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Music listening has evolved greatly in the smartphone and internet era. The days of buying physical albums are over as music sales have gone digital. With music streaming apps, you can now have access to millions of songs from all over the world right on your smartphone.
However, selecting the right app for you can get tricky. There are tons of music streaming apps on the Google Play Store and each comes with its own pros and cons. To help you find the app that best suits your needs, we checked several of them and compiled a list of the top 10 best music streaming apps for Android.
Go through the article below for detailed information on each app, including a description, Android version requirement, cost of in-app purchases, and screenshots or promo videos, as well as a Google Play Store download link.
Top 10 Best Music Streaming Android Apps 2020
Below is a quick overview of the top 10 best music streaming Android apps for 2020, including any download and in-app purchase costs.
| Download Cost | In-app cost (per item) | |
| Spotify | ✕ | ✕ |
| Deezer | ✕ | $2.99 – $14.99 |
| TIDAL | ✕ | ✕ |
| Amazon Music | ✕ | ✕ |
| YouTube Music | ✕ | ✕ |
| Pandora | ✕ | ✕ |
| SoundCloud | ✕ | ✕ |
| TuneIn Radio | ✕ | $0.99 – $149.99 |
| iHeartRadio | ✕ | ✕ |
| Primephonic | ✕ | $7.99 – $149.99 |
Top 10 Best Music Streaming Android Apps 2020 Downloads
Below is a little more information on each app, a suggestion for the type of user the app is best suited to, and a direct link for easy downloading.
All download links go to the app’s Google Play Store listing. Users are always recommended to download apps from Google Play or an authorized app store.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Most Users
Spotify
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
Spotify is a name that goes synonymous with music streaming. It offers a vast collection of music and podcasts from all over the world. With Spotify, you have access to a world of free music, curated playlists, artists, and podcasts you love. The app has a very easy-to-use interface and offers arguably the best device compatibility.
The ad-supported free tier is much better than most competitors and if you’re fine with hearing ads every often, you can keep the free version for as long as you like. Certain features are limited, but you can always listen to your favorite songs on Spotify without paying a penny.
With a premium subscription, you can download songs for offline listening, discover curated playlists based on your music taste, get unlimited skips, shuffle songs in a playlist, and do much more. There are various plans to chose from, including individual, duo, family, and student.
The Spotify Connect feature lets you stream music from your phone (or other devices) to Wi-Fi-enabled stereo systems. This feature is available for both free and paying users. Spotify is available in most regions around the world, even in areas where many other music streaming apps are not available.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Families
Deezer
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: Varies with device
Deezer is another popular name in the music streaming market. With a catalog of over 56 million songs, it offers one of the largest online music libraries. It may not offer as vast a collection of podcasts as Spotify but makes up for that with live radio support.
This app offers a SongCatcher feature that identifies songs playing around you. With Deezer Flow, you can tell the app about your music taste and it will create the perfect music mix for you based on your tastes. You can also enjoy Deezer with your connected devices with the ability to play lyrics on your TV.
Deezer’s desktop version also lets you upload MP3 files. However, the free version on non-mobile devices only lets you listen to 30-second snippets of songs. You need to subscribe to one of the premium plans to play full songs on non-mobile devices. You can add up to six premium profiles on one account, so you can share the love of music with the whole family. Like Spotify, Deezer also offers multiple subscription plans including a student plan.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Audio Quality
TIDAL
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
TIDAL is the app for you if you want to listen to music in the highest quality. It’s an artist-owned platform that boasts a collection of over 70 million audio tracks and over 250,000 music videos from all over the world. The app offers personalized mixes for both audio and video.
It is a subscription-only platform, so you won’t be able to use it for free. However, you’ll be paying for the highest quality audio available – HiFi and MQA ($19.99 per month). While most of the streaming services offer a maximum bitrate of 320Kbps, TIDAL goes all the way up to 1,411Kbps.
Lower-cost plans are also available if you can live with slightly lesser quality audio. TIDAL is the only music streaming service with high fidelity sound, MQA tracks, 360 Reality Audio, and Dolby Atmos support available in one place.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Amazon Prime Subscribers
Amazon Music
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
Amazon is one of the biggest names in the e-commerce industry. In fact, the company also ventures into several other industries including music streaming. And if you happen to already have an Amazon Prime subscription, then its music streaming service is the best for you.
You’ll save a few bucks while enjoying pretty much the same streaming experience as other services. Amazon Music offers a collection of over 60 million songs and podcasts. You can stream music in CD-quality or, as Amazon says, you can “hear music the way the artist intended.”
