Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. No Streaming At All

I recently switched over from Spotify Premium after 8 years to Amazon HD and the difference in sound quality is a game-changer for me. I love Spotify for the ease of use, especially with creating playlists, of which I have created a ton of them, but I have absolutely not regretted signing up to Amazon HD for the difference to "CD quality" (and higher, depending on if it's labeled "Ultra HD"). It's amazing to me to be able to search up, for example, the new Ringo album, and the new ELO album and start playing it on my phone, with that level of SQ!

 

I have apple music and I'm quite happy with it

 

You're good...tmk it doesn't exist yet.

 

I use Youtube Music since it has overall the most music available and 256 AAC is good enough and doesn't use as much data when on the road. I do however use Amazon Music HD at home but its an absolute mess to navigate through and thats probably what I miss the most about spotify is how easy and pleasing the overall layout is but the sound quality and music available ain't worth the price. The only major downside i've noticed about Youtube Music is the Hendrix Family refuses to put music up on YouTube other than a few music videos in poor quality.

 

Apple Music for me. I’ve never liked Spotify’s song limit for offline listening, and Apple have the superior sound quality to my ears.

 

I tried Apple Music for several months, especially because I was travelling a fair bit, and thought it would be great to have access to a massive library while I was on the road. Overall, I liked it a lot, and I may decide to subscribe to it again down the road. So long as I can upload enough of my own CDs (since I tend to prefer older masterings) to hear and choose, it'll be a no-brainer.

Regarding the others.... I use Pandora at work but I'm still on the free platform. Sometimes when at home I will use Spotify (and I used to use them a lot at my previous job). Built a lot of great playlists on Spotify.

Actually, my biggest pet peeve about both Spotify and Apple Music is that my favorite album of all time is not there! I know... I can load it up myself...

 

Right now I've gone as far as gently poking at Spotify, and using Google Play Music to play and/or download a couple things to my phone. Thanks, Youtube Premium!

So it's fitting I mostly still do my music listening on Youtube; music.youtube.com is a blessing at work!

 

btw... "No Streaming At All".. that's a Steely Dan song, innit?

 

Spotify Premium now, after Apple Music for a few years.

Wouldn’t go back.

 

I've never been much for either iTunes or Spotify. I do listen to Pandora in the morning while I'm getting ready for work (still just a 'free' user at this point).

But one BIG plus and plug I'll give for Pandora is their brand new 'deep cuts' and 'discovery' modes. I've been wanting features like that for close to a decade, and finally they've just become available in only the last few months.

They're so good, I'm actually seriously thinking of subscribing to Pandora, actually -- though I'll probably give it another 6 months of just 'free' use/access, before I pull the trigger on their subscriber model.

What I love about Pandora -- especially now (with those 'deep cuts' and 'discovery' modes) -- is the VASTLY wider range of music it seems to play, as compared to before. I'm literally discovering new and obscure bands/groups/artists all the time now. Groups from the past I've never even heard of, usually with just one or two albums, or maybe a greater overseas presence.

 

I'm in the same boat - I would love to switch to Tidal, but the lack of local library support holds me back. The interface is a bit clunky too.

 

Streaming has its problems but it’s also really convenient. It hasn’t replaced buying music for me; I still spend like half of every paycheck on albums and shows. But it’s a lot easier to stream music in the car or at work than it’d be to carry around records or CDs. I still have and love my iPod but even that means carrying one extra device and, as minuscule as those payments are, at least artists get SOMETHING for a stream that they wouldn’t get from my iPod playing.

 

I usually use my computer library when I'm at home. Streaming is great for the car.

 

I'm someone else who uses Amazon. Switched to the HD option as soon as they offered it.

Amazon no longer lets you upload your own library. I just listen to stuff from my hard drive when it's something that's not available on streaming (yet).

 

I also don't stream because I'd rather choose my own music instead of having Apple's proprietary algorithms choose it for me.

 

Been a Spotify user since 2011 and have too many curated playlists to ever switch off. Plus I'm very happy with the service. Apple and Amazon don't really add anything that interests me.

I do upload my library to Google Music. Mostly boots, rips, comedy, radio, etc.

 

Then again, I don't consider myself a music "collector". I listen to music. At home I have my physical media (CDs and vinyl) or my high-bitrate streaming. In the car, at work, at the gym, or out and about, Spotify is a joy.

 

Fair enough. But there's a number of other reasons to use these services.

 

Rarity plays a part, but also containing good mastering's that otherwise on new re-issue comps or deluxe sets that may have been massacred.
Or for versions/b-sides not found anywhere else.
Chemical Comedown is excellent, a nice prelude for what was to come next with Curve

 

I wish I could find a used record store where every CD is $2. I've yet to find one. I wonder where they exist?

 

Although algorithm playlists are just a feature on streaming you can choose or not choose, I use Spotify and I don't think I have ever even played one of those

 

Good point! You can upload, I think, up to 20,000 songs for free using Google Play Music. Dunno how long it will last, but it's a great thing to have. Sometimes it substitutes odd stuff for my rips, tho, and doesn't always get mono/stereo versions (Sgt. Pepper, etc.) quite right.

 

I've been streaming for almost a decade now and never had an algorithm choose my music for me.

 

Yeah, that was a problem with Amazon, too, when they allowed uploading . . . probably one of the reasons they moved away from that--too many complaints to deal with.

 

My local prices everything 2.99-4.99, they buy for dirt cheap.
Some guy dumped about 200 a few months ago, picked up some nice stuff.