Disclaimer: Throughout this post, I will be referring to Spotify and Alexa. Neither are a sponsor, and I’m operating under the assumption that your streaming platform and speakers of choice have similar tools. Use what works best for you!

Have you ever been in a situation where someone asks you to play music, and suddenly you’ve forgotten what good taste is, so you’re frantically scrolling through your Spotify playlists with a strong feeling of musical ineptitude, unsure what to pick? Do I play my college pre-game playlist from a decade ago? My workout playlist of just Flo Milli and Meg? My Glee covers that go hard playlist?

Yeah, me too.

That’s why I made a “Hosting” playlist about a year ago and never looked back. If I am hosting, there is a 99% chance that all my Alexas are playing this playlist throughout my apartment. And no, I can’t share it with you, because it’s mine. You need your own.

Here’s how to make your signature playlist. Aim to get it to about 1.5 hours at first, and then keep growing from there.

Get comfortable

If you have a laptop you can use to build your signature playlist, I highly recommend it. It’s much easier to switch around playlists and reorganize the order within the Spotify application. This can be done on your phone, but like buying flights or concert tickets, it’s a little bit better on a bigger screen.

Get cozy. Brew a cup of coffee or tea. Consider making a snack. Grab a blanket and headphones. Let’s get going.

Determine your hosting vibe

Now that you’re comfortable, it’s time to determine what your hosting vibe is. What is your goal of this playlist? Is it to get your friends hyped for a night out? Is it for a chill dinner party? Are you trying to seduce someone? Noodle on this a bit.

Once you’ve figured out your vibe, it’s time to narrow it down to a few different genres and similar tempos and beats per minute. You’ll want the songs to flow on shuffle without feeling jarring. If you’re having a hard time visualizing this, here are a few examples (linked out to Spotify):

• Upbeat vibe with a fast tempo: Thot Shit by Meg thee Stallion, Guess by Charli XCX and Billie Eilish, Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl by Chappell Roan
• Sexy vibe with a moderate tempo: All I Really Wanna Do by Devon Gilfillian, Greek Tragedy – Oliver Nelson Remix by The Wombats, OMG by Suki Waterhouse
• Chill vibe with a slower tempo: Kingston by Faye Webster, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star, Good News by Mac Miller

See how the three songs in each category are different genres but still sound good together? That’s because they’re similar tempos and BPMs. You can play with genre and keep your playlist diverse, and it will still flow if you keep those two things similar.

Make the name simple

You’ve got a vibe now–great! Now let’s name it. Make your playlist name simple–preferably one word like “Hosting” so that you can quickly find it or tell your smart speaker to “play Hosting.” I love a niche Spotify playlist title (see my Songs you’d hear in TJ Maxx with your mom as a child playlist), but you’ll want this one easily accessible. Other good short titles could be Home, My Place, Dinner Party, or With Friends.

Utilize the tools

Once you’ve added a good selection of songs with similar tempos and BPMs, utilize your streaming app’s tools to find similar songs. With Spotify specifically, under each playlist you make will be a few recommendations based on what you already have. There’s also a handy refresh button, so you can keep generating suggestions. You can also search key words like genre to find other playlists similar to yours, and pick songs from them. It’s a bit like pillaging, really, but it’s for a good cause–a good playlist.

Play it on shuffle

There is a respectable art to the order of a music playlist, but you want to keep your guests on their toes. If your playlist becomes like mine, years old at this point, you don’t want your guests to recognize the order and become jaded. Have you ever worked in the service industry and slowly learned the order of the playlist, realizing every time it finally looped? Yeah, it’s an eery feeling, and not one you want your guests to have. Plus, you could have added an excellent new song 4 hours into the playlist–it demands to be heard! Keep this playlist on shuffle to give each song its due.

Keep adding to it

Some playlists reflect a very specific period of your life, almost like a time capsule. You can listen to it and remember that one roadtrip or rocky relationship. This isn’t a one of those–your signature playlist should not be a one and done.

Why? It’s your signature playlist! While it should stay evolving and growing, you want your friends to associate these songs with you and the hosting presence you created.

If you hear a song in public that sounds like a good match, add it. If you become tired of a certain song, remove it. Add new songs. Add old songs you just discovered.

Keep it private

Hopefully, you’ve made a killer playlist by this point. I recommend keeping it private just for the sole fact that it belongs to your home. It’s your vibes. It’s your hosting. When people hear this playlist, you want them to think of you, not your friend’s friend’s friend’s house. There’s nothing wrong with a little gatekeeping! Tell your friends the names of songs if their curious, but keep that link private.

It’s pretentious, sure, but necessary.