Vocals tend to pull my focus, and repeated phrasing in a lot of EDM is distracting. I find post-rock as a great genre for coding. I frequent the r/postrock sub-Reddit and keep yearly Spotify playlists updated with new releases [1].
I have also enjoyed combining jazz with a rain simulator like RainyMood [2]. Volume-balance them together and it's sublime.
Wolves in the Throne Room and So Hideous are great examples of metal bands with sweeping atmospheres and non-intrusive vocals.
The Algorithm and Master Boot Record are metal-inspired electronic music with no vocals.
Video game soundtracks also work well. Danny Baronowsky, Ridiculon (The End Is Nigh soundtrack is phenomenal), and Disasterpiece are some of my favorite indie game composers.
Metroid Metal is kinda similar, but it's highly technical prog-metal covers of music from the Metroid series. Descendants of Erdrick and Armcannon are also enjoyable metal video game cover bands.
If you want to get lost in coding for a long while without needing to change albums, Chronicles of Time is a 5 hour long compilation of covers of music from Chrono Trigger by a huge variety of artists. If you listen to this from start to finish without stopping, you should probably take a break and stretch for a while.
I really enjoy the soundtrack from Elder Scrolls Online. The new Doom has an excellent soundtrack as well, though it does have occasional voice-over.
I love listening to video game soundtracks when working.
If I want to focus 100%, work fast and have no idea what’s going around me, I’ll put some fast paced Kirby music from the SNES versions and code away as if I was racing King Dedede.
If I want to get in the mood for some architecting or refactoring, I’ll put some Final Fantasy chip-tunes to work through the mysteries.
The soundtrack for Shovel Knight is also excellent. Even though the game is recent, the music is completely authentic to capabilities of the sound chip in the NES.
That said, I find the sound of the NES to be a bit too bright and crisp for background listening. I agree that SNES era music is easier for programming. Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, Secret of Evermore, Final Fantasy 2 (FFIV in Japan), Final Fantasy 3 (FFVI in Japan), Chrono Trigger, and Earthbound immediately come to mind as great soundtracks.
The music from SNES games is stored in SPC files (individual songs) and RSN files (collection all SPC files for a game). The files are extremely small. You could probably fit the soundtracks for every official SNES game into a few dozen megabytes. You can learn more about the format at the Video Game Music Preservation Foundation wiki: http://www.vgmpf.com/Wiki/index.php/SPC
The London Philharmonic has some great video game cover albums as well.
I've tried listening to metal and it works if the lyrics aren't distracting, but anything I know the lyrics to or any lyrical styles I hate (the grunting or pig noises) really distract me. It's hard to find a good random metal playlist that doesn't have any of those two distracting factors.
Instrumental prog metal is really good for getting work done though.
I've recently discovered post-rock as well and it's perfect. It's so boring that my mind tunes it out, which is what I'm looking for.
I've spent so much time trying to find good electronic music that doesn't have any vocals at all, and it's frustrating. Post-rock is great for letting your subconcious drift away while you work.
I tried a bit of everything and its really random for me. As i metal/rock fan i rarely listen to the genre.
Here is some artists to get you started that really help me focus on programing:
- Trent Reznor and NiN: Social Network, Ghosts and The Fragile.
- How to destroy Angels (also a subproject of Trent Reznor).
- Daft Punk: live album and Tron soundtrack.
- Miles Davis: Bitches Brew.
- RadioHead: OK Computer, KID A and Amnesiac.
- Gojira: Magma and From Mars to Sirius
- Opeth: Live at Royal Albert Hall
- U2: Songs of Inocence and Songs of Experience.
- Massive Attack: Mezzanine
- Blade Runner soundtrack.
- Interstellar soundtrack.
Recently Synthwave DJs
- Kavinsky: Outrun
- The Midnight: Any song (i really love these guys and the atmosphere they put into their songs).
Boards of Canada are the obvious one (as seen from their heavy usage across here https://musicforprogramming.net/), along with a bunch of Warp record acts from the 90s.
Recently been listening to loads of Hard Bop Jazz though, Sonny Rollins in particular.
Video game soundtracks should be really good, as they often contain no vocals and are supposed to keep you focused (on the game). E.g. Deus EX Human Revolution Soundtrack [0]. Movie scores from Hans Zimmer are also really good (e.g. Inception OST)
Excellent suggestion. I kept using the Lord of the Rings Online soundtrack as coding music long after I stopped playing LOTRO itself. It really is well suited, for the reasons you mention, but it's not bland or boring.
Drum & Bass without vocals. I've put a lot of time, thought, and experimentation into this; nothing else comes close to keeping me as focused and highly productive.
I've got tons of playlists that I listen to while coding, usually instrumental music of various styles, sometimes I also prefer silence, especially when I need to focus on learning something completely new.
Most common genres that I listen to are electronic, trip hop, trance, techno, drum & bass, ambient and post-rock. Some of my favorite artists include Bonobo, Emancipator, Tycho, Gramatik, The American Dollar and DJ Shadow.
Here are some interesting Spotify playlists that you might enjoy during coding:
Mostly prog metal that I know well already. I find it hard to focus with music I have not heard before, but can quickly go into very deep focus mode with something well known.
