We live in a time where third spaces are crucial, now more than ever. We are so connected and yet so disconnected. Anywhere outside of our homes and workplaces is something to hold onto. From book clubs, to scrapbooking events, to zinemaking collectives, to crocheting in the cinema, and run clubs, we have established spaces where we can gather and feel a sense of community.
Well, what about virtual spaces? We all know the power of social media. We also know the power of fandom. What about the power of an album listening club?
Loving. Uplifting.
Two words that best encapuslate its power, as described by Elias and Ashley, members of Unshuffled, a global album listening club.
Now let me rewind the CD. One day I was scrolling Twitter and I saw this tweet:
I liked and retweeted it with nothing else to it. A few days later, I came across a video by @caroljayyyy, proposing a 2000s/2010s pop album listening club. I was hooked and joined Discord, where pop bible Blackout by Britney Spears kicked it all off.
From album discussions, live listening parties, watching live performances, defending album presentation nights, and general discussion on the chats, there are plenty of ways to interact with no caveat involved. Oh, and there is of course the ability to suggest and vote on album of the month!
There even is a new reading club that has begun in anticipation for the new Hunger Games movie. A definite callback to the original tweet which motivated this all!
Meet the Mind Behind Unshuffled
I spoke to Carol, who started Unshuffled and is now celebrating six months since it first began. Here’s what she had to say about this whirlwind of a journey.
Q: Introduce yourself to our readers.
A: Hi, I’m Carol! I am a pop music and culture enthusiast based in Charlotte, North Carolina and the founder of Unshuffled, a global album club centered around listening to albums front to back and discussing it afterward. I’ve always been someone who connects deeply with music, pop culture, concerts, and all of the little details surrounding an album, so unshuffled became a way to turn that into a shared community experience. Outside of Unshuffled, I work in communications and also create concert and pop culture content for fun.
Q: What has your music journey been like growing up until now?
A: I am Dominican, so I grew up listening to a lot of merengue, bachata, salsa and reggaeton. I got my love for pop music from my mom who has always been a huge fan of Madonna and Michael Jackson. I always joke about how many Club Penguin music videos (CPMVs) I watched (and created) as a kid, but CPMVs actually introduced me to so many of my favorite artists: Lady Gaga, Kesha, the Pussycat Dolls, etc. I didn’t consume albums as much, I just listened to my favorite songs on repeat.
As I got older, I became more interested in full album eras: lyrics, visuals, production, performances, rollout, interviews, etc. Going to concerts also became a huge part of that, too. I didn’t go to many concerts growing up and now I go to a lot because there’s something about experiencing music in a room full of people who care about it just as much as you do. Pop will probably always be my favorite genre, but my taste has become more broad as I’ve gotten older. I’m much more curious about the history, influences and context around music rather than simply asking myself whether I like a song from the first listen.
Q: How did you come up with the idea of an album listening club and settle on the name Unshuffled? I know you posted a video proposing an album listening club similar to a book club, and want to know more about your thought process.
A: I actually saw a tweet that proposed a book club where you listen to albums instead and I loved the idea so much that I decided I wanted to start my own. Earlier this year I found myself revisiting a lot of early 2000s music and I thought it would be the perfect focus for an album club. Streaming has made it really easy to experience music in fragments. You hear whatever the algorithm feeds you. I wanted to create a way to bring people together to intentionally listen to albums front to back and then talk about the entire body of work together and that’s how I came up with the name “Unshuffled.” The point is to turn shuffle off because track order matters! Sometimes a song makes much more sense once you hear what comes before and after it.
Since the tweet I was inspired by had a LOT of traction, I knew there was a demand for this type of space, so I had most of the Unshuffled concept ready to go at the time of posting the video proposing the idea. The only detail I hadn’t ironed out was which platform the club should be hosted on because I needed to see how much demand there would be at first.
Q: How is the club run and moderated, especially as it is accessible globally and there are many timezones involved?
A: Each month I choose 4 albums from our master list of album suggestions and we vote on an album of the month, everyone listens on their own time, answers discussion questions on Discord throughout the month and then we meet for a live discussion. People have enjoyed this community so much that we also do things outside of the album discussions: trivia nights, watch parties, movie nights, listening parties, themed presentation nights, etc.
The global aspect has definitely been the coolest and most complicated parts of the community. We’ve had people join from all over the world, so there is no meeting time that will ever be perfect for everyone. I provide various day and time options for events that Unshufflers vote on, taking all time zones into consideration. We also keep a lot of the conversation asynchronous, so people can still participate even if they can’t attend the live discussion.
Moderation is really important because music opinions can get personal very quickly. We want people to discuss, disagree, campaign for albums and passionately defend their takes, but we also want everyone to keep things respectful. I think this is the piece that makes unshuffled stand out because a lot of fan spaces can be very toxic and that was a hard line I drew from the beginning.
Q: What other clubs are you part of, and how have they influenced the way Unshuffled was born?
A: I am part of a book club and online fan spaces, so Unshuffled feels like the marrying of these two worlds! Book clubs give people the permission to slow down with a piece of art and then come prepared to discuss it, whereas online fan spaces thrive on immediacy, excitement and jokes. With Unshuffled, Unshufflers get the best of both worlds.
Q: Has your music taste and knowledge broadened? Have you been given the space to share the knowledge and interests you already have?
