Image via Angela from Guardian Art

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been waiting quite awhile for this time of year again. I’m not talking about the joys of the Christmas season or the prospect of winter break inching around the corner. No, in fact, I’m talking about the great anticipation for your personal Spotify Wrapped to be released. Now before I go too in depth, I would like to formally apologize to all the Apple Music users — you remain in my thoughts and prayers as always — however, there will be some useful and insightful music listening tips for you as well, so don’t turn the page just yet. 

For all you casual Spotify users, you know that the cutoff for your Spotify Wrapped statistics has recently passed and Spotify is hard at work tabulating and collecting your personal listening data to show you your musical year in review. I like to think that they cut it off around this time to allow us to listen to Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas is You” on repeat without having to worry about it affecting our top songs of the year, but I have been wrong about much larger and more important things. Regardless, the deadline has passed to salvage your music taste before the possible embarrassment of posting your top artist for the year as the Glee Cast once again. Believe me, the Glee Cast has some catchy covers, but seriously? It’s 2021 … c’mon now. 

Now, for those of you with normal music tastes, you probably already have a good idea of who your top artist is. For me, I can guarantee that 100% without a shadow of a doubt my top artist of 2021 will be … drumroll please … Phoebe Bridgers! Which if you think about it, isn’t a very positive reflection of the year I’ve had. But no matter! I am proud to be a #Pharb4Life. 

Regardless of your top artists, genres, tracks, and podcasts, I think that Spotify Wrapped is a great tool to reflect on the years we’ve all had. Music is a fantastic way to recall memories and feelings. It can bring us back to happier or sadder times, and even remind us how we got to where we are. A lot can happen in a year, so it’s nice to have an overarching review of what helped you through those tough times, and what made the great times even greater. So instead of just posting your Spotify wrapped on your Instagram story this year, really take a second to remember what this year was like for you through your music. 

Revisit your favorite episode of a podcast, get back into the forgotten genre you stopped listening to over the summer, or take another listen to the song you were obsessed with during spring break. This is a time to reinvigorate your music taste or even put you on a new musical journey. Maybe it’s time for you to finally stop listening to “drivers license” by Olivia Rodrigo and move on to someone different. Take a listen to that indie band your friend has been begging you to listen to. Who knows, they may just be your top artist next year.

And if I can leave you with one last tip, it’s to reach out to those who post their Spotify Wrapped. I know it’s easy to retweet the “No one cares about your Spotify Wrapped” tweet every year, but it’s actually a great tool to get to know some of your friends on a deeper level. Our music tastes are inherently unique to us. Even if you and your friend seem to have the exact same likes and dislikes, I could guarantee there is at least one artist that you differ on. And that is the beauty of Spotify Wrapped. You are able to look into the people and songs that shape each others’ realities. So reach out! Tell someone how much you love their top artists too, ask about someone’s number one track you’ve never heard of before. Use this opportunity to broaden your musical horizons. And happy listening!