Music for Programming
Shares rank 7 of 9 internet radios by recommenders
Long-running music mix series for programming, valued for tracks that support focus without grabbing attention. One critic finds the mixes uneven and distracting.
7 people recommended Music for Programming in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
6 of the 7 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Music for Programming”.
Summary written by Claude from 5 comments.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 2 of 12 months
In 2 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 2 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- 6 of its 7 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 5 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Gratitude toward creator Datassette
“I will always be thankful to Datassette for this project!”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming” “thanks for this (more than a simple upvote could say”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming” Long-running coding playlist people rely on
“my go to coding playlist for years”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming” Stimulating without stealing attention
“cognitively stimulating but not attention stealing”
Comment from 5 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Tracks uneven and distracting
“the music is not uniform enough and there is too much going on, which distracts me”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “Music for Programming();”
Other internet radios people recommend
The four most recommended other internet radios, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SomaFM | 28 | 0 | 1 | 97% | 9 | — | Approved |
| KEXP | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Radio Garden | 14 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Radio Paradise | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Music for ProgrammingThis page | 7 | 0 | 1 | 88% | 2 | — | — |
Also compared with NTS Radio and BBC Radio 4.
What people said
5 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“thanks for this (more than a simple upvote could say”
“I will always be thankful to Datassette for this project!”
“my go to coding playlist for years”
“cognitively stimulating but not attention stealing”
“the music is not uniform enough and there is too much going on, which distracts me”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 3 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.