Alcest is very Opeth-inspired, you might give them a shot.
Also Fallujah, which I might call prog-death? They're not everyone's cup of tea but they've got some atmospherics going.
I have definitely found that controlling the sound around me has an immense effect on productivity, and that I can use different sounds to influence my work. I use several tools for playing non-music sound when I'm working.
SimpleHabit Focus Player (beta) [0] and Focus@Will [1] both play instrumental-y type sound, not really music per se. These two require a subscription but are inexpensive relative to the productivity boost they provide. Then SimplyNoise [2] and Zero Noise [3] for playing just colored noise in a noisy environment. The former uses Flash, so the latter is a bash script I made that's similar. I use the Spotify Focus playlists like Deep Focus sometimes, but they're more general and not as good as the dedicated services.
I find these are especially good for combatting interruptions, conversations, and variable noises like conference calls. Sometimes I'll use something upbeat and EDM-y to get into flow when working on simple things.
I like instrumentals. I mostly hit up Spotify's focus playlists (not as good as the old Songza ones). They tend heavily to the electronic side, so I made a couple I enjoy.
The only time I listen to music while coding is when I'm really sleepy, and need something to get juices flowing again. For this, I have my "waking up" playlist, which is pretty much a bunch of really intense opera classics, with Russel Watson (I don't know Italian, so the lyrics don't distract me): https://open.spotify.com/user/smllmp/playlist/4VfhqzNUFHQntX...
For (more or less trivial) code reviews, JIRA or email work I often just listen to whatever I like and whatever fits the mood. Works well by giving me some endorphins while keeping me able to focus (sometimes I have to avoid listening to stuff I like too much :)).
For coding, design and code reviews that require focus, silence is the best.
My long-time addiction that has helped me a lot on numerous occasions is https://www.focusatwill.com/. I also use it as pomodoro timer. Silence is still better, if you're in a distraction-free environment.
I'm going to be boring and say "music". I don't really get distracted by lyrics - I never really take them in anyway. So, whatever I want - Jazz, Electronic, Rock, Folk, Classical, Metal. Anything.
For upgrades, patching, P1 issues, anything high-stress I prefer classical - Corelli, Locatelli, Handel.
For coding I usually like electronica. I go back and forth between ambient stuff, like Koan or H.U.V.A Network, and vocal trance which has a pleasing, hypnotic aspect.
I've tried binaural beats as well, they're not awful but they're not my go-to. Spotify has a ton of these kind of 2-hour tracks. Rainstorms can be nice as well.
Psy-ambient has been my go-to as well for years (see username!). Anyone releasing music on Ultimae (run by Vincent Villius of the aforementioned H.U.V.A. Network) is a pretty good bet. All time favorites of mine are Solar Fields (also of aforementioned H.U.V.A. network) and Carbon Based Lifeforms, who also release music on Ultimae
In the "listening" mood I code with atmospheric black and post-black like Alcest, Agalloch, or Kauan. I find both "Sorni Nai" and "Pirut" by Kauan to be able to induce almost trance-like focus.
Otherwise, I put on my trusty 3M Peltor X5A with -37 dB rating, so most of Wework's office noises and sticky pop background tune down to a barely audible droning.
One track of pop, on repeat for the duration of the session. Today it was something by Dragonette, but that’s just what came to hand. After a few repeats, it becomes somewhat hypnotic, and something with human voices in is helpful for cutting out external distractions (open plan office, at the moment...)
Coding music has little overlap with what I’d pick if I actually wanted to “listen to music”.
I typically listen to podcasts when writing documentation, but when it comes to real development time, I listen to "minimal techno"/edm as in Tycho, deadmau5, marshmello, apex twins, thievery corporation, ODEZA, Emancipator, Tame Impala
typically I can't listen to music with words while coding. I stick to EDM, mainly Drum and Bass. Many years ago I found http://www.bassdrive.com. Streaming Drum and Bass from DJs around the world. They have IRC interaction and mostly Live shows. Cheers!
I would greatly appreciate any suggestions you might have for vocal-free drum n bass. DnB works best for my productivity, but vocals ruin it. Here are some that I've found:
https://mynoise.net which is a fantastic source of ambient sounds to block out outside noise or help to focus/relax. Made by a very knowledgable sound engineer.
I'm a big fan of Raymond Scott's electronic stuff because it's interesting, non distracting, and usually doesn't have lyrics. https://youtu.be/rYVIDJtKU-A
Ozric Tentacles. No vocals in 30 albums except for 1 or 2 songs. I can't code well with words going on. Some would say I can't code well without words going on, either. LOL.
I didn't see them or may have missed them - this will destroy you, if these trees could talk, russian circles, john frusciante and my fave would probably be clouddead but what do I know :)
I prefer silence or isolation most of the times. When I can’t get that or I am in the mood for music, I usually listen to random video games music, or tavern music in games ( on YouTube ).
For some tasks I can listen to audio podcasts like Fresh Air and comprehend it while coding but for other things I need silence. Music often distracts me.
I have also enjoyed combining jazz with a rain simulator like RainyMood [2]. Volume-balance them together and it's sublime.
[1]: https://open.spotify.com/user/edlerner/playlist/5TJbCB33vOzT...
[2]: https://www.rainymood.com/