Trying a very light cream:
What do you like? Does it help with visitor experience?
Apparently white is too stark… and hard on the eyes…
Thoughts?
I’ve always liked #f6f6f6 
It’s not a cream color though, more light-grey/off-white.
Will check that out…
Sometimes you get too used to a color..
I think PlayTheBlues.com is too dark?
Thoughts?
I think the background on http://playtheblues.com/ is ok. It’s all personal preference really. I like more light grey tones for site backgrounds, but that’s just my preference. It depends on the site’s color palette. What you have now matches pretty well, but maybe ask a designer, because that I am not. 
@MichaelDroste Be aware that when you pick non-white tones that as people age they move into cataract territory, and that generally adds a yellow-amber tint to whites in their vision (and darkens things, too). That, coupled with an already too-dark starting point, starts to have the same impact as off-white walls: they just look too drab to many.
I’d be careful about putting too much red into a background color, but I also support not making it pure white.
Thanx for the feedback- i really appreciate it
Thanx as always Thom - I am 60 years old - i understand….
Found it!
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Barely Buttercream
#FFFEE0
• Keeps the yellow identity
• Just lifts the brightness a notch
• Safest “upgrade” from your current tone -
Faint Ivory Light
#FFFFF0
• Classic ivory (used in high-end print + web)
• Feels clean but still warm
• Less yellow, more elegance -
Near Pure White (Warm Bias)
#FFFFFA
• Almost white, but avoids the harsh blue of #FFFFFF
• Modern, minimal, very breathable
• Lets images and buttons pop
The color I like is #2 and/or 1 depending site…
For me - I don’t run full brightness on my screens - these work…
When brightness is down - a nice subtle touch 
Still learning at 60 lol 
Decided to finally learn what the color codes mean…
Skip if you know:
A hex code is simply a six-digit shorthand that tells the screen how much of each of those three colors to mix together. The code is structured in three pairs, usually preceded by a hashtag: #RRGGBB
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RR: The amount of Red.
-
GG: The amount of Green.
-
BB: The amount of Blue.
- The Letters & Numbers (Hexadecimal)
Usually, we count in “Base-10” using ten digits: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
However, computer systems often use Hexadecimal (Base-16). This system needs 16 single-character digits. Since we run out of numbers after 9, we start using letters to represent the values from 10 to 15:
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0 = 0 (Lowest intensity)
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1 - 9 = 1 through 9
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A = 10
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B = 11
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C = 12
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D = 13
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E = 14
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F = 15 (Highest intensity)
In web design, each color channel (Red, Green, or Blue) can have a value ranging from 00 (absolutely none of that color) up to FF (the maximum amount of that color, which equals 255 in standard numbers).
Putting It Together
By mixing these values, you can create over 16 million different colors. Here is how some of the standard combinations work out when dealing with light:
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#000000 (Black): All channels are at zero. The screen emits no light.
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**#FFFFFF (White): All channels are at maximum intensity (FF). Mixing maximum red, green, and blue light creates pure white.
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#FF0000 (Red): Maximum red light, zero green, zero blue.
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#00FF00 (Green): Zero red, maximum green, zero blue.
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**#0000FF (Blue): Zero red, zero green, maximum blue.
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#FFFF00 (Yellow): Maximum red mixed with maximum green, and zero blue.
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#808080 (Gray): A perfectly even mix of red, green, and blue at exactly half-intensity (80 is roughly half of FF).
OK so whats a Pantone colour?