The 15 Best Ambient Albums of 2025
In a year of daring experimentation in the best ambient music, sometimes the most classic-minded records are the ones that gave people what they wanted.
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The Necks Experiment with Long-Form Minimalism
Disquiet is a genuinely absorbing series of luxuriously paced improvisations from the Necks, who have been doing this kind of thing for decades.
Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider Explore Music’s Healing Power
The experimental duo of Jamie Lidell and Luke Schneider have delivered an otherworldly soundtrack to dreams—and the spaces between them.
Ethel Cain Creates an Increasingly Flawless Discography
Ethel Cain has created some of the most gorgeous music released this year so far. Her vocals are unparalleled, as silky and unblemished as white satin ribbon.
Lael Neale Delivers Lo-Fi Songs in Her Unique Style
Lael Neale delivers her near-apocalyptic songs with eloquence and sangfroid. If this record is Neale bidding adieu to Los Angeles, then it is an unforgettable farewell.
Amulets Experiments in Powerful Ambient Soundscapes
Experimental tape wizard Amulets’ Not Around But Through is a lush, all-encompassing, enveloping sound that consumes the listener whole.
Ethel Cain’s ‘Perverts’ Is Extremely Terrifying and Haunting
The experience of Ethel Cain’s Perverts is gloomy, powerful, and extremely terrifying. It’s practically a masterclass on how to score for a horror film.
Sunn O))) Bring Thunderous Drone Metal to Lincoln Center
Sunn O))) brought their thundering drone metal to Lincoln Center as part of Unsound New York, resulting in a performance both constrained and elevating.
Ambient Composer Rafael Anton Irisarri’s Dispersion of Belief
For a record conceived of following the 2016 US election and a global pandemic, ambient maestro Rafael Anton Irisarri is ready to soundtrack our downfall.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Opus Remains Powerful and Prescient
Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven by Godspeed You! Black Emperor reminds us that sometimes the most powerful protest is (nearly) wordless.
Yuko Araki’s ‘IV’: Torn Between Voice and Noise
Experimentalist Yuko Araki highlights her vision’s first new element: the human voice, which was either absent or lost beneath the layers of havoc in the past.
The Spark of Indian Electronic Music Is on ‘The NID Tapes’
When a Moog was placed in an Indian design college, students and staff casually broke ground for electronic music. The NID Tapes is a worthy document.