When you look for apps that let you listen to and record podcasts, music, and radio, the number of options can be overwhelming. That’s why we compared the best music apps for you. These apps let you listen to music and radio on your Android phone or iPhone, create your own playlists, and even record music from the radio.
Good to know: No copyright protection is circumvented
Music Streaming Services that can be recorded with Audials do not use any effective protection against recording and output unencrypted audio e.g. on the PC’s sound card. Audials always only records such unencrypted audio data. According to US Copyright Law “No action may be brought … alleging infringement of copyright based on … distribution … or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a … digital audio recording device”.
List of the Best Music Apps
Audials Play
With the Audials Play music app, or radio app, for Android and iOS, you can search for, find, save, and enjoy all kinds of podcasts and radio stations. Just use the quick search feature to look for brand-new songs, top artists, or international radio stations. Once you find what you want, you can quickly and easily add it to your favorites. Record music from the radio and podcasts, then listen offline. You can also transfer your recordings to other devices.
Advantages
- Easy-to-use music app
- Listen to radio stations for free and record them as MP3s
- Easy search by genre, radio station, and artist
- More than 100,000 radio stations
- Save stations as favorites
- Equalizer
- Record multiple stations at the same time (mass recording)
- Shows top artists and top hits
- Get recommendations for stations in your area
- Displays recently played stations
- Sleep timer
- Save mobile data by streaming only on Wi-Fi
- Android: Android Auto, radio alarm clock, Chromecast
- iPhone: AirPlay and Apple CarPlay
- Listen to, record, and favorite podcasts
Disadvantages
- No music streaming
Spotify
The Spotify music app gives music lovers access to millions of tracks, and you do not even need a subscription for that. Spotify Free gives you access to artists, albums, playlists, and even audiobooks at no subscription cost. The app is available for Android and iOS. However, Spotify Free on mobile plays songs within a playlist in shuffle mode. If you want to choose exactly what plays, you need Spotify Premium.
With Spotify Premium for €12.99 per month, you can listen to music without ads, download music, and listen offline to save mobile data. However, to keep your downloads available on your device, you must reconnect the Spotify app to the internet at least once every 30 days.
If you do not like a playlist, just create your own. If you share it with friends, you can all edit it together any way you like.
Advantages
- Large music library with around 82 million songs
- Listen to music for free on Android or iOS
- Download feature for offline listening
Sleep timer - Spotify Running tracks your running speed and finds matching music
- Listen to podcasts
Disadvantages
- Download feature only available with a Spotify Premium subscription
Music Player – MP3 Player
The Music Player – MP3 Player app offers a user-friendly and versatile way to enjoy music from YouTube on your Android device. It supports a wide range of audio formats, including MP3, WAV, and FLAC, and stands out with an attractive interface that is both modern and easy to use. Thanks to its extensive equalizer features, you can customize the sound to your liking, while the built-in music manager helps keep your files well organized.
The app is designed to provide a great experience for both casual listeners and music lovers. Helpful features like playlist management, a sleep timer, and a fast search function make managing music easy. Whether at home or on the go, Music Player – MP3 Player lets you enjoy your music without interruption.
Advantages
- User-friendly: easy to use with an intuitive design
- Wide format support: compatible with MP3, WAV, FLAC, and other audio formats
- Equalizer
- Playlist management: create, edit, and manage playlists
- Offline use: no internet connection required
- Sleep timer: automatically stops music after a set time
Disadvantages
- Few options for customizing the interface
- Not available for iOS
Tidal
The Tidal app is aimed mainly at audiophiles who care about the highest possible sound quality. With more than 100 million songs, HiFi and Master quality levels, and support for Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio, Tidal offers an immersive listening experience. In addition to music, the app also includes music videos, exclusive content such as live concerts, and curated playlists. The interface is clean and makes it easy to navigate through the large amount of content. Tidal supports AirPlay, Chromecast, and Apple CarPlay, so users can enjoy their music seamlessly across different devices. Despite its strong focus on audio quality, it does not include features like a built-in equalizer or a sleep timer, which are common in many other streaming apps. Tidal is available for Windows, Android, and iOS.
Advantages
- Excellent audio quality with HiFi and Master options
Exclusive content such as music videos and live concerts - Support for Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio for an immersive listening experience
- Available for Android and iOS
Disadvantages
- No built-in sleep timer or alarm feature
Amazon Music
The Amazon Music app for Android and iOS stands out with its huge catalog of more than 100 million songs and its seamless integration into the Amazon ecosystem. It offers HD and Ultra HD audio quality as well as Spatial Audio for an enhanced listening experience. Thanks to Alexa integration, the app can be controlled by voice, which makes it especially user-friendly. Amazon Music also includes a sleep timer that automatically stops playback. Support for AirPlay, Chromecast, and Apple CarPlay makes the app versatile across devices. However, it also lacks features like a built-in equalizer or alarm clock.
