What is the best app to download music and listen offline?
Downloading music to listen offline provides many benefits over streaming music. With offline listening, you don’t need an internet connection to access your music library. This allows you to listen anywhere, anytime – on a plane, subway, or other areas with no connectivity. Downloaded music also provides higher audio quality than streaming since there is no compression. Additionally, listening offline preserves data and battery life on your mobile device compared to streaming.
In determining the top apps for downloading and listening to music offline, key criteria include: audio quality, library size, ease of offline listening, platform availability, music discovery, pricing/subscriptions, user interface, and additional features. This article will evaluate leading music apps against these criteria to provide recommendations for the best app to meet your offline listening needs.
Audio Quality
The audio quality across top music streaming apps can vary significantly depending on the file format and bitrate. Some services like Tidal offer CD-quality lossless audio up to 1411kbps, while others like Spotify cap out at 320kbps for premium subscribers. Tidal also offers hi-res lossless audio up to 9216kbps for audiophiles who want studio master quality.
Apple Music streams 256kbps AAC files by default but also offers lossless audio up to 24-bit/48kHz for premium subscribers at no extra charge. This puts it on par with Tidal for streaming CD-quality music. Meanwhile, YouTube Music and Amazon Music both top out at 256kbps even for premium accounts.
The highest mainstream audio quality goes to Tidal, followed closely by Apple Music. But Spotify and YouTube Music still sound decent for casual listeners, especially on mobile devices or Bluetooth speakers where high bitrate files make less impact.
Library Size
When choosing a music streaming app, the size of the library is an important consideration. According to “The Most Popular Music App: A Ranking of the Top Choices” (https://strawpoll.com/most-popular-music-app), the library size can vary greatly between apps. Spotify boasts over 75 million songs, Apple Music over 90 million, and YouTube Music over 80 million. Having a vast library ensures users can find both major label and independent artists within the app catalog. While free users may have limited access, premium subscribers can tap into the full extensive music libraries these services offer. With millions of songs, albums, and artists available, the top contenders provide immense catalogs that satisfy diverse musical tastes.
Offline Listening
When it comes to offline listening, Audiomack provides users with unlimited downloads so you can listen to music without an internet connection. Users can download full albums, playlists, and individual tracks to their device storage and listen offline at any time. There are no caps on downloads or time limits for keeping songs offline like some competitors (Audiomack).
Spotify also allows users to download music for offline listening. Spotify Premium subscribers can download over 10,000 songs on up to 5 different devices. Downloaded songs will stay in the user’s library for 30 days before needing to be renewed. Spotify also offers a wide selection of podcasts available for offline download (Spotify).
Other competitors like Apple Music and YouTube Music also allow downloading songs, albums, and playlists for offline listening but may have more limited libraries compared to dedicated music apps (Apple Music, YouTube Music). Considering library size and unlimited, persistent downloads, Audiomack is a top choice for offline listening capabilities.
Platform Availability
When it comes to platform availability, the top music apps have some differences in terms of which platforms they support. According to PCMag, Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music are all available on iOS, Android, PC, Mac, Smart TVs, and smart speakers.
However, Tidal is more limited in terms of platform availability. While it’s available on iOS, Android, PC, and Mac, it has limited support for smart TVs and speakers. So users who want to access Tidal on multiple devices may find fewer options compared to other top music apps.
In general, the top players like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music have the widest device availability across mobile, desktop, web, and smart home platforms. Services with more limited platform support like Tidal may lag behind in terms of flexible access options for listeners.
Music Discovery
Music discovery features allow you to find new artists and songs to listen to, based on your tastes. The top music apps use a combination of human curation and algorithms to suggest music you’ll like.
Spotify offers the Discover Weekly playlist, updated every Monday with 30 song recommendations based on your listening history and playlists you’ve liked (1). Their algorithm looks at your favorites as well as what’s currently trending to suggest new music. Spotify also has human-curated playlists for any mood, genre or activity.
Apple Music creates playlists like New Music Mix that is updated weekly with new releases it thinks you’ll enjoy. You can also explore expert recommendations and hand-picked playlists for any occasion (2). Their personalized radio stations play songs similar to your favorites, adapting as you like/dislike songs.
Amazon Music creates customized playlists like Discover Mix and Fresh Finds based on your music preferences. You can fine-tune recommendations by selecting artists you like as the starting point (3). Their stations also play music tailored to your taste. Additionally, Amazon lets you shop for music gear, concert tickets, and exclusive deals.
