Create a custom playlist
Easy ways to listen to favorites, long lost tracks, and hidden gems
FOR PEOPLE OF a certain age, the mixtape was a rite of a passage — a carefully curated compilation of your favorite sounds shared with friends, lovers, workmates, and more. They took hours to make and were created with love and care.
The arrival of iTunes changed all that — playlists now did the heavy lifting, freeing up your time; Shuffle mode allowed your Mac, iPhone or iPad to serve up an endless stream of tracks, turning music into a commodity. But it doesn’t have to be that way. On the one hand, an Apple Music subscription ($9.99/month) can serve up human–curated stations that will feed your love of music, offering both the novel and the familiar. And on the other, the Music app on Mac has all the tools you need — no subscription required.
So whether you want to listen to old and new favorites, rediscover lost tracks, or find the albums, artists and tracks you’ve never got around to listening to, let us be your guide.