Finding free music can be difficult. There is a fine line between listening to a few tunes for free like you used to be able to do on the radio and the ethical problems that comes with piracy. Thankfully there are plenty of services and apps out there that deliver free music to your devices and you don’t have to pay for it. Here are the best free music apps for Android. It should be noted that many of these apps do have paid options but you can make do with the free versions.
iHeartRadio
[Price: Free]
First on our list is iHeartRadio. With this app you can listen to music stations that suit almost every taste you can imagine. It even has seasonal things like Christmas music which comes in handy during the holiday season. It boasts 18 million songs by over 400,000 artists and thousands of live-streaming radio stations. There is even talk radio if you’re into that sort of thing. You’ll have to listen to advertisements but as you’ll learn as you browse this list, that’s pretty much the gold standard for listening to free music these days.
Milk Music
[Price: Free]
Milk Music is a music streaming service that is maintained by Samsung. Unfortunately it is only available to US residents and also only to people who own Samsung devices. People who fit into that category can use Milk Music and it is a pretty decent service. It boasts a lot of songs as well as a fluid, fun interface taht is also easy to use. It relies on a dial that you can spin when you want the music genre to change and you can do the standard things like creating radio stations to your taste. It is totally free. At least for right now.
Pandora
[Price: Free]
Pandora is among the most popular music streaming services on the internet and that means it belongs here. It has a smaller music selection than many of these other apps but it combats that by being very easy to use. It also has some fun features like an alarm clock feature so you can wake up to your favorite music. It’s also great for music discovery if you’re looking for new stuff to listen to.
Rdio
[Price: Free]
Rdio has come a long way in the last year. Their service has always been good but their Android app was rated as low as 3.5 in the Play Store at one point. It has since improved things dramatically and it’s still the same great music streaming service it’s always been. It features 30 million tracks which you can listen to for free. There are also curated radio stations as well as music genre stations and artist stations. It’s a little simple but that’s how these things go and worst case you can always become a premium member for the extra features.
Slacker Radio
[Price: Free]
Slacker Radio is another popular option that doesn’t get talked about as often as Pandora does but it totally should. Much like iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio has live streaming stations that are tuned to almost any taste and it also includes talk radio for those who are into that. There are also some shows that air exclusively on Slacker Radio so you’ll literally be missing out on stuff if you never try this app. It has millions of songs across the platform and you can even listen to the Weather Channel if you want to. Really.
Songza
[Price: Free]
Songza is currently rocking a Editor’s Choice label over at the Google Play Store and for good reason. Because it’s awesome and because Google bought it. We don’t know how long Songza is going to remain an independent service or if it’s going to stick around. For the time being it’s a solid free music app. It contains thousands of playlists, tablet support, and a Music Concierge service that helps you find the best music according to your tastes.
SoundCloud
[Price: Free]
SoundCloud won’t have most of the top rated and most popular artists out there. However, if you’re looking for random stuff, independent stuff, and underground stuff then this is the app to try. You can also find a host of podcasts on there for your listening pleasure. You can browse by trending, genre, and follow artists and friends to see what they’re up to. It’s a great place to discover new music and a fun atmosphere for musicians and listeners alike.
Spotify
[Price: Free]
Earlier this year, Spotify updated their Android app to allow users to listen to music for free. That means the mobile experience is almost identical to the desktop and web experiences. The service features 20 million songs from a range of artists. You can create playlists, listen to playlists your friends create, and it has tablet support. You do have to listen to ads on the free version but that’s no big deal.
TuneIn Radio
[Price: Free]
TuneIn Radio is more known for its talk radio and podcast support than for its music support but there is some music on there. Everything on TuneIn is essentially a radio station so it’s almost exactly like you’re listening to a radio. The music search, genre search, etc aren’t as robust on TuneIn as other apps but this isn’t really for the hardcore music buffs in the audience. People who like talk radio and podcasts with a little music tossed in will love this app. Music fanatics will probably need to keep looking.
YouTube
[Price: Free]
Last and certainly not least is YouTube. It’s true that YouTube is actually a video streaming service but it does have practically every song ever written on it if you search hard enough. You can create and listen to playlists and as long as you don’t mind listening to ads then you have nothing to worry about. It has been heard around the grapevine that YouTube will be doing a music streaming service sometime in the near future. That’ll probably also be free with ad support so keep an eye on that.
Wrap up
If we missed any great free music apps (that don’t condone piracy), let us know in the comments!
from Android Authority http://ift.tt/10BSeBd
No comments:
Post a Comment