Daily Tips That May or May Not Help You
Jul 2, 2026 · 2 min · 3 segments
Listening to an album front to back changes how the songs hit, especially when playlists and shuffle are the default. Ned Donovan argues for the full album experience, paying attention to sequencing…
Ned DonovanHost
Arielle NissenblattHost
A lot of artists just make a bunch of singles, throw them on a collection and call it an album.
But most musicians are trying to make an album experience from start to finish that you can enjoy.
Try to get a sense of why they've put certain songs next to each other or what the flow is, what the ebb of the album is, because the artistry of crafting an album is incredible and you will have such a better appreciation for the songs that end up on your Spotify playlists or whatever when you know the context by which they were placed on an album.
Secondarily to this, this is my own thing, try not to form an opinion of an album until you've listened to it three times through.
That's my, I try to listen to every album three times before I decide if I'm gonna like keep it in rotation or move on with my life.
Because sometimes, especially with artists, they're shifting up their musical styles and you're trying to compare it to an old album that you loved, but the artist has changed and you need to take a second for your ear to get used to what they're going for with this album.
So these are my two music tips of the day, which is listen to albums straight through.
And it's sometimes fun to listen to a discography straight through to hear how an artist adjusts over time.
A lot of artists just make a bunch of singles, throw them on a collection and call it an album.
But most musicians are trying to make an album experience from start to finish that you can enjoy.
Try to get a sense of why they've put certain songs next to each other or what the flow is, what the ebb of the album is, because the artistry of crafting an album is incredible and you will have such a better appreciation for the songs that end up on your Spotify playlists or whatever when you know the context by which they were placed on an album.
Secondarily to this, this is my own thing, try not to form an opinion of an album until you've listened to it three times through.
That's my, I try to listen to every album three times before I decide if I'm gonna like keep it in rotation or move on with my life.
Because sometimes, especially with artists, they're shifting up their musical styles and you're trying to compare it to an old album that you loved, but the artist has changed and you need to take a second for your ear to get used to what they're going for with this album.
So these are my two music tips of the day, which is listen to albums straight through.
And it's sometimes fun to listen to a discography straight through to hear how an artist adjusts over time.
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