To be adventurous in our listening habits is a conscious effort, and one that can prove especially challenging as we enter Lent Term. With cold weather, mock exams and the returning onslaught of deadlines, it can prove all too easy to revert to our comfort playlists. However, a bit of intentionality in your musical explorations can go a long way, opening our eyes to new top tracks. It doesn’t have to be a ground-breaking feat of research – there are many easy ways to integrate musical discovery even into the packed Cambridge schedule. These simple but conscious efforts make for New Year’s Resolutions that won’t be ditched within the first month.

Track your trends

No, I don’t just mean looking at your Spotify Wrapped. Keeping track of your streaming habits month by month can give you a greater feel of both what you’re drawn to over time and what your playlists are missing. After many years of trying and failing to organise my streaming history, I recently started to curate monthly playlists, featuring both repeat favourites and new discoveries from the month. Throughout Michaelmas, I fixated on a cycle of soft, soothing releases, such as the likes of Allie X’s Happiness Is Going To Get You and Sleep Token’s One.

“I found them to be like a factory reset of my listening tendencies”

In hindsight, plenty of nostalgic tracks from my childhood could have had the same reassuring effect, such as The Beatles, a go-to for long car rides when I was young. Acknowledging this has inspired me to delve further into my 60s and 70s favourites that I perhaps neglected in 2025.

Keep on theme

Every few months or so, I try to limit my streaming to a theme based on any gaps that I’ve observed. One November a couple of years ago, I listened exclusively to tracks from the 20th century, after noticing that modern alternative music was disproportionately dominating my playlists. These themes may initially seem restrictive, but I found them to be refreshing, almost like a factory reset of my listening tendencies. Not only was I directed to exciting new tracks within my chosen categories, but I gained a greater feel for what I truly want to listen to once the month had passed.

This year, one of my goals is to exclusively stream non-English tracks for a month; in earlier years, my Eurovision phase introduced languages from French to Finnish to my playlists. More recently, I’ve been exploring international icons of metal, from Brazilian band Sepultura to India’s finest metal-bollywood fusion Bloodywood. There’s plenty more to explore across continents and genres, so I’m ever excited to dedicate a month to streaming music from around the globe.

Create an album bucket list

Streaming albums in full can seem like a daunting prospect, but it’s an achievable feat. For many of us, the walk to and from lectures can be well over a half-hour round trip, ample time to listen to the average album. Even if you do have to stall a little to finish the final track, it’s a worthwhile endeavour.

“The power of the album has inspired me to immerse myself in many more of these sonic narratives, both old and new”

Last year, Sleep Token’s Even in Arcadia became the soundtrack to my Cambridge experience; from ‘Past Self’, documenting the thrills of forging deep connections with like-minded people, to the raw outlook on extrinsic pressures of ‘Caramel’, this album covered the full picture of success with all of the necessary nuance. Its tracklist reminds me of older favourites that have guided me through similar journeys, from WILLOW’s 2022 release, to the Pink Floyd classic, Dark Side Of The Moon.

The power of the album has inspired me to immerse myself in many more of these sonic narratives, both old and new. On the 23rd January, metal goddess Poppy is set to release her next LP, Empty Hands. The singles so far provide a tantalising taster of what’s to come: ‘Guardian’ carries a fierce rock-ballad depth in its heavy drum beats and meaty shredding, while ‘Bruised Sky’ maintains Poppy’s signature industrial undertones a la I Disagree.

At the same time, I’ll also be taking next year as an opportunity to fully explore some albums that have been on my radar for a longer time. Over the past year, I’ve been a regular listener of Bob Vylan’s Humble As The Sun, but have yet to dip my toes into their prior release, Bob Vylan Presents The Price Of Life. Some old family favourites also feature on the bucket list, from Songs In The Key Of Life to Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms.

From exploring new genres, artists and releases to refreshing on past loves, there are plenty of creative ways to engage with music in the new year. A simple album bucket list or themed streaming month could even introduce you to your top artist of 2026…