We all have those days: nothing seems to be working out, your anxiety is on full throttle, and you just want to burrow into your bed, listening to depressing music. Maybe I was just some crazed masochist who enjoyed my own suffering because whenever I was in a bad mood, I would listen to music further exacerbating my negative feelings. Sulking in my own sorrow wasn’t pleasant, yet for some strange reason I kept allowing myself to fall farther and farther down the rabbit hole of my sadness. But when I created a specific playlist to uplift my mood, all of that changed. Instead of falling prey to the demons in my own mind, I found myself rising up against them and attempting to conquer them. With that being said, here’s a list of songs from all genres that I listen to whenever I’m feeling down; I hope you have the same response to them as I did.

1. “Promises” by Jhene Aiko

This song has to go first because it rests in a particularly special place in my heart. Over the summer, my life was filled with anxiousness, and premature mourning that I never thought I’d have to deal with. The lyrics, “if anything should happen, promise you’ll be alright,” comforted me in a time where music was the only thing truly comforting me. I can recall listening to this song amidst break downs of ephemeral streams of tears and pained moans and immediately feeling better.

2. “Burnout” by Saba

Last semester, when I was stressing out over 30-page research papers and staying up for 27 hours to complete them (I had four Red Bulls in only a few hours—don’t ever do that), this song helped me de-stress and decompress. The lyrics to this are also particularly relevant “Hey universe, don’t come at me with your bullshit, your nonsense, your issues, can’t handle it.” If anything, this song makes you feel better about the situations you may be in and helps you realize that the world is too big, the universe is too magnanimous, for you to be worried about the little issues that get thrown into your life.

3. “Good Ass Intro” by Chance the Rapper feat. BJ the Chicago Kid, Lili K., Kiara Lanier, Peter Cottontale, Will for the O’mys, and JP Floyd for Kids These Days

Chance the Rapper has the gift of making all of our problems seem conquerable. I mention how exactly he does this in this article, How Chance The Rapper Is Bridging The Gap Between Hip-Hop and Gospel but, this song, among many others, gets you grooving and forgetting about your problems. When you’re too focused on enjoyed to the music, you temporarily forget your woes and how big they seem.

4. “Girls That Dance” by Masego X Medasin

The first time I ever heard this song, I couldn’t stop dancing. This is another one of those songs that get you so wrapped in the song, you can’t focus on anything except the song. Plus, with lyrics like “she gon’ dance, ain’t gon’ touch her phone, she gon’ live this moment,” you want to disconnect from your snapchat, your twitter, and your instagram. You’re going to want to live in the moment.

5. “It Was a Good Day” by Ice Cube

Taking it back a few decades, this west coast banger still gets heads nodding and feet tapping. Even if you had a horrible day, this song will have you yelling the lyrics and celebrating Ice Cube’s good day. Plus, as the lyrics suggest, you “didn’t even have to use your AK,” so how bad could your day really have been?

6. “Me Against the World” by 2pac feat. Dramacydal

For me, those days that I feel isolated and lonely, this song helps me get through it. While the lyrics aren’t completely uplifting, they always seem to speak to me perfectly when I do feel like it’s just me against the world. It also makes me feel better knowing I’m not the only one who feels like this. The complex thing about the lyrics, however, is that they relate to both loneliness (“it’s just me against the world”) and fearlessness (“I ain’t got nothing to lose”). Whenever I listen to the lyrics I can relate to the loneliness of being all alone against the world, but I also feel a sense of satisfaction knowing that nothing can stop me. It’s me against the world, and I’m going to win.

7. “F**k with Myself” by Banks

“I F*CK WITH MYSELF MORE THAN ANYBODY ELSE. I USED TO CARE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT ME.” That line has the power to get you through your most insecure of days, so powerful in fact, that it had to be written in all caps. For those days where you don’t feel like your best self, those days when you don’t feel like anybody is understanding you, blast this song at the highest volume and relish in self-love.

8. “La Danse” by Amine

This is another one of those songs that gets you up and dancing with a heavy house music influence. It’s hard to sulk in your sorrows when the beat is as catchy as this song.

9. “Monster” by Kanye West feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Bon Iver.

Skip to 3:35, that’s when Nicki’s verse starts. Rap her verse until you're not even thinking about whatever was bringing you down.

10. “All Falls Down” by Kanye West

Not only does this song bring back major Nostalgia, some of the lines in this song are relevant to many college students, women in particular. “All Falls Down” is also honest with lyric such as “Man, I promise, I’m so self conscious…” or “the people highest up got the lowest self esteem”. This song isn’t really “uplifting” in the typical way, but it is comforting.

11. “In a Sentimental Mood” by John Coltrane and Duke Ellington

Now, this song is definitely a hit or miss. It was the first jazz song I ever listened to and identified with it, quite ironically it does put me in a sentimental mood. It’s also extremely calming after a stressful day. If you don’t listen to or like jazz, just give it a try!

12. “Blessings” by Chance the Rapper feat. Ty Dolla Sign, Raury, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Anderson .Paak)

This song is all about reveling in the blessings that have (or will) come down into your life. This song is truly comforting and more than anything this song lifts your mood tenfold. As the song belts out “are you ready for your blessings? Are you ready for your miracles?” it makes you look beyond your current circumstances—life may not be perfect at the moment, but your miracle is brewing and it is coming.

13. Shadow Man by Noname feat. Saba, Smino, & Phoenix

You know those songs that just make you feel good? The songs that cascade around your ears and somehow manage to creep into your body and warm your heart? This is one of those songs.

14. “March Madness” by Future

This song was released in March of last year, but I guarantee you if you play it at any party now, everybody will still turn up as if it just came out a week ago. Following the trend of “songs it’s impossible to be sad to because you’re too busy dancing,” this one takes the cake.

15. “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M feat. Lil Yachty

This song had to grow on me, but once it did, boy did it! Ignoring Yachty’s “columbine” reference, the song is more than catchy. This is one of those songs that even if you don’t like it, you’ll end up dancing and singing along to it. Let’s throw this song into that “songs it’s impossible to be sad to” category too.