But those three genres all have a more harmonically developed quality to them that is more interesting and immersive. Dopesmoker is built in rhythmically driven, but very simple, riffs and vocal lines that don't do a lot to create an atmosphere or give me anything to get enveloped in. I just think it's flat.

I searched Youtube for a random Tuvan throat singing album and it destroys this Sleep album.

Just because Huun-Huur Tu is a 10/10 artist doesn't mean that Sleep isn't.

There's an objectively massive amount of atmosphere on this record too, you're either too high or not high enough if you think otherwise. Maybe you just have garbage audio.

Atmosphere is totally subjective and I'm not feeling it.

I entirely disagree. You don't have to enjoy atmosphere to recognize it and this album's got it out the ass. Inarguable tbh, it's mostly because of the heavy focus on timbre and cadence making it hypnotic.

I've got a different view of that. Any album can be atmospheric the way I look at it. If I somehow subjectively click with the sound of an album in some mysterious way, then I can find it very atmospheric - even if it's just a pop album. Kylie Minogue's album, Body Language has that quality to me. It's oddly dreamy and gets me in a certain mindset if I sit through the whole thing.

But even if it was a qantifiable thing, it would still at the very least be entirely subjective whether it's an engrossing atmosphere or not.

That's stupid.

So you don't think a pop album can have some indescribable "feel" to it that somehow elevates it for you?

Absolutely all artforms have this quality to me, but only in music and movies do I call it atmosphere.

To me, it's not merely a question of whether an album places extra much emphasis on textures and timbre.

An album can have a distinct atmosphere yes. That's different from being atmospheric.

No wonder we don't agree.

Kind of like how The Beatles utilize guitars but Sgt. Pepper's isn't a guitar record. Atmospheric music is driven almost entirely by its atmosphere or how it can consume yours.

Also I think you need better speakers/headphones. I could see not finding this engrossing if you listened to it on tinny earbuds.