Audiobooks have come a long way since their first iteration in 1932. Back then, the American Foundation for the Blind created book recordings on vinyl records, which only held about 15 minutes of speech per side. Over the following decades, cassette tapes and then compact discs became the new media for recorded books. In recent years, audiobooks have steadily increased in popularity. According to the Audio Publishers Association’s annual sales survey, audiobook sales have increased by double-digit percentages every year for the past decade. Furthermore, the pandemic appears to have increased the use of audiobooks, particularly among children. Of course, with audiobooks being more popular then ever, their quality and variety are at an all-time high. Be they full cast performances or single narrator romps, a good recorded book can immerse readers in the author’s world in a way that is entirely different from print texts. The best audiobooks bring our favorite characters to life, capturing the voices that heretofore only existed in our minds. For this list, the best audiobooks of all time will be determined by the very nonscientific process of one book nerd and her Facebook friends. Said book nerd has also scoured the internet, if “scoured” means the half-assed way I used to wash pots when my mother made me do the dishes in middle school. In other words, I think these are all great audiobooks but it’s not a definitive list. Note that my focus is on the performance of the readers, not the quality or content of the books themselves.
Best Audiobooks of All Time Read by Multiple Narrators
Best Audiobooks of All Time Read by a Single Narrator
Get these best audiobooks of all time in your ears ASAP! If you’re looking for even more great audiobook recommendations, the lists below can help.
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