Squealing or squeaking brakes are annoying and often fixable without major work. Most noise comes from vibration, and there are proven ways to stop it. Here is how to quiet noisy brakes.
Fresh hardware and shims
Worn anti-rattle clips let the pad vibrate and sing; new hardware and pad shims damp that out; see brake hardware clips and brake pad shims. Replacing tired clips is one of the most effective noise fixes.
The right grease in the right places
Lubricate the guide pins and the pad-to-bracket contact points (the ears) with high-temp brake grease - never on the friction surface; see which grease where and caliper slide pins. Proper lube stops stick-slip squeal.
Quality pads and bedding
Cheap pads squeal more; a quality pad with a chamfer and shim runs quieter; see pad chamfers. Bed new pads in properly to lay an even transfer layer; see breaking in brakes.
Rule out real problems
Persistent grinding or a stuck caliper is not just noise - fix those; see why brakes squeak and sticking calipers. For quiet brakes, start with quality pads and hardware.