The best audiobook narrators of all time (so far)

A narrator can make or break an audiobook.

6 min readNov 4, 2021

Even when listening to some of our favourite stories, if the narrator just isn’t doing it for us we’re not going to get through the book. On the other hand, a really fantastic narrator can breathe life into characters and bring the listening experience of an audiobook to new heights. While we all have our own personal preferences, here are some of our favourites who always turn in endlessly listenable performances.

Jim Dale

We’re big fans because Jim helped Kobo launch audiobooks — though his greater claim to fame is being the voice of the Harry Potter books. Or should we say voices? Jim created 134 different voices for the series! If that doesn’t deserve top spot on this list, we don’t know what does.

Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Emily Woo Zeller

Emily Woo Zeller has narrated a variety of audiobooks, ranging from fantasy and science fiction to rom-coms and non-fiction of all kinds.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang
The Bride Test by Helen Hoang
The Leavers by Lisa Ko
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach

Jeremy Irons

Best known for his film roles and being the voice of Scar in The Lion King, Jeremy Irons has also lent his voice to an array of audio works throughout his career.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

JD Jackson

While JD Jackson has many great works of fiction on his CV, including the novels of Walter Dean Myers and an award-winning novel by Colson Whitehead, he specializes in non-fiction — especially by Black writers.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
The Color of Water by James McBride
From Here to Equality by William A. Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen
Why We Can’t Wait by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Race Matters by Cornel West

Julia Whelan

Julia has narrated a number of audiobooks, and her sultry voice is so soothing, so engaging, we had to include her.

Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Sleeping Beauty and Other Classic Stories by Charles Perrault
The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Scott Brick

A longtime and multi award-winning veteran of audiobook narration, Scott Brick has done it all. While he’s the go-to voice for thriller writers including Clive Cussler, Nelson DeMille, and Brad Meltzer, you can also find him narrating science fiction and non-fiction too.

Past Tense by Lee Child
The Bourne Supremacy by Robert Ludlum
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Dune by Frank Herbert
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

Neil Gaiman

When it comes to authors who narrate their own work, Neil Gaiman is one of the best. Listen to how he intended his books to be heard:

Bahni Turpin

Cinephiles will know Bahni Turpin’s face from movies such as Malcolm X but readers know her as the award-winning narrator of books by Colson Whitehead, Angie Thomas, and many, many more — including Kobo Emerging Writer Prize winner Sheena Kamal.

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

Finty Williams

Finty probably had a good teacher — her mom is Dame Judy Dench and trained in speech and drama.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey
Fellside by M. R. Carey
The Years by Virginia Woolf

Wil Wheaton

Wil has done a ton of voice acting in animation and video games, and when it comes to audiobooks, he’s narrated some of bestsellers in the science-fiction and fantasy genres.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Armada by Ernest Cline
What If? by Randall Munroe
Dancing Barefoot: Five Short but True Stories about Life in the So-Called Space Age by Wil Wheaton
Dead Pig Collector by Warren Ellis

Stephen Fry

In addition to narrating many beloved audiobooks, including many he authored himself, Stephen Fry has also provided narration for video games as well as animated series and movies.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
The Liar by Stephen Fry
A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
Mythos by Stephen Fry

David Sedaris

If you’re looking for some laughs when it comes to audiobooks, Sedaris is your guy. His narration of his book, Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album in 2004.