I like a bunch of stuff, and have some playlists here. But, if I really want to get some work done, there is only one choice.

TRON: Legacy soundtrack, played very loud

Not a huge spotify user, but just recently discovered Lush Vibes and Jazz Vibes – sorta instrumental hip hop / chill wave sounds

I made a playlist for my work/study music a while back and its got a lot of attention on Spotify (almost 3,000 followers now)

Just electronic music I like, that has no* words.

https://open.spotify.com/user/jshariat/playlist/3Qc4iY6n352nayiSMnDfBQ

*random word here or there or distorted so its not distracting.

Hans Zimmer - Best Of

Tbh, when I need a productivity boost I just play Sims 2 soundtrack.

Anything fast and heavy. Cattle Decapitation, Car Bomb, Sylosis, Meshuggah, Origin..

I play the heaviest, meanest metal music I can find. Usually ends up being Pantera most of the times!

Liquid Drum & Bass (9000+ tracks) does it for me :) https://open.spotify.com/user/1118412559/playlist/41Uf61JyNjhkETfVqI3Jjm

We have a slack channel at work where everyone posts 2 tracks / mixes a day. It all then gets compiled on a website which we can stream anytime without all the slack banter. Its awesome. My personal lists keep changing, but at the moment, I have a design late night collection going https://open.spotify.com/user/1235142048/playlist/53lk54JqYabREbpgjRzrIu

Soundcloud. Generally I listen to mixes that are at least 1h+. Best way to discover new music https://soundcloud.com/remus-b

I don't really have a set playlist -- I just put my music library on shuffle and go where it takes me. But lately, I have been getting into the Chillhop Music channel on YouTube. They're on Spotify as well.

I highly recommend their 24/7 live radio channel on YouTube.

And speaking of Spotify playlists, I put together one during the summer for AIGA as part of their Design+ Music program that debuted at this year's AIGA Design Conference. You can check out my playlist here.

Silence.

I'll second a couple of the soundtrack suggestions and add a few more of my own. I tend to prefer soundtracks or instrumental sets when I'm designing anything that may have text. Helps me to focus on the writing and flow of the text while I design. When I'm doing straight illustration or code, I'll throw in faster stuff with lyrics.

• Tron: Legacy and Social Network are fantastic for getting in the zone.
• The 3 discs of the Cowboy Bebop soundtrack by Yoko Kanno are all AMAZING. The eclectic mix (jazz, blues, western, electronic, rock) keeps the rotation fresh.
• I really love well done video game soundtracks: Journey, Bastion, Ni No Kuni, World of Warcraft, Zelda, Sword and Sworcery, and more. I have all five Video Games Live albums as well.
• I also love both Lindsey Stirling and Chris Thile's instrumental stuff.

When it comes to lyrical music (for illustration / code time), I tend toward poppy electronic or folky acoustic with the occasional metal:

• Sky Sailing / Owl City
• Imogen Heap / Frou Frou
• The Postal Service
• Nickel Creek
• Dragonforce
• Babymetal

When I'm not listening to any of those, I'm typically singing along with Disney songs or other soundtracks like Galavant, The Book of Mormon, and others.

I've had a playlist going for a few years now. Check out Tracks for Designers if you're a Spotify user.

Like others here I also like movie soundtracks (Hans Zimmer mainly), and have a playlist for those too: Scores

This is the one I used to use for my design/art live-streams, and it includes, but is not limited to, some 60's-70's and 80's tunes that will WRECK you.

Basically half this playlist is from Guardians of the Galaxy, the other half will probably be what they use for number 2 that comes out soon ;)

https://play.spotify.com/user/1285828915/playlist/4hEiXRibVfdmE7J3CERRJw

Recently I've been listening to Stranger Things V1 and V2:

https://open.spotify.com/user/lakeshorerecords/playlist/2OcVGJYYkwFuoqFZbaq2Sk

I also enjoy Deep Focus by Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/2ujjMpFriZ2nayLmrD1Jgl

Yo-Yo Ma or Yiruma

Totally random, but here's a bunch of pop-punk, alternative, mellow, weird music that I listen to when designing/developing https://open.spotify.com/user/1215410429/playlist/5lbFACS2PGSCMiZitP7GVO

https://open.spotify.com/user/12172556067/playlist/6ZvEgCeOFF9Ogc05Ut2I60

In the mornings, I tend to listen to podcasts while getting started, checking emails and searching for design inspiration.

I use the Pocket Casts web player for this and manage my podcasts there. Some favorites:

99% Invisible: http://99percentinvisible.org/

Industry Standard w/ Barry Katz: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/industry-standard-w-barry/id672873590?mt=2

Gimlet media podcasts: https://gimletmedia.com/

Joe Rogan podcast: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/

Sam Harris podcast: https://www.samharris.org/podcast

--

Then a few things happen when I get into the workflow for the day.

I usually go on YouTube and search for visualizations. I grab the URL and then - fire up a floating browser window. I use Helium, it’s free: https://github.com/JadenGeller/Helium - this goes full screen, over my second non-primary work screen. I find the visual activity soothing. I alternate between straight up music visualizations, underwater exploration, space exploration, and so on. I leave the browser window at about 40% opacity - and it doesn’t interfere with the other windows on the screen.

Mornings I go for deep house music. Music podcasts are a good starting point. AnjunaDeep is a good starting point: https://beta.mixcloud.com/anjunadeep/

Afternoons, I tend to move to progressive house music. Sticking with Anjuna for now, I really like Above and Beyond and the Group Therapy podcast. This one is absolutely epic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS6Hi2Avoww&t=4s

I use Gyroscope and Rescuetime to track productivity. My main peak productivity time seems to be around mid-afternoon, so I dial up the tempo a bit more to trance. An easy intro into trance is A State of Trance podcast. https://soundcloud.com/astateoftrance

Have fun

@jonmyers

Primarily Movie Soundtracks (For most work modes) :

• Tron : Legacy • The Social Network • Gone Girl • Enders Game • The Fountain • Elizabeth : The Golden Age • Man of Steel

Also find myself just listening to Twitch Channels too.

In early phases I end up listening to a lot of Mike Patton bands.

Nujabes. All of it.