diff --git a/internal/db/dbq/discover.sql.go b/internal/db/dbq/discover.sql.go
index 3b9ad897..f4f8266a 100644
--- a/internal/db/dbq/discover.sql.go
+++ b/internal/db/dbq/discover.sql.go
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ import (
 )
 
 const listCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscover = `-- name: ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscover :many
-SELECT DISTINCT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
+SELECT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
   FROM general_likes gl
   JOIN tracks t ON t.id = gl.track_id
  WHERE gl.user_id != $1
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ SELECT DISTINCT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
        SELECT 1 FROM lidarr_quarantine q
         WHERE q.user_id = $1 AND q.track_id = t.id
    )
+ GROUP BY t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
  ORDER BY md5(t.id::text || $2::text)
  LIMIT 60
 `
@@ -50,6 +51,11 @@ type ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscoverRow struct {
 // rows (the caller's slot redistribution rolls the deficit into the
 // other two buckets).
 // $1 = user_id, $2 = date string for md5 ordering.
+//
+// GROUP BY (not SELECT DISTINCT) so the md5 ORDER BY expression need
+// not appear in the select list — Postgres rejects DISTINCT + ORDER BY
+// by-expression at plan time (SQLSTATE 42P10), which previously caused
+// the entire Discover build to fail silently.
 func (q *Queries) ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscover(ctx context.Context, arg ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscoverParams) ([]ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscoverRow, error) {
 	rows, err := q.db.Query(ctx, listCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscover, arg.UserID, arg.Column2)
 	if err != nil {
diff --git a/internal/db/queries/discover.sql b/internal/db/queries/discover.sql
index 8d13392f..3f3762d4 100644
--- a/internal/db/queries/discover.sql
+++ b/internal/db/queries/discover.sql
@@ -52,7 +52,12 @@ SELECT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
 -- rows (the caller's slot redistribution rolls the deficit into the
 -- other two buckets).
 -- $1 = user_id, $2 = date string for md5 ordering.
-SELECT DISTINCT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
+--
+-- GROUP BY (not SELECT DISTINCT) so the md5 ORDER BY expression need
+-- not appear in the select list — Postgres rejects DISTINCT + ORDER BY
+-- by-expression at plan time (SQLSTATE 42P10), which previously caused
+-- the entire Discover build to fail silently.
+SELECT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
   FROM general_likes gl
   JOIN tracks t ON t.id = gl.track_id
  WHERE gl.user_id != $1
@@ -70,6 +75,7 @@ SELECT DISTINCT t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
        SELECT 1 FROM lidarr_quarantine q
         WHERE q.user_id = $1 AND q.track_id = t.id
    )
+ GROUP BY t.id, t.album_id, t.artist_id
  ORDER BY md5(t.id::text || $2::text)
  LIMIT 60;
 
diff --git a/internal/playlists/discover.go b/internal/playlists/discover.go
index ec97ce04..f86be276 100644
--- a/internal/playlists/discover.go
+++ b/internal/playlists/discover.go
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ package playlists
 
 import (
 	"context"
-	"fmt"
+	"log/slog"
 
 	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgtype"
 
@@ -34,24 +34,34 @@ type discoverTrack struct {
 // Returns up to discoverTotalSlots track IDs in the order they should
 // appear in the playlist (round-robin interleaved across buckets).
 // Empty slice when the library has no eligible tracks at all.
-func buildDiscoverCandidates(ctx context.Context, q *dbq.Queries, userID pgtype.UUID, dateStr string) ([]rankedCandidate, error) {
+//
+// Individual bucket query failures are logged and treated as empty —
+// the redistribution algorithm rolls the deficit into the surviving
+// buckets so one broken bucket can't silently kill the whole playlist.
+func buildDiscoverCandidates(ctx context.Context, q *dbq.Queries, logger *slog.Logger, userID pgtype.UUID, dateStr string) ([]rankedCandidate, error) {
 	dormantRows, err := q.ListDormantArtistTracksForDiscover(ctx, dbq.ListDormantArtistTracksForDiscoverParams{
 		UserID: userID, Column2: dateStr,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("dormant bucket: %w", err)
+		logger.Warn("discover: dormant bucket failed; continuing with empty pool",
+			"user_id", uuidStringPL(userID), "err", err)
+		dormantRows = nil
 	}
 	crossUserRows, err := q.ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscover(ctx, dbq.ListCrossUserLikedTracksForDiscoverParams{
 		UserID: userID, Column2: dateStr,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("cross-user bucket: %w", err)
+		logger.Warn("discover: cross-user bucket failed; continuing with empty pool",
+			"user_id", uuidStringPL(userID), "err", err)
+		crossUserRows = nil
 	}
 	randomRows, err := q.ListRandomUnheardTracksForDiscover(ctx, dbq.ListRandomUnheardTracksForDiscoverParams{
 		UserID: userID, Column2: dateStr,
 	})
 	if err != nil {
-		return nil, fmt.Errorf("random bucket: %w", err)
+		logger.Warn("discover: random bucket failed; continuing with empty pool",
+			"user_id", uuidStringPL(userID), "err", err)
+		randomRows = nil
 	}
 
 	// Adapt sqlc-generated rows into the internal struct, then apply
diff --git a/internal/playlists/system.go b/internal/playlists/system.go
index 4d76fd73..e0a5b474 100644
--- a/internal/playlists/system.go
+++ b/internal/playlists/system.go
@@ -294,7 +294,10 @@ func BuildSystemPlaylists(ctx context.Context, pool *pgxpool.Pool, logger *slog.
 	}
 
 	// 4. Discover: surface unheard tracks, biased toward dormant artists.
-	discoverTracks, derr := buildDiscoverCandidates(ctx, q, userID, dateStr)
+	// Individual bucket failures are logged inside buildDiscoverCandidates
+	// and redistribute as deficit; the function only returns an error for
+	// unrecoverable conditions, so a remaining derr here is genuine.
+	discoverTracks, derr := buildDiscoverCandidates(ctx, q, logger, userID, dateStr)
 	if derr != nil {
 		logger.Warn("system playlist: discover candidates load failed; skipping",
 			"user_id", uuidStringPL(userID), "err", derr)