Novel & Narrator
The best audiobooks
Not the best books. The best audiobooks — where the performance is a reason to listen rather than read.
We earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Prices come from Amazon and were last checked on October 6, 2026. It does not change which books we pick — see how we choose and how we are funded.
Most "best audiobooks" lists are lists of good books that happen to exist in audio. This one is not. Every pick here is chosen because the performance adds something — a voice that carries the irony, a cast that makes the structure work, an author whose own accent is part of the information.
That is a narrower test than "is a great book", and it produces a different list. Several extraordinary novels are missing because their audio editions are merely competent, and a couple of books here are not the finest prose on the shelf but are unarguably the best things to listen to.
The ten best audiobooks
Ranked by how much the audio edition adds. Narrators from the publisher's catalog; prices from Amazon at our last check.
| # | Title | Best for | Narrator | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Project Hail Mary Andy Weir · read by Ray Porter A lone engineer wakes up on a spacecraft with amnesia and a problem that will end the planet if he cannot solve it. The best first audiobook we can point anyone at. | A first audiobook, or a long drive | Ray Porter | $22.07on Amazon |
| 2 |  Born a Crime Trevor Noah · read by Trevor Noah Growing up mixed-race under and after apartheid, told as comedy that keeps turning serious. The audio edition is the definitive one. | The best-performed memoir on this site | Trevor Noah | $19.69on Amazon |
| 3 |  The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie · read by Steven Pacey Grimdark's best-known opening: a torturer, a barbarian and a vain duelist, none of whom are the hero they think they are. Very funny, very bleak. | Listeners who want character over quest | Steven Pacey | $7.99on Amazon |
| 4 |  Dungeon Crawler Carl Matt Dinniman · read by Jeff Hays Earth is demolished for an intergalactic dungeon game show, and the only survivors are a man in his boxers and his ex-girlfriend's cat. The funniest book in the genre and the best-performed. | The LitRPG entry point, and the audio showcase | Jeff Hays | $19.69on Amazon |
| 5 |  Daisy Jones & The Six Taylor Jenkins Reid · read by Jennifer Beals & Benjamin Bratt +2 An oral history of a band that broke up in 1979. Written entirely as interview transcript, which makes the audio edition the real one. | The clearest case for a full cast on this site | Jennifer Beals & Benjamin Bratt +2 | $15.75on Amazon |
| 6 |  The Thursday Murder Club Richard Osman · read by Lesley Manville Four residents of a retirement village investigate a real murder. Genuinely funny, properly plotted, and much kinder than most crime fiction. | Cozy crime with actual jokes | Lesley Manville | $17.72on Amazon |
| 7 |  The Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien · read by Andy Serkis A reluctant burglar, thirteen dwarves and a dragon. The tightest thing Tolkien wrote and the easiest to hand to anyone. | A family listen or a first fantasy | Andy Serkis | $17.96on Amazon |
| 8 |  Say Nothing Patrick Radden Keefe · read by Matthew Blaney A disappearance in Belfast as the way into the Troubles. The best narrative nonfiction of the last decade. | A listen that explains a conflict through people | Matthew Blaney | $17.72on Amazon |
| 9 |  Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen · read by Rosamund Pike Still the best-constructed romantic comedy in English, and much funnier than its reputation. | A classic that works perfectly aloud | Rosamund Pike | $17.27on Amazon |
| 10 |  The Hate U Give Angie Thomas · read by Bahni Turpin A sixteen-year-old is the only witness when a police officer kills her friend. Direct, urgent and much warmer about family than its subject suggests. | A listen that works for teens and adults together | Bahni Turpin | $22.83on Amazon |
The picks, in detail
Our top pick · A first audiobook, or a long drive
Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir · narrated by Ray Porter
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2021
A lone engineer wakes up on a spacecraft with amnesia and a problem that will end the planet if he cannot solve it. The best first audiobook we can point anyone at.
On audio
Ray Porter performs a non-human character with a voice no page can reproduce, and the book was clearly built for that. It is the single clearest case on this site of the audio edition being the better edition.
Who should skip it
- The hard-science problem-solving is the pleasure; if you want character interiority, this is not that book.
- The first hour is deliberately disorienting, which is harder to sit with in audio than on the page.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 2 · The best-performed memoir on this site
Born a Crime
by Trevor Noah · narrated by Trevor Noah
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2026
Growing up mixed-race under and after apartheid, told as comedy that keeps turning serious. The audio edition is the definitive one.
On audio
Noah reads it himself and does every language and accent in his own family. Print loses most of the book's effect.
Who should skip it
- Episodic rather than cumulative.
- Domestic violence in the final chapters.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 3 · Listeners who want character over quest
The Blade Itself
by Joe Abercrombie · narrated by Steven Pacey
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2015
Grimdark's best-known opening: a torturer, a barbarian and a vain duelist, none of whom are the hero they think they are. Very funny, very bleak.
On audio
Steven Pacey is the most-recommended fantasy performance on the internet for a reason — his Glokta alone justifies the credit.
Who should skip it
- Almost nothing is resolved; it is the first third of one story.
