It’s pretty clear we’re now living in a golden age of music streaming. Using your humble smartphoneyou can stream any number of music tracksfrom the latest Billboard bestsellers to tracks created in someone’s garage on an old keyboard.
You can even create your own tracks without leaving your small screenusing a variety of music-creation apps. But based on our exhaustive researchthere are between a million and a bajillion different music apps out there — so which ones should you download?
Thankfullywe’ve done the hard work and created this list of great music apps. Some are free of chargebut many of the best ones require a subscription fee or even in-app purchases. Nonethelessbelow are our picks for the best music appswhether you’re looking to simply listen to musiclearn musical skillsor create your own tunes. Before we startdon’t forget that music is best listened to with a good pair of headphonesso check out our picks for the best headphones you can buy and the best wireless headphones.
Further reading
The best apps for listening to music
Spotify (free/subscription)
Probably the best-known music streaming appSpotify is a massive force in the streaming industryboasting more than 406 million subscribers and offering access to 80 million tracks from almost any artist you can think of. The mobile app boasts the same functionality as its desktop counterpartallowing 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 songscreate playlists and listen to podcasts. Howeverif you want to listen offline and get rid of the adsthen 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 accessa Family option that cuts the price for multiple accountsor a Duo subscription that lets you share your account with a partnerfriendor family memberprovided you’re living under the same roof.
Howeverkeep in mind that the free account has numerous ads constantly interrupting the music. MoreoverSpotify is not available in all countriesso check that out if you plan to travel. Finallyremember that once your subscription expiresyou lose access to the downloaded content.
Apple Music (subscription)
Apple Music is — unsurprisingly — Apple’s music streaming serviceand it offers you complete access to any song in the Apple Music libraryno matter where you are. As you’d expect from AppleApple Music is well-designedand you should have no problem swapping between the radiosaved songsand recommendations. As a bonusit’s also available for both Android and iOSso you don’t need the latest Apple iPhone to enjoy it. The service’s catalog of 90 million songs is clearly its biggest drawbut there’s plenty of other contentincluding documentaries about a variety of artists and bandsconcertsand other such content. If you’re using the app on Androidyou can even stream directly to a Chromecast devicemaking it as flexible as it is powerful.
How much is Apple Music? A subscription starts at $10 a month for individuals. It’s $6 for a Student subscriptionand a $15 Family option is also available. You can also upload 100,000 songs to Apple’s serversbut unlike Google Play Music and Spotifythere’s no free option. Howeveryou get three months free if you’re new. UnfortunatelyApple doesn’t offer a free planso you can’t test the service without buying a subscription. Plusyou can’t use the app without your Apple ID. You can also occasionally pick up great deals with third-party retailers. Right nowyou can get six months of free Apple Music from Best Buy — you just need a Best Buy account.
YouTube Music (free/subscription)
YouTube is one of the largest repositories of music in the worldand YouTube Music gives you access to all of it. It’s free to use with adsbut if you want ad-free listeningbackground listening (with the screen locked)and offline downloadsthen you’ll need to download YouTube Music and get a Premium subscriptionwhich costs $10 a month. Otherwiseif 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 subscriptiontoo.
HoweverYoutube 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 musicunless you buy a subscription — which can be quite the hassle if you’re multitasking.
Bandcamp (individual purchases)
It’s no secret many artists don’t get a great cut from most streaming servicesbut that’s not true for Bandcamp. It proudly bills itself as the platform for directly supporting artistsand 80% to 85% of the money you spend goes directly to the singerbandor creator you’ve bought frommaking this one of the best ways to easily support more niche acts. There’s no subscription cost to download Bandcampbut neither does it use a free model — insteadyou buy tracks and albums from each artist in questionand you can then stream or download them from Bandcamp. While you won’t find every artist on Bandcampit’s an excellent place to buy content if you can afford to.
Bandcamp is not as popular or well-known as other music streaming apps and focuses more on niche musicso it’s better served as a complement to another streaming service.
Shazam (free)
While Shazam is better known for its music-detection skillsit’s also a convenient means of streaming tracks once they are recognized. Shazam works best when paired with another streaming apprecognizing songs and television shows in a matter of secondsand providing purchasing or streaming options from Amazon MusicSpotifyApple Musicand more. It even provides lyrics for your chosen song. The real-time chart is just a plus.
