If you're twisting our arm, we have to give it up to JBL. Not only have JBL speakers beaten brands like Sonos and Bose in Mashable's blind sound tests, but they're also on the more affordable side. That's a hard combo to beat. However, several brands are popular in the Bluetooth speaker market. Consumer favorites include Anker, Beats, JBL, Sony, and Ultimate Ears. Certain upscale audio brands like Bang & Olufsen and Bose continue to build out their collections with notable releases. Even low-cost speaker manufacturers like Treblab and Tribit are making noise with some of their inexpensive entries.

It's hard to say one brand's speakers are definitively the best, especially because the right pick for you will depend heavily on your budget. Obviously, you shouldn't expect a $40 speaker to sound the same as our current top pick, the $199 JBL Charge 6. That doesn't mean you have to blow out your budget to get high-quality sound. What we can say is that certain brands tend to be popular for a reason.

For our guide, we put together the standouts from each brand. All of the speakers we chose offer good value, portability, smart home compatibility, and durability. Most importantly, they sound terrific, with satisfying bass and fidelity.

No. Some Bluetooth speakers are WiFi speakers. Not all WiFi speakers are Bluetooth speakers. Basically, a Bluetooth speaker connects to devices through (what else) Bluetooth, which is the most common wireless technology for the product category. WiFi speakers connect to devices through a reliable internet connection, making it a more appealing option for those with an integrated smart home ecosystem (e.g., Apple, Google, Sonos).

Our motto is quality over quantity. Having one amazing speaker is going to get you better sound than having multiple speakers that are just OK. If you’re fine with listening to music in a single room or plan on entertaining small crowds, then one speaker will suffice for mono presentation. Just make sure the environment has good acoustics. If you’re hosting larger crowds in larger settings or want a more immersive listening experience, then the way to go is pairing two of the same speakers (or speakers from the same brand) for stereo sound. Some models even let you pair up to 100 speakers at once to create full omnidirectional sound.