BEST OF THE DECADE

Our editors share their favorite
listens of the past 10 years.

This past decade has given us so many great listens, when we sat down to talk about our favorites, we knew it would be impossible to share them all with you. So we decided to just share some of favorites—no rankings, no definitive bests—just some reasons why we loved what we loved. We hope some of your favorites of the 2010s made the list, but if not, maybe your next new favorite is right here waiting for you. —The Audible Editors

Already a classic

Lincoln in the Bardo was my favorite listen of 2017 and it remains so to this day. This is certainly going to go down as a classic listen and make no mistake, this one is meant to be heard. One hundred and sixty-six individual narrators (led by Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, and the author George Saunders) came together to voice this wildly surreal audiobook. And while that might sound like a production stunt, the breadth of voices was necessary to create the immersive cacophony effect (almost a Greek chorus of Americana) that Saunders imagined as the after-dark setting of the Georgetown Cemetery where young Willie Lincoln has been laid to rest by his stricken and shocked father. And that's the crux of this tale: this hugely ambitious novel (Saunders's first), so intricately produced and set against a devastating historical backdrop, ultimately delivers the most humbling and accurate portrait of grief I've ever encountered.

Emily

Audible Editor

Get to the gone

I’m a sucker for great story structure, and Gone Girl uses every inch of its narrative to subvert expectations in ways that shock and amuse. The perfectly utilized diary entries fold into a legendary mid-book reveal. The face-turn-heel of a seemingly perfect victim who revels in the way they’ve expertly managed your expectations. The unreliable narrators who reveal so much about themselves by what they don’t say—or how they shape emotional states into origami. And it all feels fair; while most twist-filled stories tend to seem rather flimsy under a microscope, the closer you look at Gillian Flynn’s masterpiece, the more you notice the sheer togetherness of it all, each part working in concert with another, coalescing to form a story that has one finger firmly on the pulse of popular culture, and one on the carotid of a serial killer.

Sean

Audible Editor

Thomas and Turpin are my OTP

No listen has had a greater impact on me in the last decade than The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. In a word, it’s transformative. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this searing debut will floor you with its elegant and deliberate prose. Our heroine Starr Carter is driving home from a party with her best friend Khalil when they are pulled over by a cop, who ends up fatally shooting Khalil. Khalil was unarmed. Thomas fearlessly handles the narrative that follows with a grace and poignancy that will have you marveling at her talent. Narrator Bahni Turpin manages to give voice to such a broad and rich cast of characters, each with their own authentic perspective, demonstrating the power of performance to bring new depth to a complex social issue. This is the very definition of required listening—and my favorite from the decade.

Katie

Audible Editor

Tina Fey wears the pants

I still remember the first time I listened to Bossypants in 2011. I was a recent college grad and my tastes were embarrassingly snobby, but I liked Tina Fey and thought it would just be soooo subversive to listen to a best seller. Imagine my shock when Bossypants showed me how much pure, uncomplicated joy I could get from a book. I never looked back. Before Tina Fey we had Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, and Joan Rivers, but Bossypants came at just the right moment when the floodgates were opening for women in comedy. Its best seller status made Tina Fey a household name and paved the way for excellent (hilarious) memoirs that would follow by Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Tiffany Haddish, Ali Wong, and so many more. Bossypants launched a cultural phenomenon. What I love best about Tina Fey’s book is her voice, both figuratively and literally. It's a joy to spend five and a half straight hours in her brain, hearing her perspective on comedy, career, and crushes gone awry. The audiobook's use of clips from Saturday Night Live was also revolutionary and elevated this memoir to a whole new level. No matter which comedy memoir I end up falling in love with next, Bossypants will always hold a special place in my heart as the first—and the decade’s best.

Rachel

Audible Editor

Lin-Manuel Miranda. Need I say more?

Following the lives of two best friends during the 1980s, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe is so much more than a coming of age story. While it tackles growing up with harmful ideas about masculinity, sexuality, and identity, it’s also a heartwarming tale of finding your person. Ari and Dante are faced with some of life’s most difficult problems while they’re adjusting to the already confusing landscape of being teenage boys. Theirs is a story about the complexities of love, friendship, and family—in addition to a story about learning to love yourself and grow past the cruelties and injustices that the world sometimes throws your way. And to top it all off, when paired with Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s poetic prose, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s performance makes this one impossible to stop.

Michael C.

Audible Editor

A nostalgic trip

Stephen King’s 11.22.63 is a technicolor romp to the past where the root beer tastes better, cars have more class, and listeners are warned to beware the yellow card man. I was not alive in 1963, but after spending 30+ hours listening to narrator Craig Wasson bring these fictional (and real) characters brilliantly to life, I feel like while I didn’t live there, I’ve at least visited for a long weekend. Blending time travel, history, a little romance, and political intrigue, this is an oddly feel-good tale—odd because it's about assassination and comes from the king of horror. The thing is that King also just happens to be a masterful storyteller whose best work of the decade will warm your heart more than scare the hell out of you.

Tricia

Audible Editor

A decade drawn to darkness

The 2010s were kind of a…murdery decade, weren’t they? True crime slaked our seemingly insatiable bloodlust in every format but audio was where it soared, becoming much more than a guilty pleasure. These 10 years brought us Say Nothing, The New Jim Crow, West Cork, American Kingpin, and several others I might call “best.” But my favorite was the one that got under my skin even as it transcended the genre, and its author’s own life, to become part of something bigger. Unfinished but utterly haunting, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark preceded the capture of its subject, the Golden State Killer, by mere months, and became a touchstone of the conversation around the case and the DNA technique that cracked it. In the end, it is Michelle McNamara’s exquisite voice (with Gabra Zackman as a thoughtful conduit) that endures—along with one of the most heartbreaking afterwords, by her husband Patton Oswalt, of all time.

