Ambient 1: Music For Airports (1978)

Awesome ambient minimalism.

This complex sound sculpture was created by Brian Eno in 1978 and was even installed for a while at the Marine Terminal of New York at LaGuardia Airport. The ambient-minimalist soundscape has been alternately described as background Muzak, a profoundly artificial musical milieu, and a groundbreaking studio creation. Eno designed Music for Airports from a few simple notes and the serial organisation of variable tape loops that didn't quite match up. It's a groundbreaking elaboration on the aural/spatial dimension that utilises silence, piano, synthesizer, female voices, and, most importantly, the technology of the studio. A true metaclassic, the "music" is divided into four distinct movements. This record is the first of Eno's ambient series that also included an album by Laraaji (Larry Gordon).