The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time

Pitchfork

The 50 Best Ambient Albums of All Time

Wallpaper music? None here. These are the albums that have shifted moods and created new worlds.

1/1

Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Ambient 1: Music for Airports

17:21

#3

Aphex Twin

Aphex Twin

Selected Ambient Works, Vol. II

7:44

Dlp 2.1

William Basinski

William Basinski

The Disintegration Loops (Remastered)

10:50

A Rainbow in Curved Air, for electric piano, dumbak & tambourines

Terry Riley

Terry Riley

Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air, Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band

18:39

Piano Aquieu

Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid

The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid

10:56

Do While

Oval

Oval

94 Diskont

4:50

Suiren

Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis

Pauline Oliveros, Stuart Dempster & Panaiotis

Deep Listening

10:01

Dungeoneering

Tim Hecker

Tim Hecker

Harmony In Ultraviolet

5:24

Patchwork

Laurie Spiegel

Laurie Spiegel

The Expanding Universe

9:46

An Ending (Ascent)

Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Apollo: Atmospheres and Soundtracks

4:26

Performance Two - Part 2

Terry Riley

Terry Riley

Riley: Persian Surgery Dervishes

22:46

Jagadishwar

Alice Coltrane

Alice Coltrane

Translinear Light

5:45

The Evil That Never Arrived

Stars of the Lid

Stars of the Lid

And Their Refinement of the Decline

5:04

Montagne d'or (Der Gute Berg)

The Orb

The Orb

Orbvs Terrarvm (Remastered)

10:41

Sleep Dealer

Oneohtrix Point Never

Oneohtrix Point Never

Replica

3:10

She Loves Me That Way

Grouper

Grouper

A I A: Alien Observer

8:34

Made In Hong Kong

Fennesz

Fennesz

Endless Summer

4:24

Feedback Zwei

Keith Fullerton Whitman

Keith Fullerton Whitman

Playthroughs

10:01

The Lost Day

Brian Eno

Brian Eno

Ambient 4: On Land

9:12

What??

Folke Rabe

Folke Rabe

What??

25:40

Cloud Prayer

Iasos

Iasos

Inter-Dimensional Music

5:16

Hyperdawn

Oneohtrix Point Never

Oneohtrix Point Never

Zones Without People

4:33

Rattlesnake Mountain

Pauline Oliveros

Pauline Oliveros

Accordion & Voice

22:03

On the Other Ocean

David Behrman

David Behrman

Late Night Tales: Belle and Sebastian, Vol. 2 (Sampler)

6:50

White Flag

Julianna Barwick

Julianna Barwick

The Magic Place

4:53

Deep Distance

Ashra

Ashra

New Age of Earth

5:49

Reflections in Suspension

Steve Roach

Steve Roach

Structures From Silence

16:46

Set Adrift

Windy & Carl

Windy & Carl

Depths

6:35

Live Room

Tim Hecker

Tim Hecker

Virgins

7:01

Poa Alpina

Biosphere

Biosphere

Substrata

4:11

Concert at Phil Niblock's Loft (Live)

Suzanne Ciani

Suzanne Ciani

Buchla Concerts 1975 (Live)

20:00

Dream 13 (minus even)

Clarice Jensen, Ben Russell, Yuki Numata Resnick, Max Richter

Clarice Jensen, Ben Russell, Yuki Numata Resnick, Max Richter

From Sleep

8:52

A Stream With Bright Fish

Brian Eno, Harold Budd

Brian Eno, Harold Budd

The Pearl

3:56

Plays John Cassavetes 2

Ekkehard Ehlers

Ekkehard Ehlers

Plays

9:57

New Animals from the Air

Eluvium

Eluvium

Talk Amongst the Trees

10:47

Endless Summer NAMM

Microstoria

Microstoria

Snd

4:39

Lifeblood

Huerco S.

Huerco S.

For Those of You Who Have Never (And Also Those Who Have)

8:12

Epsilon In Malaysian Pale

Edgar Froese

Edgar Froese

Solo (1974-1983): The Virgin Years

16:25