Top 100 Ambient Albums

for me, Suzanne Ciani's Seven Waves is album of the season

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06nWn98x_ek

mmmm, prismacolor ambient

http://windsmeasurerecordings.net/catalog/wm18/

michael t. bullock and andrew lafkas ceremonies to breathe upon

currently loving the new Biosphere album, Departed Glories:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLMDIG4sJes

Since winter is coming, I guess I could also share this mix I made a couple of years ago:

https://soundcloud.com/kukka-dj/winterchill

It starts with an electronic pop tune, but the rest of it is mostly ambient.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11JITPeYAWs

really great

i'd like to check that out!

suzanne ciani wheeie posted upthread is doin the trick rn

also I'm listening to Seven Waves at the moment but this looks super interesting

https://open.spotify.com/album/5NeWznX1xhs9KzsNh5PZQT?si=1NH6pf0wSTefbjgZghhqAQ

that looks super cool

lots of stuff here i haven't heard: https://daily.bandcamp.com/2017/03/17/contemporary-ambient-music-list

That Daru album I posted upthread is seriously good. Apparently he did the music for avatar the air bender

Got rly into virgins by Tim hecker this winter
That is a album of feeeeeelz

I'd completely forgotten about this thread, but last month I did a top 100 ambient albums list for another site, might as well share it here too:

1. Shades of Orion – Shades of Orion 2
2. Meg Bowles – The Shimmering Land
3. Éliane Radigue – Jetsun Mila
4. Lucette Bourdin – Radiant Stars
5. Vangelis – Soil Festivities
6. Air Liquide – Nephology: the New Religion
7. Constance Demby – Novus Magnificat: Through the Stargate
8. Oliver Lieb – Inside Voices
9. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith – Tides
10. Biosphere – Patashnik
11. Organic Cloud – Organic Cloud
12. Wendy Carlos – Beauty in the Beast
13. Alio Die – Deconsecrated and Pure
14. Robert Rich – Somnium
15. Datacide – Flowerhead
16. Tangerine Dream – Zeit
17. Sheila Chandra – ABoneCroneDrone
18. Silence – Silence V
19. Deep Space Network – Big Rooms
20. Gas – Königsforst
21. The Irresistible Force – Global Chillage
22. Psychick Warriors ov Gaia – Record of Breaks
23. Lucia Hwong ‎– Secret Luminescence
24. Meg Bowles ‎– Evensong: Canticles for the Earth
25. Alio Die & Sylvi Alli ‎– Amidst the Circling Spires
26. Max Richter ‎– Sleep
27. Lucette Bourdin – Timeless Shore
28. Iotronica – Of Moons and Stars
29. Mariolina Zitta ‎– Concert for Bats, Voices and Natural Sounds
30. Namlook ‎– Namlook XXV: Permutations
31. Music to Films ‎– Music to Films
32. Donato Dozzy ‎– K
33. Solar Quest ‎– Orgship
34. Lorenzo Montanà ‎– Nihil
35. Ambiant Otaku – Ambiant Otaku
36. Omni Vu Deity ‎– Uvunayatu
37. Autumn of Communion ‎– Autumn of Communion
38. Higher Intelligence Agency / Biosphere ‎– Polar Sequences
39. 2350 Broadway ‎– 2350 Broadway 2
40. Minilogue ‎– Blomma
41. Susumu Yokota ‎– Sakura
42. Ishq ‎– And Awake
43. Khan & Walker ‎– Empire State Building
44. Zalys ‎– Wandering Through Space
45. France Jobin ‎– Intrication
46. Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Suzanne Ciani ‎– Sunergy
47. Baked Beans ‎– Baked Beans
48. Woob ‎– Woob 1194
49. Thomas P. Heckmann ‎– Ghosts
50. Raw C / Pharmakustik ‎– Anamorph Specimens
51. Global Electronic Network ‎– Rolleiflex / Weltron / Time Square
52. Éliane Radigue ‎– Trilogie de la mort
53. Namlook / Montanà ‎– Labyrinth
54. 2350 Broadway ‎– 2350 Broadway 4
55. Suzanne Ciani ‎– Seven Waves
56. Alquimia ‎– "Coatlicue" Goddess of the Earth
57. Vangelis – The City
58. Global Communication ‎– 76:14
59. Otras ‎– Otras
60. 310 ‎– Aug 56
61. Delia Gonzalez & Gavin Russom ‎– The Days of Mars
62. Dominic Woosey ‎– Straylight
63. Biosphere ‎– Departed Glories
64. Alio Die & Mariolina Zitta ‎– La Sala Dei Cristalli
65. Tetsu Inoue ‎– Inland
66. Lucia Hwong ‎– Goddess Awakening Vol. 1
67. Indiana Drones ‎– Indiana Drones
68. Atom Heart ‎– Live at Sel i/s/c
69. Deborah Martin ‎– Eye of the Wizard
70. Dr Atmo ‎– Quiet Life
71. Raica ‎– Lucent Glances
72. Jochem Paap ‎– Vrs-Mbnt-Pcs 9598 II
73. Constance Demby ‎– Skies Above Skies
74. DeepChord presents Echospace ‎– Liumin
75. A-Symmetry ‎– I Am Life
76. Single Cell Orchestra ‎– Dead Vent 7
77. Biosphere ‎– Substrata
78. Material Object ‎– Artefacts Digitaux II
79. Laurie Spiegel ‎– Unseen Worlds
80. Banco De Gaia ‎– Last Train to Lhasa
81. Sheila Chandra ‎– Quiet
82. Move D ‎– The Silent Orbiter
83. Dreamfish ‎– Dreamfish
84. Freida Abtan ‎– The Hands of the Dancer / The Temple of the Dreamer
85. Monolake ‎– Silence
86. Cosmic Baby ‎– Stunde Null
87. Ishq ‎– Seascapes
88. Zalys ‎– Sublime
89. Robert Rich ‎– Geometry
90. Tomita ‎– Kosmos
91. Meg Bowles – Blue Cosmos
92. Sad World ‎– Sad World 3
93. Baked Beans ‎– Bean Me Up, Scotty!
94. William Orbit ‎– Strange Cargo III
95. Vladislav Delay ‎– Anima
96. Suzanne Doucet ‎– Reflecting Light
97. TBA / Natalie Beridze ‎– Size And Tears: Alice in Wonderland
98. Terre Thaemlitz ‎– Lovebomb
99. The Fires of Ork ‎– The Fires of Ork 2
100. Geoff Barrow / Ben Salisbury ‎– Drokk: Music Inspired by Mega-City One

