winterazalea:

CLASSICAL

The old masters. I tried not to include most opera composers, since singing/lyrics interfere with concentration. Most of these playlists are at least an hour long:

Baroque (prancing through the flowers with royalty):

• Albinoni
  
• Bach
• Corelli
  
• Handel
• Guerre
• Purcell
• Scarlatti
• Telemann
• Vivaldi

Classical (sipping tea with royalty while listening to their woes and gossip):

• Haydn
• Mozart
• Paganini

Romantic (watching a heartfelt, teary-eyed scene in a soap opera):

• Beethoven
  
• Berlioz
• Bizet
• Borodin
• Brahms
  
• Bruch
• Bruckner
• Chopin
• Dvorak
• Field
  
• Franck
• Gade
• Grieg
  
• Liszt
  
• Mendelssohn
• Rachmaninov
  
• Rimsky-Korsakov
• Rubenstein
• Saint-Saëns
  
• Schubert
  
• Robert Schumann
  
• Clara Schumann
• Smetana
• Strauss II
  
• Tchaikovsky
• Wagner
• Weber

Impressionistic (stargazing in an open field at midnight):

• Debussy
• Ravel

Late Romantic/Early Modern (dramatically confessing your love in the pouring rain):

• Albéniz
  
• Beach
  
• Chaminade
  
• de Falla
  
• Dukas
  
• Elgar
  
• Fauré
  
• Glazunov
  
• Mahler
  
• Respighi
  
• Satie
  
• Sibelius
  
• Strauss
  
• Vaughan Williams
  

Modern (these get sub-categories because they’re so different):

• Emotional and moving
• Barber
• Bartok
• Glass 
  
• Holst
  
• Ives
  
• Kabalevsky
  
• Kodaly
  
• Poulenc
  
• Schoenberg
• Trimble
• We’re off on an epic adventure!
• Copeland
  
• Grofe
• Prokofiev
  
• Tailleferre
  
• Dramatic theme for every super villain ever
• Adams
  
• Musgrave
  
• Shostakovich
  
• Stravinsky
• Tower
  
• Curious and off-putting, but hypnotic
• Cage
  
• Higdon 
• Rodrigo
  
• Jazz hands and big city lights
• Gershwin
  
• Joplin
• Milhaud
• Still

Long, random playlists: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)

Youtube Channels:

• Classical Music
• Classical Music11
  
• naxosorchestral
  
• The Spirit of Classical Music
• TopClassicalMusic

There’s also playlists on Spotify (just go to Browse > Genres & Moods > Classical).

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CONTEMPORARY CLASSICAL

Sometimes the old masters are too stuffy. I get it. Have some more long playlists from a few of my favorite contemporary artists:

Piano

• Brian Crain
  
• Jim Brickman
  
• Joe Hisaishi
  
• Ludovico Einaudi
  
• Michael Nyman
  
• Ryuichi Sakamoto
  
• Yann Tiersen
  
• Yiruma

Violin

• David Garrett
  
• Emilie Autumn (electric)
  
• Itzhak Perlman
• Vanessa Mae Storm

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EDM

Maybe you don’t like classical at all. That’s fine, too. Here’s some wub-wub to get your mind on track:

Aggressive & Intense (dubstep, deathstep, metalstep, etc)

• Long, random playlists: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
• Youtube Channels:
• Excision
• Glitch Mob
  
• TheSupremeKronus

Chill & Melodic (chillstep, deep house, melodic dubstep)

• Long, random playlists: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
• Youtube Channels:
  
• ChillYourMind
• Fluidified
  
• Pulse8Music

Upbeat & Dancy (electro house, club music, more chillstep)

• Long, random playlists: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
  Youtube Channels:
  
• Madeon
• Omnitica
• Paul van Dyk
  

There are countless other Youtube channels and mixes. You can also find some playlists on Spotify (Browse > Genres & Moods > Electronic).

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INSTRUMENTAL COVERS OF POPULAR SONGS

Here are a few channels to check out if you’re starting from nowhere:

Piano

• Brooklyn Duo (piano & cello) - pop
  
• David Sides - pop, r&b, rap, some rock
  
• Miri Lee 이미리 Pianistmiri -  pop, r&b, rap, some classical, rock, and k-pop
• oysterlovers - pop, r&b, rap, some classical and rock
• ThePianoGuys (piano & cello) - pop, r&b, classical, rock
  
• Steve Siu Piano - pop, country, classical, some rock and rap
  
• The Theorist - pop, r&b, and rap
  
• TheUnsungHeroine - pop & electronic/dubstep
  
• Yoonha85TV - pop, rap, r&b, some k-pop
  
• YourPianoCover - mostly pop, a few rap

Hour-long, yearly pop playlists by oysterlovers:  2013, 2014

Yearly pop medleys by AlexTanMusic:   2012, 2013, 2014

Violin

• Bryson Andres - pop, r&b, rock, electronic
  
• Daniel Jang - pop, k-pop, some tai-pop, some j-pop, some classical
• David Wong - pop, r&b, rock, rap
• JasonYangViolin - pop, rock, rap, soundtracks
  
• Josh Vietti - pop, r&b, rap, rock, classical
  
• JuNCurryAhn - pop, k-pop, classical, soundtracks
  
• Lindsey Stirling - pop, r&b, rap, soundtracks, some classical
  
• The Mad Violinist & SCO - pop, r&b, rap, dubstep
  
• Momento - pop & rock

Of course, there are countless people who don’t have huge channels and maybe only a cover or two. The search bar is your friend. And don’t forget to make a playlist!