Some tracks even come in an immersive 3D Music format. Amazon Music Unlimited also lets you upload your own audio files and stream them along with the platform’s vast catalog. This app also offers family-sharing plans but there are no discounts available for students.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Watching Music Videos
YouTube Music
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
Android users already know what YouTube Music is all about. The app that’s replacing the Google Play Music on Android smartphones is a pretty decent music streaming service. Building on YouTube’s huge library of music videos, this app offers everything that a music streaming service should.
You can search for music with lyrics, or simply describe it. The app also offers music recommendations based on taste, location, time of day, and weather. You can even upload your own music library onto the platform.
YouTube Music still isn’t as feature-rich as other apps in this list. However, Google is rapidly adding new features to the platform so that opinion can change anytime. YouTube Music comes free with a YouTube Premium subscription. Otherwise, the ad-free tier is a $9.99 per month subscription. It also offers family and student plans.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Music Suggestion
Pandora
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
Pandora grew in popularity as a radio streaming service but has now made its name in the music streaming industry. This app is available on almost every platform, including Android Auto. So you can listen to Pandora in your car as well.
The best thing about Pandora is its Music Genome Project. This system classifies individual songs by over 450 different musical traits. So it can analyze exactly what type of songs you prefer to listen to and make recommendations accordingly.
Pandora’s radio station-only service, which is free with ads, is one of the best free tiers for streaming. This app offers 60 days of free trial for new users. You can choose between an individual plan, a family plan, or a student plan.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Community Music Sharing
SoundCloud
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: 5.0+
SoundCloud takes a slightly different approach to music streaming. Of course, you can stream your favorite music, but the app also lets you upload any sound onto the platform for immediate discovery by others. The result is a diverse catalog of more than 200 million tracks, making it the world’s largest music and audio streaming platform.
With a global community of 20 million-plus artists from every corner of the world, SoundCloud boasts a collection of music that exists nowhere else. From DJ sets and hand-curated playlists to remixes and freestyles, you’ll find everything along with chart-topping albums and mainstream releases.
The SoundCloud Go service, which is a $5.99 per month subscription, offers an ad-free experience and offline listening. You can also upgrade to the $9.99 per month SoundCloud Go that offers higher-quality streaming and access to the full catalog without any previews. A part of your subscription helps financially support emerging creators on SoundCloud.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Radio Listening
TuneIn Radio
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: Varies with device
TuneIn Radio is another music streaming app that offers a slightly different catalog of content. It brings music, podcasts, live news, sports, and radio stations all in one place. You can listen to exclusive music stations and channels, including Today’s Hits, Classic Rock Hits, and Country Roads. It boasts music stations curated for every mood, music taste, and activity.
Besides, this app also offers 24/7 live news from local, national, and global sources as well as live sports coverage. TuneIn Radio boasts over 100,000 AM, FM, and internet radio stations broadcasting from nearly 200 countries across the world. You can also find all the must-listen podcasts on this app.
So if you are looking for an app that offers it all, then TuneIn Radio is the one for you. This app is compatible with hundreds of connected devices as well, including CarPlay, Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Alexa, Sonos, Bose, Roku, Chromecast, and more.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Podcasts
iHeartRadio
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: No
- Android version: Varies with device
Like TuneIn Radio, iHeartRadio also combines music, podcasts, and radio all in one place. However, this app offers a better selection of podcasts and customization features to make it the best choice for listening to podcasts. You can download episodes to your Android device and listen offline anytime, anywhere.
iHeartRadio offers a Top 100 Chart of podcasts that refreshes every Monday. And since not everyone speaks at the same pace, you can control the playback speed for a desirable listening experience. You can select between different speeds – 0.5x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x.
Of course, this app does boast an on-demand music service with millions of tracks. You can search and play any song, album, or playlist, and download tracks for offline listening.
Best Music Streaming Android App For Classical Music
Primephonic
- Price: Free to download
- In-app purchases: Yes
- Android version: 6.0+
Primephonic is the app for classical music lovers. With a collection of over 3.5 million modern and traditional classical tracks, this app boasts the largest classical catalog worldwide. A search functionality specifically designed for classical music is there to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
You can download the tracks for offline listening or stream online in the highest quality, up to 24-bit lossless. That means you’re getting a sound quality just as good as CDs. And if your data connection drops, the app will automatically adjust the streaming quality, minimizing buffering and allowing for an uninterrupted listening experience. Primephonic does not offer a free version but you can opt for a 14-day trial if you want to check it out.