Shazam isn’t really a streaming app so it always needs to be paired with another “proper” music streaming service. It’s designed to identify songsrather than play themso there’s no music library and the app has limited features compared to other music apps.
Amazon Music (free/subscription)
Amazon might have been late to the gamebut its Amazon Music app is pretty good. It gives access to a bunch of free songs and also contains your entire Cloud Player libraryincluding uploaded songs and those you purchased from Amazon itself. Access to the full 75 million-strong library is only included with an Amazon Music Unlimited subscriptionwhich will set you back $10 a month or $8 for Amazon Prime members. If you only have one devicethen you can pay just $4 a month by tying your subscription to a single Echo or Fire device. Amazon Prime members also get free access to a pared-down version of the full membership with two million songs. It’s not a bad bonus for an existing Amazon Prime memberbut that option does feel slightly rubbish when compared to Apple Music’sGoogle Play Music’sand Spotify’s enormous offerings.
Idagio (free/subscription)
Despite being something of a foundational genrethere’s a significant lack of real streaming services for classical music. Idagio is the go-to app if you love classical musicand it comes with powerful tools that match the power of its genre’s offerings. You can filter by composerworkorchestrasoloistand moreand there’s a Weekly Mix to bring you a personalized mix of new and popular music. There’s a free tierbut it’s pretty limited. The Premium and Premium+ subscription offers on-demand and ad-free listeningoffline listeninga personal collection of tracksand the ability to connect to various Bluetooth speakers and other similar devices. That will set you back $10 and $13 a month respectivelythough it offers lossless FLAC formats. It’s relatively svelte at two million tracksbut that’s not bad when you remember this is limited to a single genre.
Audiomack (free/monthly subscription)
There are a million streaming servicesbut Audiomack specializes in getting you the hottest new songsmixtapesand playlists from genres such as hip-hoprapR&BEDMAfropopand reggae. Sign up and you’ll be asked to select a few artists to listen toor you can jump straight to the trending list instead. Songs are organized into a variety of playlistsincluding mood playlistsand you can follow individual artists. When you’re listening to a trackyou can comment on it for others to findsave it in playlistsand even download it for later. A subscription costs $5 a month and gets rid of those pesky ads. It only has four million tracks to choose fromso it’s not as wide-ranging as the bigger appsbut it’s a must-download if you love the musical genres available.
Howeverremember the app has a smaller library than Spotify and Apple Musicand it’s more focused on specific genres like hip-hop and EDM rather than offering music of different s.
TuneIn Radio (free/subscription)
The days of internet pirate radio have mostly passedbut there’s still some great stuff out there. A TuneIn Radio download grants you access to more than 120,000 live radio stations from around the globe. The app offers a bevy of local content as wellproviding on-demand streams encompassing sportsnewstalk showsmusicand current eventsamong other stellar offerings. There’s also good news if you’re a sports fan — TuneIn’s premium service offers radio access to live NFLMLBNBAand NHL gamesand ad-free listening for $10 a month or $100 a year. But if you’re not interested in thatyou can still access the live radio stations for free.
Unfortunatelyyou may run into performance issues as it relies on live radio stations for content. Additionallyusers have to deal with constant banner ads which can ruin the listening experience.
Soundcloud (free/subscription)
Soundcloud is a wide-ranging community of musiciansbandspodcastersand more. The app retains all the hallmarks of the full siteallowing you to search for new artists to followlisten to songs in your feedand even record and post your own audio. There are two types of premium subscriptions — the Pro Unlimited subscription is for music creators and starts at $144 a year. It offers additional storage space and stats for uploaded tracks. There’s also Soundcloud Repostwhich is designed for those distributing music and starts from $30 per year (or comes included with Pro Unlimited). Soundcloud Go and Go+ are intended for listeners. Soundcloud Go costs $5 a month and offers ad-free listening and the ability to save tracks offline. Go+ costs $10 per month. Soundcloud is more creator-focused than listener-focused and the subscriptions don’t offer much beyond the free features.
