Over the past couple of years, we've gradually changed how we listen to music and where we listen to it. With music streaming services being the primary way most of us consume music content, plus the ability to access these services from a smart speaker, TVs, to even a smart fridge, we don't have to be tethered to our phones anymore. Still, listening to music on our phones is the most popular method when commuting or working, and the best music player apps for Android elevates that experience even further.
Whether it's a combination of a streaming service and music player, or an app dedicated to playing your local music files on your phone, here's a roundup of the best music player apps on Android right now.
Spotify
Spotify is one of the top music streaming apps globally and has the highest subscriber count among all the other music players. Besides streaming, you can also access all your locally stored files by enabling the option in the settings of the app. Spotify lets you stream some of the best podcasts, like the Android Central Podcast, and also lets you access audiobooks.
One of the best aspects of Spotify is that you can sign up for free and listen to your favorite music, albeit with limitations like ads. Spotify's Premium plans have the advantage of no ads, the ability to download and listen to music offline, play songs in any order, higher bitrate files, and listen with friends in real-time – all for a small monthly fee.
The Individual plan costs $10.99, Duo is $14.99 which gets you two premium accounts, while Family is $16.99 which has six premium or kids accounts with access to parental controls and Spotify Kids. If you're a student, you can opt for the Student plan for $5.99 which also lets you access Hulu.
YouTube Music
YouTube Music features many of the same features as its predecessor, Google Play Music (GPM), including the ability to import your own music files and playlists — which allows YouTube Music subscribers to download files and playlists to their phone and listen to them offline.
Similar to Spotify's Premium tiers, the ad-free YouTube Music Premium tier costs $10.99 per month and includes access to "The Hotlist," which collects all the latest trending songs. The annual fee of the Individual plan costs $109.99, which saves you 15%. YouTube Music also has a Family plan for $16.99 per month, which lets you add five members to it. Finally, there's also a Student plan, similar to Spotify, which costs $5.49 per month.
YouTube Music gives you access to over 100 million soungs, videos, live performances, and lots more. The best part of this music player app is its seamless integration with Android devices and Google Nest smart home products.
Amazon Music
Amazon Music now boasts more than 75 million songs in its catalog, and if you're already a Prime subscriber, you don't have to do anything else but download the app. Like Spotify and YouTube Music, the Amazon Music app also allows users to download local files for offline playback.
If you're an audiophile, you will also be pleased to know that Amazon Music Unlimited provides access to millions of songs in high-resolution quality and spatial audio. While a limited version of Amazon Music is included with all Prime memberships, Amazon Music Unlimited costs $9.99 for a monthly subscription ($10.99 for non-prime members). Their Family plan for up to six members is priced at $16.99 per month.
Apple Music
An entire generation grew up depending on Apple for their music needs thanks to iTunes. And while you may not have a lime green iPod anymore, the Apple Music apps is now accessible on more devices and the Android version of the app is pretty neat. If you already have an Apple One subscription on your iPad or Mac, you automatically have access to Apple Music too.
While Apple Music doesn't offer a free tier, new users can sign up now and try the service for free for three months. After that period, the service costs $10.99 per month. Your Apple Music subscription will give you access to the full music streaming service. You'll also have the ability to purchase and download music right to your phone, edit which items show up in your library when you open the app, and add music to your Library while you're streaming.
Tidal
If you want the support of a major streaming platform and the highest quality audio, Tidal is the music player app for you. You can stream music in full lossless, HiRes FLAC, and Dolby Atmos, and the app has over 110 million tracks. There's also an offline mode, so you can listen to your music at the best quality without an internet connection.
In order to stay competitive, Tidal recently combined its HiFi and HiFi Plus plans into a single base plan, for a lower price of $10.99 per month. This alone gives you access to Tidal's full library of high-resolution music files, ad-free and offline listening, personalized playlists and live sessions. There's a family plan for $16.99 which supports six family members, and a student plan for $4.99. Tidal was big among the audiophile community but not so much with the average user. But with these reduced prices and extremely high-quality music on offer, there's little reason for you to not try it.
Poweramp Music Player
If you already have a vast library of music files and just want a fantastic app to play it, then Poweramp Music Player is the way to go. The app has been around for years on the Play Store and is still being actively developed with new features. While it's free to download the Poweramp app, you'll probably want to pay the $7.99 one-time fee on the unlocked version to access all features.
One of the biggest perks of the Poweramp Music Player is that fact that it allows users to play songs in all of their usual formats: mp3, mp4, ogg, wma, flac, wav, ape, wmv, tta, mpc, and aiff. It can also play music stored in any folder or directory on your Android device, and jumps from one to another without skipping a beat. You'll also have the ability to download album art, as well as search for and view lyrics.
In addition to offering a great interface and the ability to play all of your music files, Poweramp features Google Assistant integration, as well as supports Chromecast and Android Auto.
Picking the right music player app for your needs
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When it comes to picking the best music player apps on Android, it really boils down to personal preference. If you're looking for a tried and true platform, then Spotify or Apple Music might be the best bet for you. That being said, both YouTube Music and Amazon Music have made huge strides in the past few years in regard to both Android compatibility and accessing local files.
In contrast, if accessing the highest quality audio is a priority, then you might want to download Tidal. With the recent price revision for the base plan, it's superb value and as competitive as the other popular platforms. If you're not going to bother with streaming music and just want a solid player for your offline music collection, Poweramp is still the king of Android music players.
