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- There are a variety of quality, free music apps that can act as alternatives to premium music streaming subscriptions. Spotify and Tidal have free, ad-supported tiers of service, and apps like Pandora, iHeart and YouTube Music give you access to vast libraries of free popular music as well.
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What are the best online music streaming services?
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Is Spotify the best free music streaming app?
- Spotify. Still top of the game, though there's plenty of competition around. SPECIFICATIONS. Quality of free tier: Up to 160kbps | Library size: 70 million+ | Platforms: iOS and Android apps, desktop app, web player, smart TV apps, connected speaker support, cars.
- Amazon Prime Music. The best streaming service you didn't know you had. SPECIFICATIONS. Quality: 256kbps | Library size: 2 million | Platforms: iOS and Android apps, Echo and Fire TV devices.
- Deezer. An extensive catalogue makes this free service a compelling prospect. SPECIFICATIONS. Quality of free tier: 128kbps | Library size: 56 million | Platforms: iOS and Android apps, desktop app, web player.
- YouTube Music. The video-sharing giant's free music streaming service is surprisingly decent. SPECIFICATIONS. Quality of free tier: 128kbps | Library size: N/A | Platforms: iOS and Android apps, web player.
Enjoy the best easy listening music hits of all time with this playlist. Relax and unwind with soothing melodies and vocals from various artists and genres.
- Overview
- For YouTube Fans: YouTube Music
- Unlimited, Super Customized Radio: Jango
- A Mix of New and Old Music: Spotify
- Find Up-and-Coming Artists: SoundCloud
- Create Custom Radio Stations: Pandora
- Listen to Live Radio From Around the World: TuneIn
- Professional DJ Mixes: Mixcloud
- Stream Music Ad-Free Every Day: AccuRadio
- Live Local Radio: iHeartRadio
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Below is a list of the best free music websites based on my experience using them. I refresh this list each month if any of the websites are no longer free or change their features, and I'm always watching out for other awesome music sites to include.
How to Use YouTube Music
YouTube Music is a version of normal YouTube dedicated to streaming songs and music videos. It works like the regular website, but excludes all the non-music content. It's easy to search for music, create playlists, and subscribe to channels for updates when a new song drops.
You can find playlists for specific genres, decades, activities, or moods, and categories for kids. YouTube Music also lets you upload your music to listen from anywhere. The site's home page has personal mixes and handy categories; I've seen Mindful instrumentals, Vibe higher, The Holiday Season, All-time essentials, and Living room dance party.
I like that I can hide the video; it's a great way to listen without distractions. I'm also a huge fan of the lyrics that I can read for some songs — they even show up in line with the music for some tracks.
This site is especially useful if you use it often. I have found so much new music here because I get recommendations based on my playlists and listening history.
With a paid subscription, you can listen ad-free, offline, and with your screen off (on mobile). There are individual and family plans.
Jango is another free streaming radio service that makes it easy to listen to free music online from a computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Beyond the unlimited listening and minimum commercials, what makes this service great is that you can build custom radio stations by simply picking your favorite band or singer. There are also hundreds of pre-made stations you can look through by genre.
One neat feature I enjoy using is the variety setting. While playing from any station, adjust the variety meter to teach the site what it should play for you. There's also an edit button where you can choose other artists to add to the station; Jango will play songs by them and other related artists.
Visit the trending section to jump to the most popular radio stations like Viral Classics, Up & Coming Pop, TGIF, Working From Home, and Today's Top 100.
Our Review of Spotify
Spotify is one of the first apps I reach for when I want to stream music because I like the way it works and that it includes tens of millions of songs.
Once you're set up, search and listen to your favorite music, create playlists, and share music with your friends. You can also access curated playlists. There are plenty of free tools for creating a Spotify playlist online.
Premium plans let you download Spotify music, listen without ads, stream higher-quality audio, play songs on demand, read song lyrics, and skip songs as often as you like. There's one for individuals, families, and students, and all are usually free for the first few months.
Our Review of SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a long-time favorite of mine that I return to when I want to hear something new. It lets people upload music for free, so it's a great place to find up-and-coming artists.
You can see what's trending on SoundCloud and browse genres like disco, electronic, country, ambient, and more. There's also a search tool, so you can quickly find tracks, bands, and podcasts. Follow artists to stay on top of their new releases, and like tracks and playlists to store music in your personal music collection.
