The speakers in iPhones and iPads get better with each new model, but they’ll never power a party, or even shift enough air to accompany an action movie. Bluetooth speakers are the way to go for most people. You skip the annoyance of wires, and you don’t have to deal with the hassle of AirPlay, which never seems to work right even today. Also, Bluetooth is universal, so you can also use the speaker with an Android device, or a PC.

What to look for in Bluetooth speakers

Bluetooth speakers are so diverse that it’s hard to say what features to look for. After all, many of them are compromises — a waterproof speaker won’t sound as clear as an otherwise-identical non-waterproof version, for example.

But there are some features that are common to all speakers. Battery life is one, and is probably the most important consideration after sound quality. It may even be more important, if you’re a teenager who like to inflict their music on any and all passersby. Or you may not care about a battery at all — perhaps you want to install the speaker permanently in one spot.

Bluetooth range is also worth bearing in mind, but for most use won’t really make any difference — unless you have a huge home with extra-thick walls.

Other than that, consider the features you want. I hate speakerphones, for example, because Siri never works through them, but you might love the feature. Waterproofing is good for the beach or the shower, but less important in the kitchen or living room. You get the drift. We have mentioned any unusual extra features below.

The Ultimate Ears Roll 2 is the best Bluetooth speaker for most folks. It’s almost perfect — it’s slim, yet the battery lasts 9 hours. It’s waterproof (you can drop it into three feet of water for a half-hour), and there’s a bungee cord on the back so you can hook it up to almost anything, from your bike handlebars to a beer keg.

The UE Roll 2 is also the Wirecutter’s favorite portable Bluetooth speaker, saying that it “sounds full, with smooth reproduction of everything from bass notes to cymbals, and it plays loud enough to fill a hotel room or a spot at the beach with sound.”

Those are good examples, because the Roll 2 really is a take-anywhere speaker. The waterproofing also keeps out dust and dirt, and its unique flying-saucer shape means that it is easy to carry. You can slip it into a gap at the side of a packed suitcase, or stow it in the door-bin of a car. It even comes with an inflatable donut so you can float the Roll 2 in the pool.

The Roll 2 also lacks a speakerphone, which some may see as a downside, but is a feature I love. How many times have you tried to use Siri while listening to music? You press and hold the home button, and instead of Siri beeping on your iPhone, it beeps on the speaker, and you know it’ll never understand you. Usually I just give up and type, but because the Roll 2 doesn’t have a mic, you’ll never suffer this problem.

Buy from: Amazon — $64.00

Bestseller at Amazon

The Anker SoundCore 2 looks like the spiritual successor the the Bluetooth speaker that kicked off this whole category — the JamBox. It is super-affordable, claims to run for 24 hours on a single charge, which is more than enough to get you kicked out of your apartment, and comes with a built-in mic for making phone calls.

The SoundCore seems to be a good default choice for many. The price is absurdly low, which may be a factor in the 4.5-star average on Amazon, from almost 10,000 reviewers. If you’re planning to do a little music listening, or keep this in the kitchen for podcasts, then it’s just about perfect. Just don’t expect it to power a party.

Buy from: Amazon — $31.99

Best for pretending you’re a rock star

Marshall is famous for its guitar amplifiers, and it is using its reputation for bad-ass rocking to push its relatively new consumer electronics division. And unlike its guitar amp range, which is widely considered to be pretty poor these days, Marshall’s speakers and headphones are great.

The Acton is made for home use, so it doesn’t waste space with a battery — you just plug it in. Like almost all our other picks, it uses Bluetooth V4.0 + EDR APT, and the Acton can also be connected via an included (curly, retro) 3.5mm jack audio cable. Sound-wise, the Acton’s reputation is middling. It’s better than budget option, or smaller portable speakers, but isn’t as good as high-end speakers (although these typically cost double the price of the Marshall).

But really the Marshall’s biggest selling point is its looks. The Action comes covered in black or cream tolex, the same textured vinyl covering found on guitar amps. Volume, bass, and treble controls are big gold knobs, the power switch is a cool, old-school toggle switch, and the grille cloth features the famous Marshall logo. The speaker looks so good, some might not even care how it sounds.

Buy from: Amazon — $208.84

iLoud speaker

There are a ton of great, compact Bluetooth speakers around, but few of them will sound as good as the iLoud. Originally meant as a way to hook up your guitar to an iPhone, the iLoud is now much better known as an awesome monitor-style speaker. I’ve had one for years and still use it daily. It’s good for music, movies, and also for hooking up to GarageBand to make some music, with a guitar, or anything else.

The iLoud is in fact very loud, and it gets most of the way up the dial without any distortion. It is also crisp and clear, and the bass port around the back lets it deliver plenty of low-end grunt. In short, if you can’t annoy your neighbors with the iLoud, then you’re doing it wrong.

Buy from: Amazon — $252.00

Best bass on a budget

The Vava Voom 20 wins the prize for the best name on our list of picks. It’s also a great speaker for those who like bass, but don’t want to spend a lot of money. The Vava Voom is deliberately designed to emphasize the low-end of the sound spectrum, instead of offering balanced audio. In this way it is tailored to a specific market, or at least a specific taste — much like Beats headphones. It is also splash proof, and can share its 8-hour battery with other devices just by plugging them into its full-sized USB port. This is a fantastic feature. After all, what’s the point of a speaker if you don’t have any music to play?

Finally, if you have two of these, you can combine them, and use them as a pair of stereo speakers. That’s a pretty neat, if niche, extra.

Buy from: Amazon — $69.99