It’s easy to get the impression that 2019 has been a relatively quiet year for music so far. There haven’t been quite as many high profile album releases, and few things have really captured the cultural zeitgeist beyond Lil Nas X and perhaps Billie Eilish. We’re in a pretty weird place, right? If you were to ask me point blank what five of my favorite albums were this year, it’d take me a few minutes to come up with a clear answer. I haven’t been listening to less music overall, there’s just less things managing to grab and hold my attention. Or so I thought.

In reflecting on the first half of the year, I wanted to assemble and share a playlist of about 50 songs that I genuinely enjoyed and/or frequently returned to over these last six months. The rules for the list were simple: only one song per artist, either released as a standalone single or as part of a 2019 LP/EP. The goal was to spread the love around, but I had to reach 50 songs first. It was tougher than I expected, until it wasn’t. What started out at barely 50 songs quickly ballooned to nearly twice that amount after taking a closer look at some release lists. A 100 song playlist would have been too much, but 50 ultimately felt like too little.

So here’s the final compromise: 75 great songs from the first half of 2019. They’re arranged in alphabetical order by artist, because official rankings are best saved for a year-end wrap-up. Please enjoy this five hours of music! Play it at your BBQ or just in your car while driving around on a hot day. I hope you discover some tracks and artists you missed earlier this year, or rediscover some fun songs you may have forgotten about over the last few months. Listen through the Spotify embed below, or follow this link. You can also listen to every song (minus Julien Baker & Thom Yorke) on the playlist individually via YouTube by clicking on the title.

Aldous Harding – The Barrel
Amber Mark – What If
American Football – Every Wave to Ever Rise (ft. Elizabeth Powell)
Ariana Grande – NASA
Barrie – Clovers
Beck – Saw Lightning
Bedouine – Echo Park
Better Oblivion Community Center – Dylan Thomas
Beyonce – Before I Let Go
Big Thief – UFOF
Billie Eilish – bad guy
black midi – Crow’s Perch
Broken Social Scene – Can’t Find My Heart
Carly Rae Jepsen – Too Much
Caroline Polachek – Door
Cate Le Bon – Daylight Matters
CHAI – I’m Me
Charly Bliss – Young Enough
The Chemical Brothers – We’ve Got to Try
Clairo – Bags
Crumb – Nina
Denzel Curry – RICKY
Ex Hex – Cosmic Cave
Faye Webster – Right Side of My Neck
FKA Twigs – Cellophane
Fontaines D.C. – Too Real
Four Tet – Only Human
Georgia – About Work the Dancefloor
Hand Habits – placeholder
Hatchie – Obsessed
Helado Negro – Running
H.E.R. – Hard Place
Holly Herndon – Eternal
Jade Bird – Uh Huh
Jai Paul – Do You Love Her Now
Jamila Woods – ZORA
Jay Som – Superbike
Jenny Lewis – Wasted Youth
Jessica Pratt – This Time Around
Julien Baker – Conversation Piece
Karen O & Danger Mouse – Turn the Light
Laura Stevenson – Living Room, NY
Little Simz – Boss
Lizzo – Juice
Maggie Rogers – The Knife
Mannequin Pussy – Drunk II
Mark Ronson – True Blue (ft. Angel Olsen)
Megan Thee Stallion – Cash Shit (ft. DaBaby)
The National – Rylan
Nilufer Yanya – Baby Blu
Noname – Song 31 (ft. Phoelix)
Octo Octa – I Need You
PUP – Morbid Stuff
Rico Nasty & Kenny Beats – Cold
Roisin Murphy – Incapable
ROSALIA – Con Altura (ft. J Balvin & El Guincho)
(Sandy) Alex G – Gretel
Sharon Van Etten – Seventeen
Sigrid – Don’t Kill My Vibe
Sky Ferreira – Downhill Lullaby
Sleater-Kinney – Hurry On Home
slowthai – Doorman (ft. Mura Masa)
Solange – Almeda
Squid – Houseplants
Stella Donnelly – Old Man
Sunflower Bean – Come For Me
Tame Impala – Patience
Thom Yorke – Dawn Chorus
TOLEDO – Hot Stuff
Tove Lo – Glad He’s Gone
Tyler, The Creator – EARFQUAKE
Vampire Weekend – This Life
Viagra Boys – Sports
Weyes Blood – Movies
Whitney – Giving Up