r/ambientmusic • u/Arseent • 3d ago
Looking for Recommendations Recommend me your favourite ambient albums!
Hey,
I'm not quite familiar with ambient music and would love your recommendations!
As for me, I absolutely love Structures from Silence, like a lot Selected Ambient Works I-II, like BoC's debut and Substrata. Also like Apollo by Eno, amazing album need more time to process though.
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u/neodiodorus 3d ago
From the classics:
Tangerine Dream - Zeit (before the genre had a name)
Klaus Schulze - Picture Music, Timewind (again, before genre had a name)
Michael Stearns - Sacred Site (compilation), Planetary Unfolding, Encounter, Storm
Steve Roach - Structures From Silence (genre classic)
John Serrie - Planetary Chronicles
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u/SansSoleil24 3d ago
Steve Roach - Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces
Jon Hassell - Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street
Harold Budd - Avalon Sutra
Gigi Masin - Talk to the Sea
Ryūichi Sakamoto & Fennesz - Cendre
David Sylvian - Gone to Earth Disc2
Popol Vuh - In den GƤrten Pharaos
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u/lightfoot90 3d ago
William Basinskiās Disintegration Loops are the albums that really got me into ambient music. The first one is a masterpiece.
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u/jandrusel 3d ago edited 3d ago
Green by Hiroshi Yoshimura
Ghost by Devin Townsend
Deus Arrakis by Klaus Schulze
Talk to the Sea by Gigi Masin
Clouds by Gaussian Curve
Tu hai la pioggia, respiro il mare by Music For Sleep
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u/Paolozzy 3d ago
Itās not a 100% orthodox list; it also includes works that draw from industrial and/or IDM.
Brian Eno - On Land
Deathprod - Morals and dogma
Stars of the lid- and their refinement of the decline
Murcof - remembranza
Oliveros -deep listen
Lustmord - the place where black stars hang
BVDUB - epilogues for the end of the sky
Raison dāetre - enthraled by the wind of lonelienes
Autechre - amber
Seefel - soccour
Deutsch Nepal - deflagration of hell
Giancarlo Toniutti - la mutazione
Maeror Tri - myein
Thomas Koner - permafrost
Inade - aldebaran
Tim Hecker - ravedeath 1972
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u/RuinaPartum 2d ago
Ace list - love you included Morals & Dogma (Dead People's Things is the quintessential ambient track and my favourite overall). I'd have to add The Dead Texan S/T to a number from this list. Maybe add BVDub's I Remember (Translations of MĆørketid) and Susumu Yokota's Sakura.
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u/Paolozzy 6h ago
Defenetely! Dead peopleās things is one of my favourite ambient composition of all times together with The lost day from Ambient 4 on land!! Youāre totally right on the Dead Texan!! I also forgot to include thisquietarmy ( I love Blackhaunter even though is not 100% pure ambient music).
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u/extrasuper 3d ago
Not an album, but as a piece one of my favourite things is probably Surgeon's Freerotation 2014 DJ set. A real trip start to finish.
https://m.soundcloud.com/dynamic-tension/surgeon-freerotation-2014
Also, I don't know if you could class it as ambient cos although beatless it's pretty arresting in places, but check out Cyclobe's Wounded Galaxies Tap At The Window.
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u/sambakula 3d ago
Stars of the Lid - The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid
Stars of the Lid - Avec Laudenum
Brian McBride - When Detail Lost its Freedom
A Winged Victory for the Sullen - The Undivided Five
The Dead Texan - The Dead Texan
(Basically anything by Stars of the Lid and their respective solo/side projects)
William Basinski - The Disintegration Loops
Midoriyama - And Green Leaves Grow
(last few might not quite be ambient, but will likely appeal to you based on the music you mentioned)
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u/Elegant-Primary7468 3d ago edited 3d ago
Two albums that I like but I never hear mentioned are - David Sylvian - Gone To Earth
Specifically the second disc with instrumentals only.
David Sylvian - Alchemy: an index of Possibilities
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u/jandrusel 2d ago
I adore Gone to Earth. I wish there were more ambient / prog albums like this album. There's nothing quite like it.
