Just because something is mellow doesn’t mean it can’t be interesting—consider the bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto, whose whisper-quiet approach covered over a world of detail. The music here—a mix of folk, psychedelia, and other acoustic sounds from around the world—isn’t intrusive. If anything, it’s the kind of stuff you could happily have on without noticing, or at least without having to focus on. But it’s also the kind of gently exploratory stuff that can rearrange your perceptions if you let it. Our editors update picks regularly, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.