Finding just the right sounds or music to listen to while doing web development can be tricky. Sometimes downtempo house music is called for. Other times a noise generator will do nicely. Then there are days for Megadeth or Bach’s solo cello suites. Here are some of my most-used offerings with music and/or sounds for many different situations. All of these are free, but some have the option to donate.

While obviously these selections are not limited to those engaging in web development and coding, that’s how I use them and how I’m judging their effectiveness.

Music

EveryPsalm (instrumentals)

The “EveryPsalm” project is a collection of songs that the group Poor Bishop Hooper created, one for every psalm in the bible. There is a rich variety of instrumentation, with the predominant instrument being piano. The link below fill filter them to only play the ones without lyrics.

Soma FM

Internet radio with a bunch of stations. Some of my favorite stations are Groove Salad (chilled out electronic), cliqhom IDM (electronic but with more of a noises aesthetic), Suburbs of Goa (Indian flavor), and Sonic Universe (Jazz). And Fluid (instrumental hip hop) too.

If you like Soma, check out my interface for their radio.

New Sounds by NYPR

A very eclectic radio stream put out by New York Public Radio. The music tends a bit towards classical with newer compositions dominating, however the variety expands into a wide range of genres. Sometimes there’s too much DJ chatter for my tastes.

MusicForProgramming

A new playlist of music every (day?) and links to the older playlists. Specifically designed and compiled with computer programming in mind.

Icecast

This is a huge list of internet radio stations. Sometimes it’s fun for something different.

---

Sounds

The services in this category all either help block out unwanted noise, or add a sort of background noise to help with focus.

myNoise

The absolute best soundscape generator on the internet, and to be honest the only one you need. A gazillion choices from “Japanese Garden” to “B52 Bomber Interior“. Each “soundscape” (collection of noise tracks) has relative volume controls for each noise, as well as timers, animators, ability to save your settings, and headphone , “There’s a huge selection of sounds, with a UI put together by someone who really cares.

Some of my favorites (among so many) are Duduk Song, 88 Keys, Sleeping Dragon, and Northern Lights.

CalmyLeon

Choose from (and layer) a number of relaxing or energizing sounds. Clean interface.

Rain.today

Rain sounds with a few controls.

Noisli

simple clean interface where you can layer various ambient environmental sounds

---

If you have other suggestions, I’d love to hear about them. Please let me know in the comments section.