VA - @Home @Sunrise (2001)

The Moonshine label has always catered pretty specifically to the rave crowd, dealing mostly in techno and house music and specializing in continuous mixes from A-list DJs. With @Home @Sunrise it continues that tradition, though in a different way: Instead of providing wave-your-hands-in-the-air dancefloor bait, this album is designed for the chill-out room -- or, more accurately, the living room. Tailor-made for the tired raver just getting home at the crack of dawn, @Home @Sunrise floats on an undulating cloud of gentle beats and soothing washes of synthesizer chords. The music isn't ambient, exactly, but it's nowhere close to exhilarating. The closest thing to an interesting beat comes from Moby, whose "Go (Indub Mix)" is explicitly reggae-derived; the closest thing to a house beat comes courtesy of Electric Skychurch, whose "Deus" has something of a pulse. Everything else is pretty much blissfully arrhythmic. This is functional music; you know whether you need it or not.