College is full of necessary evils like waking up early and going to the gym, but chief among them is studying. The only thing I'm less enthused about is catching that 400th Magikarp on my walk to class. However, just like catching the same Pokemon over and over again, studying also has its longterm benefits. My Magikarp will one day become a rad Gyarados, while my grades will steadily improve by continually poring over study guides and required readings.

To help make the fall semester study cycle that much more bearable I've put together five albums that will help you beat the books.

1. "Nujabes" - "City Lights (Homework Edit)"

Jun Seba, also known as "Nujabes", was a Japanese DJ and producer known for his deft ability to mix classic American Jazz sensibilities with a distinctly Asian flair. He frequently had guest artists perform in English on his records, but is mainly known for his deceptively complex instrumental pieces. I've chosen his composition "City Lights" for this article because it evokes a contemplative mood perfect for the background when you're thinking way too hard about a single question on a quiz.

2. "Bon Iver" - "For Emma, Forever Ago"

This one is for those late fall/winter nights when everything is still and quiet and you're at the library until they close. Late night study sessions tend to get anxious and worrying so I thought this album would be a perfect alleviator of that tension. Justin Vernon croons lovelorn lyrics on this album that are sung in such a way as to never be diverting when you're trying to read. Instead his falsetto acts as a comfortable backdrop for writing that makes "For Emma" feel like a warm blanket on a cold night.

3. "Air" - "The Virgin Suicides Original Score"

This one is a little morbid, but no less appropriate for the list. Going off of the fall/winter motif of the last entry, I see this album as the perfect companion for a cold night. Unlike "For Emma", "The Virgin Suicides" is a creepy and anxious movie score that somehow also comes across as soothing. It fits this list due to how easy it is to zone out to. The best music to study to should float around your attention span, while never quite taking it off the material at hand and this music does that exceptionally well.

Sidenote: If you need a break from studying you should watch this movie around Halloween. It's dark and eery in all the best ways.

4. "Jon Brion" - "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Original Score"

Movie scores are inherently great study companions given they are usually instrumental and already created with a mood in mind. The "Eternal Sunshine" score is for the study sessions where you're not quite getting the material even after going over it an annoying amount of times. The music here is disjointed and somehow also cohesive. Listening to this album feels like those revelatory moments when you first begin to grasp a concept with it still being just out of reach.

Another sidenote: If you like Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet, but you're sick of romantic comedies, this is the movie for you.

5. "Modest Mouse" - "The Lonesome Crowded West"

This is the only album on the list you shouldn't listen to while in the act of studying. "The Lonesome Crowded West" is the type of album that seems to vent every frustration you can think after doing something over and over again. The music here sounds like that feeling you have right after clocking out from a long shift at work or ending a particularly taxing day. It's not overly fast or aggressive, but it just speaks to that specific type of scholarly angst that school seems to elicit when you're months into a semester and getting burnt out.

What are your favorite albums to listen to when you're studying?