You know those people who claim that music is their drug? Well, apparently, that might not just be a catchy T-shirt slogan. Nature Neuroscience just published a study that found listening to music you like increases the level of dopamine in your brain — like actual drugs (or chocolate, for that matter). Project leader Valorie Salimpoor found that samples of a variety of instrumental music — everything from techno to classical to jazz — produced “feelings of euphoria and cravings,” as measured through reports of chills and fMRIs of subjects’ cerebral activity. But we wondered: what music, exactly, produced these drug-like effects? Some of the songs were surprising (really, Infected Mushroom?) others, not so much (natch, Explosions in the Sky). Below, ten songs the study used that are as good as your chemical of choice.
“L’Arena” by Ennio Morricone
“Storm” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
“Moby Dick” by Led Zeppelin
“First Breath After a Coma” by Explosions in the Sky
“Clair de Lune” by Debussy
“Angelica” by Lamb
���Heavyweight” by Infected Mushroom
“Adagio for Strings” by Tiesto
“Le Moulin” by Yann Tiersen
See the full list of 40 songs used in the study here.