This thread is bringing up all sorts of stuff I hadn't thought of In years. Like mixtapes/CDs. I miss those. I think there's a big difference between texting or DMing a friend to check out such and band or song and having them curate a bunch of songs they think you'd appreciate in one neat package.
Reading that someone here liked Hothouse Flowers this morning got me thinking of my favorite song of theirs, "Thing of Beauty", which has a gospel feel to it. And then out of nowhere tonight my brain sends up a song I hadn't listened to in like 25 years. It was on a CD mixed by an old friend of mine who had moved from CT to VA and he gave it to me on a visit in the early 90s. It had a bunch of post-punk, alternative, and new romantic stuff on it, and then one song that was an outlier. And that outlier was the one I kept hitting repeat on on the drive home. It was the only song of his in my music collection. I was surprised my friend liked it enough to put it on the CD, and even more surprised after seeing the artist's name on the label that I fell in love with it.
It's weird and fascinating the associations one's brain makes.