I spent New Year’s Eve at a darling cottage with a bunch of friends in Asheville, North Carolina. The week between Christmas and the start of 2016 was a big one for me. While the girls explored, hiked, shopped and ate their way around the city, I sat at a table in the dining room to knock out a massive to-do list.

As I sat drinking my morning Dr Pepper, I noticed a piece of furniture in the corner of the room. It was a bureau with a ton of tiny drawers. I immediately deemed it an apothecary table because nine times out of ten, my mind will always find some way to make a Friends reference.

There were 20 drawers and inside were CDs from every genre. I wept. As a collector of music and connoisseur of playlists, the mix tape genius inside of me lept for joy. Unfortunately, I quickly realized the cottage owners and I have the exact same taste in music. I already owned the majority of the songs in their collection. Clearly I need an intervention. Both for the amount of music I have in my collection and my blatant disregard of borrowing complete strangers’ music.

But there was this hidden gem:

The Best of Collin Raye
I love this guy. And it’s hard for me to believe that I didn’t have any of his greatest hits in my arsenal of beloved country music. May I suggest:

• On the Verge
• Love, Me
• Little Rock
• I Think About You
• My Kind of Girl
• In This Life

“Make It Rain” by Ed Sheeran
This is from a Sons of Anarchy soundtrack. I heard this on a movie trailer and immediately purchased it the next day. If you don’t know this already, Ed Sheeran can SING!

“Like I’m Going To Lose You” by Meghan Trainor (featuring John Legend)
Every time I hear this girl on the radio I think, “I like her voice.” John Legend adds something to this piece. If this makes sense, he calms her vocals down and gives her a more mature sound. It’s heaven.

“Every Giant Will Fall” by Rend Collective
Trust me and listen to the ukulele version.

Tennessee Whiskey by Chris Stapleton
I need you to watch Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake perform on the CMAs. I was completely blown away and have no doubt that JT will probably debut a country album soon.

My favorite part of this entire set is watching not only Justin and Chris get a kick out of each other, but all the country artists in the audience watch in awe as well. After this incredible performance, Chris joined Justin singing his song “Drink You Away” from his 20/20 album, which was on the second CD of a double set. I only purchased the original, so I had no idea this song even existed. I’m happy to share the wealth. Knowledge is power.

“Hello” by Adele
Because, duh.

I’d love to hear your current favorites. As you can tell, my list is a tad dated. It’s probably because I only listen to Christmas music from Thanksgiving to January 1. No telling what I missed! What are the kids listening to nowadays? Is Taylor Swift still a big deal?