A: 10000000000%. One of my favorite things about Unshuffled is spending real time with albums I either wouldn’t have chosen myself or had previously only known through the singles. I’ve also learned so much from Unshufflers because everyone brings different reference points to the discussion: production, chart history, samples, lore, etc. Unshuffled has also become a place to use all of the unnecessary pop culture information living in my brain. I love researching the album and artist before discussions and bringing in things like the making of the record, critical reception versus how it’s viewed now, visual analysis, cultural impact and questions that can push the conversation forward.
Q: Unshuffled has had Confessions on a Dancefloor by Madonna consistently being shortlisted for AOTM but always unsuccessful. Can you answer to that weird phenomenon gripping the Unshuffled nation?
A: Confessions on a Dancefloor is always nominated, competitive and surrounded by Unshufflers declaring “THIS is finally the month,” and somehow never makes it to the finish line. It’s especially funny because it feels like an album perfectly suited for Unshuffled: cohesive, conceptual, sequenced as a continuous experience and full of things to discuss. I think the longer it loses, the more dramatic its eventual victory is going to be!
Q: As a resident Ariana fan, what album you would convince listeners who aren’t as familiar with her discography to listen to first and why?
A: I would recommend Sweetener. This album gives you enough of the Ariana that people recognize—the vocals, harmonies and hooks—but also shows an experimental side of her. Pharrell’s production on this album is quite polarizing and gives the album a distinct personality. Thematically, this album was released at such an important time in Ariana’s life and career, filled with joy, anxiety, grief, love, and healing all existing at the same time. I believe listening to Sweetener front to back leaves listeners with a much fuller understanding of Ariana as an artist than they would from only listening to her most successful singles (pun intended).
Q: What friendships and camaraderies have grown since joining Unshuffled? Have you met up with Unshuffled members in real life or connected on other platforms? Have you shared this club with IRL friends? Have they joined as a result?
A: This has definitely been the most rewarding part. People initially join because they love music, but over time you start learning about each other far beyond what albums you like. Unshufflers follow each other on other platforms, talk outside of scheduled events, celebrate birthdays and music releases together and develop their own friendships. I met up with Amanda IRL and we have developed such a beautiful friendship that she joined me in seeing Ariana in Austin, Texas this summer. I’ve also been lucky enough to have support from my IRL friends since the beginning. All three of Unshuffled’s moderators are my IRLs! What I love most about this community is how many Unshufflers talk about Unshuffled with their IRLs. It has become a space they visit every day to talk about exciting things in music, but also what they have going on in their lives.
Q: What is your wish for the future of the club? Do you ever see a greater combination of in-person and online events? What is something you would like to see become a regular occurrence or feature of Unshuffled?
A: I want the online community to remain the heart of Unshuffled because accessibility is one of the things that makes it special, but I’d also love to continue building a stronger in-person side alongside it. Listening parties, release nights, silent discos, themed dance parties, record store collaborations and artist Q&As all feel like natural extensions of Unshuffled. I would LOVE to have artist involvement, whether it’s a live Q&A, a prerecorded message, a written response to Unshuffler questions or even having them join our discussions of their work. I think there’s something special about connecting the people making the music with a community that genuinely wants to engage with it as art.
Q: How important is it to have spaces where people with different perspectives can come together and connect over something as universal as music? And what would you say to anyone looking to join?
A: People need places where the point isn’t productivity, networking, dating, or buying something. Sometimes you just need somewhere to show up because you care about the same things as the people around you. As more IRL third spaces get eliminated, more people rely on online communities to fill that human engineered hole. Music is particularly good at creating that because it’s a universal language, you don’t have to have the same background, age, country, or life experience to connect through a song. These differences actually make the conversation better—an album can mean completely different things to people living on opposite sides of the world.
For anyone thinking about joining: we would LOVE to have you! Unshuffled is all about welcoming new people and meeting them where they are. You don’t have to be a music expert or attend every event for your perspective to be valuable. Listen to the album and show up in the way that makes the most sense for you!
Rapid Fire Questions
If you had to describe Unshuffled community in one word, what would it be:
Curious
Best Unshuffled event so far:
Defend an album in court presentation night
Best Unshuffled AOTM so far:
Blackout by Britney Spears
An album yet to achieve AOTM status that must at some point:
Confessions on a Dancefloor by Madonna PLEASE
What’s your favourite Slayyyter Top 3 pop album that has also been Unshuffled AOTM (Blackout, The Fame or B’day):
Blackout
Current favourite PETAL track:
“oh well”
Best Ariana song live:
“safety net”
Favourite album cover:
Renaissance by Beyonce
Favourite song this year:
“never get over me” by Ariana Grande
Favourite artist era:
eternal sunshine – Ariana Grande
Next most anticipated album of 2026:
Taylor Swift (20th Anniversary Edition)
Best 2000s album:
B’Day by Beyonce
Many members concur that their music taste has expanded and earlier music has been re-explored. This also goes for film, books, and fashion. Ashley, one of the moderators and Unshuffled members, says, “I love sharing things that interest me and being able to express my interests and hobbies with others and not feel judged or belittled for sharing my fangirl side with others.”
Unshuffled does exactly that and more. It understands that music is a universal language, and discussion about can be accessible across borders.