I make mix cds for myself almost monthly. Mostly they're a way to hear all the new music I'm getting and not deeply symbolic (though sometimes a little symbolic). Here's the one I made last month (copied and pasted from my blog):

Tennis-Marathon
A Classic Education-Gone to Sea (Keith, the first passenger in my new car, said "this reminds me of music I listened to in the 80s")
Lia Ices-Grown Unknown
The Salteens-If love is gone where do we go from here
Magic Kids-Phone
Rabbit-Magic (this and the one above . . . those two albums are sooooo my jam right now)
Yo la Tengo- season of the shark (this song is like 8 years old but i love it so)
The Clientele-as the world rises and falls
Lissie-In Sleep
Like Bells--sea salt
Ferraby Lionheart-Drag me 'round
Blonde Redhead--here sometimes
Metric-Black Sheep (from the AMAZING Scott Pilgrim soundtrack)
Gayngs-Faded High
Four Tet-angel echoes
Clean Equations-a little more 14 on 26
A Sunny Day in Glasgow- drink drank drunk
Quinn Marston-can you see me hear me now
Lights On-Red Lights Flashing

Oh yeah, I've always made mixes for myself - now I make playlists, but yeah.

What would be on mine right now? Er, I dunno. Sleep mainly.

I do actually have a playlist of "our songs." Some are those that my partner put on the many mixes he gave me in the beginning of our relationship; others are ones that make me think of him; a few came from shows we've been to. It's not really inclusive, though.

Smoking Popes: I Know You Love Me
Tom Petty: Yer So Bad (we heard Haley Bonar do it live)
Jonathan Rchman: My Baby Love Love Loves Me
Billy Bragg: Brickbat
Alison Krauss: Baby, Now That I Found You
Dixie Chicks: Cowboy Take Me Away
The Weepies: Somebody Loved
Sound of Music soundtrack: Something Good
The Feelies: Let's Go
The Killers: Mr. Brightside (we spent one Christmas night waiting for some friends in a terrible bar and I think they played this song eight times)
The Pogues: If I Should Fall From Grace With God
Ethel Merman: I Get A Kick Out Of You (from the Disco Album!!!)
Afghan Whigs: Somethin' Hot
Sound of Music soundtrack (don't judge me!): Processional and Maria
Tenacious D: Fuck Her Gently
Buffalo Tom: Heaven (live acoustic)
Reigning Sound: I Don't Care

I think there are a couple others on my other computer, including Yo La Tengo: The Whole of the Law

Nice call on the Jawbox there, Eideteker. Loved that band.

I'm in one of those awful moods today where nothing really sounds good, but I settled on Low's The Great Destroyer and Boards of Canada's Music Has the Right to Children for my terribly grudging trip to the gym.

I've been sleeping to an ambient mix of Stuart Dempster, Ingram Marshall, John Cage, Stars of the Lid, John Adams, and Chihei Hatakeyama.

(Also, the new season of my blog ShortWaveMusic is about to begin, so I've been jamming out to this year's recordings from Africa and the Middle East in the car.)

From a mixtape-of-sorts currently under development...

Faust - It's a Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl
John Bonham - Fool in the Rain
Boredoms - 'Heart'
Nisennenmondai - Ikkkyokume
Deerhoof - Siriustar
International Harvester - Sommarlåten
Johan Johansson - Melodia (i)
Soulsavers - Can't Catch the Train
Husker Du - Back From Somewhere
JSBX - Greyhound

It's my thread, I can add to it, right?

Alternate ending: Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend

Shakira - Lo Hecho Está Hecho
Rihanna - Rude Boy
Black Eyed Peas (Sergio Mendes) - Mas Que Nada
Manu Chao - La Primavera/Me Gustas Tu
Sloan - Coax Me
Heart - Straight On
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - The Waiting
Barenaked Ladies - Life, In A Nutshell
Feist - Mushaboom
Ani DiFranco - I'm No Heroine
Foo Fighters - The Pretender
Tool - 4°

Thanks so much for all the links!

I have some fixation to listening to albums in full (I feel bad when the play counter on albums shows I haven't gotten to the end of the album for a few listens), so I listen to things in chunks.

With that, my recent playlist of albums:

Former Ghosts - "Fleurs" (moody neo-goth, sample track/video)
Bonobo - "Animal Magic" (downtempo/jazzy sampled sounds, first track, the rest are also on YouTube)
Dntel - life is full of possibilities (ambient to frantic electronic music with fantastic guest vocals, sample video/track)
Tigrics - "Compact Disco" (cheeky samples and IDM stuff, sample track)
Lemon Jelly - '64-'95 (CD or DVD with a music video per song) (sample video/track)
Dorsetshire - Das Letzte Gefecht (sample track)

Story time: I finally have a copy of Dorsetshire's album of synthy, moody music after hearing this very song circa 1994, the year the album came out. I downloaded an MP3 from a random website after searching for "industrial MP3s" or something. I've had the whispered vocals in my head for over a decade, and had a heck of a time finding any copies of this. And today I find the song is on YouTube.

I am so out of touch. I haven't heard of any of the artists/groups in leesh's list, only one of misteraitch's list and not one of filthy light thief's list. I know all except one of flex's list and three of eideteker's list.

I am so old.

I would only consider 2 (maybe 3) of my list to be something more broadly known. Looking at the above lists again, they're a mix of things, but lots in their own scenes / circles of music followers and fans. It's not being old, it's having sedentary ears. I'm not sure my wife would know the names of the music I listen to, and she's often in hearing range of what I play. Different tastes and all that.

tl;dr: don't sweat it, there's always something you've never heard of, no matter your age.

I'm not sure if the implication is that I'm old and out of touch ;) (I'm pretty sure I'm not old, at least) but I fully admit that what I listen to is more mainstream than most MeFi people's music talk. Whatever. This was a good exercise; I used my mix to motivate me on my run tonight. I usually run in silence but it was a fun change of pace (and I think I ran a little faster with a soundtrack).

Yeah, I'm not actually young or hip--I did college radio for years and make a real effort to keep up with new music.

Y'all got it - I don't make the effort unless it's something that's all over the place like Lady Gaga.

And yeah, that was just a side-ways comment about being old. I'm 43 and don't think I'm old.

For my situation now, without even opening my library, here's what comes to mind:
Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
Eddie From Ohio - Stupid American
Pulp - Common People ("...everybody hates a tourist...")
Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie