The best audiobooks for beginners: where to start
If you've never finished an audiobook, start with a winner. Every title below took the Audie Audiobook of the Year — the Audio Publishers Association's pick for the single best audiobook of its year, judged on performance as much as story. They're the safest first credit: broadly loved, superbly narrated, hard to switch off.
Surrender
Finding Me
Project Hail Mary
Piranesi
The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11
Children of Blood and Bone
Lincoln in the Bardo
Hamilton: The Revolution
The Girl on the Train
Mandela: An Audio HistoryYour free trial credit covers any one of these →As an Amazon Associate, AudiobookIndex earns from qualifying purchases and program sign-ups made through links on this page. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
Titles without their own page link to an Amazon search. As an Amazon Associate, AudiobookIndex earns from qualifying purchases and program sign-ups made through links on this page. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
| Audiobook | Author | Narrator(s) | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunrise on the Reaping | Suzanne Collins | Jefferson White | Audiobook of the Year (2026) |
| My Name Is Barbra | Barbra Streisand | Barbra Streisand | Audiobook of the Year (2025) |
| Surrender on Amazon → | Bono | Bono | Audiobook of the Year (2024) |
| Finding Me | Viola Davis | Viola Davis | Audiobook of the Year (2023) |
| Project Hail Mary | Andy Weir | Ray Porter | Audiobook of the Year (2022) |
| Piranesi on Amazon → | Susanna Clarke | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Audiobook of the Year (2021) |
| The Only Plane in the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 | Garrett M. Graff | Holter Graham, full cast | Audiobook of the Year (2020) |
| Children of Blood and Bone | Tomi Adeyemi | Bahni Turpin | Audiobook of the Year (2019) |
| Lincoln in the Bardo | George Saunders | Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, George Saunders, full cast | Audiobook of the Year (2018) |
| Hamilton: The Revolution on Amazon → | Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter | Mariska Hargitay, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter | Audiobook of the Year (2017) |
| The Girl on the Train on Amazon → | Paula Hawkins | Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, India Fisher | Audiobook of the Year (2016) |
| Mandela: An Audio History on Amazon → | Nelson Mandela (with Joe Richman) | Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Joe Richman | Audiobook of the Year (2015) |
| Still Foolin' 'Em | Billy Crystal | Billy Crystal | Audiobook of the Year (2014) |
| The End of the Affair on Amazon → | Graham Greene | Colin Firth | Audiobook of the Year (2013) |
| Bossypants | Tina Fey | Tina Fey | Audiobook of the Year (2012) |
| Life on Amazon → | Keith Richards | Johnny Depp, Joe Hurley | Audiobook of the Year (2011) |
| Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales on Amazon → | Nelson Mandela (ed.) | Samuel L. Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, full cast | Audiobook of the Year (2010) |
Listen to your first audiobook free
An Audible Premium Plus trial is free for 30 days and includes one credit — enough to get one audiobook of your choice and keep it, even if you cancel.
Try Audible free for 30 daysAs an Amazon Associate, AudiobookIndex earns from qualifying purchases and program sign-ups made through links on this page. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
More guides: filter every record yourself in the finder · best audiobooks by award · Audiobook of the Year · best full-cast & multi-voiced audiobooks · best author-narrated audiobooks & memoirs · best audiobooks for long drives & road trips.