Back in the 1910s, composer Erik Satie came up with the then-radical idea of music designed to fade into the background, something you could enjoy without giving it too much attention. Furniture music, he called it—a play both on the music’s usefulness (it set the mood) and the idea that you wouldn’t necessarily notice it when you walked into the room. The terms have changed—we usually just call it “ambient” now—but the idea is just as prevalent. Covering the more relaxed side of contemporary ambient music, the tracks here play at the edge of your attention—good for studying, working or unwinding. And like any good piece of furniture, they’re also sturdy enough to admire on their own. Our editors update tracks here regularly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.