It is officially that time of year again — Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay for the 2023 year. It is also time to silently — or publicly — judge people for what their wrapped or replay says. Whether you realize it or not, these say so much about a person. 
If you are unfamiliar with what Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay are, it is quite simple. Every year towards the beginning of December, Spotify and Apple Music release a wrap/replay of an individual’s listening habits for the year. 
According to Spotify, listeners “get a deeper look” at their top artists, songs, podcasts and more from the year. This will be available for listeners on their accounts when it is released. According to Apple, listeners get their “top songs, albums, artists, playlists, genres and stations” in their yearly replay that can be accessed online. 
First, let us get this out of the way. There is a superior music streaming service between the two, whether you agree or not. Hint — it is Spotify. If you disagree, that is fine, just know people are silently judging you. 
There is not necessarily a right or wrong top artist to have. Except there most definitely is, and it says a lot about you. If your top artist is someone extremely mainstream such as Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Beyoncé, etc. you are definitely a follower not a leader. You definitely pick your music based on what you recently saw on TikTok or Instagram. 
However, if you are in the top percent of listeners for such artists, you are exempt from this. These are just the rules. Get on board with it. 
If your top artist is someone not so mainstream such as Rainbow Kitten Surprise or Shakey Graves, you are an obscure little human blowing in the wind. You pick your music randomly by hyper fixating on an artist and eventually branching out to suggested similar artists, or you were raised on those types of artists. There is no in-between, really. 
Now you may be wondering, “What if my top artist is super old school, like their first listeners are from a different generation?” 
Well, good human, you are an eclectic and unique person. You pick your music based on “the good ole days” and what your parents listened to as they headbanged in college. You are respected, no doubt. Keep up the good work. 
No matter what category you fall under, just know if you stand your ground hard enough, nobody can truly judge you for your top artist. This is somewhat true for top songs as well. 
Figuring out what someone’s top songs says about them can be a difficult task. Most people end up with a couple songs they listened to on repeat for two weeks when something bad happened then never gave it the time of day again. Others only listen to their top songs and nothing else the majority of the time. 
This is when silent judgment comes in, because any respectable person will not audibly hate on someone else’s top songs, as we have almost all fallen victim to both of these categories before.
The strangest thing to decipher from Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay is top genres. Nowadays there are some niche genres that are sometimes completely unheard of, but there are also the typical ones per usual which can say a lot about a person. 
Everyone has their preferences, whether it be pop, rock, indie, folk, etc. This is totally fine. The judgment comes in when you are not willing to embrace the fact that you only want to listen to some pop music when you are trying to present yourself as a folk listener. It says you are not comfortable with your true music taste, which honestly is your own battle to fight. 
Regardless of what has been stated up to this point, everyone’s music taste is their own. Take pride in what you listen to and stand your ground. If you are not up to that task, then make better choices for next year’s Spotify Wrapped and Apple Music Replay.