The instrumental version of Deltron 3030 is great for me (here is a link to the song 3030). Unobtrusive, but just enough of a groove to keep it interesting.
The Deltron 3030 album itself is pretty amazing as well.
My “coding music” doesn’t really differ from my “regular music” so that would be mostly
Metal (Blind Guardian, Carach Angren, Krampus, … everything that sounds good to me) and
awesome weird stuff that I find on youtube (Igorrr, Soley, Cocorosie, …)
The lyrical parts can be distracting sometimes but it’s not really an issue if I’m focused on the code… it just sort of disappears into the background
Depending on my mood, I go with jazz like Mingus or Coltrane, or I go with classical, really bombastic stuff like Mahler, Stravinsky, Holst, that sort of thing. I also can’t concentrate on reading anything (which by extension includes writing code) if I’m listening to anything with words in it.
I moved to a much quieter apartment recently, so another option I have now is good old silence.
I’m in silence 99% of the time, but it doesn’t help me. I’ve noticed I get the most motivation to code when I’m listening to really awesome music with an amazing beat.
For programming, Indian Classical music works pretty well, for me. I like violinist L. Subramanian, Bhajan Saupuri on santoor, G.S. Sachdev on bansuri.
About a year ago I was listening to a LOT of the Live365.com station “In Dark Faith Eternal” – ethereal rather than hard-edged goth kind of stuff.
There’s a Brian Eno ambient disc called “Day of Radience” with a collaborator playing santoor, named Laraaji, I think. Nice, but my wife won’t let me leave it on while she’s around. It’s too repetitious for her.
Went through a “Doc at the Radar Station” (Captain Beefheart phase) a few years ago, that was fun but also not the most popular with others.
In the eighties we had things like Talking Heads and Thomas Dolby and Pretenders on while we were programming games in FORTH. I don’t know, the radio station called it “cutting edge” at the time. Now its oldies! Or classic rock.
Some of the Keith Jarrett solo albums hold up, work pretty well, where he improvises solo piano for extended periods.
Sometimes, yeah, good dance music is just the thing. But it mostly makes me want to go out to clubs and do some actual dancing.
Classic quartet Coltrane? I approve, especially the long jams like “My Favorite Things”.
Bach solo violin and solo cello suites and sonatas! Another good set of pieces for concentration.
Ahh, one of my favorite subjects. There is a ton of great music out there.
I look forward to checking out the recommendations on this thread from other folks!