Pandora (free/subscription)
Despite a dwindling user basePandora is a mainstay of the streaming realm. Essentially a personalized radio servicethe app’s For You feature creates a ceaseless playlist of new music and podcasts just for you by taking your likes and dislikes into account as you listen. Simply boot up the app and let it go. If you want a Pandora experience with unlimited skipsoffline radioand the ability to listen to individual tracks (after listening to an ad)then that’s available from Pandora Plus for $5 a month. The Premium experience costs $10 (with discounts for familystudentor military plans) and mostly grants the ability to create shared playlists. You also won’t need to listen to an ad before playing a single song. Unfortunately for international readersPandora is only available in the U.S.but Pandora is dedicated to keeping its app updatedand the latest versions support the iOS Dark mode and a constantly updated interface.
Pandora is only available in the U.S.New Zealandand Australia. Plusits interface is trickier than other music streaming apps and you need a subscription to create playlists.
Tidal (free/subscription)
Designed for the audio aficionadoTidal boasts more than 60 million lossless-quality tracksan offline modequick access to music videostailor-made suggestionsand in-depth interviews covering everyone from Jack White to Jay-Z. It also has a huge array of sharing featuresincluding the ability to share tracks to Snapchat stories. Tidal has a massive amount of subscription optionssplit into HiFi ($10 a month) for the standard service and HiFi Plus($20 a month) for completely lossless tracks. There are discounts available for Family accountsstudentsmembers of the U.S. militaryand first responders.
The HiFi plan is more expensive than most music-streaming options available on the market. And stillthe playlists may be lackluster compared to Spotify. The app doesn’t even offer podcast optionswhich may be a huge bummer for frequent podcast listeners.
LiveOne (free/subscription)
Formerly known as LiveXLiveLiveOne is a new music streaming app that offers you access to millions of music tracks but also to the latest live events by your favorite artists. The free version only provides access to music radio stationsand you can’t pick and choose tracks to listen tobut you do still get access to the live events and you can listen to podcasts. Plus members get ad-free listeningmaximum audio qualityand unlimited skips for $4 a monthbut the complete experience comes at the Premium tier for $10 a month. That gives you the ability to listen to specific tracks and albums on demandoffline listeningplaylists and station creationsand all the Plus benefits too. But the live footage of concerts and festivals is definitely the draw here.
Before choosing this appremember that LiveOne is focused on live radio stations rather than on-demand streamingso it appears to have a limited library compared to Spotify and Apple Music.
Deezer (free/subscription)
Deezer offers a massive library of tracksbut its headline feature is the Flow feature. Flow learns about your favorite types of music and creates a mix of music and artists just for youbased on artists it knows you like and some it thinks you will. Deezer Premium gives unlimited access to all 56 million songsoffline playbackand no adsand starts at $10 a month. If you want the highest quality of music availablethen Deezer also offers a $15 HiFi subscription that uses high-definition FLAC codecs for the best possible listening experience. If you’re rocking on with the free versionthoughthen you’re restricted to the Flow feature and mixes on mobile. Finallythere’s also a Family plan for $15 a month and a Student tier for $5 a month.
The free version offers limited options for users and comes with a lot of ads. Moreoverthe audio quality is poor without the expensive HiFi subscription.
Jango Radio (free)
A lot of music streaming apps are free for a while before charging a feebut Jango is completely free with no hidden costs. You can browse musicexplore by categoryor create your own station by searching for an artist. There are adsbut they’re small ads that appear just under the album art and aren’t particularly intrusive. You can also share stations with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. The downside? You can’t get rid of ads and the app is hyper-focused on indie musicso there’s not much variety.
Napster Music (subscription)
Though battling Metallica and Dr. Dre shouldn’t put you in good stead in the music businessit doesn’t seem to have done Napster much harm. Now very far away from its roots as a P2P file-sharing platformNapster has been reborn as a subscription-based music service with 40 million songs in its database. The real deal is the $10 monthly subscriptionwhich offers an experience similar to Spotify and other services. Cruciallythe Premium $10 subscription also comes with a Kids Modewhich strips out unsuitable musicwhich may give Napster’s offering the edge if you’re looking for a child-friendly option.
Datpiff
Datpiff is an excellent choice for mixtape lovers. It’s a free app allowing you to download unlimited mixtapes. The best part is that you don’t even need to make an account so you can listen anytime you want. Plusit updates dailyso you always have something new to listen to. The app focuses on hip-hop and R&B music thoughso you won’t get a versatile massive library like SpotifyApple Musicor Amazon Music.
The best apps for creating music
If you’re just starting out in music production or just feel like you’d rather avoid the hefty price tags altogetherthere are free options for music-making software worth considering. We’ve listed the best apps in iOS & Android for creating music below.
