If you’ve always been used to having lots of music at hand, be it because of the internet or, back in the day, a healthy iTunes or CD/vinyl collection, then you might well be used to the idea of having consistent background music. It can make studying bearable at times, just for something enjoyable to be playing while doing work that, while important, probably isn’t enjoyable. And then once you’ve found actual work, depending on that work, you may be able to listen to music while undertaking that, too.
It’s better than having a TV show or a movie as background noise, though some people have probably seen The Office so many times (often as background noise) that maybe something super familiar or easy to watch/listen to could work, and not prove too distracting. But if you find music to be a better companion while studying, writing, working, or doing pretty much anything that largely involves staying behind a desk for a while, then these albums (plus some film scores) are probably worth a listen. They’re sometimes repetitive/hypnotic, and not too distracting in terms of lyrics, nor do you necessarily have to give them 100% of your attention to enjoy and appreciate the music they contain.
10
‘We Will Always Love You’ (2020)
The Avalanches
The Avalanches are an electronic group from Australia (AKA that place where everything is trying to eat you), and they’re a real quality-over-quantity kind of act. Since 2000, there have only been three albums by The Avalanches, but they’re all winners, and they’re all distinct, with We Will Always Love You, their third, being… well, not the group’s very best album, but close.
It’s an incredibly atmospheric album, touching upon feelings of loneliness, all the while also being very spacey and dealing with the idea of traveling beyond the Earth, even though that comes with its own sense of loneliness (obviously). We Will Always Love You is the kind of diverse and continually moving album that’s easy to let wash over you, while, further, being suitable for just about any situation, including doing work and/or study of some kind.
9
‘Naqoyqatsi’ (2002)
Philip Glass
So, this won’t be the only Philip Glass album/composition/score here, since few musicians/composers in recent history have made such effectively hypnotic – or even trance-like – music. Some of his best-known works have been film scores, and some are the sorts that are often good enough to listen to divorced from the images they’re intended to accompany.
Enter Naqoyqatsi, which is a score for the documentary film of the same name, and that score runs for just 10 minutes shy of the film’s runtime. That does go some way to explaining how vital the score is for the film in question, but it’s unusual, absorbing, and adventurous enough to be a striking listen on its own, standing out from some of Glass’s other scores thanks to the heavy use of cello throughout, played by the renowned Yo-Yo Ma.
8
‘Untrue’ (2007)
Burial
There is a stereotypical sound associated with the genre of dubstep that became popular in the early 2010s, or maybe “infamous” is a better word than “popular,” but Untrue is also dubstep, and it sounds remarkably different from that more well-known kind. It’s the best album by the electronic music producer known as Burial, and it’s probably one of the most haunting albums ever that’s not directly tied to the supernatural, or some kind of horror-related film or story.
Untrue is hazy and a bit unsettling at times, but never to an overwhelming or cheesy extent. It’s an album that feels like being lightly rained on while walking down a foggy street at night.
The whole thing is distinctly cinematic, all the while also being hazy and a bit unsettling at times, but never to an overwhelming or cheesy extent. It’s an album that feels like being lightly rained on while walking down a foggy street at night, or maybe a better comparison is that it sounds like how the more recent All of Us Strangers (2023), as a film, looks and feels. It’s the perfect blend of compelling and easy-to-zone-out-to, simultaneously.
7
‘Passion’ (1989)
Peter Gabriel
The thing people talk about the most, when it comes to The Last Temptation of Christ, is how controversial the whole movie was, and that’s somewhat understandable, but there’s also so much more here. It’s a top-tier Martin Scorsese film that re-imagines a very familiar part of the Bible, but for present purposes, it’s best to focus on the Peter Gabriel score, which is a big part of why the film’s as great as it is.
That being said, it’s an interesting example of a score, since much of the music was used for the film, but then other parts were either added or re-worked after the film was released, with the soundtrack/album, known simply as Passion, coming out one year after The Last Temptation of Christ. It’s a mesmerizing and moving listen, and perhaps the best thing Gabriel’s ever recorded (which is saying quite a lot, considering he was part of Genesis for a little while, and has also had a rather impressive solo career after leaving that band).
6
‘Powaqqatsi’ (1988)
Philip Glass
The second Philip Glass score here, and the second one for the Qatsi trilogy, Powaqqatsi is both a stronger album and film than the aforementioned Naqoyqatsi. Film-wise, it’s hard to describe anything approaching a premise here, since there’s nothing by way of interviews or voiceover, and no dialogue of any kind heard, really. There are just images of developing countries strung together with Glass’s music, and you can mine the meaning you want from the whole thing.
