It used to really annoy me but now I love the sound of the birds chirping outside of my bedroom window.

1) The sound of the dishwasher running when I'm falling asleep (it used to be the washer/dryer when I was a kid, but I don't have one in this place)
2) Someone mowing the lawn outside (as long as it's not too close/loud)
3) The fridge cycling off, which means I have about 20 minutes of quiet in the main area before it whirs on again
4) The telephone in the evening (during the day, it's usually a biz call)
5) My mac chime
6) The first time my heat bubbles on in the winter ... it always freaks people out the first time they hear it - it literally bubbles up the walls - but it's such a fun, cozy sound to me

Oh, and I'm with vinyl ... I like the birds chirping outside my bedroom window in the summer as well as the kids playing on the street outside my art studio windows

birds chirping
my kittens yawning and chirping for me when they are lonely and can't find us
fresh breeze
the rain
aquarium's gurgle

our landlords live in the other half of the duplex, so hearing their little ones out back playing is always sweet.

the light cracking when one log in the fire pit breaks down and the rest settle around it.

the very faint pulse of bass coming through the wall from whatever new song our roommate is working on at night as i fall asleep. it's kind of the same as the kitten-clock-heartbeat thing.

feet plunking up the porch steps... visitors!

my partner's key in our very noisy lock.

mail plunking in through the old metal slot.

the whoosh of the gas stove turning on.

the sound of pulling a book out of a tightly-packed shelf.

my partner rummaging through the box her oil paints and brushes are stashed it!

I wake up every morning to the sound of my room mates hand cranking an antique coffee grinder. Actually, I take it back. I don't like that sound.

What I remember of my first week in USA, was the utter lack of outside noise that I grew up with in INDIA. I missed those terribly then, the sounds that were of no importance, and was always a nuisance.
The hawkers calling out to sell there wares, and believe me, when I say then can all out in the strangest of voices, each one using theirs as their trademark; my neighbor trying to start his motorbike, the kids paying , screaming "Out".. endless sounds. That was then.
Now , I love the sound of the dishwasher running after I cleaned up the kitchen! Reminds me to sit down, relax, and drink a cup of tea, and look up stuff on apartment
therapy.

The rain
Birds chriping
My cat purring
My air conditioner running
My coffee machine percolating

rain on the roof (as well as what my friend calls sticky tires, traffic in the rain)
the cat yawning
the cat playing
coffee brewing (even though i don't drink it)
birds singing
keys in the door when my boyfriend gets home
someone else washing the dishes

Great thread:

Cat & bird chirps, agreed
Dog's crazily human sighs
Wind rustling leaves, esp in the first days of fall
Thunderstorms
Kid chatter as they ride their bikes, etc., past
Clack of my bf opening a diet coke
Heat kicking in come winter

My all-time favorite sound when growing up in a small town: trains

The little sounds that my pets make (they each have a signature sound)
Clothes clacking in the dryer
Contented splashing in the shower
Rain overhead (we're on the top floor with vaulted ceilings)
The neighbor's little girl yelling "Daddy, I love you" at the top of her lungs (I could set a clock by it) each evening
Neighbor hosing down his walk every day at noon (I cringe thinking of the water waste, but it's still a nice sound)

I love this thread!!!
--
the sound of the Hasidic kids yelling at each other in ?? (I'm not sure what the lanuage is.) from the neighboring balconies. Today they were singing and jumping on a trampoline.

the a fire truck siren coming down the block

my neighbor's shower running or toilet flushing

our fingers clickity clacking on the keyboard

the squeal of bus brakes outside.

the quiet roar of airplanes heading to LGA

Jeez, Brooklyn is so noisy. Makes me want to shut my windows. It's going to be a long summer...

Husband grinding coffee beans in the morning when I am still debating when to get out of bed.

Boiler and radiator clanging that makes guests jump.

A bird call that I can identify out of the cacophony of spring and summer bird songs.

Heavy rain, when all the windows are closed.

Cat sounds that do not indicate damage to my house.

Suburban Sounds!

- My cats chirping and purring at me
- My hamster scurrying around in his cage
- Wind chimes on a warm breezy night
- Rain and thunder on the roof
- Heavy wind rustling the trees outside
- A train whistle in the middle of the night
- My air conditioning
- My greatly used beloved white noise machine! Nothing better!

trains, yes!
birds, yes!
rain on the tin roofs (rooves?)!

and...most of all..
the baseball game on the tv/radio. the constant soundtrack of summer at our house...

