One thing about me is that I love making Spotify playlists. At any given moment, I’m either creating a new playlist or adding songs to an existing one. I have over 250 playlists, and I’m making one titled “The Ultimate Music Playlist” as I write this article. Needless to say, a new playlist hates to see me coming.
Whether you want to make playlists to sort all of your music or just need tips for revamping your existing ones, this article is for you. This is my personal guide for making a playlist that will guarantee you never have to shuffle through your liked songs again. Here are some tips on how to pick a strong title, what songs to add, and how to organize it all:
- Find a fitting title
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A playlist is only as good as its title. When your playlist is based on the vibe of the songs you’re adding, you can be straightforward. It makes sense that “I would Guitar Hero the crap out of these songs” is a playlist filled with rock songs and guitar-heavy tracks.
Sometimes a playlist name brings out your inner Shakespeare and you want to get creative with metaphors or allusions. Sometimes your title should just be funny and silly. If your playlist is inspired by a song, book, or movie, you can name it after a lyric or a line you love. This sets the vibe for the entire playlist, so have fun with it!
- choose a playlist cover picture
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The cover picture brings the playlist to life. A playlist inspired by fall weather, cardigans, and fuzzy socks should feature a picture of trees with red leaves or shades of orange and brown. Don’t shy away from using personal pictures though; some of my favorite playlist covers are pictures of nature I took myself. Pro tip: for the best results, add the word “aesthetic” after a topic when trying to find pictures (e.g., soft-love aesthetic). It’s time to open your Pinterest app and get to work!
- Elaborate in the description
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Never underestimate the power of adding a description to your playlist. If you have a super niche title, adding a description with keywords helps people find your playlist if they’re looking for new music. It also gives people the context and purpose behind the list itself.
At first glance, my playlist called “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” seems like a scathing compilation of heartbreaking ballads, but it’s actually all of my favorite Bruno Mars songs. They can be long and poetic or short and sweet, just give the people a teaser.
- Pick songs that make sense
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Now it’s time for the fun part! The whole point of creating a specific playlist is to have specific songs, and there are so many ways you can sort through which ones to add. You can select songs by beat, lyrics, energy, or artist.
One playlist might be filled entirely with jazz songs or acoustic tracks. I have one playlist that only has songs that talk about brown hair and brown eyes. My playlist, “Daily dose of serotonin,” has songs that give off happy energy, with no elaboration necessary. You might make a playlist with only female artists or only country singers, for example. Try to keep the songs on topic so you’re not going from a hype, upbeat rock banger to a sad, mellow breakup song in a matter of seconds.
- Organize your playlists
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If you’re the type of person with an unhealthy amount of playlists like me, it doesn’t hurt to organize them. Mine are color-coded and in sections based on their topics. Upbeat pop songs have cover pictures of red and purple with sparkles. Sappy love songs have light green covers with shots of nature. Sad, melancholic songs are usually dark blue with pictures of the night sky. This isn’t necessary, but it looks so cool when you scroll through them, so let me have this one.
The beauty of custom playlists is that you never have to worry about shuffling through songs when you’re in a specific mood. You can make a playlist for every oddly specific emotion you have. It also opens the door to a world of new music for you to discover. I’ve fallen in love with the most obscure tracks just because I was looking for songs that reminded me of a one-sided crush.
No matter what you want to listen to, there’s a song for that, and how cool is it that all of those songs can be put into one place? Check out my profile if you need more inspiration, and go curate your own ultimate playlist!
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