Back in the day, listening to music was expensive. Youโd have to buy music through vinyl, CDs, or cassette tapes. Then, youโd have to buy tons of equipment like players, amps, speakers, and headphones which can get pretty pricey.
While you can still do all that today, itโs not necessary. Most people have phones, which commonly come with free headphones, and you donโt have to buy music album by album anymore. You can just get a music streaming service subscription and access just about all the music in the world.
The most important thing you have to consider when deciding which music service to use is to know the devices youโll be listening with. Do all your devices support these streaming apps? Do you have hi-fi audio equipment that you want to utilize? And other than that, you might want features like video, lyrics, or enjoyable music effects.
Overall Best Music Streaming App
Spotify
The very first Music streaming service Iโd recommend to anyone is Spotify, itโs perfect for people new to music streaming, no matter what device you use. And the best thing that everyone will love on Spotify is the fact that you can use Spotify for free (with ads of course).
Library and Recommendations
Spotify is one of the best services for discovering music like thereโs no tomorrow. And this is even more true if you use the free version where you canโt skip songs all the time forcing you to listen to whatever Spotify brings to your ears.
I used to listen to metal and rock exclusively a few years back, and once I began using Spotify as my first streaming service, it didnโt take long for Spotify to recommend songs from other genres. Now, I donโt think youโll see a single metal band on my recently played songs. Itโs not just me, Iโve seen similar results with people close to me.
I donโt know how Spotify does recommendations so well, but if you choose this service, expect a good song library, and personalized playlists made for you based on the songs and genres you listen to all the time, and on new recommendations from Spotify.
Fun Features
Depending on what country youโre in, you might have extra features like Canvas and Lyrics which honestly makes Spotify significantly more enjoyable to use. And of course, nothing beats Spotify so far when it comes to device support, itโs available with most devices, even on gaming consoles, cars, and TVs.
Audio Quality
Sound-wise, Spotify is decent, or even great for most people. If youโre using Spotify for free, youโll get up to 160kbps on desktop apps, and 96kbps on mobile apps. But as soon as you pay for a monthly subscription, youโll be able to experience โhigh-qualityโ streaming and downloads with a bit rate of up to 320kbps. If you have a good pair of headphones, you can do a lot better than 320kbps.
Overall, even though Spotify doesnโt have the best audio quality, it truly is the most fun to use, and trust me, if you use Spotify to explore music, youโll get tired, but I donโt think youโll stop.
Pros
- Impressive free version
- Has the best recommendation algorithm
- Now includes podcasts
- Intuitive app design
- Supports the most devices
Cons
- You canโt listen to specific songs on the free version
- Doesnโt have lossless music (yet)
Best for Apple Users
Apple Music
As a company that innovated the way we listen to music with the iPod, I expected a lot with Apple Music, and man, they didnโt fail to deliver. If you asked me a few years ago, I’d have said Apple Music is not too different from Spotify. But now, Apple Music is a whole different beast. Of course, if you are in the Apple Ecosystem and all your devices are from Apple, I think itโs a no-brainer for you to get Apple Music.
Device Support
The very first thing that most people will think about with Apple Music is, โIs it exclusive to Apple Devices?” Fortunately, Apple Music does work on Android and PC. But still, I will only recommend Apple Music to people who use Apple Devices, which is why this is not the overall best.
Library
I think Apple Musicโs Library is better than Spotify because of two things. One, there are more songs on Apple Music. And two, if youโre in an Album or Playlist, thereโs a bit of background info that you can read, and itโs those little details that made me switch from Spotify to Apple Music since I love to read these things while listening.
Audio Quality
When I first tried Apple Music, I was surprised that the sound quality is louder, clearer, and just better overall. After some digging, I found the three main features that made Apple Music sound better:
Spatial Audio
Spatial Audio is essentially a 3D experience but for your ears. I thought itโs going to be an exclusive for AirPods, but no. Since itโs powered by Dolby Atmos, it works even on my budget headphones, and I kid you not, youโll notice the difference.
Sound Enhancer
The sound enhancer does what it says. How? It makes your headphones sound like it has a much bigger soundstage making the sound more immersive. It also has a bit of reverb and it boosts the treble making your headphones sound clearer.
Lossless Audio
Lossless Audio is the main factor behind Apple Musicโs better sound quality. For those who donโt know, the most common file formats for music like MP3 are compressed poorly, and that means most of the blank noises in a song are removed from the file to save space. However, that can compromise sound quality.
Lossless file formats use advanced compression techniques that wonโt compress and compromise the sound quality of a song.