SoundCloud Go+ lets you listen without an internet connection, removes ads, and offers higher quality audio. You also get access to premium tracks. A free 30-day trial is available, and it's half off for students. Free SoundCloud mobile apps are also available.
Our Review of Pandora
Pandora is a great place to find tracks from your favorite artists, and it's a great place to discover new music. When you search for an artist, genre, or composer, the service creates an online streaming radio station based on what you like.
What I appreciate most about using Pandora is that as I listen to custom stations, I'll hear songs and artists similar to those I've already liked. I can then tell Pandora to play more tracks like what I've listening to or to move in a different direction.
It lets you make dozens of unique custom stations that contain music that you love. But if you're not even sure where to start, I recommend the Top Stations and Genres page.
Premium and Plus are the ad-free, paid versions of Pandora that include features like a desktop program, higher audio quality, offline listening, and more. You can also get the family plan for six people. There may be discounts if you're a student or in the military.
See everywhere you can stream Pandora for links to app downloads.
Our Review of TuneIn
TuneIn is probably the best place to listen to live radio stations over the internet. It's possible to find local stations in your area, but you can also search over 100,000 stations from around the world.
Sort radio stations by genre to find anything from rock, ambient, and religious music to sports stations, business news, and travel podcasts. I like to look through the trending radio stations to see what other users are listening to.
TuneIn works from a web browser or desktop program on a computer and through mobile apps. Your favorite stations can be stored in your account to have access from all your devices. For more features like fewer ads, you can try TuneIn Premium for 30 days.
Mixcloud asks you to re-think radio. The music here is put together by DJs and radio presenters from around the world, making for a different listening experience than what you may be used to. Sort these mixes, radio shows, and music podcasts by mood or genre as well as searchable tags.
For example, if I open the classical music show, I can add ambient and chillout tags to get a highly customized stations that will play that type of music.
AccuRadio is like other online radio services on this list. Browse for a station by genre, or have them pick a random one if you're not sure what you want to listen to. You can also view the most popular music for inspiration. There are a handful of mobile apps so that you can listen on multiple devices.
Sign up for a free user account to hear fewer commercials, customize your channel to suit your tastes, and save channels as favorites. You can also "ban" an artist or song to stop hearing that music.
I love that, on certain days, you can listen with zero commercials without a paid account! This is awesome, and very different from most of the music sites I've used.
Some of the interesting genres available here include beautiful music, Canadian, love songs, opera, movie & TV music, and Nordic folk songs. If you make a free account, you can even blend channels together for a unique mix.
iHeartRadio combines live radio and custom music streaming into one awesome website and app. You can listen to live radio stations on iHeartRadio by selecting the city and genre that you like, and it displays the stations that match your search criteria. You can also build custom stations around the songs and artists you like.
I've had a good time using the iHeartRadio mobile app because it supports a sleep timer and has an alarm to automatically play my favorite stations in the morning.
- MusicBee: Supports huge music librariesAdvanced metadata editingPlayback optimization. MusicBee is a free music player created for serious music lovers and includes everything you need to manage and enjoy your collection, no matter how large (it's reportedly handled a library of over 500,000 tracks without a hiccup).
- AIMP: Manage even the messiest library with superior tagging options. Works with multiple directoriesAutomatic taggingWeb interface. Like all the best free music players, AIMP makes organizing your songs a breeze – even if your collection is currently a sprawling mess of tracks in different formats and locations, with incomplete or missing metadata.
- MediaMonkey: Automatic tagging tools make this a great free player for all media. Finds missing metadataLogical organization of tracksSome features are paid-only.
- foobar2000: A customizable modular player suited to small music collections. Erases duplicated tracksFile conversion toolNo real-time updating. foobar2000's advanced tagging tool makes light work of cleaning up a messy library, with options including batch processing, automatic metadata completion and track numbering, and copying and pasting data between fields.
Jun 7, 2022 · Jun 7, 2022, 10:22 AM PDT. brusinski/Getty. There are a variety of quality, free music apps that can act as alternatives to premium music streaming subscriptions. Spotify and Tidal have...
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Apr 17, 2024 · If you're ready to take a dip into the free music streaming pool, we've got several quality services to recommend. Each of the reviewed services offers Android and iOS apps, too, so you needn't...
