melancholic / introspective

jeff buckley – grace, last goodbye

nick drake – pink moon, river man

cocteau twins – heaven or las vegas, iceblink luck

pj harvey – let england shake, is this desire?

lana del rey – norman fucking rockwell, born to die

sigur rós – takk…, samskeyti

classical pieces: debussy, rachmaninoff, chopin

ambient / instrumental / post-rock

dead can dance – within the realm of a dying sun

godspeed you! black emperor – f♯ a♯ ∞

explosions in the sky – the earth is not a cold dead place

olafur arnalds – re:member

ambient lo-fi playlists for writing, studying, or late nights

soundtrack / cinematic

life is strange – original soundtrack

erased – soundtrack pieces

bloom into you – soft piano and string tracks

any soundtrack that feels like memory captured in sound

energetic / cathartic

radiohead – ok computer, kid a, no surprises

florence + the machine – how big, how blue, how beautiful

alternative or indie tracks that pulse like adrenaline

live recordings of songs that feel raw and immediate

comfort / reflective

hymns and chants for moments of quiet reflection

jeff buckley covers or acoustic versions

soft guitar or piano instrumentals that linger like a memory

curated playlists that feel like blankets on rainy days