Music is one of the most important parts of my day (behind eating), and without the right playlist going in my car at all times, I feel off balance and unable to concentrate properly.

Obviously, music plays a significant role in all of our lives, no matter your genre preference and how you choose to listen (even deaf individuals enjoy music and have their own preferences).

Whichever musical styles and artists we all are drawn to, there may be no real, solid reasoning, but that doesn't mean there are wrong genres and right genres.

At work, my coworkers and I have the freedom to choose what music we want to listen to inevitably forcing the rest of us, and the customers, to listen along.

Some days, we can agree on the Pandora station of choice; other days, someone is wishing they could change the station without seeming too rude.

Personally, I have a hard time not liking music, but believe me, it happens and sometimes, I even find it difficult not to share my distaste. But, I know how it feels to have someone verbally attack your favorite artists and genres and feeling slightly defensive (as if you and Taylor Swift are real-life BFF’s).

I try not to get too bent out of shape if someone pokes fun at my Spotify playlists that contain a healthy dose of Alternative and overwhelming varieties of Electronic music. I am fully aware that certain artists I like and favorite songs would not be something that everyone would want to listen to.

However, when I have to focus on specific tasks, I need the right sound to match my level of concentration, and I can even tell how my work performance is affected if I cannot get into the music.

Clearly, I needed to figure out why my brain enjoys electronic, robotic sounds over melancholy, country twang (as an example).

One reason why someone like me would be more likely to listen to alternative styles and electronic ambiance may have something to do with my more creative characteristics and introvert personality.

I can enjoy pop because it is specifically designed to be catchy, but being easily distracted means I need something different to keep me focused and attentive depending on which task or mood I am in.

Interestingly, individuals who are drawn to repetitive riffs, such as Reggae, and ambient noise, like Trance, also happen to be known as “travelers” and enjoy being “present” and in the moment.

This also goes with the idea that people who are more “right-brained” find focusing on one task after another to be difficult and rigid, and we thrive on instant gratification.

For my closest friends, their preferred Country music might mean that they are emotionally driven and deep thinkers.

I find these points to be mostly accurate, at least for myself.

I have also read many points showing that listening to electronic music may actually promote intellectual thoughts, boost creativity and make the listener able to concentrate better.

This is supposedly the idea that electronic can keep our brains actively focusing on the background noise but not committed enough to listen too carefully for lyrical meaning. If we listened to Country music, which tends to be heavily lyric-based, we may get too involved in the words and the story-telling.

The way I am able to see the difference in how electronic music may affect our productivity differently from many other genres is: I would not start a movie I had never seen before while simultaneously reading a book I have never read before.

So, listening to an artist pour their heart out to tell their audience exactly how they dealt with heartbreak may not be the best choice for background noise while studying for an important exam.

When thinking about those times in which listening to music is the main activity, not the background noise, how is it that I still choose to hear electronic beats over most other music?

Honestly, I am not too sure, and the psychology behind why our musical tastes vary has not been fully studied enough for a clear answer.

But, I do feel like the endless variety of sub-genres in electronic music suits my need to experience new things, along with the insane live spectacles of lights, lasers, confetti and glow sticks that create a completely immersive experience.

By going to these live events, you get an entirely different crowd than most other concerts.

Mostly because electronic music has been more popular in European countries, making the demographic extremely diverse, resulting in a more accepting community that is versatile enough to appease fans that love VIP luxury in upscale nightclubs along with the barefooted hippies who get a thrill out of camping among thousands of other people, in five-day tent communities, trekking miles to see favorite DJ's, no matter what kind of weather.

Either way, no musical preference is better than any other (you do you), but next time you plug into your favorite streaming service try to figure out what it is about your music that really draws you in, and maybe you can utilize your favorite tunes as tools of productivity.