Why Spotify Playlists Never Truly Shuffle
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sources:
https://thetab.com/uk/2021/11/17/spotify-shuffle-explained-228639
angry user: https://community.spotify.com/t5/Ongoing-Issues/Please-stop-marking-shuffle-complaints-as-quot-not-an-issue-quot/idi-p/1772030
the spotify algorithm: https://engineering.atspotify.com/2014/02/how-to-shuffle-songs/
spotify home algorithm: https://engineering.atspotify.com/2020/01/for-your-ears-only-personalizing-spotify-home-with-machine-learning/
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━CHAPTERS━
00:00 Spotify’s Shuffle is Broken
02:30 Shuffling isn’t “Random”
03:16 We Don’t Want Random Shuffle
04:53 Experimenting
09:26 How the Algorithm Works
12:05 Has The Spotify Algorithm Changed?
12:45 Humans Suck at Probability
13:57 How to Fix the Bad Algorithm
16:40 Conclusion
Why isn’t spotify’s shuffle feature actually a random shuffle? why is it an algorithm? Why doesn’t the algorithm suck???
tags: #spotify
@sup8014
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
i usually just skip REALLY far into my playlist to get all the actually random stuff, otherwise it's really boring
@Aotty-s8t
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
I still don’t understand how people aren’t understanding that there’s no way it’s actually random. The songs absolutely do not have an even chance. The coin flip example makes sense, since you really could get heads 10 times in a row, but it’s more like if everyone who’s ever flipped a coin got heads 10 times in a row. At that point we wouldn’t call a coin flip random. It’s gotten to a point that I expect certain songs to okay after others because that’s always how they play. And a few songs that I’ve never listened to in purpose OR repeated ended up as my top songs in the last wrapped because they’re played within 10 tracks of my hitting shuffle nearly every single time. Some songs that I DO repeat on purpose haven’t even made the cut. Out of 5k songs this is extremely unlikely.
But! They apparently tried (again) to fix that issue so I’ll be trying it out again.
@thehomeofmemes
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
In the 'liked songs', I want to listen to one genre of music by tapping that genre.. sometimes.. BUT, it'd be sooo nice to let us tap (add) another genre and listen to both combined. For example- I want to shuffle my Disney songs and 80s/90s hip hop.. is that too much to ask? No, I don't want to create another playlist.
@dudehere1100
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
I realize this is old but today I searched for a song to add to my "liked" songs, only to see its already on my list. I've literally never heard it come up on shuffle.
@Starlover520
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
2014 was NOT 13 years ago especially in 2023 i know because i was born in 2014 and in 2023 i was 9
@M3GATHA-w7f
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Enjoying that gaget there gabi?
@Balaroth
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Idk if it's been mentioned in the video or comments, but if you clear your cache every now and then refresh the shuffle, you should have resettled the "shuffle algorithm" and it'll be alright for a bit.
@Banana-fred-u1t
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
When I’m in the shower I hit that nice gabi belle button
@audrei679
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
this happens on youtube music now, too. everytime i shuffle my downloads i get the same 15 songs first. i have 300 songs downloaded.
@FairVanden
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
11:10 oh gabi, I know you're not a mathematician, but come on TT
@zircon03
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
this is why i never use shuffle, i have my playlist that has 2000 songs, and whenever i wanna play another playlist i just screenshot the current song in my 2000 songs, then play another playlist, that way i dont lose track of the song, and hence i dont need the shuffle, since i play all the songs anyways
@aidanpedersen
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
There should be a toggle, go ahead and play bbno$ 7 times in a row every day if it means I can actually hear the vast majority of my playlist afterwards
@CyPhaSaRin
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Foobar2000.
@zieghniyia9419
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
11:16 Don't scare me like that 😂😂
@DesusvsDiablo
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Great video! Incredibly funny, clever, and entertaining.
I'm sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but what is the name of that circular sound machine?! I know I'm really out of touch, but that seemed to me like alien technology transported from the future and just casually being waved around.
@Sugoi_Boy
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
1
@McGrackles
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
BRO! I NOTICED THIS BACK IN 2012 AND EVERYONE THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY
@maurakunz924
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
Thanks you for being genuinely funny. I really needed to know that this is what Miranda cosgrove looks like now.
@besterspieler2285
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
They now added a selection of two shuffle modes.
Funnily enough they state in their blog post about the feature, that shuffle has been truly random so far
@ummmmmmmmm-r6e
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
"there is a 100% chance im getting heads every day of the week, from your mom"
@sillygolf14
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
1
@djijspeakerguy4628
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
I just noticed while listening to Spotify: they have two shuffle modes on Premium now! Standard shuffle is said to play songs randomly, giving every track an equal chance, but since it doesn’t remember what it just played, you can get repeats. (For example I’ve heard a song followed by a cover version,
live version, re-recording, or even just a different remaster, of the exact same song more than once.)
The new mode, called “Fewer repeats” knows what song just played, and will choose its sequence based on what they call a “freshness score” which they say will help the user rediscover lesser played tracks. I hope they’re not lying about this, but still sucks that it’s only an option for premium users.
@sneakypippimilaratagorda6965
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
i dont really have this 15 songs repeated in 10 minutes issue, i have a worst one, i start to listen to my 7000 song playlist and the algoshitm takes in one random point and starts again the same randomized suffle for some reason
@fedoramaster6035
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
5:31 lowkey valid asf tjo. That shit fire.
@jaywoolv3r
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
1
@iLikedashade
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
YouTube’s shuffle is even worse
@182aydin
February 11, 2026 at 7:57 am
!!!! I've probably found the solution to your problem. Instead of checking your liked songs, the real place to look is "liked albums." Spotify is more likely to play songs from liked albums. If you clear the "liked albums" section, you can be sure you'll have a more random playlist. !!!
Comments are closed.