Quietest Refrigator ?

May not be the best alternative, but you can probably just turn the fridge off when you are listening to music. It will not hurt to have it off for a few hours, as long as you are not continually opening the fridge door while it is off. I have had my fridge down a number of times for as long as 6 hours due to a power black out and there were no harmful effects to the fridge or the food inside.

Just got a kitchenaid architect series refridgerator last week, as far as the noise you can defintley hear it. Although it only comes on for a few minutes every couple of hours so nothing too bad. Also there is a vacation mode which I would imagine runs the motor even less than when in normal use. Good luck with your choice.

Something to consider may be the issue of electrical noise induced by hanging an electric motor on the same circuit or having it in the same room as sensitive audio gear. At the very least, the fridge should be on its own circuit (the most likely scenario in any case).

Jtori...Another reason to use a gas (or kerosene) refrigerator. If you run it on electricty instead of gas the heater will make no noise.