Kudos to whoever said trains. We only hear them occasionally, but it always takes me back to childhood summer nights with the windows open.
Rainstorms.
The sound of plants growing.

My mother and I were just talking about this yesterday. She recently moved to a new apartment building adjacent to a public park and some of her neighbors are complaining about the sounds of children playing in the park. We both think that that is such a ridiculous complaint. In the house I grew up in, I liked the sound of the distant train whistle and the sort of "sfwoosh" of the door leading from the garage on the kitchen tile floor - which was the sound on one of my parents arriving home. I also remember when I was very young and had a strict bedtime (before it was even dark in summer!) and I could hear neighborhood kids still playing outside as I was lying in bed. In my apartment now, I like that I can hear fog horns from the boats on the river and church bells. I hate the sound of rain tapping on the metal of the window-mounted air conditioner and try and devise rube goldberg contraptions to prevent the din.

The swish of traffic up the West Side Highway, down below the cliff my building is perched on. (A couple years ago, when the wall at Castle Village fell and a portion of the WSH was closed for a couple days, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking, "something's wrong" ... then I realized I didn't hear that sound!)

The deep thrum of tugboat engines on the Hudson River out my windows.

The sound of a summer rain coming straight down on the leaves of the trees.

The whine of the fridge kicking on.

The sound of the dishwasher (a new sound that I've gotten used to in the last two years!)...

The burbling of the radiators (and the ticking of the riser pipe in the bathroom).

Giggles and the pitter-patter of little kid's feet.

The tired squeak of the drawers of my vintage metal kitchen cabinet drawers as they open or close.

The predictable squeak in certain spots of my wood floors - one in the dining room, one at the start of the hallway and another as I round the corner of my bed.

The swooshing/rolling sound of the metal roller balls on my shower curtain hooks as I brush the curtain open or closed.

The satisfying clunk of the deadbolt as it slides into place for the night.

And here's my weird one - the whir of helicopter blades as Lifeflight comes in to land at the hospital two blocks away.

In my last three residances, I've been in the flight path for either hospitals or the police landing pad. It sounds like home now.

In fact, when I moved into my first apt in Denver it took a while to feel settled. One night a feeling - like a wave of rest washed over me - I suddenly felt at home - and I realized that the feeling was a result of hearing a chopper overhead.

Prior to that, I lived under the flight path for the police chopper. It would head out for the night just as I settled into bed each night. Over time, it became a comforting sound. So much so, when I was looking to buy - the two places I looked at most seriously were near hospitals. The realtor asked if I would be bothered by ambulance - and just as I formulated my answer - a chopper flew overhead, the realtor cringed until I announced, wistfully... "I love that sound."
Some people tell me it would be disturbing to hear the Lifeflight chopper come in - knowing someone was obviously severely injured. Instead, I think of it as someone is getting the help they need - and I always say a prayer for the people on board.

My dog walking on the hardwood floors
Wind chimes
trees blowing in the wind
wild parrots
birds
distant fog horn

The crackle of clean white bed linen, when you get in bed.

I used to live in an apartment in the city, now I live in the country so the sounds have changed:

The Barred Owl family hooting in our woods every night.

The Hawks crying out Northern Exposure style as they wheel overhead.

Sound of the trowel scrunching into the ground in the garden.

The crunch of the gravel as my husband drives up the drive coming home from work.

The mailbox slamming shut as the mail carrier drives off.

The katydids, the crickets, and now the 17 year cicadas.

I don't miss the sirens, the drunken neighbors, the loud music and the sound of my own heart pounding in my ears in annoyance, one single bit.

LoriSF, please tell me where you hear fog horns, as I will move there immediately. My Great Uncle Ed lived near the water in Chatham on Cape Cod, and when they fog rolled in at night, I'd fall asleep to that mournful, lost-soul, muffled clang. Now the fog horns, such as they are, make a much more tech sound. The clanging of the old-fashioned buoys along with the fog horns---I've never heard anything more beautiful. . . .

coffee brewing -- reminds me of my mom.
husband working on the lathe
meows
distant airplane
rolling thunder
turning of a page
good song

-the sound of my boyfriend crushing ice for gin & tonics
-the tags jingling on the dogs collar
-thunderstorms
-distant lawn mowing
-the squeak of the grill lid being opened
-when i was little and we'd vacation next to a lake i loved the sound of the water lapping at the shore and the crickets chirping at night

oh! how could i forget... the scratching sound of the needle hitting the record!

and the music that intro's This American Life or Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me! beckoning me into the living room.

