@Beth Solheim

Discover new music from artists we think you'll like. Refreshed every Friday.

The tracks you can’t get enough of lately, all in one place. Updated as you listen.

Asked about the inspiration behind his eight-and-a-half-hour 2015 album Sleep, the composer and ambient musician Max Richter said it was pretty simple: Sleep is really important, and he really likes doing it. In that spirit, here’s a mix of contemporary and classic ambient music we feel is perfectly calibrated to smooth the passage between the stresses and noise of waking life and the quiet mystery of dreams. Tap in. Lie down. Tune out. Our editors switch up selections regularly here, so if you hear something you like—or, more pointedly, if you don’t hear it—then add it to your library.

Though he started composing during the Classical era, Beethoven is probably best remembered as a proto-Romantic, a composer who broadened the emotional range of Western music. Lyrical, demonstrative, even a little tempestuous, the works here (produced between the late 18th century and the early 20th) signal a shift toward expressivity that changed composition forever, culminating in the radical revisions of Modernism. We regularly update this playlist with new recordings. If you like a piece, add it to your library.

These sedate, ambient, and atmospheric tracks add a gentle touch of color to bedtime. All are specially chosen to fade into the background, facilitating deep relaxation just when you need it most. We regularly refresh this playlist. If you like a mood, add it to your library.