All The Most Relaxing Ambient Sound And Background Noise On The Web
EASY LISTENING FOR DUMMIES
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Upon discovering youarelistening.to — which combines ambient tunes with police chatter (trust us) — the Digg staff had a very chill little party in the Digg office. As it turns out, sometimes ambient soundscapes work better than even the most carefully curated Spotify playlist when your goals are productivity, relaxation and even enjoyment.

So, in that spirit, here are some of the best places to go for ambient music and soothing sounds from all around the web.

Rainymood

An ambient classic, flipping on Rainymood will instantly transport you to the middle of a thunderstorm. Today it feels a little barebones (it's just a 30 minute loop with three volume settings), but it still gets the job done, and it also has iOS and Android apps so you can take the storm on the go.

Coffitivity

If your cup of coffee isn't giving you the kick you need, flipping on Coffitivity might be a good next step. Coffivity provides the cozy and comforting sounds of a cafe (which can help you focus according to scientific research) in six flavors, including Paris Paradise, Texas Teahouse, and Brazil Bistro. 

Virtual Shower

Mimicking the sounds of the room in the house where everyone does their best thinking, Virtual Shower also boasts a temperature setting that changes the color of the page. You can't hear it, but you'll know it's there.

August Ambiance

Hit the big friendly button labeled "Let's Chill" to surround yourself with cricket chirps, tweeting birds and more of the sultry sounds of summer. Aww, yeah.

Blazing Logs

Another simple one. Flip this year-round-yule log on to hear the crackle of a fire and not much else.

Noisli

An ambient noise mixing board with a bunch of interesting relaxing sounds, including railroad tracks, a bathtub and leaves rustling on a windy day. If you're feeling indecisive, it also has a "random" button that tends to land on good stuff.

Ambient Mixer

It's not as pretty as Noisli, but it Ambient Mixer has a lot more sounds, along with some preset channels, like the Great Hall from "Harry Potter" or Aperture Science Laboratory from "Portal." 

Listen to Wikipedia

This gem (suggested by Nate Davis) is a true masterpiece of internet ambient sound. It's complicated, so here's a description straight from its "About" section:

Listen to the sound of Wikipedia's recent changes feed. Bells indicate additions and string plucks indicate subtractions. Pitch changes according to the size of the edit; the larger the edit, the deeper the note.

[listen.hatnote.com]

youarelistening.to

The one that started it all. youarelistening.to combines chill tracks from SoundCloud with police scanner chatter from cities around the US. And if the sounds of casual criminal justice don't relax you, you can sub in air traffic control chatter from JFK airport, NASA radio or YouTube videos of your choice.

Advanced Ambience

Advanced ambiance is less of a website and more of a lifestyle. Combine any two (or more!) of the above ambient sound resources to create beautiful soundscape that will whisk you away to a quiet, peaceful, far-off land where productivity is paramount. Here's a good starter combo:

 

For more cool stuff from Digg, check out our originals archive here.

<p>Joey Cosco is Digg's Social and Branded Content Editor</p>

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