🎶 Favorite Music

Last updated on July 11, 2026.

See also: Musical Milestones, a chronological timeline of musical memories that left a mark on me.

If I could only listen to 10 solo artists and/or bands for the rest of my life, these are the ones I'd choose (listed chronologically):

Solo Artists:

  1. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
  2. Thelonious Monk (1917-1982)
  3. Ravi Shankar (1920-2012)
  4. Brian Eno (1948-)
  5. Nick Drake (1948-1974)
  6. Arthur Russell (1951-1992)

Bands:

  1. The Beatles (1960-1970)
  2. Grateful Dead (1965-1995)
  3. My Bloody Valentine (1983–1997, 2007–)
  4. Stereolab (1990-2009, 2019-)

Solo Artists:

  • Reverend Gary Davis (1930s-1972)
  • Neil Young (1963-)
  • Vashti Bunyan (1965-1970, 2002-)
  • Nick Drake (1967-1974)
  • Labi Siffre (1970-)
  • Cat Stevens (1965-)
  • Judee Sill (1971-1979)
  • Todd Rundgren (1966-)
  • Jonathan Richman (1970-)
  • Arthur Russell (1973-1992)
  • Laraaji (1979-)
  • Elliott Smith (1985-2003)
  • Josh Harmony (1990s-)
  • Cass McCombs (1990s-)
  • Conor Oberst (1993-)
  • Chris Cohen (1990s-)
  • Aarron Embry (1995-)
  • Emperor X (1998-)
  • Panda Bear (1998-)
  • Thundercat (2000-)
  • Atlas Sound / Bradford Cox (2001-)
  • Stephen Steinbrink (2007-)
  • Geotic (2008-)
  • Danny Hasboun (2013-)
  • Angelo De Augustine (2014-)
  • Talavera (2018-)

Bands:

  • The Beatles (1960-1970)
  • The Velvet Underground (1964-1973, 1990, 1992-1993, 1996)
  • Grateful Dead (1965-1995)
  • Can (1968-79, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1999)
  • Cocteau Twins (1979-1997)
  • My Bloody Valentine (1983–1997, 2007–)
  • Yo La Tengo (1984-)
  • Pavement (1989-1999, 2010, 2019-present)
  • Spiritualized (1990-)
  • The Brian Jonestown Massacre (1990-)
  • Stereolab (1990-2009, 2019-)
  • Huun-Huur-Tu (1992-)
  • Sparklehorse (1995-2010)
  • Duster (1996-2001, 2018-)
  • Little Dragon (1996-)
  • The White Stripes (1997-2011)
  • Relient K (1998-)
  • Animal Collective (1999-)
  • Deerhunter (2001-)
  • Beach House (2004-)
  • Animals as Leaders (2007-)
  • Tame Impala (2007-)
  • Forest of Tongue (2008-2016)
  • The Dead Weather (2009-2015)
  • Unknown Mortal Orchestra (2010-)
  • Men I Trust (2014-)

Genres:

Ambient & Drone:

  • Harold Budd (1962-2020)
  • Brian Eno (1970-)
  • Hiroshi Yoshimura (1972-2003)
  • William Basinski (1978-)
  • Robin Guthrie (1979-)
  • Steve Roach (1982-)
  • Kamal Engels (1986-)
  • Susumu Yokota (1993-2015)
  • GAS (1995–2000, 2014–)
  • Ten and Tracer (2000-)
  • Eluvium (2003-)
  • Puff Dragon / Steve Good (2003-)
  • Keith Kenniff / Helios / Goldmund (2004-present)
  • Visible Cloaks (2010-)
  • M.I.Z. (2011-)
  • Polypores (2015-)

Western Classical:

  • Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
  • FrĂ©dĂ©ric Chopin (1810-1849)
  • Philip Glass (1937-)

Jazz:

  • Thelonious Monk (1917-1982)
  • Bill Evans (1929-1980)
  • Keith Jarrett (1945-)
  • Brazilian
  • Cool

60s Garage Rock:

  • Back from the Grave series

Other:

  • Indian Classical
  • Choral / Gregorian chant music
  • Blues
  • Bossa Nova
  • Samba

Video Game Music Composers:

  • Nobuo Uematsu (1959-)
  • Akira Senju (1960-)
  • Koji Kondo (1961-)
  • Kazumi Totaka (1967-)
  • Junichi Masuda (1968-)
  • Yasunori Nishiki (1985-)
  • Eric Barone (1987-)

Some of My Favorite Albums:

  • A Little More Faith (1961) – Reverend Gary Davis
  • A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) – Vince Guaraldi
  • Pet Sounds (1966) – The Beach Boys
  • Bryter Layter (1970) – Nick Drake
  • Pink Moon (1972) – Nick Drake
  • Plantasia (1976) – Mort Garson
  • The Dude (1981) – Quincy Jones
  • Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks (1983) – Brian Eno
  • World of Echo (1986) – Arthur Russell
  • Without A Net (1990) – Grateful Dead
  • Loveless (1991) – My Bloody Valentine
  • Four-Calendar CafĂ© (1993) – Cocteau Twins
  • Eccsame the Photon Band (1994) – Lilys
  • Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) – The Smashing Pumpkins
  • Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot (1995) – Sparklehorse
  • Either/Or (1997) – Elliott Smith
  • Chants of India (1997) – Ravi Shankar
  • Good Morning Spider (1998) – Sparklehorse
  • Music for Airports (Live) (1998) – Bang On A Can
  • Stratosphere (1998) – Duster
  • Jerusalem / Dopesmoker (1999 / 2003) – Sleep
  • Parachutes (2000) – Coldplay
  • Watermusic (2000) – William Basinski
  • Reiki Whale Song (2001) – Kamal Engels
  • Read Music/Speak Spanish (2002) – Desaparecidos
  • Wonderful Rainbow (2003) – Lightning Bolt
  • Masters Of Indian Classical Music (2004) – Various Artists
  • Mmhmm (2004) – Relient K
  • Talk Amongst the Trees (2005) – Eluvium
  • Feels (2005) – Animal Collective
  • Person Pitch (2007) – Panda Bear
  • Western Teleport (2011) – Emperor X
  • Body Pains (2012) – Forest of Tongue
  • Indiamore (2013) – Chassol
  • m b v (2013) – My Bloody Valentine
  • Dissed And Dismissed (2013) – Tony Molina
  • Sunset Mountain (Eon Isle) (2014) – Geotic
  • White Sleep (2015) – Yuta Nagashima
  • Mixing Colours (2020) – Brian Eno and Roger Eno
  • Untourable Album (2021) – Men I Trust
  • Shelter (2023) – Alice Phoebe Lou

Songs I Love So Much I've Listened to on Repeat:

Songs Not on Apple Music:

  • “Colourful Life” – Cajun Dance Party
  • “Stone Faces” – Cindy Lee