The 17 Best Audiobooks of All Time

Some of these recordings keep one familiar voice for the whole book; others hand it to a cast of dozens. Memoirs read by the people who lived them sit beside novels that found their perfect narrator.

1. 1
   Harry Potter (Stephen Fry)

   Stephen Fry's unabridged reading of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the UK audiobook edition of the first novel.
2. 2
   Project Hail Mary

   Andy Weir's 2021 science-fiction novel read by Ray Porter, named Audiobook of the Year at the 2022 Audie Awards.
3. 3
   Born a Crime

   Trevor Noah's 2016 memoir of growing up in apartheid South Africa, read by the author.
4. 4
   Lincoln in the Bardo

   George Saunders' 2017 novel performed by a cast of 166 voices including Nick Offerman and David Sedaris, Audiobook of the Year at the 2018 Audie Awards.
5. 5
   World War Z

   Max Brooks' 2006 oral history of a zombie war, recorded with a full cast that grew in the 2013 complete edition.
6. 6
   The Hobbit (Andy Serkis)

   Andy Serkis's unabridged 2020 reading of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
7. 7
   Pride and Prejudice (Rosamund Pike)

   Rosamund Pike's unabridged reading of Jane Austen's novel, released by Audible in December 2015.
8. 8
   Bossypants

   Tina Fey's 2011 comic memoir about Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, read by the author.
9. 9
   Dune

   Frank Herbert's 1965 novel in Macmillan Audio's unabridged recording read by Simon Vance with Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton and others.
10. 10
    Ready Player One

    Ernest Cline's 2011 novel of a virtual-reality treasure hunt, read by Wil Wheaton.
11. 11
    The Martian

    Andy Weir's novel of an astronaut stranded on Mars, read by R.C. Bray in the 2013 Podium recording.
12. 12
    A Promised Land

    Barack Obama's 2020 presidential memoir read by the author across roughly 29 hours.
13. 13
    Anansi Boys

    Neil Gaiman's 2005 novel about the sons of the trickster god Anansi, read by Lenny Henry.
14. 14
    Educated

    Tara Westover's 2018 memoir of leaving a survivalist family in Idaho for Cambridge, read by Julia Whelan.
15. 15
    The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

    Douglas Adams' 1979 comic science-fiction novel in Stephen Fry's unabridged 2005 reading.
16. 16
    Greenlights

    Matthew McConaughey's 2020 memoir drawn from his journals, read by the author.
17. 17
    Circe

    Madeline Miller's 2018 retelling of the Greek witch Circe's life, read by Perdita Weeks.

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