It has been a long time since many of us stumbled out of a crowded bar fresh off another exciting happy hour of fun! While these uproarious times of discounted adult beverages and finger food have their place in the “Happy Hour Hall of Fame” — sometimes you are looking for a social activity with fewer loud noises and a generally chiller atmosphere.
One of the most effective ways to introduce a chill happy hour is to start things off with a playlist of engaging yet laid-back music to set the stage for some talk, relaxation, and good vibes. While you may not have a Spotify playlist dedicated to this chill-type of social hour, there are a lot of curated playlists available to you that will more than do a good job.
Utilizing the power of Youtube, where these playlists can be accessed for free, you can get your chill sesh started without a lot of guesswork or staying on the aux cord during the event frantically adding more and more songs to your in-app queue.
To get you started on your journey to chill music nirvana, we’ve compiled our favorite chill happy hour playlists of 2021.
This list will continue to grow as we find more perfect options, so do not be afraid to use “Command + D” to bookmark this list as we update this post with more and more content this year.
1) Justice Der – Covers [Full Album]
This playlist comprised of cover songs from guitarist Justice Der who blends sultry guitar rifts with some serious guitar work. His skill with the axe comes through immediately and you will be even more excited when you see the kinds of covers this man can do.
From hip hop to R&B to beach rock, this guy will transform some of your favorite songs into the kind of chilled out tunes you love to put on and vibe to.
Run Time: 2:59:59
Start Playing Here: Justice Der – Covers [Full Album]
2) Best Of FKJ 1 Hour | Chill Mix
This French multi-instrumentalist makes music a little differently than others. Though these skills come across very quickly in this hour long mix of some of French Kiwi Juice’s best bops.
From the first track (“Moments” to the love-song quality of “Vibin’ Out with ((( 0 )))” you will become a fan in no time. FKJ is a mastermind of music and he is at the top of his craft in this wonderful playlist of originals.
Run Time: 1:13:39
Start Playing Here: Best Of FKJ 1 Hour | Chill Mix
3) Winter Calm | A Sunday Chill Mix ♫
The playlist gurus over at Majestic Casual know their stuff. They keep on delivering quality remixes, edits, and covers of well-known and undiscovered music.
It should be no surprise that one of their curated playlists hit this post as the Winter Calm gives you a look at the wonders of the cold season with songs that transport you to a chilled out Sunday in some warm clothes with a book or a nice cocktail in the living room.
Run Time: 1:00:04
Start Playing Here: Winter Calm | A Sunday Chill Mix ♫
4) Feelin’ good – [upbeat chillhop mix]
While heavier on the hip hop than other options in this list, you will start grooving in no time while listening to this chillhop mix. The first seconds of this hour and change long playlist starts with the nicest guitar that will get probably get you hooked by the thirty second mark.
The sultry piano from Brock Berrigan and the Twin Peaks-inspired “Damn Fine Coffee” by Mtrbrd will help set the mood for your chilled out virtual happy hour with a couple friends.
Run Time: 1:05:06
Start Playing Here: Feelin’ good – [upbeat chillhop mix]
Pro – Tip: If you are planning a virtual happy hour sometime soon, you may find our recent posts helpful:
5) Ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇｓ
You don’t get to over eleven million views on Youtube by doing something wrong. This chiller list of toned down electronic might have you thinking back to days working through homework or studying in the library. Sometime your happy hour doesn’t have to be cranked up to ten and you can just enjoy some nice music in the background.
This playlist should help with that. The looped videos from some of our favorite childhood cartoons also perfects sets the mood and you might catch some intriguing audio clips spliced in throughout.
Run Time: 34:22
Start Playing Here: Ｆｅｅｌｉｎｇｓ
6) Shiloh Dynasty [1 Hour Mix]
While a playlist sometimes features a variety of artists, it could be the right move to dive head first into a chill playlist from one artist and just embrace their sound. The mysterious Soundcloud artist, Shiloh Dynasty, cultivated a strong following of listeners who love her heart-breaking songs.
While the artist maintains 1.2 million followers on Instagram with an account that hasn’t posted since 2016, many die-hards love to pop on a cut of her best songs [like this one] to cruise through an afternoon with Shiloh.
Run Time: 1:01:31
Start Playing Here: Shiloh Dynasty [1 Hour Mix]
7) Saib’s Basement Grooves | A Lofi Hip Hop Mix ♫
Many of us look back on those laid back days chilling in the basement getting up to who-knows-what trying to have some fun with our best friend. Take your happy hour back to a simpler time with the instrumental genius of Saib’s Basement Grooves.
The music’s video utilizes a static image that is then animated with little animations by Mason London that will have your guests getting lost in the little beautiful intricacies. We urge you to try to find them all and check out the loading bar on the computer that travels across in real time during the playlist. Besides the video, the tunes courtesy of are an excellent lo-fi solution to your afternoon.
Run Time: 20:00
Start Playing Here: Saib’s Basement Grooves | A Lofi Hip Hop Mix ♫
8) ⭐R&B Mix
Groovy music is the kind of music we like to promote over here. There are a ton of exciting R&B tracks in this happy hour playlist that can offer something for any of your guests. You’ll find yourself trying your best to sing along to “Weekend” from PERC%NT even if you do not speak Korean, and will most likely get mesmerized by the sultry power of crooner José James in “To Be With You.” We hope you enjoy this R&B playlist as much as we did.
Run Time: 1:13:09
Start Playing Here: ⭐R&B Mix
Did we miss any chill playlists that you would like to see on this list?
We know this is not exhaustive, but hopefully it will get you started the next time you want to invite over some chiller whales and vibe out during the best hour of the day.
We think it’s probably time to get back to the feature presentation, so that’s all for now.