A few months ago, I was moved at work from sharing a conference room (which afforded a certain amount of privacy) to what is called a “trading bench”. This is basically one step down from cubicles, in that I’m sitting at a long desk with people on either side of me. I have some desk space and a low (3’) wall facing me. Although I can do my work OK, I have no space to personalize and little-to-no privacy.
To block out some nearby conversations, I’ve started occasionally using my headphones. I’d been bringing in my CD collection, a few at a time, to rip onto my work computer so that I can listen to music when I need to block out the background chatter. For whatever reason, I stumbled upon the iTunes Radio Stations, which are a large listing of streaming audio from various internet sites. This is really nice, since I can listen to and discover new songs in categories of my choosing.
I tend not to listen to NPR at work, since that actually distracts me from what I’m supposed to be doing, but I do listen to pop music, guitar instrumentals, and a SomaFM station called Lush which is what I’ve been listening to a lot recently. It seems to be the right balance between being entertaining and ignorable.