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Our smartphones currently fill the role that humble lava lamps did back in the 1960s with hypnotic blobs of wax. People love to stare at glowing objects. While a solid half-century has passed since the lava lamp’s heyday, these iconic sources of illumination have maintained a level of kitsch that appeals to everyone from boomers who saw Pink Floyd back in ’72 to Zennials who just found the Classic Rock section of Spotify and won’t shut up about it. The best lava lamps are largely a matter of taste, but the selections on this list have everything you need to turn on and zone out for a few hours.
- Best overall: Lava Colormax lamp
- Best tall: Jambo 16-inch motion lamp
- Best unique: Edier 16.5-inch Lava Lamp with Bluetooth speaker
- Best glass: Schylling Tricolor White and Clear 14.5-Inch Lava Lamp with Aluminum Base and Cap
- Best budget: Schylling Lamp Lava 2179 14.5-Inch
- Best lava-lamp alternative: JBL Pulse 5 Bluetooth speaker
How does a lava lamp work?
Look at a working lava lamp, and you’re witnessing an elegant example of a scientific concept called a convection current. The glass container holds a series of wax blobs suspended in a liquid like water or sometimes mineral oil. The wax and oil/water are immiscible, which means they won’t mix, similar to how oil and vinegar remain separated in a salad dressing bottle.
A simple light bulb sits below the glass enclosure and heats up the contents, but it does so unevenly. Wax sitting on the warm bottom of the jar heats up and becomes less dense, which causes it to travel to the top of the lamp. It cools down as it gets farther from the heat source, which causes it to contract and sink back down to the bottom—where it starts the process all over again. So, if someone calls your lava lamp “stoner decor,” casually inform them that it’s simply a shrine to the elegance of fluid dynamics.
How we picked the best lava lamps
We’re not going to pretend we’re lava lamp experts, but we did go out of our way actually to spend some time staring deeply into these colorful tubes. We chose models that were reliable, attractive, and, most importantly, affordable. In addition to our hands-on experience, we considered user impressions and spec comparisons to pick the best possible models.
The best lava lamps: Reviews & recommendations
With the specs out of the way, it’s time to dive into our specific picks. As you’ll see, there’s not a ton of variety out there in terms of form factor and price ranges. You can find some extra features floating around if you want them, but again, we recommend you get something simple that you can appreciate for a while without getting bummed if it breaks.
Best overall: Lava Colormax lamp
The Classic
Pros
- Classic tri-color design
- Sturdy base
- Easy-to-change 25-watt bulb
Cons
- Design may be “a bit much” for some people
Why it made the cut: It’s truly a classic lava lamp that won’t overwhelm your room with psychedelic nostalgia.
Specs
- Height: 14.5 inches
- Wax color: White
- Liquid color: Clear
- Color source: Painted glass
The Lava Colormax really gives you the classic lava lamp experience. The base, cap, and glass all sport a tri-colored design that would feel right at home in a retro-styled room or maybe the back of a conversion van with a dragon painted on the side of it. At 14.5-inches tall, it’s not overwhelmingly huge, and the 25-watt bulb makes it glow without bathing much of your room in light. I put it in the corner of our living room during our testing and found it less gaudy than I expected. It takes a solid two hours to really get the lava moving around inside the glass container, but that’s standard across pretty much every model we’ve tried.
Because it gets its tint from paint on the outside of the glass, the colors look bright and vibrant. If you want something you can stare at after altering your mind, this will do the trick with aplomb.
Best tall: Jambo 16-inch motion lamp
A Tall Drink of Lava
Pros
- Stands out in a room
- Silver base has a vintage look
- Unique color combination
Cons
- Colors may not be as vibrant as painted models
Why it made the cut: Make sure you get the big one if you want to make sure everyone who enters your house says, “Hey, is that a lava lamp?”
Specs
- Height: 16-inches
- Wax color: Green
- Liquid color: Blue and yellow
- Color source: Dye
It looks a bit like a trippy missile, but this 16-inch lamp’s size helps it make a statement in a room. Green wax floats around in blue-ish liquid, which gives it a very sci-fi vibe. We know it’s wax in there but if you wanted to pretend it’s some kind of alien ooze, you could likely do so while still moderately sober.
The wax and liquid inside the chamber contain the dye that gives the lamp its color, so you don’t have to worry about paint flaking off of the exterior. The silver base lets the actual lava part of the lamp take center stage without visually competing. It’s big and relatively cheap, so it’s hard to go wrong here.
