Video game soundtracks and electronica can make some great background thinking music.
soundtrack to vvvvvv
portal (I might have bought this on a CD)
crystal method
wintergaten (that marble machine guy)
Epic soundtrack music. I.e. Two Steps From Hell, audiomachine, Celldweller
oh, I forgot about two steps from hell / Thomas Bergersen (he has a lot of stuff under just his name). I’ll tick on E.S. Posthumus, don’t know if they have any movie music, but they certainly have the epic soundtrack style. x-ray dog is another one of the companies that puts out tons of soundtracks.
I’ll have to give those others a listen.
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Whatever comes up from the search term “lofi house”. Long compilations of good, uncomplicated, ethereal-sounding music that let me go on for hours without having to interact with the player. EATEOT is surprisingly good for this too, especially if you need your mood to do a 180° really fast.
I listen to the Lo-Fi Girl playlists on Spotify.
Music for Airports by Brian Eno