropped to holders of BAYC-universe NFTs.

CryptoPunks, however, pioneered the entire PFP movement back in 2017. Created by Larva Labs, these 10,000 pixelated avatars could initially be claimed for gas fees alone. Today, CryptoPunks commands a 64 ETH floor price, with rare variants commanding astronomical sums—CryptoPunk #5822’s “Alien” trait fetched $23.7 million in early 2022. Yuga Labs’ acquisition of the IP in 2022 signals major future developments.

Azuki introduced anime aesthetics to the PFP space, creating The Garden ecosystem. Its 10,000-NFT collection remains more accessible than BAYC, hovering around 13.2 ETH floor price, while maintaining serious cultural cachet. BEANZ, designed as companion NFTs, were airdropped to Azuki holders.

Generative Art: The Technical Frontier

Two collections exemplify this emerging category. Fidenza, created by Tyler Hobbs and released through Art Blocks in 2021, consists of just 999 uniquely generated artworks. Its sophisticated algorithms produce striking visual variety—some pieces showcase vibrant color palettes while others remain minimalist. Floor prices reflect this rarity and prestige: 69 ETH ($124,000+).

Ringers, by Canadian artist Dmitri Cherniak, takes a different generative approach. Its 1,000 artworks explore string-and-peg concepts rendered in geometric forms with limited palettes. The collection’s cultural significance earned it “blue chip” status; floor prices stabilize around 42 ETH ($75,400).

Projects Expanding Beyond Static Art

Otherdeeds for Otherside represents Yuga Labs’ metaverse ambitions, offering 100,000 land plot NFTs (expandable to 200,000). Prices diverge based on Koda creatures: regular Otherdeeds at 1.8 ETH versus Koda-inclusive variants at 14 ETH. While speculative, the collection remains among the most actively traded.

CLONE X emerged from RTFKT’s collaboration with Takashi Murakami in November 2021. Its 20,000 3D-rigged avatars support customization and virtual reality integration—features rarely seen in NFT projects. The collection consistently ranks among OpenSea’s most-traded series.

Invisible Friends, launched by animator Markus Magnusson in February 2022, introduces animated NFTs where invisible bodies are dressed in visible fashion. The Kith partnership brought real apparel brand integration. At 1.7 ETH floor price, these represent more accessible entry points to high-quality NFTs.

The Unique Structures Changing Expectations

Nouns operates fundamentally differently: one new pixel-art character auctions daily forever, with proceeds flowing to the Nouns DAO treasury. This continuous issuance model creates ongoing supply, yet governance rights (one NFT equals one DAO vote) attract serious collectors.

The Doge NFT takes fractionalization to an extreme. After PleasrDAO purchased the iconic meme photo for $4 million, ownership was split into 16.9 billion DOG tokens, enabling micro-ownership on the ethereum blockchain.

Evaluating Your Entry Strategy

While these best NFT to buy candidates offer proven track records, many maintain high barriers to entry. Floor prices ranging from 1.7 ETH to 69 ETH require substantial capital. Success in NFT collecting depends less on following rankings and more on understanding what each collection represents—whether technological innovation, artistic merit, community governance, or speculative metaverse positioning.

The landscape continues evolving rapidly; yesterday’s hottest project faces competition from tomorrow’s innovations. These ten collections, however, have demonstrated resilience that extends beyond fleeting hype cycles.