The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TCU chapter.

I started writing an article that will be published sometime in April about my top 10 favorite albums of the 2010s, and to be honest, it was so much harder than I thought it would be. I thought that I could think of dozens of albums and then just cut down the list, but instead, I struggled to even up with 7. I still have yet to complete that list, so we’ll hope it gets finished. But it caused me to start thinking about music. When thinking of top albums for the 2020s, I could come up with so many. And I realized that the birthplace of my love for music started around 2020. I started following artists more and trying to find new music to listen to. In the 2010s, my playlists consisted of country (being from Texas, what else could it be?) and Taylor Swift. But something shifted in 2020.

It could have been the global pandemic, my phone, my access to online content, how I was chronically online, or all of these things unfolding at that critical point in time. Suddenly, my Apple Music Replay playlists went from radio pop hits, the Descendants soundtracks, and country to something completely different. It’s pretty embarrassing to look back on, but I simultaneously think I shouldn’t be ashamed because my exploration of music, no matter how interesting it may have been, led me to where I am now, with a deep appreciation for artistry. Let’s just say three of my most-listened-to artists were Machine Gun Kelly, CORPSE, and Wilbur Soot. If you know you know… Not exactly my proudest moment. But that’s not really the point. The point was, I was trying something new. They, however much I hate to admit it, introduced me to music that sounded different than what I was used to. And as a result, I started listening to more and more artists, from all sorts of genres.

In 2021, I’d say my vibe was very much Khai Dreams, Rex Orange County, and Dayglow — an explosion of indie pop, so different from the radio hits just two years ago. Of course, Wilbur Soot and CORPSE lingered, it was an era, but new additions like Lemon Demon, Lovejoy, and Ricky Montgomery threw me entirely into the deep end of chronically online post-pandemic music. I feel like I can’t exactly describe the internet at that time, it’s something you kind of had to experience; but as I said earlier, if you went through it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Now, I don’t want to get too off-topic because the fever dream this era was could be the subject of a whole other article. Who knows, maybe that one will be coming soon. However, my focus now is music and the slightly embarrassing road that took me to where I am today.

In 2022, one of my friend’s older siblings was in a band, and because I was friends with her, I went to almost all of their concerts. They played songs from artists like the Arctic Monkeys, Djo, and the Backseat Lovers, introducing me to even more music. From there, I went out to discover more, including Rina Sawayama, Faye Webster, and Chase Atlantic, who were popular artists, but not in the way I had known before. There was this emphasis on, for lack of better words, “cool-girl music.” Songs so defining of an era that listening to them brings me right back.

In 2023, I got really into this band called The Civil Wars, this folk and singer-songwriter style of music, which was different from everything else. Beabadoobee, SUGR?, and Maggie Lindemann are just a few artists that I was starting to get into, all in varying genres. I realized that there is so much music in the world. Even within a single genre, the scope of artists and sounds and everything is so massive. Every genre has something different to offer, and I hadn’t even begun to scrape the surface of music. There’s a reason it has always been prevalent in culture and defined eras.

In 2024, I listened to Maisie Peters, Caroline Polachek, The Last Dinner Party, and Charli XCX, of course. Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter. Fun pop music with dance-party-in-my-room vibes. 2024 was such a massive year for me, and the music I listened to was mostly in this party pop vein. Except, Gracie Abrams was my most-listened-to artist? I didn’t think I even listened to her that much, except she was the soundtrack of my European summer, so I guess it kind of makes sense. Maybe it’s because 2024 wasn’t that long ago, but I still don’t feel nostalgic when I hear those artists like I usually do when listening to my top-played music from past years.

This year I’ve been very into super-produced dance music, but also slow vibey music. Clairo and LCD Soundsystem, what a combo. But one thing I’ve noticed every year is how much the kind of music that defines your year stays within that year. Every time I listen to one of my playlists from past years I feel such nostalgia. I see, in my mind, memories of that time. I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on what music means to me for this article, and I’ve realized it means everything. It can directly affect my moods. It can lift me up or crash me down. It can make me feel so much about everything and also feel absolutely nothing at all. Music can hold memories that are so bittersweet. It can remind you of better days, but also of worse days. Nowadays, I try to listen to as much music as possible because it is fleeting, and being able to carry a memory in a song is a magical power I want to use when I’m old and lecturing my grandchildren about the rise of Charli XCX. Music can bring me right back to where I am now.