Best unique: Edier 16.5-inch Lava Lamp with Bluetooth speaker
Listen to The Lava
Pros
- Built-in Bluetooth speaker is good for kids
- Unique shape shirks the typical missile-shaped design
- Pleasant color combination
Cons
- Speaker quality is as you’d expect (bad)
Why it made the cut: One device provides your trippy music and visuals thanks to a built-in speaker and a Bluetooth connection.
Specs
- Height: 16.5 inches
- Wax color: Orange
- Liquid color: Purple
- Color source: Dye
For just a little more money than you’d spend on a typical lava lamp, you can get this model with a Bluetooth speaker built directly into its base. Despite the 16.5-inch height, the speaker itself is relatively small, so manage your expectations when it comes to sound quality and volume. It has a basic Bluetooth connection that can be a bit finicky, but it’s perfectly capable of jamming out some Hendrix tunes if you don’t have anything more robust.
The lava aspect of the lamp involves orange globs floating in purple goo, which provides a nice contrast. Despite a rather large light bulb, it’s not overly bright, giving off more of an ’80s feel than a ’60s vibe. You can turn on the light or the music by themselves or keep them both on at the same time. Pairing the Bluetooth is a little clunky since there’s only one switch onboard, rather than buttons or any kind of screen, but it’s hard to demand more for under $50 (plenty of the best budget Bluetooth speakers cost that, or more, sans trippy visuals).
Best glass: Schylling Tricolor White and Clear 14.5-Inch Lava Lamp with Aluminum Base and Cap
Paint It Lava
Pros
- Perfect if you want a lava lamp, but you aren’t a hippy
- Black base blends into the decor when it’s not turned on
- Vibrant red offset by white
Cons
- Paint may rub off over time
Why it made the cut: Painted glass and a black base make this unique compared to its competition.
Specs
- Height: 14.5 inches
- Wax color: White
- Liquid color: Clear
- Color source: Painted glass
Red, white, and clear bands adorn the outside of this 14.5-inch lava lamp. It sits on a black base, which makes the colors pop more than they would against a more colorful top and bottom. At 14.5 inches, it’s on the shorter side, which allows it to heat up relatively quickly, though that still means you’ll be waiting a couple of hours for it to reach full glob ballet mode.
It offers a decidedly volcanic aesthetic that doesn’t seem as dated as some other models that throw off serious retro vibes. This is a solid choice for kids who don’t want something they will get sick of in a few weeks. It also has a very classic lava lamp shape despite its unique colors.
Best budget: Schylling Lamp Lava 2179 14.5-Inch
Lava for Less
Pros
- Cheap
- Colorful
Cons
- Simple in-line power switch
Why it made the cut: Your kid wants a lava lamp, and you want one that won’t catch on fire but also doesn’t cost very much.
Specs
- Height: 14.5 inches
- Wax color: White
- Liquid color: Clear
- Color source: Painted glass
Maybe you want a white elephant gift, but you’re on a budget. Maybe your nephew once mentioned that he liked a Doors song, and that’s all the information you have about him. There are plenty of reasons to want a cheap lava lamp, and this 14.5-inch model fits the bill.
It has a painted glass container that matches its metallic base and cap. It’s not too big and heats up relatively quickly (two hours or so) despite its tiny bulb. Did we mention that it’s cheap?
Best lava-lamp alternative: JBL Pulse 5 Bluetooth speaker
Pros
- Durability (IP67 dustproof and waterproof enclosure)
- 12-hour battery life (USB-C charging)
- Expanded frequency response thanks to an expanded acoustic chamber/passive radiator for the woofer and an added tweeter
- Bluetooth 5.3 for improved signal stability
- Multiple speakers can be paired for bigger, brighter, bolder sights & sounds
Cons
- Fingerprints and smudges are very visible on the exterior, so make sure to use the integrated rope strap
- While this speaker offers an alluringly lysergic light show, it doesn’t replicate the viscous visuals of a true lava lamp
Why it made the cut: When the vibe is heating up, but you don’t want to wait for the light show to warm up, the JBL Pulse 5’s 360-degree app-controlled ambiance is available at the press of a button.
Specs
- Height: 8.5 inches
- Wax color: N/A
- Liquid color: N/A
- Color source: Customizable LED lights
The history of JBL stretches all the way back to the 1920s, and the company was releasing best-selling hi-fi loudspeakers in the late 1960s/early 1970s—so it knows a thing or two about reproducing trippy sounds. With the Pulse line of portable party speakers, JBL adds trippy visuals to the equation.