Apple Music uses their Apple Lossless Audio Codec or ALAC. While this is still not as good as FLAC, considering that Apple Music costs $9.99 per month, this is the most affordable gateway into lossless audio.
Pros
- Includes lossless and spatial audio for the least money at $9.99
- Expert curated and great algorithms will give you great recommendations
Cons
- Doesnโt have a lot of supported devices
- Not as smooth on Android
Best for Android and Music Video Lovers
YouTube Music
If youโre on a tight budget, YouTube Premium bundled with YouTube Music is the best bang for your buck since youโll also enjoy a no-ad YouTube. Itโs only $11.99 as a bundle. I donโt recommend it but you can also purchase YouTube Music as a stand-alone service for $9.99. And like Spotify, you can also use YouTube Music for free!
Music Videos!
If youโre a big fan of listening to music through watching music videos, then I think YouTube Music is the best for you. Sure, if you use Apple Music, there are also music videos there. But no! I donโt think any other Music streaming service will beat YouTube Music with the number of videos they have. I mean you name it, Official Music videos, Live performances, Covers, and even karaoke songs, they have it all.
Library
Out of all the streaming services mentioned here, YouTube Music has the least songs with just over 60 million tracks. Although one thing I discovered the first time I used YouTube Music is you can include videos on your playlists. Love it or hate itยญ ยญโ and I, personally, hated it โ itโs still a clever feature, and that video feature is the reason why YouTube Music is considered best at something. Lastly, YouTube Music has similar discoverability features as Spotify, so if you want to explore music, I think YouTube Music is also a great option.
Audio Quality
Among all the streaming services we looked at today, YouTube Music has the worst audio quality. You’ll even notice the difference in audio quality on car speakers or cheap headphones. Itโs too compressed, and the best audio resolution you can get on YouTube Music is 256kbps AAC, which is literally the lowest resolution you can get on Apple Music. And considering that the YouTube Premium bundle costs more than Apple Music, I think youโre better off paying Apple for that Lossless audio if you want great audio quality.
Pros
- Included with YouTube Premium
- Has a lot of official music videos, live performances, and covers
- Mobile app design is similar to Spotify
Cons
- Competitors have a way better audio quality
- Getting to your playlists and liked songs can be a bit confusing
Best for Audiophiles
TIDAL
Out of all the music streaming services out there, I donโt think anyone beats TIDAL when it comes to audio quality. But there are several issues with Tidal that might make you steer away from it. Letโs get on with the good and bad.
Audio Quality
Itโs not a TIDAL review if we donโt talk about the sound quality first. Essentially, out of all streaming services TIDAL is the only service that can bring you Original Master Recordings, or Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) tracks.
The quality of MQA tracks can go up to 9216kbps or 24 bit/192kHz, and thatโs as high as audio fidelity can go on most hi-fi equipment. But the interesting thing about TIDALโs files is that even an MQA file wonโt have a large file. I donโt know how they fit a master track in 20mb-30Mb file sizes, but they did.
Other than that, you can also get Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio tracks from TIDAL. And keep in mind that TIDALโs hi-fi plan costs the highest at $19.99. The cheaper subscription plan at $9.99 only goes up to 320kbps, which is the same price and quality as Spotify Premium but with a worse recommendation algorithm.
Library
TIDAL also has over 70 million tracks like Apple Music and Spotify, but it doesnโt feel like it. Songs that are recommended to you are often songs that you already know, or from a genre that you already know. Its recommendation algorithm is far inferior when compared to Spotify or YouTube.
If you also use TIDALโs mobile app or web player, the experience there wonโt be as straightforward as any of the services we mentioned today. Depending on your phone, there might be a ton of bugs as well.
Pros
- Hi-fi music streams
- Original Master Recordings
- Also has a lot of video content
Cons
- Slightly confusing mobile apps and web player
- Has poor recommendation algorithms
- High-res music might need a specialized decoder
There you have it! These are the best audio streaming services as of 2021. There are a bunch of services that came close to getting on this list but for now, Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Tidal are the overall best music streaming services.
When I’m doing my homework I’m always listening to music. I understand that, of course, but it’s still hard for me to eat in silence, so I prefer to have music playing in the background. I like the YouTube to Mp3 service, where you can easily download music and do it for free. It’s important that the quality is maintained, because I don’t like quality below 128 bitrate.
The best ways to market your music are through social media platforms, collaborations with other artists, live performances, and building a fanbase. However, it can be difficult to manage all of these aspects while also creating and producing music.