Once upon a time, there were two boys, Peter and Max, in rural Wisconsin. One day, Pete was rifling through Max’s parents’ belongings when he discovered a cassette labeled “Stan’s Songs 1998”, named after a friend of Max’s mother who made annual mixtapes for some 30+ years. Nobody returned the favor until 2014, when Max compiled a Spotify playlist of his favorite songs released that year.

Fast forward to 2017, when a friend of mine from college, Taylor, eloped with Peter before running away together to Europe. That year, she joined Peter and Max in building her own playlist of the year’s new releases. By year-end 2018, the practice snowballed into a competition and spread to the trio’s wider social circle, including myself. In 2019, I decided, with license from the forefathers of this sacrosanct tradition, that Pete’s Picks (as it has come to be called) deserves a stable home. It has found that home here on danny-gold.com.

The rules are simple: each year, cultivate a playlist comprised exclusively of tracks that were released that year. Playlists become final and official at 11:59:59 PM local time on December 31st and may not be edited thereafter. No two tracks by the same artist may coexist on said playlist (collaborations may be excepted within reason), and the length must be reasonable. The final guideline is generously vague; do not abuse it.

Note that early submissions do not universally adhere to the rules stated above. These transgressions invited the censure of fellow Pete’s Picks participants and should not be taken as endorsements of or invitations to future breaches.

If you would like to submit a playlist to be hosted on this webpage fill out the submission form below.

Want to submit your own Pete’s Picks playlist? Fill out the form below and wait for a confirmation email. For any questions or concerns, email dannyegold AT gmail DOT com.