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):

• Beethoven
• Haydn
• Mozart
• Paganini

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

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

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

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

Violin

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

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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:
• Glitch Mob
• Excision
• TheSupremeKronus

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Yearly pop medleys by AlexTanMusic:   2012, 2013, 2014

Violin

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

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:

• Remember Me (brilliant mix of electronic and classical)
• Papo & Yo (relaxing and tropical)
• Rayman Origins (springy, lighthearted, and amazing)
• Rayman Legends (energetic, goofy, and wonderful)
• Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle (beautiful, bouncy, heart-racing)
• To The Moon (dreamy and moving)
• Kingdom Hearts (gorgeous, epic, breathtaking)
• Mirror’s Edge (soothing and mechanical)
• Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite (adorable 8-bit)
• Alice: Madness Returns (odd, creepy, and carnival-esque)
• Journey (peaceful and atmospheric)
• Child of Light (melancholic and powerful)
• Trine (epic and mystical)
• The Vanishing of Ethan Carter (mysterious and haunting)
• Valiant Hearts (pretty and heartbreaking)
• Walking Dead Season 1 (depressing and beautiful)
• Braid (relaxing, Celtic vibes)
• Botanicula (breathy, vibrant, playful)
• Machinarium (earthy, futuristic, energetic)

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:

• Studio Ghibli
• Spirited Away
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• Princess Mononoke
• Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
• Kiki’s Delivery Service (x)
• Castle in the Sky
• My Neighbor Totoro
• Ponyo
• Porco Rosso
• The Wind Rises
• Grave of the Fireflies
• random playlists: (1) (2) (3)
• Classic Disney piano covers (1) (2)
• Lord of the Rings
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King
• Amelie
• How to Train Your Dragon
• How to Train Your Dragon 2
• Coraline
• The Secret of Kells
• The Tale of Princess Kaguya
• The Piano
• Schindler’s List
• 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

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:

• Elfen Lied (flowy and pretty)
• Tokyo Ghoul √A (powerful, electronic, heart-wrenching)
• Samurai Champloo (funky, hip-hop, soothing, amazing)
• Hellsing Ultimate (epic, funky, aggressive, but also sad and moving)
• Death Note (emotional, edgy, rock n’ roll)
• Attack on Titan (sometimes emotional & harrowing, sometimes epic & gritty)
• Ghost in the Shell (hollow, lonely, mysterious)
• Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (gritty, funky, upbeat)
• Blue Gender (funky, badass, intense)
• Mnemosyne (jazzy, upbeat)
• Cowboy Bebop (sometimes smooth jazz, sometimes wild & funky)
• Neon Genesis Evangelion (more smooth jazz)
• Fishugi Yuugi (emotional, romantic)
• Sailor Moon (happy & upbeat)
• Cardcaptor Sakura (lighthearted, bubbly)
• Inuyasha (epic, emotional, inspiring)

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

Youtube Channels:

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

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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!