It’s pretty clear we’re now living in a golden age of music streaming. Using your humble smartphone, you can stream any number of music tracks, from the latest Billboard bestsellers to tracks created in someone’s garage on an old keyboard.
- The best apps for listening to music
- Further reading
- Spotify (free/subscription)
- Apple Music (subscription)
- YouTube Music (free/subscription)
- Bandcamp (individual purchases)
Contenuti
- The best apps for listening to music
- The best apps for creating music
You can even create your own tracks without leaving your small screen, using a variety of music-creation apps. But based on our exhaustive research, there are between a million and a bajillion different music apps out there — so which ones should you download?
Thankfully, we’ve done the hard work and created this list of great music apps. Some are free of charge, but many of the best ones require a subscription fee or even in-app purchases. Nonetheless, below are our picks for the best music apps, whether you’re looking to simply listen to music, learn musical skills, or create your own tunes. Before we start, don’t forget that music is best listened to with a good pair of headphones, so check out our picks for the best headphones you can buy and the best wireless headphones.
Further reading
- Best Android apps
- Best iPhone apps
- Best internet radio stations
The best apps for listening to music
Spotify (free/subscription)
Probably the best-known music streaming app, Spotify is a massive force in the streaming industry, boasting more than 406 million subscribers and offering access to 70 million tracks from almost any artist you can think of. The mobile app boasts the same functionality as its desktop counterpart, allowing you to stream single tracks or entire albums with the option to create custom playlists. A free account is more than enough to stream your favorite songs, create playlists and listen to podcasts. However, if you want to listen offline and get rid of the ads, then you’ll have to cough up $10 a month for the Premium version.
There’s also the option for a cut-price Student subscription that comes with Hulu and SHOWTIME access and a Family option that cuts the price for multiple accounts.
However, keep in mind that the free account has numerous ads constantly interrupting the music. Moreover, Spotify is not available in all countries, so check that out if you plan to travel. Finally, remember that once your subscription expires, you lose access to the downloaded content.
Android iOS
Apple Music (subscription)
Apple Music is — unsurprisingly — Apple’s music streaming service, and it offers you complete access to any song in the Apple Music library, no matter where you are. As you’d expect from Apple, Apple Music is well-designed, and you should have no problem swapping between the radio, saved songs, and recommendations. As a bonus, it’s also available for both Android and iOS, so you don’t need the latest Apple iPhone to enjoy it. The service’s catalog of 90 million songs is clearly its biggest draw, but there’s plenty of other content, including documentaries about a variety of artists and bands, concerts, and other such content. If you’re using the app on Android, you can even stream directly to a Chromecast device, making it as flexible as it is powerful.
How much is Apple Music? A subscription starts at $10 a month for individuals. It’s $5 for a Student subscription, and a $15 Family option is also available. You can also upload 100,000 songs to Apple’s servers, but unlike Google Play Music and Spotify, there’s no free option. However, you get three months free if you’re new. Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a free plan, so you can’t test the service without buying a subscription. Plus, you can’t use the app without your Apple ID.
iOS
YouTube Music (free/subscription)
YouTube is one of the largest repositories of music in the world, and YouTube Music gives you access to all of it. It’s free to use with ads, but if you want ad-free listening, background listening (with the screen locked), and offline downloads, then you’ll need to download YouTube Music and get a Premium subscription, which costs $10 a month. Otherwise, if you’re already paying $12 a month for the YouTube Premium subscription (that comes with ad-free videos), you get YouTube Music Premium rolled into that subscription, too.
However, Youtube Music has fewer songs than Spotify and Apple Music and the free version comes with a lot of disruptive ads. The platform also requires you to keep the screen on and the app open to listen to music, unless you buy a subscription — which can be quite the hassle if you’re multitasking.
Android iOS
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