While thinking about compiling this list, I simply couldn't call it “The 50 Best Ambient Albums,” or some other such nonsense. And that’s for a number of reasons. 1) I don’t consider myself an expert, nor have I heard enough (even though I've heard a ton) to make such a claim. It seems that I discover something new and worthwhile on a weekly basis (I made such a discovery this very day). 2) It’s really hard to put 50 ambient album in some kind of numbered order. Sure, there are albums that are better than other albums, but when it comes down to it, would entry #37 be worse than entry #25? I don’t know. Is drone 1 better than drone 2? How do you rank an hour long tone? Again, some albums are definitely better than others, and the albums closer to the number one spot might be “more essential,” but really I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the albums on this list.
And so what I’ve decided to do is to make a list of 50 Ambient albums that I think are essential to a collection. This could be for someone wanting to get into the genre, or it could be for someone wanting to expand their previously-started catalog. However, any one of these albums would be a welcomed addition to any ambient music collection.
I will say this, though: the top 10 will be my "official top 10."
There will be a large number of newer (post-2000) releases on this list, and here’s why. Since Brian Eno released Ambient 1: Music for Airports, there are have been many, many ambient releases. And over the years, time has served as the best filter, thus the really good stuff from the 1970s and ‘80s, and probably the ‘90s now as well, has risen to the top. And so it’s safe to assume that the older stuff on this list are truly classics, and the albums that really deserve to be here. That’s not to say that there aren’t still hidden gems out there from the past, because there are. The new stuff however is exciting and, well, new. The genre is expanding at a rapid rate thanks to the influx of netlabels and free music. I guess you could look at it this way: in ten years time, if I were to make another list like this, the older the album the better chance there will be of it remaining on the list, while the newer stuff could drop off as trends change and time filters the great from the good.
And now comes the hardest part - what am I talking about when I talk about ambient music? That is a good question. I’ve decided to do a couple of things. First of all, I’ll mainly be avoiding stuff that I think is more beat-orientated, or more in the minimal-electronica/techno sub-genre. That’s not to say that there won’t be examples of more beat-orientated stuff on the list, but I’ll be drawing the line in places that some might find arbitrary.
I’ve also decided to create the Scale of Ambiance to give some kind of indication as to just how “ambient” the album is. A score of a 5 will mean “the most ambient.” With these albums imagine Eno’s Music for Airports, or Steve Roach’s Structures from Silence. These albums have that classic “ambient sound.” A score of a 1 will mean that the album has ambient qualities, but it is more of a hybrid album. An example of this would be Marconi Union’s Distance, with its beats, guitar, and more structured melodies.
And finally, I won’t be writing extensively about each artist or album. There’s not a need for that. I’ll let the music speak for itself, provide links, and offer up only the most minimal of commentary. I mean, after all, how many times can I describe an album as dense, haunting, and atmospheric?
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