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An early music ensemble is one that specializes in performing music of the European classical tradition from the Baroque era and before, i.e. generally music before 1750. The following is a list of those groups which have a substantial output of commercially available recordings.

Some of these groups "cross over" into other genres, such as folk music.

Name in parentheses is the current director. Most, but not all, of these groups are advocates of authentic performance, and attempt to recreate the music as it might have sounded at the time it was written, using authentic instruments and modifying playing techniques according to the most recent scholarly research into music of the time.

• The Academy of Ancient Music (founded by Christopher Hogwood, currently directed by Paul Goodwin) (Wide range from medieval to Baroque music, with occasional recordings of contemporary music, for example by John Tavener)
• Air Ensemble
• Anonymous 4 (all-female a cappella ensemble specializing in medieval music; disbanded 2005)
• Altramar
• American Bach Soloists (Jeffrey Thomas)
• American Baroque
• The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, and the Amsterdam Baroque Choir, both founded by Ton Koopman
• Ars Antiqua Austria
• Les Arts Florissants (William Christie) (mostly music of the early Baroque, some late Renaissance)
• Bach Sinfonia (Daniel Abraham)
• Baltimore Consort (specializing in music of the Renaissance and Baroque eras, as well as English-language folk music)
• Martin Best
• Boston Baroque
• Boston Camerata, (Joel Cohen)
• Brandenburg Consort
• Broadside Band
• Chanticleer
• La Chapelle Ducale
• La Chapelle Royale (Philippe Herreweghe)
• La Maurache
• Le Poeme Harmonique
• Capilla Renacentista [1] (Mª Pilar Alvira)
• Choir of Westminster Abbey (Simon Preston)
• Ciaramella
• City Waites
• Clemencic Consort
• Collegium Aureum (Franzjosef Maier)
• Collegium 419 (Czech mixed chamber choir)
• Il Complesso Barocco (Alan Curtis)
• Concerto Palatino (early German and Italian Baroque music)
• Consort Veneto
• Alfred Deller Consort (medieval and Renaissance music)
• Drolls
• Dufay Collective
• El Cortesano
• English Baroque Soloists (John Eliot Gardiner) (Baroque and Classical-era music)
• Ensemble Clément Janequin (Renaissance and early Baroque music)
• Ensemble Gombert
• Ensemble Eduard Melkus
• Ensemble Claude Gervaise
• Ensemble MIKADO [2] (Ensemble for Renaissance and Medieval Music)
• Ensemble Gilles Binchois
• Ensemble Inégal
• Ensemble Responsorium
• Ensemble Unicorn
• Estampie
• Europa Galante (Baroque)
• Ex Cathedra
• I Fagiolini
• I Febiarmonici
• Freiburger Barockorchester (Freiburg Baroque Orchestra)
• Freiburger Spielleyt
• Fretwork
• Gabrieli Consort & Players (Paul McCreesh)
• Gothic Voices (medieval and Renaissance music)
• The Handel & Haydn Society Orchestra and Chorus
• The Harp Consort/Harp Orchestra
• Hespèrion XX/Hespèrion XXI (Jordi Savall)
• Helga Weber Ensemble
• The Hilliard Ensemble (mostly Medieval and Renaissance music, with occasional recordings of contemporary music, for example that by Arvo Pärt)
• His Majesty's Sagbutts and Cornetts
• Hortus Musicus
• Huelgas Ensemble (Paul Van Nevel)
• The King's Consort (Robert King)
• King's Noyse
• Kithara Ensemble
• Lumen Valo ensemble, Helsinki-Finland (medieval and Renaissance music, early Baroque music with occasional detours into contemporary Finnish a cappella)
• The King's Singers
• Magpie Lane
• Modo Antiquo
• Les Muffatti (Peter Van Heyghen) (Baroque Orchestra)
• Musica Antiqua Köln (Reinhard Goebel) (mostly Baroque chamber music)
• Musica Antiqua of London (Philip Thorby)
• Musica Fiata (Roland Wilson)
• David Munrow - Early Music Consort of London and Musica Reservata
• Newberry Consort- Ensemble-in-residence at the Newberry Library
• New York Collegium Andrew Parrott, Music Director
• New York Pro Musica Antiqua
• Olde Hansa Musicus
• Oliphant (Medieval music ensemble from Finland)
• Orlando Consort
• Pantagruel (Renaissance Musicke)
• Pentangle - John Renbourn
• Phantasm - viol consort
• Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
• Philip Jones Brass Ensemble (Philip Jones)
• Philip Pickett - New London Consort and Musicians of The Globe
• Polish Baroque Orchestra (Krzysztof Czerwinski) (music of the Baroque and Classical era)
• Ragland Baroque Players (founded by Nicholas Kraemer)
• Renaissance Winds (Irene Donskaya)
• Rigantona - recreating the music of the Dark Ages.
• Rose Consort of Viols
• The Rose Ensemble (Jordan Sramek, Founder/Artistic Director; Michael Rathke, General Manager)
• St George's Canzona
• Sarband
• Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Basel, Switzerland
• Schola Cantorum Riga
• Sequentia
• Sirinu
• The Sixteen (Harry Christophers) (mostly a cappella music of the Renaissance)
• Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (Christopher Jackson) (Mostly music of the Renaissance and early Baroque)
• Studio der Frühen Musik, Basel, Switzerland
• Tafelmusik (baroque orchestra and chamber choir)
• The Tallis Choir of Toronto (Peter Mahon)
• The Tallis Scholars (a cappella Renaissance music)
• Theatre of Voices
• Toronto Consort
• Waverly Consort, under the general leadership of Michael Jaffe
• Westminster Cathedral Choir (David Hill)
• Winterborne Waytes (Roger Smith)

• Canterbury Waits
• Colchester Waits
• Doncaster Waits
• Gloucester Waits
• Joch de Ministrils del Consell de Mallorca
• King's Lynn Waits
• Leeds Waits
• Norwich Waits
• Oxford Waits
• Stadspijpers van 's-Hertogenbosch
• Winchester Waytes
• York Waits