diff --git a/internal/recommendation/shuffle.go b/internal/recommendation/shuffle.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d81eedfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/recommendation/shuffle.go
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package recommendation
+
+import (
+	"sort"
+	"time"
+
+	"git.fabledsword.com/bvandeusen/minstrel/internal/db/dbq"
+)
+
+// Candidate pairs a track with the inputs needed to score it.
+type Candidate struct {
+	Track  dbq.Track
+	Inputs ScoringInputs
+}
+
+// Shuffle scores each candidate, sorts descending by score, and returns
+// the top `limit` candidates. limit <= 0 returns nil; nil input returns
+// nil. Pure — no IO, no global state beyond the rng callback.
+func Shuffle(
+	candidates []Candidate,
+	weights ScoringWeights,
+	now time.Time,
+	rng func() float64,
+	limit int,
+) []Candidate {
+	if len(candidates) == 0 || limit <= 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	scored := make([]struct {
+		c     Candidate
+		score float64
+	}, len(candidates))
+	for i, c := range candidates {
+		scored[i].c = c
+		scored[i].score = Score(c.Inputs, weights, now, rng)
+	}
+	sort.Slice(scored, func(i, j int) bool {
+		return scored[i].score > scored[j].score
+	})
+	if limit > len(scored) {
+		limit = len(scored)
+	}
+	out := make([]Candidate, limit)
+	for i := 0; i < limit; i++ {
+		out[i] = scored[i].c
+	}
+	return out
+}
diff --git a/internal/recommendation/shuffle_test.go b/internal/recommendation/shuffle_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ec3c2341
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/recommendation/shuffle_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,86 @@
+package recommendation
+
+import (
+	"math/rand"
+	"testing"
+	"time"
+
+	"github.com/jackc/pgx/v5/pgtype"
+
+	"git.fabledsword.com/bvandeusen/minstrel/internal/db/dbq"
+)
+
+func cand(id string, in ScoringInputs) Candidate {
+	t := dbq.Track{Title: id}
+	_ = t.ID.Scan("00000000-0000-0000-0000-" + id) // 12-char id padded
+	return Candidate{Track: t, Inputs: in}
+}
+
+func TestShuffle_LikedRanksAboveUnliked(t *testing.T) {
+	cs := []Candidate{
+		cand("000000000001", ScoringInputs{IsGeneralLiked: false}),
+		cand("000000000002", ScoringInputs{IsGeneralLiked: true}),
+	}
+	out := Shuffle(cs, defaultWeights(), time.Now(), fixedRNG(0.5), 10)
+	if out[0].Track.Title != "000000000002" {
+		t.Errorf("liked track did not rank first: %+v", out)
+	}
+}
+
+func TestShuffle_HighSkipRanksLast(t *testing.T) {
+	cs := []Candidate{
+		cand("000000000001", ScoringInputs{PlayCount: 10, SkipCount: 10}), // ratio 1.0
+		cand("000000000002", ScoringInputs{PlayCount: 10, SkipCount: 0}),  // ratio 0
+		cand("000000000003", ScoringInputs{PlayCount: 10, SkipCount: 5}),  // ratio 0.5
+	}
+	out := Shuffle(cs, defaultWeights(), time.Now(), fixedRNG(0.5), 10)
+	if out[0].Track.Title != "000000000002" || out[2].Track.Title != "000000000001" {
+		t.Errorf("skip-ratio ordering broken: %v", titles(out))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestShuffle_LimitTruncates(t *testing.T) {
+	cs := make([]Candidate, 100)
+	for i := range cs {
+		cs[i] = cand("00000000000"+string(rune('a'+i%26)), ScoringInputs{})
+	}
+	out := Shuffle(cs, defaultWeights(), time.Now(), fixedRNG(0.5), 10)
+	if len(out) != 10 {
+		t.Errorf("len = %d, want 10", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestShuffle_JitterDoesNotFlipStructuralWinner(t *testing.T) {
+	// Liked vs unliked: even with many random RNG seeds, liked NEVER ranks below unliked.
+	r := rand.New(rand.NewSource(42))
+	for i := 0; i < 500; i++ {
+		cs := []Candidate{
+			cand("000000000001", ScoringInputs{IsGeneralLiked: false}),
+			cand("000000000002", ScoringInputs{IsGeneralLiked: true}),
+		}
+		out := Shuffle(cs, defaultWeights(), time.Now(), r.Float64, 10)
+		if out[0].Track.Title != "000000000002" {
+			t.Fatalf("iter %d: liked did not rank first; out=%v", i, titles(out))
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+func TestShuffle_Empty_ReturnsEmpty(t *testing.T) {
+	out := Shuffle(nil, defaultWeights(), time.Now(), fixedRNG(0.5), 10)
+	if len(out) != 0 {
+		t.Errorf("len = %d, want 0", len(out))
+	}
+}
+
+func titles(cs []Candidate) []string {
+	out := make([]string, 0, len(cs))
+	for _, c := range cs {
+		out = append(out, c.Track.Title)
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// pgtype-uuid placeholder: Candidate doesn't need a real UUID for these
+// pure tests; the Track.Title field is the human-readable handle. Track ID
+// is left as zero pgtype.UUID and never compared.
+var _ pgtype.UUID