Music is my favorite thing. Ever. I know most people listen to music a lot. However, I tend to be of the opinion that I listen to and engage with music more than the average college student.
I take great pride in the annual Spotify Wrapped slide that always tells me I play more music than 90% of other listeners. I love Spotify Wrapped for many reasons. Though maybe it fuels my individuality complex about loving music, I also love to see what everyone else spends their time listening to. I think you can learn a lot about a person by analyzing what music they listen to. I see music as a piece of each person, an indicator of their thoughts, feelings, and mindset. In honor of this being my first Her Campus article, and music being kind of my thing, I offer you a collection of my current favorite songs from my current favorite artists. It might be a little controversial, maybe a little confusing, but it is an element of me that is more important to my identity than anything you could see on the surface.
John Mayer
Controversial one, I know. However, John Mayer is always my top artist on Spotify Wrapped. My favorite game to play is listening to my 6-hour-long John Mayer playlist and guessing which album each song is from (I am really good at this game). My picks below are in no particular order, but I would say the top three are my top three of all time.
- Love Soon – Inside Wants Out
- St. Patrick’s Day – Room for Squares
- Friends, Lovers, or Nothing – Heartbreak Warfare
- I’m Gonna Find Another You – Continuum
- Til the Right One Comes – Sob Rock
Tyler, The Creator
Obviously. I have written entire essays for my music classes on singular albums. IGOR is arguably a work of genius, but I think people forget about CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, especially some of the estate sale tracks. I will also say I think his Odd Future era is too often looked over, in the music world and the pop culture scene. My picks below are my top 5 of all time, in that order.
- WILSHIRE – CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
- PUPPET – IGOR
- ARE WE STILL FRIENDS – IGOR
- GONE, GONE / THANK YOU – IGOR
- FUCKING YOUNG / PERFECT – Cherry Bomb
Lizzy McAlpine
15 days until her new album drops! I think Lizzy, as I call her in my head, creates the music that most perfectly encapsulates the experience of being a young woman. Admittedly, I only listen to her solo tracks. Collabs are just not my thing. One of my red flags is that if I’m stressed or in a bad mood, I will listen to doomsday on repeat. For hours. Hence, doomsday is my favorite of all time. The following are in no particular order and change quite frequently.
- doomsday – five seconds flat
- Older – Older
- I Don’t Know You At All – When the World Stopped Moving
- In What World – When the World Stopped Moving
- A Little Bit of Everything – Spotify Singles
Daniel Caesar
I have never had a conversation with anyone about Daniel Caesar. Upon reflection (looking at Spotify), I see that he has 28.4 million monthly listeners. The conclusion I’m coming to here is I have to find these people. His music is crazy diverse, very emotional, and honestly just very cool. The stylistic characteristics are so distinct and modern, without really fitting into a category I could name easily. I go through phases with albums and such, so the following picks are variable and in no particular order.
- Always – NEVER ENOUGH
- CYANIDE – CASE STUDY 01
- Japanese Denim – Get You
- ARE YOU OK? – CASE STUDY 01
- Do You Like Me? – NEVER ENOUGH (Bonus Version)
Watchhouse.
Now, this one is niche (ish). The song “Wake Me” single-handedly caused me to go through a music-taste identity crisis. Watchhouse is a duo, which impresses me every time considering the amount of complex harmonies in their music. This simplistic kind of folk music with country influences is my perfect quiet morning soundtrack. My picks are listed in order, and I would say this order has actually never changed and maybe never will.
- Wake Me – Haste Make / Hard Hearted Stranger
- Waltz About Whiskey – This Side of Jordan
- Old Ties and Companions – Such Jubilee
- Cavalry – This Side of Jordan
- Daylight – Such Jubilee
Tyler Childers
Another obvious choice. I will say I think Tyler Childers is really great at what he does. He maintains many of the original ideas of a country sound and style while still leaning into modernity enough to gain the attention of fans. I have a particular affinity for the album “Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven”. It’s such an interesting idea to take all those different elements of what we consider country music and alter them only slightly to give each song 3 distinct sounds. My favorites tend to vary, so the following picks are in no particular order.
- Charleston Girl (Live) – Live on Red Barn Radio I & II
- Feathered Indians – Purgatory
- Follow You to Virgie (Live) – Live on Red Barn Radio I & II
- Way of the Tribune God – Hallelujah Version – Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven
- All Your’n – Country Squire
Honorary mention: Fraulein (feat. Tyler Childers) by Colter Wall
There are many more artists I love that I could talk about for hours. What I’ve listed is all without digging into anything written before 2000, but that’s on me. That’s just the era I’m in. But, that’s me, at a glance. I’ll leave my Spotify here in case you’re interested.