My neighbor's dog in the hallway.
Dogs barking while they're waiting for their owners outside the coffee place across the street. I look out the window for the happy reunion.

My cat rings a chime at the door when he wants to go out. It can be a pain, but it is also impressive to visitors.
Birds chirping, unless it's at 5:30 like this morning, and it wakes me up.
I like the low din of the outdoor beer garden at the Ethiopian place nearby. Reminds me of a cocktail party.
And yes the coffeemaker :)

first: birds waking in the morning
second: the creak of the basket my cat sleeps in as she wakes up to the birds

almost last: keyboard strokes from the office next to the bedroom means my partner is finishing up for the night.
last: cat on the sill making talking sounds to night shadows.

My two cats talking to each other
Mourning doves (very rare that I hear them anymore, though)
Percolating of the coffee machine

But, more than any of those I enjoy utter silence. I grew up in a sleepy little town surrounded by hills and now I live above a noisy, smelly alley. I miss the quiet.

first5times - a stars reference?

Growing up:
falling asleep to the dryer

treefrogs at night

mom's keys jingling

dog's snoring at night

aquarium bubbles

sheets flapping in the wind on the line

ice cream/snowball truck!

Now:
squirrels playing in the tree over our balcony

woodpeckers

thunderstorms

trees in the wind in the summer/leaves falling or blowing in fall

and, like gregory, the vacuum hitting a dirty spot

- the cat sighing as he settles in for a nap
- the cat's oddly human question mew when he wakes up and isn't sure where we are
- rain/stream/tap (any kind of water really)
- the sound the wind makes when you're out on a particularly windy day
- National geographic theme
- Beep of the lock on my husband's car when he gets home
- the sound of the bangles on my mom's wrists

my door buzzer letting me know friends are arriving for laughs, talks and eats. other than that, the sound of silence.

When I lived in Santa Monica, four blocks from the beach, it was the constant comfort of the waves, every now and then broken by the faint screams of riders on the roller coaster on the boardwalk.

Here in the desert, it's the mourning doves on the balcony railing, the summer clicking of the cicadas which I've grown to like, and the rumble of an approaching thunderstorm during monsoon season that promises a few minutes of cooling rain.

The slow, almost musical ticking of the old analog clock at bedside..

The snoring of our puppy under the bed..

The just-distant-enough-to-sound-benign tide of traffic on Lincoln Way..

The wind soughing through the treetops of the park..

The hippie-kid next door with the beautiful voice, singing his gentle songs and patting the bongo..

The whizzing rattle of the other neighbor's lawn being weed-whacked by her landscaper..

The rumble and hiss of the old gas stove cranking up for dinner..

The bloop of a text from my partner, saying he's on his way home..

In no particular order:
*The sound of birds chirping at any other time but 5:30 am.
*My big cat's sweet, chirpy little meow when she wants me to pay attention to her. And her constant purr. Happy cat. I also loved my little cat's (who passed away) raspy meow, like a 50 year old smoker.
*Rain and thunderstorms
*I like falling asleep to the sound of traffic (like on a busy road where it's just whoosh whoosh...)
*Water boiling for tea
*My boyfriend's voice (it's deep)
*Lawnmowers and construction vehicles (but not too loud or too early in the morning!)

I also grew up in the country, so I think I like above all else that opaque silence (and opaque darkness!). And cows lowing and birds singing and the very occasional car.

Macchiato LOUD purring and talking. Cashmere's softer purring and snoring when she sleeps next to me.

This is a wonderful thread--I can hear every single one of these sounds in my head as I read them.

I like:
-rain, and "sticky tires" on a wet street
-how my cat's meows sound like a little race car as she zooms up and down the hallway at night
-the "kerpop" of the rear doors on my landlady's car
-the train whistle in the middle of the city when I lie in bed at night (exactly like I heard from my bedroom window when I was a kid)
-Sunday morning bells from the many neighbourhood churches (I think I'm in earshot of five of them)
-the keys on my laptop keyboard have a very satisfying report.