GarageBand (free)
The mobile GarageBand isn’t so different from its desktop brethren. You can play and loop a variety of instrumentsfrom cello and acoustic guitar to drums and synthsusing your iPhone’s touchscreen display. You can even tweak the tempokeytime signatureand chords in the process. Unfortunately for Android aficionadosit’s iOS onlyso check out something else if you’re stuck in Google’s ecosystem. Plussome limitations make it unsuitable for professional players.
BandLab
Are you an Android owneror are you an iPhone owner who’s tired of GarageBand? Then look no further than BandLaban entirely free (no in-app purchases) alternative to GarageBand that’s very popular and very well-rated on the Google Play and Apple App Stores. Its core feature is a surprisingly expansive multitrack editor that lets you recordeditand remix musicwhether it’s something you’ve recorded elsewhere or something you’ve created with the app itself from scratch. It also lets you spice up your work through a wide assortment of effectsbeatsloopsand vocalsand it’s suitable for pretty much every popular genre under the sunfrom rock to rap and EDM. As an added bonusBandLab contains a social media element that lets you share your creations — and collaborate on them — with friends. The downside? The app has a bit of a learning curve for beginners and it doesn’t let you batch edit.
Groovepad
Groovepad brings a similar approach to music-making as other appsbut there are other features here to justify the download. The tutorial Beat School is high up on that listand it walks you through the process of making a cool songbuilding it from the ground up. It has a huge range of genres to choose from with beats to matchand you can easily apply FX effects like filterflangerand reverb — and when you’re doneyou can easily share your song with friends or family. It’s free to usebut it requires a premium subscription to access all of the tools. AlthoughGroovepad offers limited features without a subscription and comes with banner ads.
FL Studio Mobile ($14+)
Looking for a GarageBand alternative? FL Studio Mobile is an advanced audio-editing app that offers synthesizersdrum kitsloop beatsand more. It comes with a bunch of effectsand you can expect to find limitersparametric equalizersa chorus tooland MIDI controller support. It syncs your projects between devices as wellso you can start a track on the iPad at homeand make tweaks to it on your Galaxy smartphone while waiting for the bus. Howeverthe app has an expensive subscription plan and yet some users complain of a laggy user experience.
Loopimal ($4)
Definitely one for the kidsLoopimal creates music loops by representing each individual part of the track as a different animal or shape. Essentially a musical sandbox for the kidsit’s nevertheless a pretty powerful music-making tooland it’s one that might help spark an interest in music creation that could last a lifetime. It’s one for the kidsbut don’t think it’s just child’s play because of that. The app is made for small kids and doesn’t offer much for teens and adults. Moreoverthere’s no free version to try.
DJ Studio 5 (free)
Turntables that fit in your pocket are difficult to come by. DJ Studio 5 provides two virtual turntables at your fingertips so you can remixpitchscratchloopand record a custom track. When you’re finished putting your masterpiece togetheryou can even save and post the final mixes to SoundCloudor share them on Facebook. The app has received some complaints of audio distortionand reviewers say it may be difficult to use for beginners.
Ultimate Guitar Tabs (free/subscription)
You don’t need to be able to read sheet music to play the guitar. Ultimate Guitar Tabs touts interactive lessons and a robust catalog of more than 800,000 ukulele and guitar tabswhich allow you to view chord diagrams and the placement of various notes on the fretboard at a glance. The basic app is free and is a great jumping-off point for learning the guitar. Some additional features require you to pay a membership feebut once you see what the free material is likeyou’ll know if you want to invest in the full app.
On the downsideUltimate Guitar Tabs requires knowledge of reading music to get started. Additionallyit is focused on specific instruments like the ukulele and guitar which means it does not have a lot of variety for dabblers.
ForScore ($20)
Three-ring binders can get heavyso why not transport all your music in your much lighter phone or tablet? ForScore is tailor-made for stowing your sheet music on the go. The app allows you to edit and annotate your music while providing you with options for taggingsharingand displaying your music alongside the accompanying audio track. You can access the same data across different platformsso the cost of the app has increased proportionately. For the ability to have the same functionality on your iPad and iPhone plus being able to use the Apple Pencilwe think it’s worth the cost. Users say it runs into a lot of bugs and it’s pricier than comparable apps.
