If a silent brake is your priority - no squeal, no chirp, no drama - the pad choice and install matter a lot. Some pads and setups are far quieter than others. Here is what makes brakes quiet and how to get there.
Ceramic is the quiet choice
For everyday driving, quality ceramic pads are the quietest option. Their compound damps the high-frequency vibration that causes squeal, and they stay quiet across a wide temperature range - see do ceramic pads stop better. Semi-metallic pads bite hard and take more heat but tend to be noisier and dustier - see semi-metallic pros and cons.
Shims, chamfers, and slots
Quiet is engineered into the pad, not just the compound. Good pads come with damping shims, chamfered edges, and slots that shift the resonant frequency away from audible squeal - see chamfers and slots and brake pad shims. Cheap pads that skip these details squeal no matter the compound.
Hardware and install make or break it
Even the best pad rattles or squeals on tired hardware. Fresh anti-rattle clips and shims hold the pad snug and quiet - see brake pad gap noise - and proper bedding lays down an even transfer layer for smooth, silent braking - see how to bed in brake pads.
The quiet recipe
For the quietest brakes: a quality ceramic pad with shims and chamfers, installed with fresh hardware on a clean bracket, greased slide pins, and a proper bedding-in. Do that and squeal is rare. Choose quiet ceramic brake pads and a full hardware kit.