https://soundcloud.com/kukka-dj/wintermix-vol-ii

I also did a sequel to that wintery ambient mix mentioned upthread.

Wow, that’s a lot to go through. Thanks T

That's a fascinating list! I think I've heard...6 of them.

Yeah, interesting list. I’ve been gradually tracking entries down. Lots I haven’t heard by artists I have heard.

love Meg Bowles. Have never heard of her until your list.

Meg Bowles is one of my favourite ambient artists, it's always nice when people discover her music. I've said it before here, but IMO she would be more acclaimed if her albums weren't self-published and labelled (by herself, admittedly) "new age". The sort of hippie elements a lot of new age artists have are completely missing from her music, mostly it's just pure cosmic synth drones. (Personally I love corny hippie new age too, but I do understand why those elements alienate people.) If her records were published by an established ambient label, they'd probably be considered classics of the genre.

Liking the Meg Bowles album. I think 'new age' would have seemed like a pejorative up until a couple of years ago but that sound is unexpectedly coming into vogue it seems.

Have we ever done an ambient albums poll?

No, I don't think so... I'd definitely participate in one.

Same! We did have this thread that died a quiet death: https://www.ilxor.com/ILX/ThreadSelectedControllerServlet?showall=true&bookmarkedmessageid=1558318&boardid=41&threadid=80208

I'd definitely be up for participating.

Likewise, although there is so much I would still like to hear first.

count me in

make sure to collect at least 2000 nominations tho

I can nominate some vapor ambient stuff, but not an expert on the larger topic at all

I’m only in if we can vote for the first eagles greatest hits album

seriously, though, I’d rather just see everyone’s own lists

I’m only in if we can vote for the first eagles greatest hits album

Eligible only if slowed down 800%.

If I don't get this job I want I'll have time to run a poll, we'll see

This'd be a fucking minefield on what qualifies and what doesn't.

Bring it.

If lukas gets his job, I might be willing to run it!

I've already compared my personal top 10 ambient albums with a couple friends over the last couple years. Would love to participate too

I got the job! Sorry.

Hmm, I think I might actually have the time to run this, if people are interested?

That'd be great!

Ummmmm yeah!!

Yup!

This is the thread in which I discover that Lukas, LBI, Tuomas, KM, and Chinaski all have me killfiled.

:p

I can nominate some vapor ambient stuff, but not an expert on the larger topic at all

i'm listening to Sleepline by New Dreams Ltd right now and I'm curious if something like this would qualify

xp no way leee, i just forgot! i'm just pumped for the poll, whoever ends up running it :)

I had the bartender put a few drops in my beer last week. Horrible idea , turned it into soap abd caused it to overflow.

_I can nominate some vapor ambient stuff, but not an expert on the larger topic at all_


i'm listening to Sleepline by New Dreams Ltd right now and I'm curious if something like this would qualify

i don't envy the pollrunner on this one, tackling issues of what counts as ambient

i have a very expansive/permissive view of what "counts" in any genre, but i'm sure there will be questions about, say, seefeel's more well known albums

Xp hah - no way, leee! I got my 'l's mixed up and thought you'd sworn off cos you'd got the job. I'm up for it whoever runs it.

I'd prolly say NO Seefeel because beats but happy to be swayed. (While acknowledging there are some utterly beautiful ambient moments on Seefeel records, ofc.)

Thanks, chums!

As for what counts... if we say beats != ambient, then that would disqualify SAW and SAWII... and they have "ambient" in their titles!

and Gas albums have beats as well! or at least, they have pulses. :)

anyway, i prefer not to participate in the What is Ambient? wars of 2019, but i'll be very happy to choose my ballot from whatever makes it through the sift