I asked ChatGPT to build mood-based playlists - here are the songs it nailed (and failed)

Man listening to music in a record store — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Music is my lifeblood — it has the power to distract me from the latest bout of madness during a public transportation ride, send me into a wormhole of discoverability whenever I come across a song from a new artist, and make me sing to myself in the bathroom mirror before I start my day.

A great song also has the power to affect whatever mood I’m in by either magnifying it or changing it altogether. I can remember the exact moments where I was listening to a song that made me stare at the ceiling in a sad state during a breakup and bumping to a hype-inducing track during my final college party. ChatGPT has helped me make a few welcome adjustments to my everyday routines lately, such as what shows to stream, how to maneuver better during conversations and the best dishes to make for mealplanning.

Now I’ve tapped into my AI chatbot to assist me in creating 10-song playlists for four different moods. And for the most part, ChatGPT gave me a bunch of popular and lesser-known tracks that are perfect for those changing attitudes. Some of its other picks proved to be a bit…ignorable.

I was given a playlist that was perfect for a joyful mood

A young man listening to music through wireless headphones. — (Image credit: BublikHaus/Shutterstock)

Since my part of the world is knee deep in snow at the moment, I figured it’d make sense to ask ChatGPT to make a playlist for me that will lift my mood.

My prompt (“Build me a 10 song playlist for whenever I'm in a joyful mood and want to stay happy”) put my AI playlist builder to work, which caused it to respond in a manner in which it remembered my preferences: “Love this prompt — we’re curating joy maintenance music. Since you’re into games, anime and wrestling, I’m mixing feel-good pop, high-energy bangers, and a couple anthemic “main character” tracks.”

Here’s the cheerful playlist of songs it managed to put together:

“September” – Earth, Wind & Fire
“Good as Hell” – Lizzo
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” – Justin Timberlake
“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen
“Shut Up and Dance” – Walk the Moon
“Happy” – Pharrell Williams
“Dynamite” – BTS
“Good Life” – Kanye West
“On Top of the World” – Imagine Dragons
“Livin’ on a Prayer” – Bon Jovi

I have to hand it to ChatGPT — it produced several songs that are certainly uplifting and would easily make me sing at an insanely high volume in a dive bar. The songs by Earth, Wind & Fire, Justin Timberlake, Queen, Kanye West and Bon Jovi stood out as the best picks, while the other tracks got omitted by me for personal reasons. That Pharrell Williams song is a bop, but I never want to hear it again because it was over-played during its debut period. And I’m simply not a huge fan of Lizzo, Walk the Moon, BTS and Imagine Dragons.

I asked ChatGPT to build another one that could uplift me during a moment of sadness

A smiling woman with headphones lies in bed listening to a bedtime story for adults — (Image credit: Getty Images)

I know the feeling will hit eventually — that slow, heavy cloud that rolls in and pulls everything a shade darker. When it does, I reach for whatever music app is closest and press play on something that can pull me back to the surface. This time, ChatGPT put together a 10-song playlist designed to move from a gentle lift to a steady build and, finally, an emotional reset.

What stood out most wasn’t the arc itself, but one familiar track that showed up yet again:

“Fix You” – Coldplay
“Vienna” – Billy Joel
“Breathe Me” – Sia
“Rise Up” – Andra Day
“Unwritten” – Natasha Bedingfield
“Dog Days Are Over” – Florence + the Machine
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” – Kelly Clarkson
“Titanium” – David Guetta
“Walking on Sunshine” – Katrina and the Waves
“Don’t Stop Me Now” – Queen

I love the fact that ChatGPT put these songs together to slowly help me escape my latest bout of sorrow and made sure to mention one of Queen’s greatest songs again.

As a massive fan of Coldplay and Billy Joel, I was more than happy to add the two songs from those artists to my “get rid of the sadness” playlist. As for the rest? All respect due to those artists, but those songs didn’t really speak to me one bit.

Then my final AI-made playlist reflected a high-energy mood for workouts

Man stretching before a workout outside while listening to music — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Since I’m in a workout mood (indoors, mind you!), I figured it was time for ChatGPT to get me in the perfect mood to sweat it out. And this time, I tasked it with focusing on the genre of rap to produce a playlist that would push me over the edge to knock out that last set of pushups.

Here are the 10 songs ChatGPT put together for my “Beast Mode Activated” playlist:

“POWER” – Kanye West
“HUMBLE.” – Kendrick Lamar
“X Gon' Give It to Ya” – DMX
“Till I Collapse” – Eminem
“No Hands” – Waka Flocka Flame
“Dreams and Nightmares (Intro)” – Meek Mill
“DNA.” – Kendrick Lamar
Sicko Mode – Travis Scott
“All the Way Up” – Fat Joe
“Black Skinhead” – Kanye West

ChatGPT is clearly a fan of Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar just as much as me. And I was pleased to see it offer me some equally great songs from hip-hop luminaries such as DMX, Eminem, Fat Joe and Meek Mill. And while I find Waka Flocka Flame’s energetic music to be a guilty pleasure of mine, I found it funny how ChatGPT suggested the one song from him that’s more suited to getting a party started. I decided to swap that song out for “O Let’s Do It” to make this workout playlist feel truly complete.

Creating a Spotify playlist with my new lists

ChatGPT offers an app store and can connect to a variety of useful apps within the platform. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Connect Spotify. Simply open the Apps panel in ChatGPT.
Tap Spotify. Select Connect or Sign in.
Log in to your Spotify account.
Grant permissions when prompted.
Once connected, ChatGPT can interact with your Spotify library and playlists. Once you've confirmed it's working, return to chat and try:
“Create a Spotify playlist with these songs.”
Step 4: Save and open in Spotify
Check Your Library → Playlists
Your new playlist should appear

The takeaway

I have to have it to ChatGPT for giving me three mood-based playlists I could comfortably rely on to keep me happy, snap me out of a moment of unhappiness, and rev me up enough to knock out a daily workout.

Most of the songs it gave me were valid picks, while the other ones proved to be less than desirable additions to my playlists. If you’re like me, take the good ones, replace the ones you’re not all that fond of, and go from there.

ChatGPT’s musical suggestions proved to be beneficial, so I’ll keep going to it to help me in the mood playlist department every time.

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Elton Jones is a longtime tech writer with a penchant for producing pieces about video games, mobile devices, headsets and now AI. Since 2011, he has applied his knowledge of those topics to compose in-depth articles for the likes of The Christian Post, Complex, TechRadar, Heavy, ONE37pm and more. Alongside his skillset as a writer and editor, Elton has also lent his talents to the world of podcasting and on-camera interviews.

Elton's curiosities take him to every corner of the web to see what's trending and what's soon to be across the ever evolving technology landscape. With a newfound appreciation for all things AI, Elton hopes to make the most complicated subjects in that area easily understandable for the uninformed and those in the know.

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