There’s a little ritual I do before every run. After the required prelude of lacing sneakers and applying Body Glide, I put in my earbuds, close my eyes, take a deep breath, and press play. In that moment, I shrug off the worries and responsibilities of the day. For the time being, it’s just me, the music, and the movement. If you’re like me and a good playlist or podcast is the motivation you need to get going, earbuds are an essential piece of running equipment. Our conversations with runners — from casual beginners to marathoners — have revealed that different runners value different headphone features. So instead of naming a single top pick for everyone, we tested earbuds for two different types of runners: those who want to block out sounds and those who prefer to hear the outside world.