Do you ever just need to cool out? Feel a deep exhale? Muffle the circus of everyday life?
Me too. Which is why it’s time to share my favorite time-tested rain tracks with you.  Most of the tracks below have been with me for 3-4 years now and offer everything from great white noise to sleeping help to ambient sounds for yoga and just all-around cooling out.
How I First Discovered Rain Tracks
I first discovered rain tracks several years ago when we moved to the Middle East. I was grieving the loss of my life as I knew it (though I couldn’t have said so then) and though an adamant lover of storms and rain, I woke up every morning in a glaring desert arabian village.
In the beginning, we studied Arabic at a small institute where we spent nearly four hours in class, each hour punctuated by a 10 minute break, with one 30 minute long-break (think Hidalgo, not Eat Pray Love).
As language is communicative, and institute classes small, my introvert quickly plunged into distress. At break time, when other students were chatting it up, I was searching frantically for my invisibility cloak.
I needed to find my happy place.
My blessed M-I-L had given me a pair of Bose headphones, and I used them to drown the babble with my new love: rain tracks. It was fantastic. I could listen to the rain, keep my head down, and (almost) pretend life was normal.
Initially it was hard to find good rain tracks that weren’t $7-$10 a piece. Some tracks had weird noises on them, some were too short, and some were just lousy recordings. Over time I’ve amassed a small collection of tracks that are around an hour long and about a dollar a piece.
If you’re looking for some good white noise or something soothing to work or read or write by, give one of these a try!
5 Fantastic Rain Tracks for $1 or less each
My all-around favorite:
Rain – Just Natural, Relaxing Rain Sounds from Calmsound (1:14:00)
This is a clean, pure rain track. No waves, no insects, no ambient sound added in, just a solid recording of steady rain.
It’s perfect white noise because the speed of the rain (and therefore the volume) doesn’t fluctuate. If you’re new to rain tracks, start here.
Want a little thunder to go with that rain?
Thundering Rainstorm by Joe Baker (1:13:39)
A solid thunder-and-rain track with a little bit of wind.
The thing to note about tracks with thunder is that the volume and intensity vary within the track. If you’re needing steady background noise (say, to drown out drivel), they often won’t steadily accomplish that.
But if you’re just needing a little variance to your rainstorm, this is a great option.
How about some waves?
Thunderstorm by the Sea by Joe Baker
Rain and thunder and waves, oh my!
Very soothing and peaceful, this one. But the same thing applies as with thunder; the sound and intensity varies.
For Deep Sleep:
Ambient Rain for Relaxing Nature Sleep by Ambient Music Therapy
I’m not sure what “Relaxing Nature Sleep” is, but if it’s what I get with this track, I want more of it.
This track is very similar to the first one on this list but has just the slightest twinge of ambient sound to it that makes it less white-noise-ish and more sleep inducing.
I have used this track on mah-any sleepless nights.
For Some Serious Peacing Out or Yoga or Traversing the Universe or Whatever:
5: Music And Rain For Yoga, Meditation And Deep Sleep by Ambient Elements
I’m not sure what the “5:” is about in the title, but this track makes me melt. As in, I can’t work with it on because I get carried away on a river of fairies to see unicorns prancing on candy mountain.
Or just because it makes me want to sleep.
But there is some impressive music voodoo in this track; don’t say I didn’t warn you!
One Final Note:
You’ll get the best rain effect with noise-isolating headphones. The dude and I have pairs like this, which also have a microphone and remote (great for pausing music and skipping tracks quickly and yapping on the phone while you’re doing something else).
Totally worth the measly $12.
Have you ever tried a rain track? Have something else that helps you cool out? Goodness knows I can always use more of that!
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