Spotify's Shuffle

I remember my first CD player having a shuffle feature. Being able to play the album in a random order was like some kind of sorcery. Since then, we've gone through the iTunes playlist years, and onto streaming, all with their own shuffle features. I'm here to tell you I don't think Spotify's shuffle is particularly good. One playlist I listen to most is my liked songs. Makes sense, I like them so I listen more often. But I do like the element of surprise so I always listen on shuffle. I have 1216 songs in this playlist, so why does it seem like I hear some songs more than others? Spotify realized their algorithm doesn't necessarily fit everyone. Shuffle has always been one of Spotify's most-used features, and also one of the most misunderstood. For years, listeners have debated whether Shuffle is "truly random," often noticing patterns or repeated tracks that didn't feel random enough. When we looked at listener feedback, one theme stood out: users wanted Shuffle to feel more varied…