Seeking Comforting, Minimal Ambient Playlists & Community Recommendations

Hey everyone — first-time poster here. I’ve been going through one of the most difficult years of my life, and in trying to stay afloat, I’ve found a lot of comfort in ambient and meditative music. I’m reaching out in hopes of finding some guidance and maybe some like-minded people who can point me toward good resources.

I primarily listen to minimalist ambient: long, droning tones, nature sounds, light wind, maybe a distant instrument or two — no drums, no vocals, just subtle, soothing textures. One piece that stuck with me years ago was from a Fallout soundtrack — mostly wind drifting through a desert, with a few sparse, beautiful sounds layered in. That’s exactly the kind of thing I’m after.

Until recently, I was using YouTube Music’s algorithm to discover new tracks, and over 16 months it built a pretty comforting collection for me. Unfortunately, my phone was stolen, and in the process, the algorithm got scrambled with a bunch of music I don’t connect with. I'm debating whether to start over or look elsewhere.

*I’ve also been considering setting up an old Android device, or even investing in a nearly $300 used samsung (enormous investment for me atm) Samsung phone just for streaming ambient playlists at low quality to save on my limited data plan. But before going that route, I wondered if there are any private communities, online archives, or lesser-known channels you’d recommend where people share large ambient/meditative collections — especially things like binaural tones, field recordings, drone-based soundscapes, or minimalist textures.

If anyone has suggestions for good places to find or download this kind of music, or even just playlist recommendations, I’d be truly grateful. Thanks so much for taking the time to read this. Wishing peace to anyone else who’s having a hard time out there.