1. https://www.algolia.com/blog/ux/how-does-a-music-recommendations-algorithm-work-to-boost-user-engagement/
2. https://www.makeuseof.com/best-apps-to-find-new-music/
3. https://medium.com/@financeguyaroundthecorner/top-music-apps-for-discovering-new-music-1678a3cbf715
Pricing/Subscriptions
When it comes to pricing, the top music streaming services offer both free, ad-supported tiers as well as paid, ad-free subscriptions. Here’s a breakdown of the pricing options:
Spotify offers a free, ad-supported version along with three paid tiers: Spotify Premium at $9.99/month, Family at $15.99/month, and Student at $4.99/month (Source). The paid version removes ads, allows offline listening, and has improved audio quality.
Apple Music has a standard $9.99/month individual plan, a $4.99/month voice plan, and a $14.99/month family plan. There is no free, ad-supported tier (Source). The paid version unlocks access to over 90 million songs, playlists, and more.
YouTube Music offers both a free, ad-supported version and YouTube Music Premium for $9.99/month. The premium version removes ads, allows background listening, and unlocks offline downloads (Source).
Overall, paid subscriptions offer ad-free listening, higher audio quality, offline downloads, and greater access to full music catalogs. Free, ad-supported tiers provide limited access but allow users to try services at no cost.
User Interface
The user interface and overall user experience are crucial factors when choosing a music app. A clean, intuitive design makes finding and listening to music a breeze. According to UX Case Study: Spotify vs. Apple Music Mobile Apps (https://usabilitygeek.com/ux-case-study-spotify-vs-apple-music-mobile-apps/), Spotify edges out Apple Music when it comes to usability. The Spotify UI features a simple menu bar on the bottom for quick navigation between tabs like Home, Search, Your Library, and Premium. Controls for play/pause, skipping tracks, playlists, and queuing songs are conveniently located on the Now Playing screen.
Apple Music has improved over time but still suffers from a more complex interface. The tab navigation at the bottom has over half a dozen tabs that aren’t always clear at first glance. There are also small text links for sections like Radio and Connect that are easy to miss. Overall, Spotify offers a cleaner, more intuitive experience for most users.
In terms of ease of use, Spotify makes it simple to find playlists, albums, artists and podcasts. Search works great, and personalized recommendations help users discover new music. Apple Music provides similar features, but the UI can sometimes feel cluttered with too many options and links. When it comes to smooth navigation, Spotify’s advantage comes from taking a “less is more” approach to the interface design.
Additional Features
Beyond just listening to music, many of the top music apps offer extra features that enhance the user experience. One popular extra is synchronized lyrics, allowing users to follow along with the words to their favorite songs. Apps like Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Spotify all offer real-time lyric displays. Some apps take this a step further by offering karaoke-style lyrics with highlighting and animations synced to the music.
Music videos are another common extra feature. YouTube Music obviously specializes in this given YouTube’s video platform, but the other top apps also integrate music videos. Users can watch the official videos from artists as they listen to songs. Some apps allow downloading videos for offline viewing.
Music discovery and recommendations are important to help users find new artists and songs to enjoy. Features like personalized playlists and radio stations based on listening history and likes are standard in most music apps today. This creates a more customized experience catered to each listener’s tastes.
Other extra features sometimes seen include behind-the-scenes content, interviews, playlists and commentary from artists, integration with live streaming concerts, and social sharing of music. The top music apps aim to provide a full music experience beyond just a catalog of songs.
Conclusion
In summary, the best app to download music and listen offline is Spotify. With its huge library containing over 70 million songs, Spotify offers the most extensive music selection. Its seamless offline syncing allows for easy downloading and listening when not connected to the internet. Spotify also has one of the best music discovery features through its personalized recommendations and editorial content. While the free version has ads and limited skips, Spotify Premium provides an ad-free experience and additional features like high quality audio for a reasonable monthly price.
The key benefits that make Spotify the best app for offline listening include its vast catalog, intuitive interface, offline capabilities, and helpful recommendations. For music lovers who want access to a huge selection of songs to download and listen to without an internet connection, Spotify is the top choice. With Spotify, you can build playlists, get suggested music to match your taste, and take your music library anywhere – all important factors when choosing the best app to download tunes.