As a follow-up to my 2016 #top, part 1 post, I made a playlist of my favorite new songs of 2016 to share with you all. I have been a big fan of making playlists since the mixtape days of my youth, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little out of the habit in its purest form now that everything is digital and therefore of pretty much unlimited length. Most of the “playlists” I currently have on my Spotify are more rambling, stream-of-consciousness mood soundtracks rather than carefully curated sonnets on particular subjects. But I tried to actually limit this one: It’s just 20 songs, and I even spent some time arranging the songs and thinking about the musical flow. It contains only songs from 2016 releases, and only my true favorites. There’s at least one track from each of my favorite 2016 albums, as listed in my previous post, with the obvious exception of Beyoncé, since Lemonade is famously not on Spotify. I think listening to this will give you a pretty good idea of the types of genres, sounds, and voices that make me happy.

I am always seeking out new music, especially when the season are changing. Different times of year definitely call for different types of music. Lately, my standards for new go-to songs have been pretty high, but here's a playlist with a few that I've been enjoying. They are all over the place, but I make no apologies. Not even for the weird, haunting modern choir arrangement of the Depeche Mode classic, or for the one song that was inspired by my recent and very much ongoing rewatch of Grey's Anatomy.... Just give it a try. This isn't exactly what spring sounds like, but the weather has been weird in New England over the last month or two, so the vibe is a little weird, too. What songs are spring to you, this year or every year? What have you been listening to lately? I'm definitely still looking for new tunes.