I’m a huge, huge fan of Focus@Will, that I’ve been using for years with a lifetime subscription.
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Great choice. I like Soma.FM for similar reasons occasionally.
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This is one area where I should probably stop looking. Initially, I previously use Spotify for this but than I found that it was messing with my Spotify recommendations. It got so bad that I had to create a new Spotify account, because it kept recommending only focus music.
Over the last 5 years, I have used the following
- Focus at will
- Brain.fm
- Endel
Basically, I move between all three of them (lifetime for all three). There are times when I cannot be bothered so I just play the Westworld tv show theme soundtrack on repeat.
Sometimes, I am super lazy, so I just say, HEY SIRI, Play rain sounds and my HomePod comes through for me.
As you can see, when it comes to focus, I need all the help I can get.
Another vote for brain.fm and I also listen to a battlefield 4(?) EA video game soundtrack.
I guess I need to check out more video game soundtracks, I didn’t know they were so popular!
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I’m a bit weird and like listening to techno when I’m trying to focus (Dave Clarke, Derrick May, Cajmere and the like).
Basically electronic music with no words and a decent beat 
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Drone Zone is what keeps the Soma app on my phone. It reminds me of “Music from the Hearts of Space” which I used to listen to Sunday nights on public radio.
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Don’t know why he’s not posting it here, but Mike threw this page up yesterday. Our tastes definitely overlap, so this list might not do it for everyone.
On the phone I’m usually listening to podcasts these days. When I listen to Soma it’s usually AirPlay-ed around the house. I used to listen to Groove Salad a lot, now it’s mostly Space Station Soma.
I started doing it a long time ago when someone pointed out that we can easily spend hours in front of video games. It’s fun to put some old Zelda music in the background too. Reminds me of nintendo at 2:00am lol.
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I find Paul Hardcastle to be balancing right on the edge between being not interesting enough to distract while having enough complexity to also not become boring. Mostly instrumental stuff, but his daughter Maxine sometimes adds a perfect volcal.
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My selection is a bit weird. I tried listening to soothing music or the focusing music. I even tried listening to ambient sounds. But they didn’t work for me.
Till date the best music that gets me into flow is the John Wick OST. I don’t know why, but it just works.
It is strange how we are all wired differently. For me, ambient sound–specifically a box fan or rain–are the most conducive for concentrated work. Jazz lounge piano music is also good for my concentration, especially when writing. Here is an example: Night of Ballads and Blues:
Some great shares here. Thanks all!
Two genres I haven’t seen mentioned that I like for working are Lofi Hip Hop, like ChilledCow
and Japanese Lofi Hip Hop
There are tons of options in these genres, but as @MereCivilian said, it can mess with the suggested music in Spotify if you go too deep
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I have tried to make ambient sounds work, but they have an opposite effect on me. They get me out of concentration.
For me, when I am reading or studying anything, the best thing is pure silence. When I am writing or working on a project, John Wick comes out.
I will check out the album you suggested and see how it works.
Someone just asked me this on Twitter, so I made this: https://faithbasedproductivity.com/music-for-focus
Apple has focus-related playlists it’s curated. You should be able to see the songs in the playlists in a web browser even if you don’t have a subscription:
Focus (electronic soundscapes)
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/pure-focus/pl.dbd712beded846dca273d5d3259d28aa
Study Beats (downtempo)
Living In The Library (Bass, chillwave, downtempo)
Classic Concentration (Modern Classical)
Classicaltronics
Pure Ambient
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/pure-ambient/pl.a9bd89e7b22e45cbaac40b58c9d3d09b
Headspace (ambient, minimal, minimal House)
https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/headspace/pl.49fa4124be174a3da9e5ec43b0d07e65
Piano Chill
Plus related playlists like Pure Yoga, Pure Meditation, Quiet Storm Essentials (R&B), Relaxed/Remixed (Dance), BEATStrumentals (Hip-Hop instrumentals), and Best Of playlists (Cool Jazz, Bon Iver, etc.)
Plus, depending on who you follow, shared playlists - here’s a few of my friends’ playlists based on the word ‘focus’ (hopefully also AI-sifted for relevance):
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That makes so much sense! I didn’t think of it that way before
If you like Lo-Fi Hip Hop and The Office, this may be for you:
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