Ten of the Best Chill Instrumental Albums to Listen to While Consuming Cannabis

Looking for some ideas of chill and relaxed music to listen to when consuming cannabis? We’ve got you covered. Here are our picks for ten of the best downtempo/ chill albums to listen to when you’re relaxing at home with some cannabis or working remotely.

Last fall, we compiled a list of movies and documentaries that would help us get through a possible winter shelter in place. We got some fairly good feedback on the article, so we decided to do one for instrumental albums as well. These albums are some of our favorites to listen to when we’re chilling at home and consuming, cooking, and doing other things around the house.

For us, when working from home, we need music to help us focus and set the right vibe. However, music with a lot of lyrics or hard-hitting beats might be a bit of a distraction, so sometimes we need music without lyrics. These albums do feature quite a bit of vocals, but to us, they’re layered so well that you often don’t notice them - especially when listening for the first or second time.

What is Downtempo/ Chill?

Downtempo/ chill is a genre of electronic music. It’s kind of similar to ambient, but the boom-bap beats and basslines are much more important. It’s also a little less “spacy” than the style known as trip-hop. This explanation is and contains some fairly specific terms, but we figure if you’re reading this, you get it.

We give our favorite songs for some of these albums, while others we feel need to be enjoyed in their entirety. In no particular order, here are ten of our favorite chill instrumental albums to listen to while consuming cannabis or working from home.

Emancipator – Soon it Will Be Cold Enough to Build Fires

This 2006 debut album from the talented artist Emancipator, aka Douglas Appling, features a classic downtempo style. However, several styles can be heard with this one, including modern jazz. Your ears will be treated to a variety of instrumentation, including piano, violin, and guitar. The melodies are attention-getting yet soothing. While there are some vocals and voice samples sprinkled in on this album, we don’t find them distracting or overbearing in the slightest.

Nightmares on Wax – Carboot Soul

1999’s Carboot Soul from English DJ Nightmares on Wax, George Evelyn, is the third release from the solo artist. Based in Ibiza, Nightmares on Wax aka DJ E. A. S. E. got his start as an artist back in 1988. At the time of its release, this classic trip-hop album saw some critical acclaim. Our favorite song on this one is Morse, which features a classic sample from the 1976 song How About Love, from the Soul/ Funk band Chocolate Milk. The sample shows up in the baseline, drums, and the vocals on the hook.

Cut Chemist – the Audience is Listening

Cut Chemist, aka Lucas Macfadden, is the former DJ of the hip hop group Jurassic 5. Chemist released his debut album the Audience is Listening in 2006. This album is labeled as downtempo hip hop on Wiki. While the whole album is great, our favorite track is the Garden.

The Garden features trance-inducing vocals in the hook, with Chemist skillfully blending layers upon layers of strings over subtle percussion elements like a tambourine. A masterful display of turntablism bridges into tribal singing and crescendos into a beautiful voice belting out something incredible.

An eclectic DJ, Cut Chemist also features the track Spat - which is a phone conversation made up entirely of turntable scratching. Those of us who have had the distinct pleasure of working customer service jobs can no doubt understand what the scratch conversation participants are saying.

DJ Shadow – Live! In Tune and On Time

Bay Area DJ Joshua Paul Davis, aka DJ Shadow, recorded this classic album in London in 2002. A pioneer of turntablism and an embodiment of crate digging for records, Shadow owns over 60,000 records in his collection.

Released in 2004, this album is one of the best examples of quality live DJ music. We prefer the studio recorded versions of songs like Fixed Income, Walkie Talkie, and Organ Donor, but this is the only place where all of our favorite DJ Shadow tracks converge all in one place.

Danger Mouse – The Grey Album (Jay-Z/ the Beatles MashUp)

Released in 2004, the Grey Album from Danger Mouse blends two of the best selling albums of all time - acapella from Jay-Z’s the Black Album and instrumentation from the Beatles’ White Album. This one does have a lot of lyrics on each track, so it’s one that’s better for when work is complete.