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VIDEO GAME SOUNDTRACKS

Think about it, there are tons of people whose only job is to get the atmosphere of a game right by carefully composing the right music. And there are plenty of games with beautiful music. I love these playlists:

• Alice: Madness Returns (odd, creepy, and carnival-esque)
  
• Assassin’s Creed (soothing, beautiful, moving)
• Best of I-IV
• Best of I-V
• Bastion (gritty, mechanical, and beautiful)
• Bioshock Infinite (sometimes cheerful, sometimes harsh and powerful)
• Braid (relaxing, Celtic vibes)
• Botanicula (breathy, vibrant, playful)
• The Cat Lady (curious and jazzy)
• Child of Light (melancholic and powerful)
• Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (beautiful, bouncy, heart-racing)
• Dishonored (emotional, heart-wrenching)
• Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite (adorable 8-bit)
• Heavy Rain (dramatic, moving, powerful)
• Journey (peaceful and atmospheric)
• Kingdom Hearts (gorgeous, epic, breathtaking)
• The Last Of Us (chilling, powerful, heartbreaking)
• Limbo (hollow, eerie)
• Machinarium (earthy, futuristic, energetic)
• Mirror’s Edge (soothing and mechanical)
• Ori and the Blind Forest (emotional, heart-wrenching, beautiful)
• Papo & Yo (relaxing and tropical)
• The Path (creepy and flowy)
• Rayman Origins (springy, lighthearted, and amazing)
• Rayman Legends (energetic, goofy, and wonderful)
• Remember Me (brilliant mix of electronic and classical)
• Silent Hill 2 (creepy, eerie, aggressive)
• Skyrim (sometimes epic and powerful, sometimes soft and pretty)
• To The Moon (dreamy and moving)
• Trine (epic and mystical)
• Valiant Hearts (pretty and heartbreaking)
• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (mysterious and haunting)
• Walking Dead Season 1 (depressing and beautiful)
• Year Walk (creepy and curious)
  

Long, random playlists:  (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Youtube Channels:

• VGameOSTs
• SoundtrackVideoGame
• Video Game Soundtracks

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MOVIE SOUNDTRACKS

Just like video games, movies rely heavily on music to set the mood for the audience. Here are some of my favorite playlists:

• Amelie
  Bram Stoker’s Dracula
• Classic Disney piano covers (1) (2)
• Disney/Pixar
  
• Brave
• Finding Nemo
• The Incredibles
• Inside Out
• Monster’s Inc
• Ratatouille
• Up
  
• Dreamworks
  
• Home
• How to Train Your Dragon
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
• Rise of the Guardians
  
• Harry Potter
  
• Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone
• Chamber of Secrets
• Prisoner of Azkaban
• Goblet of Fire
• Order of the Phoenix
• Half-Blood Prince
• Deathly Hallows pt 1
• Deathly Hallows pt 2
  
• The Hobbit
  
• An Unexpected Journey
• Desolation of Smaug
• The Battle of Five Armies
  
• Laika
  
• Coraline
• The Boxtrolls
• Paranorman
  
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
  
• Lord of the Rings
  
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King
  
• The Piano
• Schindler’s List
• The Secret of Kells
  
• Studio Ghibli
  
• Castle in the Sky
• Grave of the Fireflies
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Kiki’s Delivery Service (x)
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
• Ponyo
• Porco Rosso
• Princess Mononoke
• Spirited Away
• The Tale of Princess Kaguya
• The Wind Rises
  
• random playlists: (1) (2) (3)
  

You can also view a full list of Grammy Award-winning soundtracks here

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ANIME SOUNDTRACKS

You’ll look like weeaboo trash, but at least you’ll be concentrating. You might need to skip a few tracks here and there if they have lyrics (that messes up my concentration, at least). That said, here’s some recommended playlists:

• Attack on Titan (sometimes emotional & harrowing, sometimes epic & gritty)
  
• Black Butler (epic, creepy, oddly soothing)
• Blood: The Last Vampire (harrowing, dangerous, creepy)
• Blue Gender (funky, badass, intense)
  
• Cardcaptor Sakura (lighthearted, bubbly)
  
• Cowboy Bebop (sometimes smooth jazz, sometimes wild & funky)
  
• Death Note (emotional, edgy, rock n’ roll)
  
• Elfen Lied (flowy and pretty)
• Fushigi Yuugi (emotional, romantic)
  
• Ghost in the Shell (hollow, lonely, mysterious)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (gritty, funky, upbeat)
• Hellsing (funky, jazzy, groovy, and awesome)
• Hellsing Ultimate (epic, funky, aggressive, but also sad and moving)
• Inuyasha (epic, emotional, inspiring)
• Mnemosyne (jazzy, upbeat)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (more smooth jazz)
  
• Princess Jellyfish (adorable, cutesy, happy-go-lucky)
• Tokyo Ghoul √A (powerful, electronic, heart-wrenching)
• disc 1
  
• disc 2
  
• Trigun (mostly jazzy, flowy, and funky, but some are gritty)
• Sailor Moon (happy & upbeat)
• Samurai Champloo (funky, hip-hop, soothing, amazing)

Long, random playlists: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Youtube Channels:

• Dolan Zoldhost
  
• EpicAnimeRequiem
  
• Epic San
  
• Erolox OST
  
• MrAnimeSoundtrack

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Like I said, this isn’t a complete list but hopefully a good jumping-off point. Feel free to add to areas with your own suggestions. Have fun listening and go be productive!