Ever since then I've had a lot of difficulty falling asleep in silence. It just doesn't work, because now I need something for my mind to anchor on. Usually I just have a stereo playing music every night.
So, since then I've been a fan of Linkin Park, but after Meteora they started losing my appeal. I don't really listen to them anymore, especially since I used to listen to their albums every single night. When one song ends, I know what song will play next and after how many beats.
So a few years after that I got into a few different bands. The only full CD I consistently enjoyed other than Linkin Park was Shinedown's Sound of Madness. To this day Shinedown is my favorite band. They're the only artist in which I like very nearly every song they've released.
But after a few more houses people started to move out, taking their CDs and stereos with them. So since then I've come up with a semi-permanent solution. For the time being I listen to an iPod playlist of about three hundred songs, mostly consisting of OCRemix tracks. OCRemix is a cool site where people can upload remixed songs they made from video games. Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Metroid, you name it. (Of course those are all Nintendo games, but you get the idea.) I prefer listening to these songs at night because very few of them have vocals and consequently they don't catch me nearly as hard. I can't start thinking about the words or what they mean or anything like that because there aren't any. Beyond that, since I've listened to these songs hundreds of times each I know them very well. I do enjoy them, yes, but I'm so familiar with them they are more background noise at this point. But they don't play often enough to wear out, because it isn't the same twelve songs repeating.
Anyways, now I listen to very specific music for certain scenarios. OCRemix has become my go to for when I'm trying to sleep. Shinedown, Demon Hunter, He is Legend, Sick Puppies, and RWBY's soundtrack are my choices for when I'm actually listening to music and maybe humming along, as well. I listen to video game soundtracks for the nostalgia or the tone, but also when I mostly want background noise for when I'm writing, or playing immersive games or things like that. (Ironically I'm not listening to anything at the moment.) Lastly, I have a confession. When I'm playing an upbeat game, in a good mood, or trying to get in that good mood, I listen to J-Pop. Specifically Perfume and artists similar to them. I don't know Japanese, obviously, but their tunes are extremely catchy, somewhat quick-paced, and generally help me out when I'm in a fix. Not a big fan of K-Pop, though. Not sure why, exactly, but they're not really the same and it doesn't up my mood like the former does.
Of course, though, I don't generally listen to music outside of the house. When I'm doing mindless things (like working) I listen to audiobooks. I've already discussed this.
OCRemix's website: Just look up a video game and listen to remixes! -- http://ocremix.org/
OCRemix radio: Any remix from any game uploaded to their site -- http://ocr.rainwave.cc/
Shinedown's latest album (2015) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRahRSSCgis
RWBY Volume 2 Soundtrack -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtGlVTiSag4
Perfume's biggest hit, Star Train -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pR2E2OatMTQ