Since I started rowing on the ergometer, I need music that is motivating and rhythmic but also slow, because I'm trying to improve the ratio of strokes per minute to speed. I have a reggae favorites list for that which includes Desmond Dekker, Sister Nancy, Harry J All Stars, John Holt, Nigel Addmore (OK, yeah, that's not really reggae, but I love the song about hummus) Murder She Wrote by Chaka Demus, Get Up Stand Up by Bob Marley and the Wailers, and Master Blaster by Stevie Wonder.
I think old music is better than new, and anything in a second language I've studied or want to learn is better than anything in English. I have a playlist of funk songs, a list of punk feminist anthems, and a list of songs in Spanish that are not really all in the same musical genre (except that they are my favorites.) I don't like things that are super loud or discordant on headphones right in my ear, but it also can't be so gentle that you feel sleepy. It's hard to hit that sweet spot. Janelle Monae is always good.
