2022 was the age of the curator, and 2023 is already shaping up to continue this trend. With Spotify playlists being a major, if not the primary, way that people discover new music, there have never been more musical avenues to explore in one place.
This scenario is exciting in theory, but it can be a bit daunting when you open up Spotify and search in the playlists for what you’re looking for, only to discover an endless sea of playlists. And Spotify hasn’t yet reached a point where you can filter the playlist tab by follower count, let alone the quality of the curation. This still places a fair amount of effort on the plates of listeners to do the legwork and find the playlists that resonate most with them.
Ronny Ho from Spotify acknowledges this challenge, which underlies the complexity and ongoing efforts to refine the user experience in an ever-expanding digital music landscape, when she says
For more insights into Spotify’s approach to music curation and the balance between human and algorithmic input, you can read the complete interview with Ronny Ho Here
Well, we decided to help and dig around the internet for the absolute best playlists on Spotify in 2023. These playlists are expertly curated by record labels, artists, and industry professionals (not some algorithm). They are the perfect way to discover fresh music while supporting new and up-and-coming artists.
The Best Dance Music Playlists On Spotify
Here are our favorite playlists that curate electronic dance music. Whether you’re gearing up for a Friday night hang at your apartment, a pre-funk before the rave, or music to study to – these playlists have you covered.
UOAK’s Playlists
UOAK has gradually advanced to become one of the leading figures in the playlist industry, while still remaining committed to aiding and acknowledging smaller, rising performers. He has several playlists meticulously arranged every seven days and contain some of the finest undiscovered artists in the business, making his catalogs an essential source for locating fresh music for your DJ’s performances and collections.
Welcome Hohme Selects By David Hohme
Between a heavy touring schedule, owning Where The Heart is Records, and curating his weekly radio show, Welcome Hohme Radio, it’s hard to imagine when David Hohme finds time to sleep. And while every episode of the radio show is packed with a seamless and masterfully-mixed hour of music, his Welcome Hohme Selects playlists puts all the released music he’s played on the show in one place so you can reference it later. Updated weekly, this playlist is not one to miss.
Songspire Records’ Progressive House Playlist
Songspire is a greatly admired label and brand in the realm of electronic house and progressive underground music and their compilations are a straightforward continuation of that spirit.
Regularly refreshed to include the top and trendiest new tunes in the genres that Songspire Records is creating, the multiple playlists they sustain on a weekly basis are an ongoing wellspring of motivation and worth.
The Grand Sound’s Relaxing Focus Music
Originally establishing its presence on YouTube as one of the leading music channels on the platform, The Grand Sound has seamlessly transitioned to Spotify playlisting as well and keeps a multitude of weekly-updated playlists that are tastefully curated for a variety of moods. Our favorite is the Progressive House playlist, but they have a handful of perfectly curated ones in the deep house genres and beyond.
Magnetic’s Fresh Cuts Playlist
Being right at the cutting edge of the music industry and unearthing new and unheard music to present to you is our profession, and this playlist is persistently rotating through some of the Magnetic team’s top picks daily and weekly.
Jake Kaiser’s Melodic Mood
Jake Kaiser is an up-and-coming Colorado producer with a distinct melodic house style. His curated Spotify compilations have been instrumental in helping lesser-known artists gain notice while exposing him to bigger names. It’s no surprise that thousands of producers and listeners go to his playlists each week in search of new music.
Anden’s Sound Room
Anden has gained immense popularity in the last two years due to their exquisite production skills and astounding live shows. When located in Brooklyn, the duo had an impressive series of parties named Sound Room. Even though these gatherings are on pause for now, the feeling persists in this compilation of tunes. It is constantly being refreshed with the most current underground dance music available.
James Flower’s ‘Deep Melodic’ Playlist
James Flower has just been signed on by Discotexas, which is a testament to his talent in recognizing fresh talents. His Deep Melodic playlist provides an easy way to keep up with the best underground artists in the dance music scene.
Jack Trades’ Deep Chill Sessions Playlist
Jack Trades is a remarkable Canadian creator delivering some of the best relaxed, easygoing melodic house music in the market. His Deep Chill Sessions selection is a progression of this sound and is an excellent way to uncover fresh and undiscovered songs that correspond with the producer’s own approach to fabrication. I can’t emphasize this playlist enough, as the producer’s vivacious and inviting nature is echoed throughout this skillfully-assembled and regularly-refreshed selection.
The Wolfe Den
Sam WOLFE is a subterranean creator of melodic house and techno and The Wolfe Den playlist serves as a secure space for his admirers to come together and explore the music he has released in the previous seven days or so.
If you’re an enthusiast of more frenetic, dance floor-suitable notes, Sam’s list is an excellent means to locate new tracks for your playlists and DJ sets.
Relaxing Electronic by Monstercat
Monstercat has their playlisting game perfected, and with a host of different playlists for a range of activities, it’s worth going to their main profile on Spotify to find several playlists that would fit your daily schedule.
