Mitski is known for her songs, which capture a person’s inner struggles in a unique way. Some of her songs hit you with a sense of intimacy, while others make you feel emotions deeply.
For an artist such as Mitski, there is no “right” way to start, only different ways to begin an 8-album journey. Regardless, we are here to guide you so you may start with all the knowledge you need.
The Usual Chronological Way
If you want to get familiar with Mitski as she has evolved since 2012, you can start with Lush. It has nine songs, starting with Liquid Smooth, which is also one of her most popular hits.
The chronological order allows you to witness Mitski’s growth as an artist and understand the turns in her life.
Each of her album compliments the last, with the most recent Nothing’s About to Happen to Me being a “melting pot of all Mitski’s past work,” in the words of Phrasemaker’s Celine Grant.
Start the Journey as a Cowboy
Be the Cowboy has some of her most recognizable songs, a few of which you have probably already heard, even if you aren’t familiar with Mitski.
This album also sounds more pop-ish, and if you are into that, you will also love Lauren Hall. Be the Cowboy has quite a few fan-favourite songs, with the most popular ones being Washing Machine Heart, Me and My Husband, and Nobody.
The Most Mitski Albums
If your interest leans more toward rock, then Puberty 2 and Bury Me At Makeout Creek would be the best starting points. The latter is also something many fans consider the “most Mitski album”.
This is where many listeners started their journey. These are also very popular, with notable songs including First Love/Late Spring, Francis Forever, and I Bet on Losing Dogs.
Get Hooked With Just a Song
Not an album person? Well, lucky for you, there are some songs that also stand out as a good start. The obvious one would be My Love Mine All Mine, which has almost 1.9 billion streams on Spotify and was also Mitski’s first song to hit the Billboard Hot 100.
Class of 2013 and Strawberry Blond are some of her less mainstream hits, which many people prefer. Aside from that, any of the other popular songs we mentioned earlier would be just fine.
At the time of writing, she has almost 23 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and that’s right on the cusp of a new album release. You can also check out our ranking of the 10 best Mitski songs if you are interested.
Fun Fact: Mitski wrote Bag of Bones when she was 17-18 years old, and it’s a song about hollow relationships. Still, it’s not the first song she ever wrote. That would be something she wrote in elementary school, and has kept between herself and her child self.