
My definition of great study music: Loud enough to drown out the people around me at the coffeehouse/student union/bar, no words. This makes your standard orchestral classical music (or at least the Beethoven and Handel to which I listen) inadequate, as there are too many quiet passages even in compositions like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.
The solution: harps and hammered dulcimers. And it's free anywhere you've got a WiFi connection.
The provider:
Magnatune. (Motto: We Are Not Evil.) It's an online source for paid music downloads and free audio streaming that
splits album revenues 50-50 with the artists.
The artists:
Cheryl Ann Fulton on Welsh triple harp and
Jamie Janover on "innovative" hammered dulcimer. Tasty tunes.