Whether it's streaming Internet radio or keeping as much of your music collection as you can on a microSD card, you gotta admit there are some great ways to keep the tunes flowing on your Android phone.
Yeah, we probably could have split these into two categories - streaming and non. But no matter, you guys had some great picks. After the break, we take a look at your favorite options.
No. 1 - Pandora (streaming)
Easily the No. 1 streaming music service around, Pandora easily made the leap from the desktop computer to the mobile space. Its UI is easy to navigate, and its song selection is as good as any other. Free (Market link)
Honorable mention - Slacker Radio (streaming)
Slacker's a longtime favorite of ours, and it's right up there with you guys as well. The Android client pairs nicely with the desktop version, and a recent update brought station caching to our phones so that we don't always have to be online to enjoy the latest music from Slacker. Free (Market link); premium subscription starts at $4.99 a month
Honorable mention - Stock Android music app
For many of you, the stock music app that comes with Android is good enough. And it's not bad. The buttons are larger and "finger-friendly," album art is of a decent size. But most of all, it's what's on many phones by default, and it largely gets the job done.
Honorable mention - Last.fm (streaming)
Last.FM is another great contender for streaming music on Android. In fact, making the choice between this or any of the other streaming players largely comes down to whether you like the mix of music you get. But Last.FM also adds more of a social networking factor, with the ability to sync your contacts with your Last.FM friends. Free (Market link)
Honorable mention - MixZing
A very nice interface and home screen widgets help MixZing round out your picks. It also features a "Mood player" that's akin to iTunes' Genius playlists, "but way better," they say. Missing album art is automatically downloaded, as are artist biographies and photos. Free (Market link)
23 Comments
Not even a contest. Pandora rules.
{{-_-}}
"But Slacker also adds more of a social networking factor, with the ability to sync your contacts with your Last.FM friends."
BWUH?
As someone who is about to move from PalmOS, then WM, then WebOS to Android in a month or two, are there any good apps (including the stock music player) that can handle a plain old streaming MP3? I only ask because as much as I like these automated/seeded services, I greatly prefer something programmed by a real person with similar tastes. I love to listen to some of the tens of thousands of Shoutcast stations out there and would hate to lose that. I do Pandora and Slacker and all that on my Pre but more often it's KEXP, WOXY, SomaFM, or the local NPR.
jerbear: you'll need streamfurious to listen to streaming MP3 radio stations. Works great.
great that pandora is awesome except it does not work in canada!
They are all lacking, none of them have a sound processing portion. And there is only one on the market and it is bad. Is it too much to ask for a little DSP?
Tunewiki is my favorite and it includes shoutcast.
Thanks. I will keep that in mind whenever they finally put out the Supersonic.
I've always thought Slacker's "selection" or algorithm is better than Pandora's. They seem to be less repetitive which is a big plus for me. I feel like I'm discovering new music (a la college radio) versus getting brainwashed with the same tired artists.
I'm testing the Rhapsody beta and that is certainly my preference. It beats all of the above for obvious reasons. It should be very successful once in the market for everyone...
The coolest app to play your mp3s is '3'. Search the market.
I agree - '3' is the best I have found so far. Searching for 'rockon' in the Market will turn it up fairly easily. It is in beta, and has been updated frequently (seems like there is a new release almost daily). It is really taking shape.
Yea, '3' is the MP3 app to have. I've had it since it was in Alpha stage and it has come a long way. The organization is great and they make great use of the Cube. Much better use than Samsung...
Spotify rules them all.
Check it at www.spotify.com
I've tried all the above but use none of them nearly as often as I use "A Online Radio" and "Online Music". Next most used are "I Heart Radio" and "Droid Live Lite". Pandora and Slacker? Meh.
You should have mentioned the fact that Pandora doesn't work in all the world.
I'm not sure about last.fm
I do not like apps that do not say if they're locked to a certain country until I open and try them. Waste of time.
My Choice on my G1 and Milestone -
App - Stock Music App
Streaming - a Online Radio. I am a big fan of shoutcast service. This app perfectly serves my need.
I tried using last.fm but app crashes too often.
Another app to mention would be DroidShuffle. Though not exactly a music app but good addon if you look at the headphones that you get with android phones. This app is a great help.
bTunes replicates the iPod touch music app and is constantly being updated and improved. In my book, its better than MixZing just for all the Shuffle All options in nearly every menu, a concept that the folks at MixZing can't grasp.
Mog's mobile Android app is going to melt faces, for anyone who'll be willing to pay for it.
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/03/sxsw-mogs-mobile-music-apps-go-be...
Anyone know how to get the album art to show in the stock player? Sometimes, if another player (mixzing or rockon3) has downloaded them, it'll show them. But only some of them, some of the time.
I'd try checking the files themselves in an ID3 tagging program (I like mp3tag: www.mp3tag.de) first, and verifying that they are properly tagged. Some mp3 software will display album art based on files in the same folder (eg, folder.jpg) but you need it to use tags in the file itself.
Check out Accordion App: http://www.androlib.com/android.application.us-accordeon-qjnqj.aspx
we just released it.