DJ Numark and Pomo – Blend Crafters

Released in 2005, Blend Crafters is a unique combination of hip hop beats with funk and soul elements. Our favorites on this one are Melody and Imagine. Imagine is a cover of the Beatles song, only with a hip hop beat and a saxophone “singing” the lyrics.

DJ Mark Farina – Mushroom Jazz (Vol. 1-5)

The various volumes of Mushroom Jazz from DJ Mark Farina were released between 1992 and 2006. A classic if we ever saw one, the original volumes of Mushroom Jazz were released on cassette tape in 1992, then subsequently released on CD in 1997. A blend of instrumental hip hop, trip-hop, downtempo, and acid jazz, Farina blends these together to produce his own style - Mushroom Jazz.

Papadosio – T.E.T.I.O.S.

We couldn’t let the DJs have all the fun, so we wanted to show some love to live improvisational instrumentals like the kind that Papadosio is known for. Papadosio pulls from influences in just about every genre we can think of, coming out on the other side with a sound like we’ve never heard before.

T.E.T.I.O.S., an abbreviation of “To End the Illusion of Separation” took the band two years to make and features 20 tracks over two discs. Each song has its own uniquely amazing visual artwork made for it, and the album comes with a 24-page artwork portfolio which is just as amazing as the music.

While each of the 20 tracks is great to listen to on their own, our favorite is Find Your Cloud - which starts with a captivating guitar riff that is accompanied by a head-nodding rhythm section, followed by some impressive keyboards. There are few words in this one, but the ones the singer chooses fit perfectly. Even in a year like 2020, we could put this song on and be grinning from ear to ear.

We love that Papadosio's latest album is called Microdosio - which is right up our alley, as we are big proponents of microdosing.

Sound Tribe Sector Nine

Going strong for over 20 years as one of the most popular live jam/ instrumental bands in the U.S., STS9 is more memorable for their live performances than their studio albums. This is why we didn’t pick a specific album - because to us, music lovers will want to hear them live. If you’re looking to get into this unique band, just search “STS9 Live” and pick something. You won’t be disappointed.

The Georgia-based band is almost as well known for their social and humanitarian work as their live performances. Throughout their 23-year career, STS9 has partnered with several non-profit organizations to bring food drives to shows and festivals. In 2005, STS9 put on a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina, raising over $20,000 in donations in the process. During their 2006 tour, they traveled the U.S. in their carbon-neutral bus and powered all of their shows using renewable energy.

Zero 7 - Simple Things

Released in 2001, Simple Things is the debut album from the British band Zero 7. The album was nominated for the Mercury Prize, which is an annual award given to the best musical act in the United Kingdom. The track that’s likely the most recognizable to Americans is In the Waiting Line, which was featured on the awesome soundtrack from the 2004 flick Garden State.

Honorable Mention - YouTube Channel The Bootleg Boy

Sometimes you just need some chill instrumental music to put on in the background all day with no stopping. That’s exactly what you’ll find with the Bootleg Boy channel, which is live streaming on YouTube 24/7. The channel labels itself as “LowFii/ Sad/ Sleepy Beats”, but we don’t see it that way. It’s just easy listening that puts us in a good mood.

HashDash - Entertaining and Informing

We hope you found value in our content about chill instrumental albums to listen to while consuming cannabis. Most of these albums are all around 20 years old or so, but we’re old school - what can we say? We’d love to hear what some of your favorite instrumental music is, so connect with us on social media: @hashdash.com on all platforms. And be sure to check back to our blog often, because we post fresh content every week!

Here at HashDash, we are compiling an entertaining yet informative database that will continue to answer your questions regarding all things cannabis, as well as where to find the best dispensaries in your area. Be sure to sign up for HashDash if you haven’t already to discover your cannabis matches. As always, thanks for reading, and happy consuming!