Their Relaxing Electronic selection is an ideal suggestion for any Magnetic reader since it’s skillfully arranged and constantly updated with the released top soothing rhythms.
Best Hip Hop Playlists On Spotify
The world of underground hip-hop was exploding in 2022, and if you didn’t find at least a handful of fresh new artists that you love, then you’re putting too much faith in the algorithms and not enough in humanity. Here are some of my favorite indie playlists that find some of the best underground hip-hop for the next time you’re at the gym, hiking, or pregaming before you hit the club.
Underground Hip-Hop By The Wave Network
The Wave Network is a killer music group that curated a handful of excellent playlists, and their Underground Hip-Hop playlist is no exception. These playlists stay up to date with small and ire rappers and producers, and I always find at least a couple of new acts to start following every time I fire up this playlist.
Best Underground Rap By Unknown Rap
Another wealth of knowledge on the cultures and sounds of modern hip-hop. This underground rap playlist has a slowly rotating batch of tracks I’ve never heard before. Many of the songs err on the more aggressive side of rap, so this is the playlist you want to queue up when it’s time to turn up. So I’ll let you get to it!
90’s Underground Hip-Hop
Most of the tracks on this playlist are old rinses of songs that hip-hop fans have been listening to for decades. But it’s frequently updated with lesser-known flows of familiar artists and is a great resource to return to every couple of weeks for a fresh batch of hard-hitting nostalgia.
Top Urban Underground By Roc DaGuard
Roc DaGuard has a unique taste for music discovery, finding fresh and new artists that still possess that old-school sound of an era gone by. He throws in a couple of new tracks each and every day, meaning it’s a dope playlist to return to on occasion to find that swagger-filled and dusty music that harkens back to the golden days of hip-hop.
Purple Drank By Steven Jonson
Steven Jonson is another professional indie curator who manages a handful of incredibly popular playlists. And while this Purple Drank playlist isn’t packed with the most high-brow and. underground sounds, it constantly rotates killer turn-up music on a bi-weekly basis so that you have a fresh batch of bangers to light up each weekend.
UK Grime By IndieMassive UK
IndieMassive UK is a top-level music group that specializes in playlist curation. And when they devote all day every day to amassing the best and latest underground music all in one place, you know they are on to something right. The UK Grime playlist features some of the biggest and hottest UK rappers who cycle through the list every couple of weeks. This is another playlist that is great to scope out every Thursday and find new tunes for your Friday night playlist.
The Best Indie Music Playlists On Spotify
Whether you’re looking to pack out a road trip playlist or just need some background music playing while you clean the house or walk the dog, these playlists will have you covered with a far more mellow and lyric-based sound.
Breakfast & Coffee Music 2023
The title says it all…
This playlist isn’t packed with the newest and hottest music on the block. More so, it features old and timeless indie classics that simply make you feel good while you’re waking up. So queue up the Jack Johnson, spread the avocado on the toast, and let’s get jamming.
Indie Playlist By BIRP
Don’t let the title of this one fool you; they rotate the title and description of the playlist each month to match whatever month it is. This means that they are always on the hunt for fresh and new indie music and pack upwards of five hours of new tunes into the playlist for your listening pleasure every month.
Underground Indie Rock By teresa
This small little passion project by this Spotify user always packs a solid punch, and slowly rotates and updates with more aggressive indie and garage-punk-vibe music. If you’re looking to jump around a little bit and feel the energy, this playlist is an easy recommendation.
indie by Craft Genres
This is another professionally-curated playlist that is always rotating through new and exciting names in the world of indie music. You can pretty much check this playlist anytime and it will have hours of fresh new music for you to discover. Some of the names they support are more recognizable than others, but I guess that’s just what happens when indie music becomes such a massively popular genre.
indiefaction by EAFY
indiefaction is a phenomenal resource for discovering super unique and unheard-of indie music. The tracks that are included in this playlist all have a very unique sonic aesthetic and possess a unique vibe that I am sure is an extension of the playlister itself. Follow this playlist for fresh tracks every single week! They even branch out to cover a wider range of indie music including indie hip-hip, rock, and electro.
Will Vance is a professional music producer who has been involved in the industry for the better part of a decade and has been the managing editor at Magnetic Magazine since mid-2022. In that time period, he has published thousands of articles on music production, industry think pieces and educational articles about the music industry. Over the last decade as a professional music producer, Will Vance has also ran multiple successful and highly respected record labels in the industry, including Where The Heart Is Records as well as having launched a new label with a focus on community through Magnetic Magazine. When not running these labels or producing his own music, Vance is likely writing for other top industry sites like Waves or the Hyperbits Masterclass or working on his upcoming book on mindfulness in music production. On the rare chance he's not thinking about music production, he's probably running a game of Dungeons and Dragons with his friends which he has been the dungeon master for for many years.
