Sort your Spotify Liked Songs by release year
Keep the tracks you liked from one year, a range of years or everything released since a date, in a Spotify playlist that keeps itself up to date.
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Playlistation sorts your Spotify Liked Songs by when the music came out. One year, a stretch of years, everything released since a date, or a rolling window of the last 30 days: you set the period once, and it fills a real Spotify playlist and keeps it accurate as you like and unlike tracks. The Release date filter does all of it, on every plan.
The periods you can ask for
The filter has two modes. Quick pick is a list:
| Preset | What it keeps |
|---|---|
| In the last 30 days | Releases from the past month, counted back from each update |
| In the last 90 days | Releases from the past three months |
| This year | Everything released since 1 January, and it keeps collecting |
| Last year | The whole of the previous calendar year, now fixed |
| A decade | The 40s through the 2020s, as ten-year ranges |
Custom range is where a specific year lives. It offers three cards, each with a calendar going back to 1900: Before one date, After one date, or Between two. Both bounds are included, so "between 1 Jan 1987 and 31 Dec 1987" is exactly 1987.
A playlist for one year
- Create a playlist and name it after the year.
- Add the Release date filter and switch it to Custom range.
- Pick Between, then 1 January and 31 December of that year in the two calendars.
- Create the playlist. It gathers every liked track released in that year, and any you like later.
The saved filter reads Release date: between 1 Jan 1987 and 31 Dec 1987. For ten years at once the presets are quicker: see playlists by decade.
A release radar of your own
"In the last 30 days" is the useful one to know about. It is a rolling window, not a snapshot: a track joins the playlist the day you like it, if the album is recent, and drops out once the release is more than 30 days old. Nothing empties it by hand.
That gives you a personal new-releases playlist made only of music you actually liked. Pair it with an artist or genre filter and it becomes a new-releases radar for one scene.
Other things a year is good for
| Playlist | Filters |
|---|---|
| This century | Release date: after 1 Jan 2000 |
| Before I was listening | Release date: before 31 Dec 1969 |
| The 2010s, the hits only | Release date: between 1 Jan 2010 and 31 Dec 2019, and the track popularity is at least 70 |
| Recent jazz | Release date: after 1 Jan 2020, and the track artist is tagged with one of jazz |
Genre labels are covered on organizing Liked Songs by genre. If what you actually want is the year you liked something rather than the year it came out, that is a different filter: see organizing by date added.
Where the year comes from
Spotify's release date for the album the track belongs to. Three details decide what matches:
- Some releases carry only a year, or a year and a month. Playlistation treats those as the first day of that year or month, so an album dated "1975" counts as 1 January 1975.
- A track with no release date at all never matches, whatever period you set.
- The date is the one on the edition you liked. A remaster or a compilation carries its own date, so a 1970s recording liked from a 2015 reissue is a 2015 release as far as the filter is concerned.
The full reference is on the Release date filter page.
It stays right without being touched
The period is a stored rule, so the playlist follows your library. Like a 1987 record next month and it joins your 1987 playlist at the next update, about every six hours on the Free plan, every hour on Plus and every 30 minutes on Pro. A fixed year settles into a playlist that only ever grows; a rolling window keeps turning over on its own. See how syncing works.
Questions about sorting Spotify Liked Songs by year
Can I sort my Spotify Liked Songs by release year?
Yes. Add the Release date filter to a smart playlist, switch it to Custom range and set a Between from 1 January to 31 December of the year you want. Playlistation gathers every liked track released in that year into a real Spotify playlist and keeps adding to it as you like more music from that year.
How do I make a Spotify playlist of songs released in a specific year?
Create a playlist, add Release date, choose Custom range, then Between, and pick the two dates in the calendars. Both bounds are included, so 1 Jan 1987 to 31 Dec 1987 is the whole of 1987. The playlist is created on your Spotify account and filled from your Liked Songs straight away.
Can I keep a playlist of everything released after a date?
Yes. The Custom range mode has an After card, which keeps everything released from one date onwards, and a Before card for the opposite. "After 1 Jan 2020" keeps growing on its own as you like newer music.
Can I have a playlist of new releases I liked?
Use the "In the last 30 days" or "In the last 90 days" preset. It is a rolling window: a recent release joins the playlist when you like it and leaves it once the release is older than the window, so the playlist stays a picture of what is new without any maintenance.
Why is an old song in the wrong year?
Because the filter reads the album's release date, and you probably liked the track from a remaster, a reissue or a compilation, which carries the date of that edition. Liking the original release fixes it. A track whose album has no date at all never matches the filter.
Does sorting by year need a paid plan?
No. Release date works on every plan, including Free, which allows five playlists with three filters each over your 1,000 most recently liked tracks.