- The cruelty is the point, which not everyone wants.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 4 · The LitRPG entry point, and the audio showcase
Dungeon Crawler Carl
by Matt Dinniman · narrated by Jeff Hays
- Runtime
- 13h 31m
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2021
Earth is demolished for an intergalactic dungeon game show, and the only survivors are a man in his boxers and his ex-girlfriend's cat. The funniest book in the genre and the best-performed.
On audio
Jeff Hays does dozens of voices and the production adds effects for the system announcements. This is the edition people mean when they say the audiobook is better.
Who should skip it
- The system-stat interludes are an acquired taste.
- Crude and extremely violent in the first hours.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Runtime from the audiobooks.com catalog listing.
Pick 5 · The clearest case for a full cast on this site
Daisy Jones & The Six
by Taylor Jenkins Reid · narrated by Jennifer Beals, Benjamin Bratt, Judy Greer, Pablo Schreiber
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 4
- Audio edition
- 2019
An oral history of a band that broke up in 1979. Written entirely as interview transcript, which makes the audio edition the real one.
On audio
A large cast plays the band members giving contradictory accounts. In print it is a transcript; in audio it is a documentary.
Who should skip it
- No prose to speak of — it is all dialogue.
- The lyrics at the end do not survive being read aloud.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 6 · Cozy crime with actual jokes
The Thursday Murder Club
by Richard Osman · narrated by Lesley Manville
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2020
Four residents of a retirement village investigate a real murder. Genuinely funny, properly plotted, and much kinder than most crime fiction.
On audio
Lesley Manville's delivery of Joyce's diary entries is the best thing in the series and the main reason to pick the audio edition.
Who should skip it
- The plot is secondary to the company.
- A large cast introduced quickly.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 7 · A family listen or a first fantasy
The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien · narrated by Andy Serkis
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2020
A reluctant burglar, thirteen dwarves and a dragon. The tightest thing Tolkien wrote and the easiest to hand to anyone.
On audio
Andy Serkis performs it as a storyteller rather than a reader, and his Gollum is the voice most of the world already hears for the character.
Who should skip it
- The narrator's asides to the reader date it.
- The dwarves are largely interchangeable.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 8 · A listen that explains a conflict through people
Say Nothing
by Patrick Radden Keefe · narrated by Matthew Blaney
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2019
A disappearance in Belfast as the way into the Troubles. The best narrative nonfiction of the last decade.
On audio
Matthew Blaney's accent work matters in a book where who says what is the whole point.
Who should skip it
- Large cast across decades.
- Assumes no prior knowledge but moves fast anyway.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 9 · A classic that works perfectly aloud
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen · narrated by Rosamund Pike
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2015
Still the best-constructed romantic comedy in English, and much funnier than its reputation.
On audio
Rosamund Pike's reading is widely treated as the definitive audio edition, and the irony lands cleanly.
Who should skip it
- The free indirect style takes an ear.
- The entail plot needs some context.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Pick 10 · A listen that works for teens and adults together
The Hate U Give
by Angie Thomas · narrated by Bahni Turpin
- Runtime
- Not published in our source
- Narrators
- 1
- Audio edition
- 2017
A sixteen-year-old is the only witness when a police officer kills her friend. Direct, urgent and much warmer about family than its subject suggests.
On audio
Bahni Turpin's performance is the standard recommendation for this book and deserves it.
Who should skip it
- Police violence described directly.
- Some speeches are didactic.
#ad How we are funded · Audible price as of October 6, 2026
Why each one is here
| Pick | What the audio adds |
|---|---|
| Project Hail Mary | Ray Porter performs a non-human voice the printed book can only approximate |
| Born a Crime | Trevor Noah does every language in his own family |
| The Blade Itself | Steven Pacey holding an enormous cast; his Glokta alone |
| Dungeon Crawler Carl | Dozens of voices plus sound design on the system messages |
| Daisy Jones & The Six | A cast turns an interview transcript into a documentary |
| The Thursday Murder Club | Lesley Manville's diary entries are funnier spoken |
| The Hobbit | Andy Serkis performs it as storytelling, and sings the songs |
| Say Nothing | Accent work matters in a book where who said what is the point |
| Pride and Prejudice | Austen's irony lives in the delivery; the text is free |
| The Hate U Give | Bahni Turpin carries a first-person voice without condescension |
If you only listen to one
Project Hail Mary. It is the clearest demonstration available of what an audiobook can do that a printed book cannot, it is funny, and the plot is strong enough to carry a long drive. If someone asks you to prove that audiobooks are not a lesser format, this is the answer.
Where to go next
- By genre, best audiobooks by genre.
- By what fits your week, audiobooks by occasion.
- By who is reading, the best narrators.
- If you are new to audiobooks, audiobooks for beginners.
- For this year's releases, the best audiobooks of 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best audiobook of all time?
What makes a good audiobook rather than a good book?
What audiobook should I start with?
Are these the best-selling audiobooks?
Do you only recommend Amazon?
Sources
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The four mistakes that make people give up, and the books that reliably convert someone new to listening.