The Audible Essentials
The Audible Essentials is our list of 100 absolute must-listens. Hours were spent deliberating which books should (and shouldn't) make the cut. Ultimately, the final list was chosen to represent a wide range of genres, compelling stories, and can't-miss performances. These are the books that stand the test of time: vetted by our listeners and hand-picked by our editors as examples of excellence.
Product List
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1 Audiobook By J.K. Rowling cover art

    • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Book 1

    • By: J.K. Rowling
    • Narrated by: Jim Dale
    • Series: Harry Potter, Book 1, Wizarding World Collection, Book 1
    • Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
    • Release date: 11-20-15
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 196,478 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • I grew up with Harry Potter. We were the same age throughout most of the books, and in a way the publication of Book 7 marked the end of my own childhood. This rich world that J.K. Rowling created still feels like home to me, and I don’t know that there will ever be another series that will touch me in the same way. I only recently listened to the books, and it was so special to experience Hogwarts in a new way. Jim Dale’s award-winning performance of the series is impressive and awe-inspiring (and includes a Guinness World Record for the 134 voices he created in Order of the Phoenix). —Katie, Audible Editor

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  • A Game of Thrones Audiobook By George R.R. Martin cover art

    • A Game of Thrones

    • A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1
    • By: George R.R. Martin
    • Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
    • Series: A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1
    • Length: 33 hrs and 46 mins
    • Release date: 12-09-03
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 146,353 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • In late 2011, George R. R. Martin visited Audible and described the constraints of his former career as a scriptwriter; TV’s episodic structure dictated that every story needed to end neatly after a certain amount of time. The limits on his creativity drove him to novel-writing, where the story can be as big and messy as it wants to be. A Game of Thrones isn’t just an unabridged audiobook, it’s an unabridged imagination. —Christina, Audible Editor

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  • Born a Crime Audiobook By Trevor Noah cover art

    • Born a Crime

    • Stories from a South African Childhood
    • By: Trevor Noah
    • Narrated by: Trevor Noah
    • Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
    • Release date: 11-15-16
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 215,149 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • If I could recommend only one audiobook in our store, it would—without a doubt—be Trevor Noah’s Born a Crime. This is so much more than a celebrity memoir; it’s an unexpectedly heart-wrenching coming-of-age story of Noah’s childhood in apartheid-afflicted South Africa. Noah, forced by circumstance to be a chameleon of cultures, provides rich texture and nuance with his witty and unparalleled delivery (his multilingual abilities ensure that). Tears of despair, victory, and laughter soaked my face each time I listened to this life-changing and surprisingly uplifting story. —Jess, Audible Editor

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  • Ready Player One Audiobook By Ernest Cline cover art

    • Ready Player One

    • By: Ernest Cline
    • Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
    • Series: Ready Player One, Book 1
    • Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
    • Release date: 08-16-11
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 259,721 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • You’d be hard-pressed to find a narrator more apt to perform Ernest Cline’s 80s-pop-culture-reference-heavy adventure than Wil Wheaton, who lends his sci-fi credibility to the imagined video game world in which most of the novel takes place. Leaning heavily on the films and music that helped define a decade, Ready Player One is a satisfying, high-intensity journey full of “impossible” puzzles, innumerable enemies, and the occasional cheat code. —Chris, Audible Editor

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  • The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition Audiobook By Margaret Atwood, Valerie Martin - essay cover art

    • The Handmaid's Tale: Special Edition

    • By: Margaret Atwood, Valerie Martin - essay
    • Narrated by: Claire Danes, full cast, Margaret Atwood, Tim Gerard Reynolds
    • Series: The Handmaid's Tale, Book 1
    • Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
    • Release date: 04-04-17
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 36,100 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Full disclosure: The Handmaid's Tale is my favorite book. So when it was finally produced in audio, I was ready—like a fan girl clutching a movie ticket on opening night—to be let down. I was worried that no narrator could live up to my expectations, but Claire Danes is perfect. She doesn't act, and she doesn't need to. She recounts. She breathes out Offred’s tale as if she is living it. Resigned, beaten down, traveling through hell by putting one step ahead of the other. —Emily, Audible Editor

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  • Outlander Audiobook By Diana Gabaldon cover art