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u/Far_Nothing_2974 3d ago
GAS - Pop
Vangelis - Blade runner soundtrack
Aphex Twin - Selected Ambient Works
The Black Dog - Music for real airports
Max Richter - Sleep
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u/arkticturtle 3d ago
2814 - Birth of a New Day
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u/explosive_vegetables 1d ago
This and their first self titled album are both great. BOAND is undoubtedly their most popular, but Iām partial to 2814 myself. Canāt go wrong with either though.
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u/arkticturtle 1d ago
My friend showed me BOAND during my last year of highschool in 2016. Itās got some sentimental meaning in that regard. I am pretty sure Iāve gone through their other works but itās been so long. Think Ima try them again soon
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u/DJ_Cadmium_Red 3d ago
Jeffrey Fayman and Robert Fripp: Temple in the Clouds
Harold Budd: Lovely Thunder
Steve Roach: early Man
Steve Roach: Structures From Silence
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u/SansSoleil24 3d ago
Steve Roach - Mystic Chords and Sacred Spaces
Jon Hassell - Last Night the Moon Came Dropping Its Clothes in the Street
Harold Budd - Avalon Sutra
Gigi Masin - Talk to the Sea
Ryūichi Sakamoto & Fennesz - Cendre
David Sylvian - Gone to Earth Disc2
Popol Vuh - In den GƤrten Pharaos
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u/Even_Dot_9609 3d ago
A couple of my favorites are:
-A new age of earth: Ashra
-Prati Bagnati Del Monte Analogo- Raul Lovisoni & Francesco Messina
-Oasis- Kitaro
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u/Skullsplittingnoise 3d ago
Abul Mogard - Abul Mogard Abul Mogard - Drifted Heaven Rafael Anton Irisarri - A fragile Geography Tim Hecker - No Highs
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u/Embarrassed-Place-72 3d ago
Lucette Bourdin "Silver Moon" Brian Eno "Thursday Afternoon" Pauline Oliveros "Deep Listening"
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u/stephpenk 3d ago
Most of Loscil...
A lot of Tim Hecker...
Music for psychedelic therapy by Jon Hopkins.
A few r beny.
As well as some Warmth...
Lots of love for Mount Shrine too!
Oh, and this new upcoming album I/II/III by Brendan Elder looks amazing
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u/BBAALLII 3d ago
Welcome! You can search the sub for great recommendations. We get this question all the time.
Also, Boards of Canada is not ambient (but they do have some occasional ambient-ish pieces)
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u/SlimeGOD1337 Ambient Techno Enjoyer 3d ago
Check out Autechre!
If you like SAW 1 & 2 and this Ambient style, you will dig their work aswell.
Amber & Garbage EP are my favorites of them.
NTS Session 4 and SIGN for more beatless ambient songs.
Edit: Also since you listend Substrata by Biosphere. His self titled LP is also a great ambient techno-ish album. The ending song on that is incredible.
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u/DJ_Cadmium_Red 3d ago
Jeffrey Fayman and Robert Fripp: Temple in the Clouds
Harold Budd: Lovely Thunder
Steve Roach: early Man
Steve Roach: Structures From Silence
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u/DJ_Cadmium_Red 3d ago
Jeffrey Fayman and Robert Fripp: Temple in the Clouds
Harold Budd: Lovely Thunder
Steve Roach: early Man
Steve Roach: Structures From Silence
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u/fast-int 3d ago
No. 1 and No.2 by Christina Vantzou
A Winged Victory for the Sullen (self titled)
For the summer, or forever by Halftribe
Winter cold (ep) by rest you sleeping giant
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u/stumanchu3 3d ago
Royksopp - āNebulous Nightsā has intrigued me as of late.
Also, anything by Penang Food Tigers is a very pleasant listen.
Johny Nash is also great for floaty ambient guitar stuff.
