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sakura-panda: Try a set of open-ear headphones. They allow you to listen to music while not blocking out the world. When I'm in my home office, they're my preference. I have a little I/O switcher from SESCOM that allows me to switch between headphones or speakers. I put it on speakers when I'm the only one in the house, and on headphones when I'm not. The headphones are Sennheiser PC360, and they are open-ear so I don't completely isolate from the world.
Currently listening to
Phoenix in Shadow, by Ryk E. Spoor, read by Madeline Powers. This is the second of three, and is just as enjoyable and quirky as the first. I'm quite enjoying this series.