[philodox]

There have been some very good recommendations so far that I would like to second: Brian Eno, Bonobo, Morcheeba, Bebel Gilberto, Boards of Canada, Zero One, The Dining Rooms, Nitin Sawhney, Nightmares on Wax, Sia, DJ Shadow, Jazzanova, etc...

one that I noticed that was missing that you should DEFINATELY check out is Koop... try their album 'Koop - Waltz for Koop'... you wont be sorry

and as for Theivery Corporation type stuff... check out the Dining Rooms like others have been urging you and also see if you can track down any Secret Frequency Crew

 

[thrice]

I've really been into Portishead lately. Their self-titled album is fantastic. Track 9 "Only You" is awesome. Beth Gibbons etheral vocals float over a bass groove too deep to contemplate, with a sprinkling of minimal scratching tossed in. Very chill.

 

[10068]

I dunno if it's "chillout" per se, but Propellerheads is really really really cool. Great grooves and background music-ish.

 

[hop ham]

Kruder and Dorfmeister (Tosca, Peace Orchestra)
Gilles Peterson - not really chillout, weird but nice variety
Space Night - compilation series
DJ Kicks - K7 series (K7 label in general)
Back to Mine - compilation series

 

[coolbluesurface]

My favorite CD set of all time is the Promised Land series- there are four volumes with 2 cds each- you can find them cheap at half.com. Check out Vols. 1-3 on the Amazon site- they have some preview downloads:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...075638-1607365
Each volume features a different DJ.
I think you might like Vol 3 most- it's got more jazz samples. Vol 1 is not as mellow because the emcee "raps" over the rythms on half of the album.

Anyone else know about this series or am I just all alone on this one? I believe the series is highly regarded in its homeland- the UK- and supposedly alot of the artists on these records are "legends" or "pioneers" in that music scene.
Later,
~cool

 

[marios_mar]

probably not as known in the US as here in EUROPE but unknown in the US doesnt necessarily mean not good enough or not top!

so

CAFE DEL MAR

probably one of the best chill out CD series 10-12 discs so far. Jose PAdilla compiles and sometimes one of his songs is included.

Buy them all. Really worth...

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Try Acoustic Alchemy's Back On The Case CD for some relaxing acoustic guitar work.

 

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Fax +49-69/450464, yet. The Dark Side of the Moog series is probably the best place to start.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Shpongle "are you shpongled"

Shpongle "Tales of the inexpressible"

Tangerine green "Green desert"

Mike Oldfield "songs of distant earth"

Mantovani "music of the mountains"

 

[Asr]

Good ol' FM radio still has its merits. I listen to the nationally-syndicated "Hearts of Space" every Sunday night. Really high-quality space music these days. Back in the 90s (heh, that makes the 90s sound far away!) all it used to play was bad/cheesy New Age stuff but with the new world/progressive influence, stuff gets really good sometimes.

Your local FM band might have some interesting stations/programs in this aspect...

 

[ry_goody]

Early stuff from Porcupine Tree.
The "Stars Die" 2 cd set is a a really good general overview of all their old stuff.
"The Sky Moves Sideways" is prolly my favorite older album by them.

PT reminds me alot of Pink Floyd's ambient/psycadellic type stuff, like echoes.

 

[coolbluesurface]

Wow- yeah- HEARTS OF SPACE!! I'd forgotten about that excellent program on NPR. Talk about some insane-in-the-membrane chill music- don't even need drugs to trip on this stuff!
I found that for $22/month, the website offers unlimited broadband streaming of every program that has aired for the last few years. Check it at http://www.hos.com/listen/default.htm

 

[ipodstudio]

Norah Jones, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Greg Wilson, Kim Larsen...

 

[2livers]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but Kid Loco's "A grand love story" is fantastic.

also, Aes Dana "season 5" is sumblime.

and of course, The Infinity Project "mystical experiences" is a classic...

 

[Murdoch]

You might consider checking out some old school original dub from Jamaica. These are particularly interesting and chill and are 90% instrumentals. I recommend them in this order:

Augustus Clarke- Black foundation dub on motion records
Scientist meets the space invaders on greensleeves records
Niney the Observer- Sledgehammer dub on motion records
King Tubby meets the Rockers uptown on shanachie records (this is a bit rougher than the above, but a classic that you would doubtless enjoy)
Lee Perry- The Black ark in dub on Heartbeat records