they arenβt just for atmosphere. they can be for anything. texture, percussion, to put you in a certain era or place. it could just mean something to the song, or the artist. they donβt need to impress on their own. their value can be in how they blend, how they're used, or why.
I absolutely can not stand field recordings in electronic music. I understand they have their uses but 90% of the time itβs just the artist trying to compensate for their lack of atmosphere. A lot of what people record is not that interesting to try and discern either.