Top 10 Best Ambient Music Albums
Ambient music is a genre that thrives on subtlety and atmosphere, designed to transport you to otherworldly realms or provide a soothing backdrop to your daily life. Unlike other styles, it doesn't demand your attention with flashy hooks or driving beats. Instead, it creates expansive soundscapes that can calm your mind, inspire introspection, or even help you focus. It's the perfect companion for those quiet moments, whether you're unwinding after a long day, tackling creative projects, or simply letting your thoughts drift.This list brings together some of the most celebrated ambient albums, reflecting the diverse sounds and moods the genre has to offer.
This is great stuff. There is just something magical about it that I can't explain. It is one of, if not the most beautiful album in ambient music.
This album is breathtaking. Total nirvana is achieved through tracks like Antennaria and Kobresia.
Start with the first track, which shares the name, and bliss.
This is the best by far. Every song was constructed very well. Selected Ambient Works 85-92 isn't ambient and has no business being on this list. This is real ambient music.
This is one of the best ambient albums I have ever heard. If you haven't heard it, you really should. My favorite ambient album is Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works Volume 2, but Music for Airports isn't far behind. I love its welcoming feel.
I am greatly disturbed that this album wasn't already on this list. It's one of the most significant and influential albums of the genre. It was released in 1978 and is still just as mind-blowing.
23? Really? One of the most important ambient albums ever and you put it at 23? Should be at least number 2 or 3.
This album is beautiful! There is a lot of New Age influence here, which makes it all the better. From the warm first half of the album to the cold and melancholic second half that is Nightdust, it's all amazing. Go check it out, and also check out Ashra.
This is not a New Age album! Emerging from the Krautrock scene of the early '70s, this ambient album is space music at its best. It's part electronic, part acoustic, both warm and sad at the same time, and immensely enjoyable.
How you could not be soothed by any of this, I don't know.
Especially the track "Microgravity", which is beautiful.
The Newcomers
An amazing ambient group from my hometown released this beautiful 2001 recording. It includes some elements of post-rock and some field recordings. A modern classic of its genre.
This really is a great album. It's arguably better than Music for Airports and was put together and mixed very well. It might be Eno's most solid album, though Music for Airports beats it by just a little bit because I prefer its welcoming atmosphere. This is also amazing.
He did not invent ambient music. He merely gave it a name! Artists were creating minimalist and ambient music nearly a decade earlier. Listen to Zeit by Tangerine Dream (1972) for dark, spacey ambient long before Eno's masterworks.
The name says it all. It creates a beautiful atmosphere that makes you wonder how heaven could feel nicer. An amazing ambient work that will never age.
