7 Albums for The Girl Who’s Lost Herself

Do you ever feel like a Lost Girl? Like you’re one of Peter Pan’s lost ones and maybe he’ll show up and whisk you away so you don’t have to figure out who you’re supposed to be just yet. But then it hits you that getting to Neverland is harder in your 20s. It’s a little harder to grasp, and there’s a part of you that wonders if maybe you’ve lost it for good.

I’m here to tell you that I’ve felt that way too. A lot. Like one day I just woke up and now I’m not in college anymore and I’m supposed to find a full-time job and I don’t even want to get out of bed and it feels like maybe things are getting bad again.

Maybe you feel lost right now, too. This could be the season where God wants to let you wander a bit because He knows that there’s something greater on the other side of the desert.

So, I wanted to put together a little collection of albums for you to take with you on your journey. Because wandering is tiresome and overwhelming and it’s hard to keep walking when you don’t really know where you’re going just yet.

These albums are not listed in any particular order, and maybe not all of them will resonate with you right now. And that’s okay. But, if you feel like one is calling to you a little louder than the others, maybe give it a listen. I’ve found that music is one of the biggest ways that I feel a little bit less alone when I’m struggling. It makes me feel seen, and it makes me feel known in a way that other entertainment mediums can’t.

I hope this reaches the right girl. I hope it reaches you and that you leave here feeling a little better about your wandering. Because, as Tolkien reminds us, “Not all those who wander are lost.”

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The Secret of Us (Deluxe) by Gracie Abrams

You built this cage
Lost color in my face, you’re fair and I’m insane
Hallucination, shame, guilt, pain, more pain
– I Told You Things

I haven’t actually listened to this entire album. I meant to, but then I got busy and never went back to finish the album. Even so, I keep coming back to so many specific songs on this album. As I’m writing this post, I’ve had I Told You Things on repeat for nearly two days.

While I’ve been a fan of Gracie’s for a while, this album feels different. It’s still just as raw and vulnerable as I’ve come to expect from her, but it has a more . . . mature feel to it. She’s singing about the grief of broken relationships and admitting that sometimes you’re the one who messed up and how sometimes we’re afraid to trust because we’ve been burned so many times before and the uncertainty of letting yourself fall because it’s never worked before so why should we hope that it’ll be different this time?

This album isn’t necessarily the most feel-good album, but it’s an important one because there’s an undenial authenticity embedded in every beat and every lyric. It’s truly a testament to being lonely and confused and every other emotion we feel in our 20s.

My Favorite Songs: Risk; I Love You, I’m Sorry; Us; Let It Happen; Close To You; That’s So True; and I Told You Things.

Explicit Songs: I Love You, I’m Sorry; Us; Let It Happen; Tough Love; Cool; That’s So True; and I Love You, I’m Sorry – Live from Vevo.

Me Again by Sasha Alex Sloan

I can’t wait to wanna be in love
I don’t even wanna see my friends
I can’t wait to feel like me again
– Me Again

I’m sure none of you are surprised to see this album on this list. I talk about this album a lot, but I’m learning to be okay with some of my content having repetitive elements. Because sometimes we need to hear something a few times before it resonates with us.

This album has been my constant companion since it came out last year. It’s the culmination of all those uncomfortable feelings of wandering when you’re a young adult experiencing the world. There’s love and heartbreak and grief and fear about the future and death that haunts us everywhere we look and relapses that send us spiraling and somehow, in the midst of it all, there is still light.

The opening song sets the tone for this album with it’s message of yearning for a future where our darkness isn’t holding us back from living the life we want. It’s resonated with me ever since the first time I heard it, and I hope that today it offers you some hope that the dawn is coming.

My Favorite Songs: Me Again, Kids, Oxygen Mask, Highlights, and Good Enough.

Explicit Songs: Don’t Laugh I’ll Cry.

Stick Season (Forever) by Noah Kahan

Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are
We ain’t angry at you, love
You’re the greatest thing we’ve lost
– You’re Gonna Go Far

Back in February, I had You’re Gonna Go Far on repeat for nearly three days straight. I’ve been in a transitional, “learn to dance in the hallway” season of my life lately, and this song has been such a comfort. If you’re anything like me, you need to hear that nobody’s mad at you and that you’re going to go far someday. Because self-doubt is strong and it’s hard to believe that there’s still a plan when you can’t even see the map.

That’s kind of what this whole album feels like—someone whispering that you’re not behind, you’re not too far gone, and you’re not beyond hope. It feels like a hug from the mountains and folk pop and the wind that makes your hair dance at night. It feels like the tiny flame that flickers in a lantern hanging in the darkness meant to guide weary travelers on their journey.

This whole album feels like Noah is singing to you, in whatever season you’re walking through, as someone who’s maybe made it out of the tunnel. His lyrics are hauntingly relatable, and it’s clear that we’re not as alone as we so often feel because this is our first life, too.

