Genre · Vinyl
Ambient vinyl
Ambient music is made to change the atmosphere of a room rather than demand your attention. Brian Eno named it with Ambient 1: Music for Airports in 1978, and it has since run through Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works, the drones of Stars of the Lid and William Basinski, and labels like kranky.
Ambient records reward a good pressing, and many come out in short runs from small labels. Here's every ambient record we've covered, with what's on pre-order, what's in stock and where to buy it at retail price.
26 artists · 30 vinyl releases · 15 on pre-order
Get new ambient vinyl and similar records in one email a week.
Free · One email a week · Just your email address · Unsubscribe anytime
New and upcoming ambient vinyl
All ambient releases →-
Pre-order
Slow Dancing Society: The Sound of Lights When Dim (20th Anniversary Edition)
Vinyl LP · Past Inside the Present
-
Record Store Day
Tangerine Dream: Live at Paramount Theatre – Portland, OR 1977
2xLP, blue and yellow vinyl · Culture Factory USA · 27 November 2026
-
Pre-order
David Sylvian: The Distance Between the Killer and the Killing
LP / Indies Exclusive Coloured LP · NANOQ · 26 February 2027
Ambient vinyl news
All Vinyl News →- Music For Two Films About Water — Liz Harris on Kranky
- David Sylvian: The Distance Between the Killer and the Killing preorder
- Wind 40th Anniversary Edition — Gigi Masin Reissue on Numero Group
- Bon Iver Self-Titled Urban Outfitters Exclusive — White and Blue Swirl Vinyl
- Nouvelle Vague: A Date with Depeche Mode — Pre-order Now
Ambient vinyl FAQs
Anything else? Reply to any email and it comes straight to us.
Music built on atmosphere and texture rather than rhythm or melody, designed to be listened to closely or left playing in the background. Brian Eno coined the term in the 1970s.
Good places to start are Ambient 1: Music for Airports by Brian Eno, Selected Ambient Works 85–92 by Aphex Twin, And Their Refinement of the Decline by Stars of the Lid and The Disintegration Loops by William Basinski. Check each record's page for the pressings available now.
Our ambient records link most often to Norman Records (UK), Sister Ray (UK) and the Bands Website. Every buy link goes to the artist, the label or a record shop selling the record new, at retail price. See where to buy ambient vinyl →
Coming up: Music For Two Films About Water by Liz Harris (27 November), Live at Paramount Theatre – Portland, OR 1977 by Tangerine Dream (27 November) and The Distance Between the Killer and the Killing by David Sylvian (26 February 2027). See ambient pre-orders →
Recent ambient reissues we've covered include The Sound of Lights When Dim (20th Anniversary Edition) by Slow Dancing Society, Keyboard Fantasies (40th Anniversary Edition) by Beverly Glenn-Copeland and Blue Velvet (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) 40th Anniversary Edition by Angelo Badalamenti. New pressings of older records are in the weekly email as soon as we find them. Read about The Sound of Lights When Dim (20th Anniversary Edition) →
The labels behind the most ambient records we list are Temporary Residence Limited, Sonic Cathedral, kranky, Swim and Transgressive. See all ambient labels →
Slow Dancing Society, Field Lines Cartographer, Purelink and Liz Harris all have ambient records on pre-order or in stock right now. We list 26 ambient artists in all. See all ambient artists →
Subscribe to the Surface Noise Weekly. One email a week, at the weekend, with new ambient pressings, reissues, pre-orders and back-in-stock records, and where to buy them. Subscribe →