A practical tip: Listen to samples of the battle scenes. That’s the litmus test. Any narrator can do a decent drawing-room conversation. Can they handle the chaos, scale, and terror of Borodino or the French retreat? Do they convey the confusion, the booming cannons (through tone, not sound effects), the sudden, brutal deaths? Or does it sound like someone reading a textbook description of a battle? The Thurlow version is exceptional here. There’s a building horror and palpable exhaustion in his voice during the war chapters. You feel the scale and the senselessness. If a narrator can immerse you in the mud and blood and noise of war, they can handle the quiet despair of a Moscow salon.
What about the readers who want the opposite of nuance? What if you just want the story stripped down, abridged, and dramatized to get the gist? There's no shame in that. The BBC radio drama with a full cast is fantastic for that. You get the epic sweep, the major characters, the big moments. You miss the essays, but you get a gripping, digestible tale. Calling it 'War and Peace' is a stretch, but it's a fantastic entry point that might lead you to the full thing later.
Sometimes the 'best' version isn't the 'easiest' for a beginner. The Frederick Davidson version is considered a classic performance by some audiophiles. It's bold, unique, and memorable. But its very uniqueness makes it a barrier for a new listener.
It's like recommending a bold, challenging film adaptation of a book before you've read the book itself. You might miss the story for the style. For ease, you want a style that serves the story transparently. Save the stylized, director's-cut versions for a second reading when you already know the plot and can appreciate the interpretive choices. Start with the straightforward, well-executed standard version.
Honestly, after reading these comments, I'm convinced the 'best' way is to do both. Read the physical book to savor the language and control the pace, then listen to a great narration to catch the emotional performance and the voices. They seem like complementary experiences, not replacements for each other.
The Constance Garnett translation debate is real. Some scholars pan it, but many classic audiobooks still use it because it's in the public domain. That means cheaper to produce. If you see a very cheap or free audiobook version of 'War and Peace,' it's likely Garnett. There's nothing wrong with it, but modern translations by Pevear/Volokhonsky or Briggs are considered more accurate and vibrant. If you're investing this much time, spend a few extra dollars for a modern translation. The narrator is performing the translation, so the quality of the underlying text is everything.