18 Best Synthwave Music Soundtracks (Rainy Retro Beats)

If you’re studying, watching rain hit the windshield of your red Pontiac, or need relaxing beats to listen to while writing or creating, these retro synthwave tracks are perfect to put on in the background. 

The best Synthwave songs transport you back to the 80s. (Photo source)

What is Synthwave Music? 
Synthwave is a genre of electronic music most often associated with film soundtracks from the 1980s; think Bladerunner, Tron, and modern interpretations like Drive. It’s dark, it’s post-apocalyptic, it’s neon lights on rain-spattered urban sidewalks. You’ll probably have heard related terms like “retrowave”, “futuresynth”, and “vaporwave”, but whichever flavor you like it’s all synthesized and it’s all wonderfully nostalgic.
Dive into this retro synthwave compilation while you’re feeling moody or need some urban inspiration! Read on to download each individual track.



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Download 80s Synthwave Tracks on Elements
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With the price of your monthly subscription, you’ll have unlimited access to the full Envato Elements digital asset library. Download as many audio tracks and sound effects, stock videos, and Photoshop actions as you want, without limits.
With that said, sit back, and soak up the retro synthwave background tracks featured in our video, and more!
1. This is Synthwave

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What a better way to know what is Synthwave than with this track. This uplifting, fast Synthwave music will put you on a bright mood. This is one of the best Synthwave songs you could include in your playlist.
2. Synthwave Cyberpunk Dubstep

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If you like the cyberpunk style, you'll like this energetic Synthwave music track. This retro Synthwave track features a fast tempo and it also works as a Synthwave background.
3. Dark Synthwave

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The best Synthwave songs aren't always uplifting. Such is the case of this new Synthwave track. This suspenseful and intense Synthwave music fits a dark mood day.
4. Synthwave Background

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As the title says, this is the perfect Synthwave background music. Play it and focus on your work. This is one of the best Synthwave songs for any retro playlist.
5. Vaporwave Syntwhave

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Vaporwave is a micro genre of electronic music and a visual art style. If you're familiar with it, I'm sure you'll enjoy this retro Synthwave track. Get inspired and include it in your playlist of best Synthwave songs.

6. LoFi Retro Electronic

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80s and 90s ambience which kicks off our video perfectly (check out the cassette being loaded into the tape deck at the start).
7. That 80s VHS Soundtrack

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Gentle retro synthesizer ambience which builds to a powerful and nostalgic drum beat.
8. VHS Dream

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Straight from an 80s movie soundtrack, just picture yourself pushing the VHS tape into the player and crashing down onto a corduroy couch.
9. Tropical VHS

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More VHS nostalgia, but with a retro beach theme for good measure. You’re in Miami. In a convertible sportster. And the sun’s come out.
10. 80s Tv Series Theme

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Retro synthwave tunes. The hero of our 80s TV series dons his aviators and walks off into the sunset, leaving a burning helicopter behind..
11. Retro Synthwave Colliding Spirals

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Synthwave drama; repetitive and loaded with arpeggiator atmosphere.
12. Dark City Drive

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Melancholy urban street atmosphere, this has “Jean Claude Van Damme driving pensively through the city” written all over it.
13. Retro Synthwave

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Retro and Synth. Powerful and dramatic. Simple.
14. Retro Wave Tune

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Positive synthwave vibes which build as the track progresses. And the synth drum rolls are superb.
15. Stranger Synthwave

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Cinematic and brimming with that Bladerunner tension so typical of synthwave.
16. Synthwave

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Synthwave, yet chill and well-suited to corporate promo videos.
17. Vaporwave Aesthetic

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Street synthesizer with chainlink fence scratchiness. Strong drums and light piano. Unquestionably retro but well suited to modern too.
18. Ambient Retrowave Electronic New Age

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Last up is this moody synthesizer background track. Science fiction, Dune-like character. Shoulder pads and other worlds. Or a banking ad from the 80s.
How we Create Our Animated Videos
To create the videos which accompany our audio track listings we work with talented artists like Basem Salah (the illustrator behind our urban night time scene), Bex Glendining, and Henrik Evensen who provide the artwork which Tuts+ instructor Jonathan Lam animates using Adobe After Effects. 
Why not learn how to do it yourself? Follow the whole step-by-step process in our short course, available for free on the Tuts+ Youtube channel.

How to Animate a Landscape Painting in Adobe After Effects

Don’t forget to check out Basem Salah’s portfolio to see more of his stylish and atmospheric illustration:

Discover More Royalty-Free Audio Tracks and Resources
Now you know what is Synthwave and some of the best Synthwave songs. More music, more illustration, more animation! And if you enjoyed this retro roundup you’ll also like our collection of Vaporwave background music & motion graphics on YouTube.

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Editorial Note: This post has been updated with contributions from Maria Villanueva. Maria is a staff writer with Envato Tuts+.