I’m a little late at doing this but here it is: the songs that defined my year. 

Gracie’s 2018 Playlist (click here)

I don’t have the time to post each song and my connection to it the way I did with my 2017 playlist, so I’m just posting a link to my Spotify playlist and you can skip all the commentary it would take me too long to write!

However, I do want to comment on the entire playlist in general:

Something to note is that, especially the first half of the year, my musical choices were overwhelmingly female artists. That wasn’t conscious at all. But considering the journey I’ve been on of late, it makes a lot of sense.

I discovered Audrey Assad last year and her music has played an incredible role in my life since then. I had her albums Fortunate Fall and Evergreen playing all the time, and I still play them frequently. Evergreen is my favorite as its jam-packed with beautiful songs both musically and lyrically. These songs describe so much of my spiritual journey of the past two years and it feels good to have music which reflects that.

Kasey Musgraves has been a favorite of mine for a few years. Her latest album Golden Hour is just amazing and I think it won a few Grammys (I’m too lazy to look that up). It’s sorta like disco meets psychedelic meets classic Dolly Parton. Ok, that was probably a lame and inaccurate description, but that’s what comes to mind. Basically, you know this girl was trippin’ making this music.

I discovered John Reuben came out with a new album in 2017 after being gone from the music scene for several years. His 2005 album The Boy Vs the Cynic was a major influence for me as a 16 year old, being among my top albums that has shaped me as an artist. While I loved how he continued to develop lyrically, his sound started to lose its appeal for me after that time. HOWEVER… his latest album, Reubonic, totally blew me away. Like, seriously. To use a phrase I never do, the sound is “on point”. He finally got back into some serious rapping and, as usual, the lyrical content is deep and thought provoking. I give the album 15 stars.

I got into John Mayer this year. I didn’t listen to him on repeat like I did with many others, but I’ve finally come around and understand why everybody loves this guy. He really has put out some fantastic music. I mostly listened to Paradise Valley.

Much to my surprise, I got into Joy Williams. I remember when she first hit the Christian music scene when I was in middle school. I was surprised years later when she became famous in the musical duo The Civil Wars. I loved this brooding deep sound for her voice much better than the Christian pop she started with. However, for the life of me I just can’t really get into their music. I did stumble upon her recent solo album Venus and I have to say I’m inpressed. I listened to it a lot this past autumn.

And finally, I ended the year with a very unexpected familiar: Don Potter’s instrumental album Facing the Wall. This is an album my mother had when I was growing up. I wouldn’t say I ever had a particular connection to it, but I was recently inspired to listen to one of the songs and discovered that the whole album fit my mood and needs. I listened to it before and during labor and I still like to play it these days.

So there you have it- my 2018 musical experience.