Advantages
- Huge music catalog with more than 100 million songs
- Alexa integration for voice-controlled playback
- HD and Ultra HD audio quality available
- Built-in sleep timer
- Available for Android and iOS
Disadvantages
- No built-in alarm feature
Deezer
Deezer is a music streaming service with more than 90 million songs, podcasts, radio stations, audiobooks, and playlists. In this music app, you can find all artists and songs. You can listen to music on Android and iOS. Deezer is available with the free Deezer Free plan or Deezer Premium for €11.99 per month. With Deezer Premium, you get no ads and can download music for offline listening.
Advantages
- Find and listen to music, podcasts, radio stations, and more
- About 90 million songs
- Music downloads available for offline listening
- Free to download for Android and iOS
Disadvantages
- No alarm feature
Apple Music
Apple Music is available for free in the App Store and in the Google Play Store for Android. With this music app, you get access to millions of songs that you can play instantly. While music is playing, the matching part of the lyrics is shown in sync. Users can create their own playlists or browse recommendations from Apple Music. CarPlay also lets you enjoy your favorite music on the go.
Advantages
- About 90 million songs
- Ad-free
- Free
- Synchronized lyrics display
- CarPlay
- Create playlists
- Available for Android and iOS
Disadvantages
- No radio stations
Soundcloud
With the SoundCloud music app, you can listen to music for free without registering. On the SoundCloud website, you can directly find and play songs, albums, mixes, bands, and more. On SoundCloud, you can favorite songs, playlists, DJ mixes, and albums, subscribe to artists, get music recommendations based on your favorites and listening history, or connect with artists. Subscribe to artists and create your own playlists. If you are a musician yourself, you can upload your own music to SoundCloud. The music streaming app is available for Android and iOS.
However, there is one important thing to keep in mind: the free version of SoundCloud includes ads and plays music at lower quality. So if high-quality audio matters to you, you need the SoundCloud Go subscription for $4.99 per month or SoundCloud Go+ for $11.99 per month. That way, you can listen to ad-free music in high quality. With SoundCloud Go+, you get access to all 300 million songs on SoundCloud.
Advantages
- Listen to music for free on Android and iOS
- 300 million songs to choose from
- Create playlists
Subscribe to and contact artists - Favorite music
- Get music recommendations
Disadvantages
- No alarm feature
Shazam
Shazam for Android and iOS is a popular smartphone app that lets users quickly and easily identify songs, and it can be a useful companion to another music app. With just one tap, the app recognizes songs playing in the background and provides details such as the title, artist, and album. The app also offers direct links to streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, so identified songs can be played right away or added to a playlist.
Shazam has an intuitive design and includes features such as a history of recognized songs, the ability to follow lyrics in real time, and integration with smart home devices and wearables. With offline recognition, songs can even be identified without an internet connection, and the results are synced later. For iOS users, Shazam is fully integrated into the system and can also be used through Siri.
Advantages
- Songs are identified within seconds
- Links to Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services
- Shows real-time lyrics so you can sing along
- Offline mode: recognize songs without an active internet connection
- Simple, intuitive design for quick navigation
- System integration: iOS integration with Siri and support for smart home devices and wearables
- Also available for Android
Disadvantages
- Limited extra features: the focus is on music recognition
Result: Which music app is best?
Which music app is best for you depends on your personal preferences. If you like streaming, Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Amazon Music, SoundCloud, or Apple Music are the best choices. Do you love radio and podcasts? Then Audials Play is a good choice. If music recognition and lyrics display are important to you, Shazam can be a good complement to a streaming app.
FAQ
A music app lets you find and listen to radio stations or music streaming on your iPhone or Android smartphone. Some apps have an offline mode so you can download songs and listen without the internet, while others include a recording feature.
Most music apps are free, but they include ads. Ad-free apps are usually available with a subscription.
Which app is best for you depends on your preferences. If you like radio, Audials Play is a very good choice because it lets you listen to radio stations from all kinds of countries, discover new music, get station recommendations, and create your own favorites. If you prefer music streaming, Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music, Tidal, Apple Music, or SoundCloud are a perfect choice.
Yes. With Audials Play, you can record music from the radio as audio files and listen offline. If you use Audials One for Windows, you can record music on your PC and transfer it to your smartphone. That way, you do not need an internet connection to listen to music.
Do you need further opinions? PC Mag, CNET and Wired compare the best music apps to help you make a decision.
Please note
The music played by online radio stations is protected by copyright. Any redistribution without the copyright holder’s permission is a criminal offense in most countries, including the US and Germany. Audials AG is not a subsidiary of the online radio stations, the music being played, or the companies that hold the trademarks for those online radio stations. This page is provided for compatibility purposes only and must not be interpreted under any circumstances as an endorsement of Audials software products by any affiliated third party.
