How to Make the Perfect Playlist

In this day and age, the majority of humans walking around on planet earth have access to a library of millions of songs that fits in their pockets. Smartphones have radically changed the way we listen to music. Now, we can have a personal soundtrack with us everywhere we go. This has led to the advent of playlists. In recent years, the act of curating playlists for yourself or to share with friends has drastically risen in popularity. Furthermore, playlists curated by streaming services play a huge role in determining which songs break into the mainstream today.
You may think that making a playlist is as simple as clicking on a bunch of different songs you like. Wrong. Making playlists is an art form. I am a believer that all playlists should be thematic, thought out, and considered. How does one achieve a perfect playlist? Allow me to tell you. First, you must pick your goal. How do you want your listeners to feel? Are you focusing on one genre? Or one mood? All of these factors are important considerations. Only after you have answered these questions should you begin combing through your library of music.
Secondly, when you are first picking through your songs, there are no wrong answers. Add songs even if you think they might not fit. They may be perfect and if not, you can always remove them later. Third, remove half of the songs you just added. The chances are you added way too many songs. That’s ok, but now is the time to go back through and trim the fat. Even if you are trying to make a long playlist, you probably strayed pretty far from your theme. So go back and cut out any songs that do not fit sonically.
Next, decide how you are going to order your songs. Do not make the cardinal sin of leaving your songs in the order you added them in. Chances are that order is alphabetical, which has nothing to do with how the music sounds. Each song should lead nicely into the next one. If you have a rudimentary understanding of music theory, you can organize the songs by their key or tempo. Most of the time just trusting your ear will do the trick! Finally, send it to all your friends to listen to. Be sure to leave a link to yours in the comments!