Who doesn’t love music streaming services? Finding an old favourite hit is easy when you have access to a great service with app features designed to make life easier. Many times, I’ve even discovered a cool new band that I’ve later fallen in love with. Having a subscription to one makes life easy, but with the wide range of options available it can be hard to choose the best fit for your needs. Below is my sum up of the best music streaming services available out there, based on what you are looking for.
Best all-rounder
Spotify
Pro’s
- Great if you want to discover new music. Spotify has a tonne of discovery features, making it easier to find what you want when you don’t know what you want!
- Very easy to use. Its smooth design and intuitive interface make for a very user friendly experience
- With an exhaustive library of over 40 million songs, you’re guaranteed to find the song you love.
- If you’re a student, it is reasonably affordable at only £4.99 a month. Normal membership costs £9.99, similar to rival services.
- Available on both iOS and Android, as well as desktop app, web player, smart TV apps, connected speaker support, and even cars
Con’s
- not the best sound quality as compared with other services.
Great for Classical Music lovers
Primephonic
Pro’s
- With a library of over a million pieces from the classical genre, this is great if you fancy your Mozart over Minaj.
- The cost is very affordable at £8.99 a month. High res audio is available for a premium price of £15/month, but this is still cheaper than most other premium services on offer
- Has a newly designed interface that is user savvy
- Available on iOS and Android apps, and web player
Cons
- Slightly lacking in the contemporary classical music catalogue
Best sound quality
Tidal
Pro’s
- Boasting the best CD quality streams, as well as a premium high resolution subscription on offer, Tidal is a great service if you take your listening experience seriously. The level of detail that high resolution recordings encompass are wonderfully showcased with Tidal.
- The price of £9.99 is similar to rival services, but you get better sound quality across the board.
- The interface is intuitive and user friendly and available on the following platforms: iOS and Android apps, desktop app, web player
Con’s
- More expensive if you choose to go with a hi-res subscription (£19.99)
Honorable Mentions:
Amazon Music
Amazon Music did not make my top list because it doesn’t offer a free option like Spotify does. However, their pricing is competitive and if you are a member of their Prime, it is only £8
Deezer
Deezer offers an impressive catalogue, of 53 million and can rival the best in terms of price and CD quality streams. It unfortunately doesn’t offer a high resolution option like Tidal does, but you can test it out before you subscribe, with their free trial.
Apple Music
While Apple Music is competitively priced and understandably a logical option for those on the iOS chain, it doesn’t offer a free option like Spotify. Sound quality however, is on par with Spotify.
Written by Kathy Chow