He is best known for his work in analytic aesthetics. He has published work on the expressive powers of music, the aesthetic appreciation of nature, and the values of art.
Regarding the expressive powers of (purely instrumental) music, Budd is known for defending a type of resemblance theory, such that music resembles some feature of emotions. However, unlike Peter Kivy and Stephen Davies, Budd argues that music resembles the way that emotions feel.
The following is a partial list of Budd's publications:
Monographs
Music and the emotions (1985)
Wittgenstein's philosophy of psychology (1989)
Values of art (1995)
The Aesthetic Appreciation of Nature (2002)
Aesthetic essays (2008)
Articles
Budd, M. (1980). The repudiation of emotion: Hanslick on music. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 20(1), 29–43.
Budd, M. (1987). Wittgenstein on seeing aspects. Mind, 96(381), 1-17.
Budd, M. (1989). Music and the Communication of Emotion. The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, 47(2), 129–138.
Budd, M. (2001). The pure judgement of taste as an aesthetic reflective judgement. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 41(3), 247–260.
Budd, M. (2003). The acquaintance principle. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 43(4), 386–392.
Budd, M. (2005). Aesthetic realism and emotional qualities of music. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 45(2), 111–122.
Budd, M. (2006). The characterization of aesthetic qualities by essential metaphors and quasi-metaphors. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 46(2), 133–143.
Budd, M. (2007). The intersubjective validity of aesthetic judgements. The British Journal of Aesthetics, 47(4), 333–371.