    • Outlander

    • Outlander, Book 1
    • By: Diana Gabaldon
    • Narrated by: Davina Porter
    • Series: Outlander, Book 1
    • Length: 32 hrs and 38 mins
    • Release date: 07-13-06
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 79,156 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Outlander. Just the single word conveys so many things to fans: epic love story. Sexy accents. Time travel. Adventure. And one cannot think of Diana Gabaldon’s series without also thinking of its narrator, Davina Porter. Across hundreds and hundreds of hours of audio, she has remained consistent in her performance of Claire, Jamie, and 18th century highlanders galore. If you’re new to the series settle in for the long haul: Davina and her accents are addicting. —Katie, Audible Editor

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  • Gone Girl Audiobook By Gillian Flynn cover art

    • Gone Girl

    • A Novel
    • By: Gillian Flynn
    • Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne
    • Length: 19 hrs and 57 mins
    • Release date: 06-05-12
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 59,369 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Gone Girl is a disturbingly satisfying book that will forever stick in the back of my mind. Phenomenally popular in print and even better in audio, it’s the kind of thriller everyone should listen to, even if you don't think of yourself as a fan of the genre. Narrators Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne (my new favorites) bring Amy and Nick Dunne to life, placing Gone Girl at the top on my list of the best multi-narrator performances out there. —Tricia, Audible Editor

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  • Bossypants Audiobook By Tina Fey cover art

    • Bossypants

    • By: Tina Fey
    • Narrated by: Tina Fey
    • Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins
    • Release date: 04-05-11
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 60,594 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Witty, finely crafted, and meant to be heard, Tina Fey’s Bossypants set the bar (notably, quite high) on what we’ve come to expect from a celebrity comedian’s memoir. Fey knows how to deliver a good punchline—and does so hilariously throughout this half-memoir, half-stand-up routine. From her days in the Second City comedy troupe, to Saturday Night Live, to Hollywood, these stories will leave you in stitches, while offering an intimate glimpse into what it took for Fey to rise to the top. —Jess, Audible Editor

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  • Steve Jobs Audiobook By Walter Isaacson cover art

    • Steve Jobs

    • By: Walter Isaacson
    • Narrated by: Dylan Baker
    • Length: 25 hrs and 18 mins
    • Release date: 10-24-11
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 34,497 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Dylan Baker’s narration of Steve Jobs is wonderful—heartfelt, factual, and brisk, just like the prose. When he realized he might die shortly, Steve Jobs called upon Walter Isaacson to record the real truth of Jobs’s life for the Jobs children. Isaacson manages to sketch Jobs as a mere mortal and also a titan of tech. Isaacson and Baker both use irony gently and to great effect in the portrayal of a once-in-a-lifetime visionary with outsize flaws. —Christina, Audible Editor

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  • We Are Legion (We Are Bob) Audiobook By Dennis E. Taylor cover art

    • We Are Legion (We Are Bob)

    • Bobiverse, Book 1
    • By: Dennis E. Taylor
    • Narrated by: Ray Porter
    • Series: Bobiverse, Book 1
    • Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
    • Release date: 09-20-16
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 104,626 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • If you’re going to spend eternity traveling the universe, you may as well do it with narrator Ray Porter. Anything you need, he’s got. He’s eminently likable as the story’s level-headed, problem-solving hero, Bob, a sentient space probe sent into the void on humanity’s behalf. At the same time, Porter shows off a mind-boggling array of other personalities and voices as Bob’s ever-multiplying and increasingly distinct clones—and makes you care about each and every one. —David, Audible Editor

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  • 11-22-63 Audiobook By Stephen King cover art

    • 11-22-63

    • A Novel
    • By: Stephen King
    • Narrated by: Craig Wasson
    • Length: 30 hrs and 40 mins
    • Release date: 11-08-11
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 69,582 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Stephen King is a master storyteller in his genre, and 11-22-63 is one of those rare gems of a book that has a little something for everybody—history, action, mystery, sci-fi, horror, and romance. Despite the range of literary interests on our team, every editor who has listened has absolutely loved it. With a masterful, untiring performance from Craig Wasson, this book will forever be one of my most recommended in audio. —Sam, Audible Editor

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  • Unbroken Audiobook By Laura Hillenbrand cover art

