“Good Days” by SZA

When I think of my favorite female artists, SZA pops into my mind almost instantly. “Good Days” is a great song to listen to in almost any situation. Whether I’m driving with the windows down or just doing my homework with AirPods in, I will never skip this song when it comes on. I discovered it in 2020, it has never lost its spot as one of my favorite songs because it has such a relaxing rhythm. I absolutely love the lyrics and meaning behind it. The idea of “good days” coming no matter what struggles you may be going through really resonates with me. Always looking for positivity and being present in every moment is something that I have recently been trying to live by, so I’ve been appreciating this song a little extra lately.

“Someone Like You” by Adele

This is another one of those songs that I will never be able to skip. Adele has been one of my favorite artists since I was little and listening to her songs with my mom and aunt. You wouldn’t think a first grader would resonate so deeply with a song about a heartbroken woman, but for some reason, I memorized all the words to “Someone Like You” and it quickly became one of my favorites. When I listen to this song now and mindlessly sing along, I always think of the amount of time I spent as a kid playing the music video on repeat trying to learn all the lyrics.

“All Too Well” by Taylor Swift

Even though we are getting closer to summer, I wanted to feature this song because it really got me through this past fall season. I don’t think a day went by between October and December that I didn’t listen to this song at least once, whether it was on my car ride to school or as I was doing my night routine before bed. I know people have mixed opinions on Taylor Swift, and I wouldn’t necessarily consider myself a superfan, but this song is so genuinely full of emotion that I found myself doing a deep dive on Google into song analyses for it because her lyrics really resonated with me the first time I listened to it. When I found out that she wrote a ten-minute song over a three-month-long relationship, I appreciated it that much more. This song also reminds me of my best friend Maddy because we both LOVE the part where she sings “and how it glistened as it fellllll,” and we’d text each other that line almost every time we listened to it in the height of our fixation on this song, so I love it a little more because of her.

“National Anthem” by Lana Del Rey

Would this really be a list of great female artists if Lana Del Rey wasn’t on it? I wish I could claim to be an OG Lana superfan since she was “underground,” but I’m not ashamed to admit that I discovered her on TikTok in seventh grade. While it was hard to pick one song to highlight from her unreal discography, I chose “National Anthem”. My other best friend Zoe put me onto it last fourth of July, and it’s such a great summer song for when you’re hanging out with friends in the warm weather.

“No Caller ID” by Megan Moroney

This is another song that I relate to my best friend, Maddy. I was honestly stumped on what the final song should be for this list and texted her for help, and she suggested Megan Moroney. I don’t really listen to country music much on my own, but I literally love when other people play it because it makes me appreciate living in the South. However, Maddy’s sheer excitement about “No Caller ID” made me curious enough to listen to the song with her when it dropped at midnight a couple months ago. I absolutely love it. It’s such a beautiful song with a beautiful message, especially as the lyrics shift to reflect Moroney gaining her power back. I definitely recommend giving this song a listen, even if you don’t normally listen to country music, purely because of how sweet and simple the message is.