The translucent obelisk contains a 360-degree, nearly top-to-bottom surface backed by 140 LEDs—a decorative display only broken up by a logo on one side and a strip of buttons/ports on the opposite side. In addition, a ring-shaped halo projects downward onto the surface the speaker sits on. With the JBL Portable app, various vibrant themes can be selected/adjusted to visualize any style/speed of music with kaleidoscopic accompaniment.
Speaking of sonics, new design elements in this fifth iteration push even more air out from the upfiring 30W woofer, while a newly added 10W tweeter extends crisp treble to help balance the mid-lows. The Pulse 5 outputs a surprising bass volume for a compact Bluetooth party speaker, while maintaining clarity.
As a portable party speaker that can pulse to your playlist’s pace, JBL’s latest aurally and visually bright Bluetooth speaker is worth its $249 price tag. The cycling colors and elevating audio add momentum to the environment that a traditional lava lamp never can. At the same time, part of the appeal of a lava lamp is watching the groovy flow of all that mellow magma—an experience the JBL Pulse 5 can’t recreate. Of course, if you drop a lava lamp, you’ll be cleaning up a spill, while you can toss the IP67 Pulse 5 into a pool, and it will keep kicking like the best waterproof speakers.
Things to consider before buying one of the best lava lamps
We’ll be blunt: Lava lamps aren’t the most sophisticated ambient lighting you can add to your space. For that, you want a useful desk lamp or perhaps the best LED strips to give your room that Twitch streamer vibe. Lava lamps are largely a novelty, and you should keep that in mind when comparison shopping. There are a few things to consider before you decide on the best lava lamp for you, however.
Height
Lava lamps typically stand between 12 inches and 2 feet tall. Obviously, you want something that fits in your space, but you’ll also want to consider how patient you are when you’re waiting for those globs to start their dance. Larger lamps contain more liquid, which requires more heat to get things moving.
Most of the time, you’ll find that the height refers to the total height, so the actual glass area (which companies typically refer to as the “globe”) will be shorter than that.
Color
The phrase “lava lamp” typically evokes an eclectic, psychedelic color pallet akin to what you’d find at that store in the mall that always smells like patchouli. That’s usually correct, but it’s not always the case. Some lava lamps embellish their look even more by adding glitter and other fun pollutants into the mixture to liven up the light show. Others tone it down a bit and give off more of an ’80s Art Deco vibe. None of them are particularly subtle, though, so if you’re looking for something to complement your Kanye-style all-white living quarters, maybe it’s time to get a regular lamp.
It’s worth paying attention to how the companies add the color to the lamp. Some add dye directly to the wax and liquid, while others use neutral substances inside and paint the outside of the container. Those painted on the outside may lose a bit of their luster after regular cleanings, but they’ll look more vivid in the meantime.
Extra features
Again, these are novelties, so some models will pull out all the stops to keep you entertained and set themselves apart from a sea of similar products. Some play music or even rotate. Generally speaking, we recommend something simple because you might regret spending the extra cash on getting the fancier lava lamp once the novelty wears off.
FAQs
If you’re paying more than $50 for a lava lamp, you’re probably doing it wrong. You’re paying for a tube of goo and wax with a very cheap light bulb underneath it. These are simple, fun devices, and you shouldn’t go all out unless you’re a real connoisseur. You can also make one on your own if you want to be super cheap about it.
The safest lava lamp is the one you put in place away from potential accidents and then never touch. Most lava lamps are simply light sockets hooked up to a basic cord. They generate heat out of necessity. Keep them away from flammable materials, don’t touch them when they’re on, and keep them away from kids who might want to taste the forbidden lava inside.
Nope. You should turn your lava lamp off when you’re not home or when you go to sleep. If you’re not actively gazing into it or trying to set a real mood, you should turn it off then, too, because you’re just burning electricity for no reason.
Final thoughts on the best lava lamps
- Best overall: Lava Colormax lamp
- Best tall: Jambo 16-inch motion lamp
- Best unique: Edier 16.5-inch Lava Lamp with Bluetooth speaker
- Best glass: Schylling Tricolor White and Clear 14.5-Inch Lava Lamp with Aluminum Base and Cap
- Best budget: Schylling Lamp Lava 2179 14.5-Inch
- Best lava-lamp alternative: JBL Pulse 5 Bluetooth speaker
While lava lamps may not be the classiest lighting solution to spruce up your home, they’re undeniably fun. When people come over, they’ll say, “Oh, cool, is that a lava lamp? I haven’t seen one of those in forever!” While you can get a ton of different styles, we recommend going with something classic and fun. Just don’t touch it once it’s on.
