The Best Headphones for Blissful Listening

Whether you prefer earbuds, over-ear headphones, or on-ear cans, headphones are an overwhelming buy. These days, headphones do a lot more than pump out your favorite ear-worms—they're all-encompassing tools that make your life easier.

The right pair of headphones can induce flow state with active noise canceling, immerse you in a game with spatial audio, and keep you connected on work calls with crystal clear mics. As was always the case, the best headphones are also locked and loaded for gaming, listening to podcasts and music, and jumping into calls. With a slew of features to consider and rising price points as technology improves, your next headphones purchase is all the more important.

Based on years of experience testing and using premium headphones from the top brands—as well as plenty of forays into affordable standouts—we selected the best headphones on the market.

The Best Headphones

What to Consider

Picking your next pair of headphones is no simple task, especially if you plan on using your new cans as your main all-purpose portable audio. If you’re a serious audiophile, it’s well worth diving deep into as much as you can learn about your new set. For the average listener, we've narrowed down the most important features and metrics to help you figure out which headphones best suit your preferences and needs.

Usability

Great headphones can be life-changing because of their incredible sound, but the smart features and ease of use are really what turn them into a trusty companion you never go anywhere without. For me, the most important features are automatic pausing when I take my headphones off, so I can quickly chat with people at work; speak-to-hear, so I can hear my dog bark on walks; and easy multipoint pairing, so I can swap between all of my devices.

Other usability game-changers include touch controls, compatibility with voice assistants, fast charging, hands-free calling, and built-in ambient sounds. We made sure to let you know all the best features of each of our selections.

Audio Quality

Quality of audio on your headphones comes down to quality materials, a solid Bluetooth or wired connection, and a decent frequency range to cover a wide range of music. If you plan on using your headphones for calls, mics are important, too.

Drivers

Drivers are the cone- or dome-shaped speakers that fit inside of the cups on your headphones (or in the buds on your earbuds) and turn electrical current into sound. Bigger drivers generally correlate with bigger sound. For earbuds, around 12 millimeters is plenty to stand up to noisy streets. For headphones, look for 30- to 40-millimeter drivers to make sure your audio is loud enough.

Connection

Wired headphones use an analog connection to transfer sound from the headphone jack on your device to the drivers in your ears. There are some audiophiles who swear by wired headphones because there’s no loss of quality in this connection, but a pair of wireless ones is well worth the convenience. For wireless headphones, always select an option with Bluetooth 5.0—the most up-to-date Bluetooth connection available—to guarantee compatibility with all your audio-playing devices.

Frequency

Most consumer headphones range from 15 to 20,000 hertz, with specialty options as low as 5 hertz and as high as 40,000 hertz. The low end of the frequency range is responsible for bass sounds, whereas high-frequency responses are high-pitch sounds. That means if you listen to a lot of bass-heavy music like hip hop or funk, headphones with a frequency range starting around 10 hertz might be more enjoyable. (The Beats Studio3s, our best bass pick, are a great example of this.)

Microphones

It’s important to prioritize headphones with good mics and, ideally, sound isolation if you plan on using your headphones to make calls. Sound isolation ensures the other end of your call only hears you, as opposed to the truck rolling past you on the street. Some headphones are made with multiple microphones, which help keep audio levels consistent when you move your head, and can be used to help the headphones filter out surrounding noises.

Noise Cancellation

Although noise cancellation was once a hit-or-miss practical feature achieved with soundproof materials and cups that sit flush around your ears, it’s now standard across all high-quality headphones—and it’s better than ever. A lot of our picks, like the Sony WH-1000XM4s we awarded best overall, use active noise canceling to create sound isolation, introducing soft ambient noise to further block out environmental audio.

Noise cancellation isn’t a requirement, but once you’ve tried it, you won’t go back. I’m a devout user of noise cancellation to help me focus during work, zone into a yoga practice, or read on the train. (Sometimes I don’t even play music—I just drown out the noise from outside.)

Most of our recommendations have some form of active noise canceling, but blocking outside sound is also dependent on over-ear cushions that fit snugly around your ears or earbuds that suction softly into your ears. Some on-ear headphones have decent noise cancellation, but since there’s more room for sound to get into the speaker area, we recommend earbuds or over-ears for the most immersive experience.

How We Selected

We used our years of experience using and testing headphones, as well as our recommendations for specialty headphones, to narrow down our selections. We consulted the tech expert at BestProducts.com, Stefan Vazharov, as well as buying guides from trusted sources like TechRadar and CNET. I’ve personally fallen in and out of love with a slew of headphones as technology has improved over the years, at once blessed and cursed by my father’s commitment to hi-fi, so I used my critical audio ear to only recommend the best.