    • Unbroken

    • A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
    • By: Laura Hillenbrand
    • Narrated by: Edward Herrmann
    • Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
    • Release date: 11-16-10
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 51,015 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • “Unbelievable” is a common reaction to Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand’s true story of the life of Louis Zamperini, whose journey home after being shot down in the Pacific theater of World War II is filled with one more seemingly impossible circumstance after another. Narrator Edward Herrmann brings gravitas and empathy in equal measure, from Louis’s time as a track star to his survival in a life raft, and from his time spent in a prison camp to his eventual journey home. Louis’s ingenuity and strength of character is a true inspiration, and Herrmann’s performance makes this one impossible to turn off. —Chris, Audible Editor

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  • To Kill a Mockingbird Audiobook By Harper Lee cover art

    • To Kill a Mockingbird

    • By: Harper Lee
    • Narrated by: Sissy Spacek
    • Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
    • Release date: 07-08-14
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 47,322 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Sissy Spacek’s clear-as-a-bell Southern lilt immediately places you in young Scout Finch’s world, primed and ready for Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning story of Southern injustice and what it means to exercise a moral imperative to seek justice. Just as the book remains a perennial best seller, this audiobook is worth revisiting again and again. —Abby, Audible Editor

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  • The Help Audiobook By Kathryn Stockett cover art

    • The Help

    • By: Kathryn Stockett
    • Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Bahni Turpin, Octavia Spencer, Cassandra Campbell
    • Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins
    • Release date: 12-28-08
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 45,501 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • The Help was the first book I listened to when I started working at Audible, so there is some nostalgia to my selecting it as an essential. At the same time, I picked it because it was the book everyone told me I just had to experience in audio. And it’s true: The Help, with stand-out performances by Bahni Turpin, Jenna Lamia, and Octavia Spencer, brilliantly showcases the power of a well-cast, multi-voice performance. It stands as one of the best examples of audio truly elevating an already-powerful book. —Tricia, Audible Editor

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  • Invisible Man Audiobook By Ralph Ellison cover art

    • Invisible Man

    • A Novel
    • By: Ralph Ellison
    • Narrated by: Joe Morton
    • Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
    • Release date: 12-21-10
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 8,952 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Ralph Ellison’s novel is literally essential to Audible; our founder and CEO, Don Katz, studied with Ellison, and Ellison’s observations about American literature as an oral, vernacular form inspired Don’s ruminations about the rightful place of spoken-word entertainment in our society. Joe Morton’s performance matches the lyricism and improvisation of the text. This audiobook is a paradox: a story about isolation that—thoughtfully savored—can unite our society now. —Christina, Audible Editor

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  • The Nightingale Audiobook By Kristin Hannah cover art

    • The Nightingale

    • By: Kristin Hannah
    • Narrated by: Polly Stone
    • Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
    • Release date: 02-03-15
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 101,008 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • I have a weakness for books that make me ugly cry, and in my family The Nightingale has achieved legend status. As I sobbed, my husband had to remind me that the book wasn’t real. Kristin Hannah’s moving and heart-wrenching WWII epic follows two sisters as they fight against the Nazis in very different, but equally important ways. The Nightingale was Audible’s Best Book of 2015, and it remains one of my favorite books of all time. —Katie, Audible Editor

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  • The Name of the Wind Audiobook By Patrick Rothfuss cover art

    • The Name of the Wind

    • Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
    • By: Patrick Rothfuss
    • Narrated by: Nick Podehl
    • Series: Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
    • Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
    • Release date: 05-15-09
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 107,062 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • It’s incredible when you consider that this debut series, which consists of just two books (so far), made Patrick Rothfuss a household name, placing him on a list of fantasy masters that includes George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, and more. But one listen will make that fact seem obvious—The Kingkiller Chronicles is everything that epic fantasy should be, and beloved series narrator Nick Podehl only builds upon that experience. —Sam, Audible Editor

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  • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Audiobook By Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator cover art

    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    • A Lisbeth Salander Novel
    • By: Stieg Larsson, Reg Keeland - translator
    • Narrated by: Simon Vance
    • Series: Millennium Series, Book 1
    • Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
    • Release date: 09-16-08
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 41,855 ratings
    • Why We Think It's Essential
    • Sure, this is a great book with a phenomenal heroine, but set that aside—this is a truly special listen. Simon Vance’s delivery is that of a journalist letting you in on an incredible story over a beer, a perfect match for the author and material. He creates a range of subtly delineated voices for characters from all over Europe. And the way he pronounces Swedish names and places is so perfect, you’ll find yourself absentmindedly repeating them to yourself weeks after you finish listening. —David, Audible Editor

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