As the weather continues to get colder, I’ve found myself feeling more tired and sad than usual. There is no real reason for my sadness besides the weather, so I put together a playlist of my personal favorite mood-boosters. When listened to in order, the songs progressively pick up my spirits and get me back to feeling good. However, they’ll be ordered differently in this article to give a better understanding of why these songs are my go-tos. So, if you’re like me and need a little pick me up every once in a while, here are my 40 favorite songs for happy times!
Let’s start out slow with five chill, but happy songs. Jumping from a sad state of mind to aggressively positive makes me feel more agitated than happy. There’s no need to rush feeling better, so might as well begin with gentle positivity.
“Perfect Playlist” – Ellie Williams
“Almost (Sweet Music)” – Hozier
“Missing Piece” – Vance Joy
“Kilby Girl” – The Backseat Lovers
“Put Your Records On” – Corinne Bailey Rae
The next six songs help me be grateful for my life as it is. I especially love “It’s Nice to Be Alive” as it reminds me to relax and appreciate what I have. I find that reminders of gratitude makes me realize whatever issues I am facing won’t amount to much in a few years.
“Don’t Wanna Be Without You” – Penny and Sparrow
“Take It Easy (2013 Remaster)” – Eagles
“It’s Nice to Be Alive” – Ball Park Music
“I Can’t Believe” – Cyn
“Right Back Where We Started From” – Maxine Nightingale
“Giants” – Matt Nathanson
The next six songs were sent to me by friends. There’s nothing better than knowing someone you care about wanted to send you a song. I like to think of sending songs to friends as a type of love language. Think about it, someone hears a song and you pop into their head. You’ve got to mean quite a bit to someone if this happens, right? Well, the thought of this makes my heart feel extra happy.
“Past Lives” – BORNS
“love me true” – MisterWives
“Puzzle Pieces” – Saint Motel
“Good Life” – Kanye West, T-Pain
“muse” – MisterWives
“Judy You Hung the Moon” – HARBOUR
For these five songs, summer 2021 comes to mind. I found these songs sometime between May of 2021 and August of 2021. Summer memories are some of my favorite, and these songs were a part of the soundtrack to my summer.
“honey” – Coastal Club
“buzz cut (feat. MisterWives)” – lovelytheband
“Kiss Her You Fool” – Kids That Fly
“Candy” – Robbie Williams
“I Don’t Wanna Lie” – Yola
Next are the songs of my childhood and teenage years. I specifically remember watching “Degrassi” commercials and hearing “Shark In The Water” a million times in one year. And of course, there’s not many songs that are as mood-boosting as “Tongue Tied.”
“Girl Almighty” – One Direction
“Cruel Summer” – Taylor Swift
“Classic” – MKTO
“Shark In The Water” – V V Brown
“Tongue Tied” – Grouplove
“What You Know” – Two Door Cinema Club
My last specific category has been saved for the older songs. These songs remind me of my childhood, but have a sense of old happiness that is far beyond my years.
“Lovefool (Radio Edit)” – The Cardigans
“December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)” – Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
“Come On Eileen” – Dexys Midnight Runners
“Holding Out for a Hero (From “Footloose”)” – Bonnie Tyler
“I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” -Whitney Houston
“Boogie Wonderland” – Earth, Wind & Fire
“Dancing Queen” – ABBA
More of a miscellaneous category for the last of the songs, but nonetheless, they still have a special place in my heart. They are more recent finds or rediscoveries for me, but they all have a great energy and help pick me up.
“Joy” – Bastille
“Moscow” – Autoheart
“Splendidly” – HARBOUR
“for a night like this” – Darren Criss
“Stay” – The Aces
To me, music is a powerful tool. Songs have the power to bring people together, make you feel every emotion in the world and change your life outlook. And if music is this powerful, it can definitely help you feel better on a rough day.