3 Kinds of Playlists Everyone Should Have

Graphic by Bailey Rose Kretschmer

There are a lot of shitty feelings as a college student. Waking up and realizing you don’t remember anything from the night before, seeing that person you ghosted, realizing that maybe that last shot wasn’t the best idea, but above them all is the feeling of playing the wrong song at the wrong moment. You know that feeling when everything is going great, everyone’s having a good time...and then your song(s) come on. It’s like seeing that one kid from freshman year who just hasn’t realized that you guys aren’t friends anymore. Everyone kind of stops what they’re doing, some people let out a little meek smile, and others just tell it like it is, “who the fuck put this song on?” We’ve all been there, don’t worry, to make sure that this doesn’t happen again we have compiled 3 types of playlists to make sure you never ruin the vibe.

1. Chill

This is by far the most important playlist that everyone should have. Honestly, everyone should have multiple “chill” playlists but the bare minimum is one. There’s nothing worse than hanging out with your friends and all of the sudden a Migos ad-lib comes on after a Frank Ocean song. Or that one friend who’s really going through it decides to put on Phoebe Bridgers at the smoke session (it’s me I’m that friend), so now you’re all quietly puffing to a song about “not wanting to be alone anymore” at 2pm on a Saturday. For this playlist, focus on artists and songs that you could picture yourself on a picnic at Green Lakes listening to.

Song recommendations: Good Days - SZA, Goodie Bag - Still Woozy, Sunday Candy - Chance the Rapper

2.  Sing-a-long

This playlist is a necessity for long nights. Whether it’s coming back to your room and finishing an entire cabinet worth of food or pregaming the pregame, it’s important to have songs that everyone knows all the words to. If we are going to be real, the quality of these songs is one of the least important aspects. We just need these to be classics, whether that be a middle school throwback or something that dropped last week. There is nothing better than drunkenly butchering a song together with your friends. 

Song recommendations: Empire State of Mind - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, We Found Love - Rihanna, Stand By Me- Ben E. King

3. Hype

To be clear, this playlist is significantly different from the “sing-a-long” playlist. This playlist is all about getting yourself ready to run through a wall. I know we all hate that one person on our floor who plays their music way too fucking loud but this playlist is the embodiment of that kind of energy. Forget the genre and forget the lyrics. All that matters is that the songs on this playlist get your head bumping. So, whether you are doing an extra rep for your gym crush or just trying to make it through that Monday 5 pm, a “hype” playlist is essential. 

Song recommendations: Dreams and Nightmares - Meek Mill (there’s a reason it’s overplayed), Backseat Freestyle- Kendrick Lamar, LEMONHEAD- Tyler The Creator & 42 Dugg