Finding the right song shouldn’t take forever. Discover ways to organise your Spotify library and listen more of what you love.
If you spend hours on Spotify everyday, making your music instantly accessible can be rewarding. But scrolling through messy playlists or struggling to find that one chill song you heard last week among hundreds of tracks can feel a little frustrating.
Here are some ways to tidy up your playlists so you can find songs faster and enjoy more music that fits your taste. You’ll also find fun ideas to revisit old favourites, create unique playlists, and keep your listening fresh.
Also read: 8 apps to reduce paper clutter and enhance efficiency
What makes a great playlist library?
A great playlist library should make your music easy to find, fun to play, and uniquely yours.
Here’s what sets a well-curated library apart:
- Smart organisation: Designed for instant access, with each playlist built around a clear vibe or theme.
- Minimal duplication: No similar or nearly identical playlists that make the library redundant.
- Purposeful flow: Each playlist, when played, delivers a cohesive and intentional listening experience.
- Quality over quantity: Playlists aren’t mean to hoard songs, but to be consistently good without tracks that feel out of place or that the user has grown tired of.
How to turn your Spotify into a neatly curated library that actually makes sense
Whether you want to share your playlists publicly to attract followers with similar tastes or keep them private for personal enjoyment, this guide will help you organise them effectively.
Keep in mind that some features mentioned here may require a Spotify Premium account.
1. Get to know your listening habits
Before curating playlists, it helps to understand why you listen to music and notice the songs you play in different situations.
Map out your playlists
Once you know the types of playlists you need, try to visualise your library. The goal is to open Spotify and instantly know where to go.
Here’s an example of how I organise mine for reference:
I use Spotify for all sorts of situations, but mostly when I need to focus on work. I find it helpful to have a folder just for instrumental or lyric-free music that helps me concentrate.
For everything else, I pick songs based on my mood. Since I also share the account with my child, I keep a separate folder for his playlists (lullabies, nursery rhymes, and bedtime story podcasts).
To keep folder names minimal and clear, I use numerical prefixes. This way, when sorted alphabetically, they appear in order of my priority and always stay at the top of the sidebar, no matter the folder name.
Use “Liked Songs” as a temporary holding spot
When you discover a new song, quick-save it to your “Liked Songs” before deciding where it belongs. But don’t let it grow unchecked! Keep it under 100 songs to prevent overcrowding.
You can also create a separate “Unsorted tracks” playlist if you’d rather not touch your “Liked Songs.”
2. Use Spotify’s features to their full potential
Make the most of Spotify’s built-in tools to keep your playlists easy to navigate:
Add descriptive titles and covers
Give each playlist a clear identity that reflects its content.
Names: Be specific! Avoid generic titles like “My playlist #123,” which make it hard to tell what’s inside. Instead, try “Relaxing vocal acoustic” so it’s easy to find later.
Details: Fill the description box with a few keywords that defines the vibe so you know what to expect.
Cover arts: Use the “Create Cover Art” feature or upload your own image to make your playlist visually distinct.
Organise with Spotify folders
Spotify lets you create folders to group playlists together and stop your library from being cluttered with countless playlists
How to use Spotify folders :
On desktop, click File > New Playlist Folder. Then, drag and drop your playlists into the new folder.
Since you can’t pin playlists inside folders and it takes an extra tap to reach them, it’s best to use folders only for “sometimes” collection. Your most-played playlists should remain outside for quicker access.
Control your listening experience
Keep your music fresh and relevant with these features:
Pin: Too many visible playlists can clutter your library. Pin your most-used playlists to the top for easy access.
Shuffle: Enable this for a spontaneous, dynamic listening when you get tired of hearing songs in the same order every time.
Exclude from your taste profile: Use this feature if a song doesn’t match your usual style but you still want to keep it. This prevents songs with similar music attributes from being recommended by the algorithm.
3. Curate your tracks with purpose
You can group your songs in lots of ways, but to make it meaningful, consider these approaches:
Sort by genre, mood, or activity
Grouping by theme helps you quickly find the music you want. A few examples of how you can organise your playlists thematically:
By mood & vibe: This is perhaps the most intuitive way to group music.
- “Focus & flow”: Instrumental, ambient, classical, consistent rhythm that help you concentrate.
- “Dinner party background”: Smooth jazz, soulful tunes, laid-back pop.
By activity-based: Tailor playlists to specific tasks or routines.
- “Morning run”: Upbeat tempo tracks for workout.
- “Commute hours”: Smooth beats or uplifting songs.
Sort by year, season, or event
Music often sparks nostalgia that takes us back to specific moments. Create throwback playlists as time capsules to rediscover songs you love:
Through the year: A great way to look back at your musical journey.
- “2024 highlights“: Favourite tracks from the past year.
- “College mix 2009–2013”: Songs that defined a particular time in your life.
Seasonal sounds: Playlists that match the time of year.
- “Summer jams”: Sunny, upbeat tunes for warm days.
- “Holiday hits”: Festive tracks to get you in the seasonal spirit.
Special events: Curate playlists for memorable moments.
- “Road trip to the coast”: Energetic, sing-along tracks for long drives.
- “Birthday bash”: Fun, party-ready songs to celebrate special occasions.
Sort by fun concept
The most satisfying playlists are often the ones you invent for fun. Here are a few non-boring, quirky ways to build your playlists:
The “Soundtrack of my life”: Arrange songs to tell a story, evoke a feeling, or capture the absurd thoughts of your daily life.
- “Driving home in pouring rain at night”: A mix of nostalgic, melancholy, pensive tracks.
- “Cooking like nobody’s judging”: Upbeat funk, retro soul, playful pop.
The visual inspiration: Gather songs around visual themes, art styles, or places to spark creativity and group them in unexpected ways.
- “Monet’s Water Lilies”: Soft, impressionistic, relaxing tunes that could serve as the soundtrack of a painting.
- “A rooftop in Paris at dawn”:
Chic, jazzy, or romantic tunes that transport you to certain locations.
The ‘in-n-out’ rule for freshness
Every time you add a new song, remove an old one that you haven’t genuinely enjoyed. You don’t have to delete it permanently, simply move it to an “Archive” playlist. This adds variety to your listening sessions and prevents your go-to playlist from getting stale.
Use this rule also for playlists that aren’t in folders to keep your library from becoming overloaded. When you have a new favourite playlist, move the least-played one into a folder.
4. Try advance playlist management
This is for those who love their music categorised with precision.
Several free tools allow you to automatically filter playlists based on detailed music attributes, such as tempo (BPM), popularity, song age, or characteristics.
Popular options include Chosic, Sort Your Music, and Sortify. Note that these are unofficial tools and require access to your Spotify account.
Have fun listening
Ultimately, your music library is yours alone. Don’t stress about having every playlist perfectly curated and just enjoy the music!
