The Top 10 Speakers of the 2020s (So Far)

The 2020s turned the speaker into two very different things: the rugged, take-anywhere Bluetooth speaker, and the whole-home Wi-Fi speaker that answers when you talk to it. SIGNAL ranked the ten best you can buy today across both worlds — judged on sound, versatility, and how they stack up against their rivals. This is an editorial ranking informed by the aggregated press scores on each.

10. Marshall Emberton II

The style pick. The Marshall look is the draw, but the 30-hour battery and genuinely full 360 sound back it up. Bass is limited by the size, but for a compact speaker you'll actually want on your shelf, it's a charmer.

9. Ultimate Ears Megaboom 4

The outdoor champion. Rich 360 sound, a drop-tested body that floats, and huge wireless range make it the cookout-and-campsite staple. Tall and a bit awkward to pack, but nothing here is tougher.

8. Bose SoundLink Flex (2nd Gen)

The best small all-rounder. Bose's clean, balanced tuning in a bombproof, clip-to-a-bag package. It won't out-bass the JBLs, but it sounds more refined at sensible volumes.

7. Sonos Move 2

The one that's serious at home and rugged outdoors — Wi-Fi indoors, Bluetooth on the go, big stereo sound, 24-hour battery. Heavy and pricey, but uniquely flexible.

6. JBL Flip 7

The best value in portable audio. It gives up some bass and volume to the Charge 6 but costs less and travels easier, and the sound-per-dollar is hard to beat.

5. Apple HomePod (2nd Gen)

The best smart speaker for an Apple home — rich, room-filling sound plus a Matter/Thread smart-home hub. It's brilliant inside Apple's walls and useless outside them, which is the only thing keeping it from ranking higher.

4. Sonos Era 300

The spatial-audio flagship. When there's Dolby Atmos content to play, it's genuinely immersive, and it makes superb Atmos surrounds for a Sonos soundbar. Overkill if you just want stereo — but stunning when it's in its element.

3. Bose SoundLink Max

The best-sounding portable here. Room-filling, refined, and composed at volume in a way no other take-anywhere speaker manages. It's heavy and expensive, but if portable sound quality is the priority, this wins.

2. JBL Charge 6

The people's champion. Big sound, all-day battery, IP68 toughness, and it'll even charge your phone — the single portable speaker most people should buy. It only misses the top spot because it can't do whole-home Wi-Fi audio.

1. Sonos Era 100

Our speaker of the 2020s so far. It sounds far bigger than it looks, works over Wi-Fi, AirPlay and Bluetooth, and slots into a proper multi-room system — buy two for stereo and it's genuinely hi-fi-adjacent. No single speaker here delivers this much versatility and sound for the money. The catch is the Sonos ecosystem, which most people will happily live in.