For lack of a better word, the music here certainly sounds exotic… maybe a better word would be “varied?” “Inventive?” There are lots of ideas and styles present here mixed together in a way that shouldn’t work, but does, and Powaqqatsi – though a fine enough watch – might be one of those rare films where the score exceeds the quality of the overall movie.
5
‘Homework’ (1997)
Daft Punk
This is an easy pick, especially if you find yourself with a lot of homework to do, but here’s Homework, which is the first of four studio albums Daft Punk released. At least two of their later albums might be stronger overall, but Homework makes for the best background noise, since it’s intentionally repetitive and constantly moving forward in sound, in a way.
Well, there’s a little progression here, to some extent, though at other times, Homework does feel a bit like the album equivalent of being on a treadmill for a bit over an hour, with the motion being constant but other things staying in place and repeating. It’s all very rhythmic and good for concentration, though, to the point where Homework might well be one of those albums that actually sounds better if you treat it as background noise, versus concentrating 100% of your attention on it.
4
‘The Mission’ (1986)
Ennio Morricone
Of all the great movies turning 40 in 2026, The Mission is probably one of the more underrated and overlooked. It’s a great film, albeit a sometimes flawed one (it’s a bit slow at times), but one thing about it that can’t really be faulted is the impeccable Ennio Morricone score. There’s an argument to be made that it’s the best one he composed for a movie not directed by Sergio Leone, and even then, it is also a competitor with the likes of the scores for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in America.
Yet again, it’s a great score that you don’t need the movie to enjoy. Really, the music of The Mission does a whole lot of the storytelling on its own, in the way Morricone’s greatest compositions sometimes did. You should still watch the movie, but at the same time, if you want grand, sweeping, and immersive music to listen to on its own, then this score does the job there, too.
3
‘Since I Left You’ (2000)
The Avalanches
Hey, The Avalanches are back. Since I Left You is the best album the group has put out to date, and is also their most well-known for good reason. There really isn’t anything else that sounds quite like it, with it famously being made up of countless samples strung together in endlessly creative ways that make for entirely new songs altogether, which is what plunderphonics (a fairly niche genre overall) largely involves.
There are individual songs on Since I Left You that are incredible on their own, of course, but you also can’t deny how immensely well everything bleeds together over the hour the album runs for. It’s a bit like one big song, in a way, which is one reason Since I Left You is so easy to slip into and have playing while you’re working or doing something else (hell, it even works for exercise, especially cardio, since the album is almost as energetic as it is dreamy, being both at once, somehow, in a way that doesn’t clash).
2
‘Koyaanisqatsi’ (1982)
Philip Glass
Okay, no surprises here. The other Qatsi movies had their scores mentioned earlier, so here’s Philip Glass’s score for Koyaanisqatsi, which is kind of a documentary, and kind of something else, similarly to how those other two films were. You certainly get a narrative of sorts here, regarding the cost of having humans on Earth disrupting the natural world and all, but everything’s presented visually, or with music, and always without narration or interviews.
The whole film is so easy to fall into and/or get swept up in, with the music contributing to that feeling while the rest of the movie’s playing for sure. Yet Philip Glass composed something amazing enough here that you almost get to experience, like, what feels as though it might be the majority of the film from the sounds alone. And that speaks to how incredibly important the score of Koyaanisqatsi is.
1
‘Music for 18 Musicians’ (1976)
Steve Reich
There was a lot of good rock music that came out in the 1970s, sure, but then there was also Music for 18 Musicians. Okay, there were other music movements and genres popular throughout that decade beyond rock, sure, but Music for 18 Musicians is hard to fit into any non-niche categories. It’s an example of minimalism, and some of Philip Glass’s music also fits into that genre, but even then, there’s something weirder and more absorbing about this particular composition.
It should be the most repetitive and annoying thing in the world, since it really is so repetitive, with the same basic parts being heard again and again, cycled through, with some instruments added at points and then others taken away. But it never really gets old, and there is no other piece of music out there that’s album-length which is so consistently good to have on while you’re trying to focus on something. Seriously, try it, next time you have something kind of tedious to do and you’re finding the act of concentration hard. Thank me later. This is a self-help article now, or maybe it always was. Again, you’re welcome.