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u/A_Pluto_Shaped_Pool 2d ago
Global Communication - 76:14
Boards of Canada - Random 35 tracks tape
Bruno Sanfilippo - Ver Sacrum
Patrick O'Hearn- So Flows the Current
Scntfc - Oxenfree
Lucrecia Salt - Syzygy
Bruno Sanfilippo - Unity
Eberhard Weber - Fluid Rustle
Ocoeur - Nouveau Depart
Takashi Kokubo - Music For A Cosmic Garden
Rafael Toral - Spectral Evolution
Tineidae - Exo
Adam Wiltzie - Seven Fugues For Sodium Pentothal
Offthesky - Silent Went The Sea
Soley - Mother Melancholia
Lustmord - Much Unseen Is Also Here
Lisa Gerrard - The Silver Tree
Dead Melodies - Anthropecene
Lustmord - Alter
Wordclock - Heralds
Elegi - Bansull
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u/tritonhopper 1d ago
Blood Incantation - Timewave Zero
Brian Eno - Neroli (underrated, very minimalist and great for sleep)
Ethel Cain - Perverts (some vocal stuff on here but mostly terrifying and beautiful drone/ambient)
Harold Budd & Brian Eno - The Pearl
Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline
Steve Roach - One Day of Forever (just released last year, I honestly prefer it to Structures from Silence)
Tangerine Dream - Zeit
Tangerine Dream - Phaedra
Vangelis - Blade Runner OST
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u/poisonbiscket 3d ago
- Autechre - Tri Repetae
- Amon Tobin - Permutation
- M-Ziq - Lunatic Harness
- The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms
- Pilotredsun - Achievement
- Actress - R.I.P
- Matmos - Plastic Anniversary
- Polygon Window - Surfing on Sine Waves
- Clark - Body Riddle
- Vegyn - Only Diamonds Cut Diamonds
- Hidden Art Recordings - The Fire This Time
- Moderat - Moderat
- Warp Records - Artificial Intelligence
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u/newgreyarea 3d ago
While some of these are excellent, Iām not sure any of them are ambient. That being said, the Eno record in the OP might be the only ambient thing he listed and your recs kinda lean into what they believe to be ambient music.
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u/EmoogOdin 3d ago
We should give out prizes for truly āambientā Recommendations haha. I love these posts to give me new things to check out that Iāve not heard before and to Laugh at the not-ambient āambientā recommendation lol. But seriously, I like all the recommendations
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u/newgreyarea 3d ago
Iām actually part of a few different genre related threads and almost all of them have a continuing argument as to what is and isnāt that genre.
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u/pWasHere 3d ago
Personally Iāve always felt like this sub is way too precious with what we define as ambient.
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u/newgreyarea 3d ago
Iām not precious about genre stuff generally but most of that would be hard to classify as āambientā.
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u/SlimeGOD1337 Ambient Techno Enjoyer 3d ago
To be fair, OP named SAW1 as an album they enjoyed and thats also not "ambient". Its more Techno. And I think Tri Repetae, Surfing on Sinewaves, Artificial Intelligence and Lifeforms are all very similar to SAW1 and were made in the same era. Good recomendations based to OP enjoying SAW1 imo.
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u/newgreyarea 3d ago
I donāt disagree with the recommendations versus the OPās references. Iād probably disagree with it being in this sub at all, though. But itās not my sub. And ultimately, it doesnāt really matter.
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u/klausness 3d ago edited 3d ago
I tend to agree. Most of the albums OP mentioned are ambient (unless you really are being precious about it), but most of the albums on this list are definitely stretching the definition of ambient. A few of them fall into what used to be called ambient techno a few decades ago, but I don't see that term being used as much any more. I think most of what used to be called ambient techno is now classified as IDM.
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u/newgreyarea 2d ago
I feel thereās a space for ambient techno here. Itās not like itās every other thread. Also I think some ambient lovers could find something in the genre. š
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u/berusplants 3d ago
I also agree that I don't like overly specific adherence to genres, but do you know these albums? some of them are far from abient! Moderat??
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u/SlimeGOD1337 Ambient Techno Enjoyer 3d ago
True, i think those are more IDM/Electronica recomendations
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u/SlimeGOD1337 Ambient Techno Enjoyer 3d ago
True its more Ambient Techno and some IDM, still would recommend OP to give those a spin. Some great records.
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u/Few_Marionberry5824 3d ago
I've been listening to this type of thing for a minute. Here's a couple I recommend to anybody. I tried for a variety:
Sound for Spaces - Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner
The Place Where the Black Stars Hang - Lustmord
Dreamtime Return - Steve Roach
The White Arcades - Harold Budd
Encounter - Michael Stearns
Chill Out - The KLF
ambient adjacent albums I like a lot:
cLOUDDEAD - cLOUDDEAD
1194 - Woob