# Creating a Band/Artist "timeline" playlist

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-band-artist-timeline-playlist/964562>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** music\
**Created:** [May 17, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-band-artist-timeline-playlist/964562 "2022-05-17T17:04:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-band-artist-timeline-playlist/964562/1 "2022-05-17T17:04:55Z")

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I’ve started creating a timeline playlist for artists I like. The idea is you start with the first song and play it without shuffling to hear the band’s/artist’s progression over time. I start with the first album and proceed in chronological order with their albums choosing 3-5 songs (strict limits) off each album that best exemplifies their music at that time (which is open to interpretation). A few ground rules I use:  
No live performances - all studio work  
Greatest hit albums or other collections do not count  
Alternative takes are allowed  
A song that was not released or released as a single is acceptable and placed in the appropriate spot i.e. when it was recorded. Example _Yellow Ledbetter_ with the other songs from Pearl Jam’s “Ten”  
If a new album is released, 3-5 songs get added to the timeline.

If you want to contribute post the link to the playlist (I use Spotify). Commentary is encouraged.

Here is what I have so far  
U2 - Definitely shows how the band has changed over the years. This is the first one I did.

> **[U2 Timeline](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3DkhZy2Ye1zYe74Oh6SSmP?si=c72d9ffb852348e5)**
>
> U2 Timeline · Playlist · 53 songs

Creedence Clearwater Revival - There was no real changeover time. CCR was around just a few years and it was all John Fogerty until for the last album. This sounds like a Greatest Hits playlist. I do not have _I Heard it Through the Grapevine_ because I already had 5 songs from Cosmo’s Factory If you think this is a mistake, which song off the album would you get rid of?

> **[CCR Timeline](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2lsNkgPoDBHPUbDWj5FNea?si=7df428bf8efb4832)**
>
> CCR Timeline · Playlist · 27 songs

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**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\
**Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/creating-a-band-artist-timeline-playlist/964562/2 "2022-05-17T21:18:37Z")

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Fun! I used to do this with cassettes all the time: building single-artist mix tapes in chronological order. Because a casette has a finite length, for artists with a large output it meant deciding whether every album needed to be represented, or if it was ok to take up two songs worth of time from one album.