My Favorite Songs: Everywhere, Everything (with Gracie Abrams); Stawberry Wine; Growing Sideways; Halloween; Call Your Mom (with Lizzie McAlpine); and You’re Gonna Go Far.

Explicit Songs: Northern Attitude, She Calls Me Back, Growing Sideways, Dial Drunk, You’re Gonna Go Far, Drunk Dial (with Post Malone), She Calls Me Back (with Kacey Musgraves), Northern Attitude (with Hozier), Homesick (with Sam Fender), and You’re Gonna Go Far (with Brandi Carlile).

HEAL by The Rose

Everything seemed so possible then
Now I don’t even dream
Sick of feeling low again
– Childhood

Yes, this a kpop album. But, it’s perhaps the only kpop album I’ll listen to without skipping a single song. Because it takes you on this journey of self-healing and acceptance of where you are and what you cannot change. Because it reminds you that you can still grasp that wonder and whimsy of your childhood days. Because it feels like going back in time and giving your childhood self a big hug and telling her that she’s going to be okay someday.

A lot of the songs on this album are in English, but even the ones that are almost entirely in Korean still have such a powerful message. I highly recommend looking up the lyrics to the songs, but I’m also a firm believer that you don’t have to understand the language to find meaning.

The whole album lasts about half an hour, so it’s perfect for when you’re driving or just want to put on your headphones and disappear from the world for a little while.

My Favorite Songs: Definitely of Ugly Is, Childhood, See-Saw, and Time.

Explicit Songs: None.

Sad Girl by Sasha Alex Sloan

I just wanna feel normal for the night
I should go, it’s getting late
But I’ma keep on dancing ’til I feel okay
– Normal

I actually discovered this album when my dad and I were listening to her entire discography on the way to see her for the Me Again tour last year. It has some of my favorite songs by her, and I think this album tends to get lost in the cracks because it’s short and it’s not one of her most popular albums. A part of me wants to gatekeep it because it’s so me, but it fits too well with this list of albums to leave it off.

This is truly an album for the girls caught in the middle. For the ones who want to love again but can’t because they’re still reeling from The End. For the girls who run away when things get hard because that’s the only way they know how to stay safe. This is for the lost and scared girls who don’t know how to get better—they only know that they want to someday.

While a lot of albums can work on shuffle, this is one that I highly recommend listening to in order. It takes you on an emotional journey that doesn’t really leave you feeling like you’ve arrived, but rather like you’ve come from somewhere and now you’re here and maybe here isn’t as terrible as you thought.

My Favorite Songs: Normal, Fall, Ready Yet, and Runaway.

Explicit Songs: Fall, Ready Yet, and Runaway.

Bathing Beach by Novo Amor

Torn down, full of aching
Somehow our youth would take the blame
Worn out, the way we let it stay
– Carry You

I can’t remember how I found Novo Amor, but his music has always been so calming to me. This is a really short album (only four songs), but it holds so much emotion.

His songs are some of my favorites not because of the lyrics or the melodies (which are stunning), but simply because of how atmospheric they are. He creates an auditory experience with his music that never ceases to leave me feeling transported. Sometimes I feel like I’m standing on a dock looking out at the vast ocean, and other times it’s like I’m sitting in a tree in the forest without a care in the world.

If you’ve never listened to Novo Amor before, this is a great album to dip into. It captures what makes his music so . . . him, and I think it’ll make you feel like you can take a deep breath for the first time in a long time.

My Favorite Songs: Carry You and Anchor.

Explicit Songs: None.

The Abysmal EP by Hannah Bahng

Lights shining outside
No one to confide
With all of my real human fears
– Tonight’s the Night I Die to a Frank Ocean Song

I found Hannah Bahng’s album late at night when I couldn’t sleep. I put it on, and, somewhere between the first and last song, I fell asleep. Her vocals provide a soothing and calming experience for those of us who are tired of wandering and striving and still not arriving anywhere.

There’s also something so incredibly immersive about Hannah’s music. Some of her songs are stripped back and simple, but all of them have this intensely atmospheric quality that makes me block out the rest of the world and slip away for a few minutes.

Beyond simply the musical experience, Hannah’s lyrics are also deeply vulnerable. She sings about lost love, the thought spirals that keep us paralyzed and unmoving, how it’s hard to face our darkest fears sometimes, and the darkness that threatens to keep us trapped. And there’s something profoundly comforting about hearing another young adult admit that we’re all just doing our best. That maybe none of us really have it all figured out and how maybe that’s okay.

My Favorite Songs: Pomegranate, Abysmal, and Tonight’s the Night I Die to a Frank Ocean Song.

Explicit Songs: O’Leander and Abysmal.

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Want more song recommendations? Check out my posts for the girls who can’t wait to feel like themselves again and the girls with anxious hearts.

Let’s Talk!

What are your go-to albums for when you feel lost? Which songs have you had on repeat lately? I’ve been listening to a mix of Gracie Abrams, Natalie Jane, and some new Christian songs (like Jordans by Blessing Offer). Drop your song recommendations and let’s talk all things music in the comments down below!