Kat

Audible Editor

A perfect work on the benefits of being imperfect

Self-development trends seem to come and go every year, but one that has so far stood the test of time (the decade, at least) is the power of vulnerability—thanks in large part to Brené Brown’s magnum opus of the same name. In this eye-opening, witty, and relatable listen (recorded in front of a live audience, which only enhances its accessibility), Brown cogently lays out the case for how and why our issues of confidence, growth, and connection can be traced to a lack of vulnerability and an overabundance of shame. The lessons contained herein sharply illuminate the virtues of letting our guards down: at home, at work, and in love.

Courtney

Audible Editor

Here’s to another 10 years at the top

My journey as a Brandon Sanderson fan began more than a decade ago. My brother and I discovered one of his very first published books, Mistborn, at a gas station rest stop in high school and both of us have been hooked ever since. But Brandon Sanderson, who started out as our little secret, has grown to be one of the biggest and most respected names in fantasy today. It’s been such a joy and delight to be his fan as he’s only gotten better and better at creating compelling, creative, and human stories over the years. Is it weird to say that I feel proud? There is no doubt in my mind that his epic series, the Stormlight Archive, deserves a spot as the best of the decade.

Melissa

Audible Editor

Through the lens of laughter and love

Everyone knew Trevor Noah was insightful and funny by the time his 2016 memoir came out, but no one was prepared for the funny man’s brilliant performance of his unique and nuanced look at the intersection of his life as a coloured child in South Africa and the horrors of the system of apartheid. The polyglot makes the Xhosa and Zulu languages of his homeland sing in a way that just wouldn’t have happened on the page. And his comedic and loving take on his formidable mother has made her a character who lives in our minds long after Audible thanks us for listening.

Abby

Audible Editor

Travel to the steppes through audio

As an anthropologist studying and teaching in Mongolia for decades, Jack Weatherford collected stories: the facts of Genghis Khan’s life (few, but significant), his legacy (huge), and the intimacy and specialness of Mongolian culture that changed and spread across the world under his aegis. Jonathan Davis’s stellar narration of every novelistic detail holds up year after year.

Christina

Audible Editor

Lyrical bliss and raw emotional power make for a perfect experience

I have been proselytizing Circe since the day it came out, and I am sure my colleagues are sick of hearing me talk about it at this point. I have listened to tons of other great stuff, but I keep coming back to Circe as my perfect audio experience. Everything lines up—the characters, the plot, the symbolism, the beautiful writing, the immaculate imagery, and Perdita Weeks’ on point performance—to create a soundscape that makes you totally forget you are listening to an audiobook, much less commuting to work. For 12 hours Circe feels as real as someone standing next to you, and her godly voice is as honest and pure as one that comes from your own mind.

Michael D.

Audible Editor

Talk about a come-up in the age of cybersecurity!

When I define best of the decade, I like to think it is for those that had one of the largest popularity surges I have ever seen. Brilliant author Caroline Kepnes came out swinging with her first ever novel, You. When I first discovered You, it was not because I was looking for it. Actually it was an accidental click, however it must've been fate because after reading the summary, I was intrigued instantly. Now a hit television show on Netflix, You was made for greatness plot-wise and narration-wise. Performed by the talented and dulcet tones of Santino Fontana, You couldn’t have set a higher bar for itself! If you’re not hip to the thriller greatness sprinkled onto this decade by Kepnes with her seemingly innocuous Joe Goldberg, I highly recommend You to anyone. As we come to the end of a decade of such technological advancements and surges in the topics of privacy and internet vulnerability, You is the eye-opener, Twitter-conversation-starter of the decade.

Nicole

Audible Editor

BEST OF THE DECADE

Lincoln in the Bardo

"Where might God stand?"

Already a classic

Gone Girl

Demented, twisted, sick and I loved it!

Get to the gone

The Hate U Give

This Book Changed My Entire Perspective

Thomas and Turpin are my OTP

Bossypants

Tina Fey broke my new SUV

Tina Fey wears the pants

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

One of the best novels I've listened to in years.

Lin-Manuel Miranda. Need I say more?

11-22-63

I Owe Stephen King An Apology

A nostalgic trip

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

A haunting masterpiece

A decade drawn to darkness

The Power of Vulnerability

The audio makes all the difference.

A perfect work on the benefits of being imperfect

The Way of Kings

It doesn't get any better than this!

Here’s to another 10 years at the top

Born a Crime

Great book and perfect narration

Through the lens of laughter and love

Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World

Golden Horde/Platinum Listen

Travel to the steppes through audio

Circe

Refined writing with an intimate performance

Lyrical bliss and raw emotional power make for a perfect experience

You

Wow. This. Book.

Talk about a come-up in the age of cybersecurity!

Honorable Mentions

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Reprieve Amidst Ugly News, Relentless Negativity

The Nightingale

Heroic & Harrowing Work Of Fiction

Fall of Giants

Loved it and learned alot.

Illuminae

AWESOME!

A Gentleman in Moscow

A Reprieve Amidst Ugly News, Relentless Negativity

The Nightingale

Heroic & Harrowing Work Of Fiction

Fall of Giants

Loved it and learned alot.

Illuminae

AWESOME!

Unbreakable

Don't let detractors deter you from getting it!

The Boys in the Boat

Dear Publishers of Audio Books

Educated

The Other Side of Idaho's Mountains

Between the World and Me

A Heartfelt Self-aware Literary Masterpiece

Sapiens

Should be required reading

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Secret Life of an American Cancer Cell

The Fifth Season

The Nay-Sayers are Wrong.

Tiny Beautiful Things (10th Anniversary Edition)

A Spoonful of Sugar