Albums are better than random playlists and you will never convince me otherwise

I don’t like listening to other people’s playlists because they’re usually not curated for me. At worst, I find that they cause me to become distracted. Albums, on the other hand, give me a much better return on investment; here’s why.

1 Listening to albums in order makes me appreciate the art of music

I often forget that music is an art form, but listening to albums helps me reconnect with that realization. This is especially true if I listen to albums in chronological track order.

Making music albums takes a long time. While we often favor a few songs more than others, I can at least appreciate the work that went into each song. When listening to albums, I also notice little things like rhyme schemes.

In addition to listening to decades-old albums, I also pre-save new albums on Spotify for instant listening. Every time I listen to the album, my understanding of each song deepens as well.

2 Sometimes I just want to hear one singer or a band’s songs

Sometimes I listen to “This is [Artist/Band Name]” playlists when I don’t want to listen to multiple bands or singers at once. But sometimes I like to go even deeper and listen to a band’s music in a certain period.

All artists evolve, but for some the change is more obvious than for others. For example, much of Machine Gun Kelly’s early work was rap. But now he’s doing a lot more pop/rock music. His 2017 album Bloom is very different from 2020’s Tickets To My Downfall.

Being able to dive into playlists is nice, but I don’t think it ever beats listening to just one singer or band at a time.

3 Playlists make me feel like I need to discover new songs

Although I’ve since switched back, I left Spotify for Apple Music because I felt like I had to constantly discover new songs (among other things). However, after analyzing my behavior, I realized that I rarely have this need when listening to albums.

Playlists are great for picking your favorite songs and I also love how you can rediscover great songs years later. However, I also don’t like the constant search for new things; I’d rather find it organically.

In addition to constant FOMO, the constant search for new songs can prevent me from focusing on a particular task at hand. Which conveniently brings me to my next point…

4 Albums Help Me Focus Better than Playlists

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I’m very prone to distraction and music can be a double-edged sword. At its best, Spotify helps me stay productive throughout the day and focus better on tasks. But if I’m not careful, I can find myself constantly falling out and having to get back on track.

I’ve noticed over the years that playlists lead to distraction far more often than albums. The first reason is that when I’m listening to an album, I’m not constantly opening the Spotify app to save a new track (and subsequently going down the rabbit hole).

Another reason I’m more focused when listening to albums is because I know which song is coming next. As a result, I’m not constantly checking my queue to see if I want to skip a song.

5 Albums often tell a story

While many of the songs in the playlist have binding similarities (eg genre or language), most are not curated beyond that. This makes it different from albums, which are often in a very specific order for some reason. For example, concept albums may explore a specific story or theme throughout their track listing.

You can learn a lot about the artist and what their life was like at the time of recording by listening to albums without shuffling them. I also like to listen to albums to add to the real life adventure. For example, My Head Is An Animal by Of Monsters and Men is a favorite when I’m touring Iceland.

You can also listen to albums when you’re feeling philosophical, and sometimes music albums can give you an interesting insight into what the world was like at a certain point in time.

6 Some songs sound better with interludes and skits

Scenes and interludes often don’t sound the same in isolation, but in the larger context of the album they add to the experience. Sometimes I think songs sound better if you first listen to the interlude or skit right before it.

Sometimes I added skits to the playlists so I could listen to the song in all its glory. But normally I prefer to listen to them as part of the whole album. If I want to listen to certain songs again, I skip back twice to hear the skit.

7 I’m less likely to forget albums than random playlists

I estimate I’ve made over 300 playlists in 15 years of streaming music, and most of them I vaguely remember. I usually forget playlists within a few years (although there are exceptions).

On the other hand, it is highly unlikely that I will forget the album. In this regard, you are probably the same. For example, we’re still talking about some of the all-time greats – like The Beatles’ Abbey Road – decades after they were first released.

When you buy or store albums (even if only digitally), you feel like you own a piece of time. Playlists can do the same thing if you create your own, but they’re nowhere near the same level as an album.

8 Tracks on music albums often add up to me over time

I can only think of a few albums where I immediately fell in love with every song. Normally I really like a few of them. In many cases there will be a couple of songs that I think very little about.

However, my opinions normally change when I listen to albums a few times. Songs that I previously gave little thought to become my favourites, which I believe makes for an even more rewarding experience and means you’re getting the best value from music streaming services.

I can start liking new songs that I didn’t have in my playlists before, but it doesn’t happen nearly as much.

Albums and playlists have their place, but I’d rather listen to albums in most cases. Listening to songs in order helps you learn more about musicianship, and I also love how timeless albums are compared to playlists.