Making Playlists

[u/Graciekk2020]

I just switched to Spotify.

I am currently working on sorting all my music. I am starting by making playlists based on artists/genre, but definitely want to get into making mood/fun playlists.

How do you guys go about this? Like what are some of your favorite playlist themes/titles and how did you go about choosing music for those playlists?

Also, is there a software out there that sorts Spotify playlists for you?? I have a miscellaneous playlist of 900+ songs and it’s taking so long to go through. I would love some playlists generated for me to use as a starting point haha.

[u/lentilwake]

I usually start a playlist when I’m obsessed with a song and want to collect all the songs that make me feel the same way. That could be superficially songs of a similar genre or it could be “songs about no longer speaking to someone you used to be close to”. I also have playlists which are specifically for queer artists of certain genres, and playlists for artists whose politics I like and therefore want to support. Another good approach is to think about when you listen to music (in the car, at dinner with friends, work) and make playlists you can use at those times

[u/jotes2]

Try chosic.com or skiley.net

[u/FlutterBi_26]

For me, I started out sorting my music on Spotify, so as I discovered songs, I added them to playlists gradually. But, my playlists range quite a bit. I have many that are just titled an artist’s name where I put all my top fave of that particular artist. I have a dump all playlist where I put any new songs I like so I can see my progression of song discoveries throughout the years. I have a few that are road trip playlists for traveling. Some of my playlists are sorted by my fave songs in a certain genre of music. And some of my playlists are just put together by vibes or other. Sad songs; rage playlist; Dancing and Feel Good music; one that is a theme of outer space…

[u/BramCSBN]

I just have playlists for alll the songs I wanna listen to and the songs I like, and when I've added almost all the songs I like I make a new one with the same purpose

[u/GerhardusJohannus]

I can't stop making playlists hèhè, it's addicting. Put them in genres, new wave, punk or disco. Or 80's, 70's, 90's. This is how I do it.

[u/Macsen181]

I have a massive dump list where I put all my fav songs from growing up called Bit Of Everything-Soundtrack of my Life. It ranges from 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, and some 2000s. Over 26 hours of music.

I also have a Country Playlist I'm starting of my fav country songs I've heard growing up.

Favorite artists songs I love, new songs from mainstream music that intrigues me(which isn't too much lately), a classical music playlist(Mozart, Bach, etc), Christmas music, and an obscure Playlist of kinda weird, out there, or world music(different languages, bagpipes, polka, etc.)

[u/jdanford22]

I have the following playlists: The Music I Breathe (catch all- over 3,000 songs)

The Things That I Need (current favorites updated weekly)

Giving In (more dark or emotional songs)

All This Shame and Certainty (Christian or religious music)

Ballads

Bars, Bling, and Beefs (rap and hip hop)

Best of 2024 (favorites of the year)

Best of 2025 (again, songs that I love during the year, they don’t have to be released this year)

Concert Setlists (running list of songs played, or going to be played at upcoming or past shows I’ve gone too)

Country & Western (country music)

Covers

Emotion Sickness (songs about emotion or that make me feel emotion)

Going Somewhere (songs with locations in them)

Mercury in Retrograde (songs from the 90s, early 2000s)

On vinyl (songs from 70s, 80s, etc)

Roaring (songs for anger)

Who Run the World? (Songs women write and/or sing)

I find that once you have good categories you can start putting new music in these playlists as you first hear it.

I have a couple lore playlists catered to favorite artists, etc but I like to keep my number of playlists fairly low.

Here’s an example of my catch-all:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5IQMgzHp0A62iq81FffB5F?si=lJyXh9HFQoiErwH_kVSHRA&pi=yI3DWxwuRu20N

[u/Formal_Sun_5529]

 you could go by genres as well but some bands can be tricky to sort in a particular box. I   like sorting by year, you'll have nice throwback and insight into if and  how your listening has changed 😄 then maybe  one playlist for songs dearest to you, and mood / vibe based is also nice if you have something specific in mind! 

[u/DookieChunk]

I use discover weekly to find a lot of new songs. It gives you suggestions based off of songs you listen to already. You should follow it and check every Monday when they update it.

As far as playlist, I like to go by mood. I listen to so many different types of music and like to keep things organized.

Also, they added the option to create your own cover art for your playlist. I did this with photos I’ve taken that match the mood/vibe of the playlist. Just a fun lil suggestion. Good luck to you!

[u/thenextnow]

Here's a link to my Spotify, in case you're interested: thenextnow. I know the feeling re: organizing playlists. The struggle is REAL.

[u/sureillhaveacoffee]

I love a good playlist. I started with seasonals. Fall, spring, summer, late summer, winter. And it was what fit the vibe of said season.

From there branched to a playlist to listen to after i smoked a bunch, a classic party playlist, concentration, gym, night drives, etc. i have a whole bunch for a lot of different things.

I use smart shuffle a lot too

[u/TheHappyNerfHerder]

I mainly listen to albums, but besides that, I often make playlists based on mood, artist (best of compilations), and more recently, kind of conceptual no-shuffle playlists. The latter are my favourite at the moment. I have set crossfade to 6 seconds. After trying different settings, i found 6 seconds to be perfect for the music i usually listen to. I like to make cool transitions and work with the flow of the playlist, kind of like a mixtape or maybe a movie. It's fun, but it's a bit more time-consuming than just making sweet mixes and stuff.

You can check some out if you want to. Any playlists marked with a ☆ is a no-shuffle playlist. My profile

[u/DifficultKale3616]

You don't have to make an artist playlist, just go to the artist and it will have Liked Songs right underneath, press on that and theres your playlist. Now if a singular artist is in more than one band like Steven Wilson from Porcupine Tree, you will have to make your own playlist.

[u/Imaginary-Car8764]

I just use my playlist with all of my favourite songs in, about 2k in total! I do also have music with a few of my favourite pop musicians & also my favourite dnb songs… I have those split from the rest because they’re my two favourite genres