We tried the best 10 study playlists suggested by you and honestly, it was such a vibe

Picture the scene. You’re sat in the library and can no longer bear the silence, feeling nothing but shame from your Spotify Unwrapped you decide not to tap ‘Glee – The Complete Playlist’. You need new music to listen to, but don’t know what to pick.

Well fear not chaps and chapettes, for we have listened, reviewed and rated the top ten revision playlists, as suggested by you over on The Edinburgh Tab’s Instagram, and let’s just say some of the suggestions were beyond our wildest imaginations.

If you’re looking for inspiration this exam season, look no further. Here’s the top 10 study playlists suggested by you, ranked.

Idealism Radio

Your basic, run-of-the-mill lo-fi beats playlist. The vibes? Immaculate. The focus? Pretty average. Anyone else get really thrown when lo-fi beats put a random section from an old movie in? I find it confusing and unnecessary. I came for musical beats, not beat poetry.

Anyways, an effective study playlist but nothing too spectacular.

Rating: 7/10

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Soundtrack

This playlist is another smooth combination of chill piano tunes and lo-fi beats to really get you in the zone and power through all the work you’ve been putting off this semester. With the occasional more upbeat track to keep you on your toes and make sure you’re not off daydreaming about being back on your five star island you haven’t visited since lockdown ended (RIP).

Listen to this playlist and you’re sure to leave your study session feeling more boss than Tom Nook himself.

Rating: 9/10

Ratatouille (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

The perfect mixture of upbeat tempo and slow, smooth tunes that will invigorate you but not overstimulate. Get your work (and potential revision for the upcoming musical that TikTok has promised us) done while feeling more Parisian  than Emily herself.

This soundtrack will truly keep you on track and send shivers down your spine, and not just because the library is always freezing after 10pm.

Rating: 10/10

Alpha Waves For Concentration

This did help me focus in on my reading a bit, but I wouldn’t really use it for anything else. It lowkey sounds like a meditation soundtrack and made me want to lie down, which I’m not too sure my desk neighbours in the library would have either understood or appreciated.

If I was pressed and had to write an essay on the spot this would not be it. However, it was definitely calming!

Rating: 6/10

Ragtime Piano

Sub-average to poor. I love piano music, and I love ragtime. But do I love Scott Joplin accompanying me to write my essay? Can’t say I do.

The whole thing is actually quite chaotic and the syncopated piano doesn’t help my syncopated thoughts. That being said we all love a rendition of ‘The Entertainer’ – just maybe not whilst I’m typing away in the lib.

Plink plonk, I’m in shock.

Rating: 4/10

Mario Kart

This playlist is equal parts wholesome and jarring with songs so sickeningly upbeat that you’re forced to be productive.

The coconut mall track goes hard, giving you tropical vibes with the xylophone sound. At times though, you have to listen with caution because some of the bops come with a side of shock.

Rainbow road is another banger, but it may bring up toxic memories of heartbreaking Mario Kart sessions when you thought you’d come to a victorious finish in the final lap but slipped off the track into the abyss.

Rating: 7/10

Sea Shanties

I have no idea who suggested this but I think they need help.

I was expecting drunken sailor and I was met with pitchy pirate which absolutely did not float my boat. I had to keep stopping while trying to do my reading, just so I could close my gawping mouth at this monstrosity. Definitely made me feel sea sick, and not in a good way.

Not for me, matey.

Rating: 1/10

Scottish Folk Music

Oddly, kind of a vibe. It’s enough to let anyone tune in to their inner Scot, even if they are from the very depths of Surrey and had never heard of a ceilidh before coming to uni.

Kind of makes you think you’re in a scene from Outlander, but is also just really soothing. I’ll take bagpipes over lo-fi beats any day. Does make you wish you were on the top of Arthurs Seat in the wind and rain for the whole atmosphere, but can always pop up there post library sesh should you so desire.

Order me a kilt, I’m in.

Rating: 8/10

Titanic: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Moving. Beautiful. Distracting? This truly stirring combination had me wiping away the tears, while writing word after word. That was until I started thinking about what I was listening to and asking myself several, random questions.

Surely both of Jack and Rose could have fit on that piece of wood? What’s Celine Dion up to these days? What was that one Britney Spears song that ended with the Titanic diamond in it?

Rating: 6/10

Lofi Hip Hop Music – Beats to Relax/ Study to

Honestly, the original, the best.

The words will be flying off the page, as you bop to this amazing cornucopia of pure vibes. Gone are the days of trying to rephrase a single sentence again and again, you are now a bohemian poet, a wordsmith, everything you write is gold.

You are academia embodied, and you’ve got this.

Rating: 10/10

Related articles recommended by this writer:

• Covid has brought out a new breed of library dickheads and I’m over it

• What does your seat in the library say about you as a person?

• The longer you spend in the library, the less productive you are