You know that sinking feeling when your favorite song vanishes from Spotify without warning? Or when your internet cuts out right in the middle of your commute? For the longest time, I considered these acceptable trade-offs for the convenience that music streaming apps offer. I was wrong.
If a 28-year-old MP3 player can still rock today, I wondered why can’t an offline music library too? So built one, just like the good old days, and it’s better than streaming.
The best places to build a legal offline library
There are platforms that still sell files
The tough part about building an offline music library is being able to download all your songs as individual files. Sure, streaming services like Spotify or YouTube Music let you download tracks, but these files aren’t accessible outside of these apps. This means that you can only listen to your downloaded music on the device it was saved on, with no freedom to move it to other devices or use another music player.
Generally speaking, Bandcamp is the best place to start. It’s an artist-first platform where over 80% of your purchase goes directly to musicians, not the middleman. You find an album you like, buy it, and download it in whatever format you prefer—MP3 for universal compatibility, FLAC if you’re an audiophile, or anything in between. You get tangible files with zero DRM restrictions, meaning you can play them anywhere, anytime, forever.
Amazon Music is a great option for mainstream music. You can download individual tracks and albums as standard MP3 files that work on any device. The process is identical to Bandcamp—purchase, download, done.
If you’re not willing to spend or want to explore niche genres, platforms like Jamendo, Free Music Archive, and SoundCloud are great options. You’ll find extensive catalogs of royalty-free and Creative Commons licensed tracks completely free.
These aren’t mainstream hits, but the quality is often exceptional, you get to support individual creators, and you’ll often find some diamonds in the rough. It’s a great way to discover new music if you’re not a fan of online streaming algorithms.
The players that make offline listening feel modern
Local players offer better control than streaming apps
There’s a surprising number of options when it comes to offline music players, regardless of the OS you’re on. Whether you want to turn your phone into the ultimate music player or just want a music player with a little more polish, there’s something for everyone.
One of the best overall options I can recommend is WinAmp. It works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS, and is packed with features, has a minimalist interface, and lightning-fast performance. It also includes Fanzone—a Patreon-like service built directly into the WinAmp mobile apps that lets artists create exclusive membership tiers, offer early access to releases, sell digital collectibles, and accept tips from fans.
If you want to love owning your music again, Musicolet is also worth a shot. It’s a lightweight, ad-free music player for Android that plays locally stored audio files and is known for its privacy-focused, offline-only functionality.
Another great option for Android is PowerAmp. It’s an offline music player with a ton of music organization options. Additionally, if you’ve got tracks with incomplete metadata, PowerAmp can automatically download the album art and other accompanying information.
I tried a command-line music player — and it made Spotify feel bloated
Here is a fast, distraction-free music experience that makes Spotify feel overwhelming
On PC and Linux, VLC media player handles music perfectly well, although it’s not specifically designed for library management. You can also try Sayonara Player and Audacious as lightweight alternatives that don’t bloat your system while still giving you genre organization, custom playlists, and equalizer controls. Kodi is another absurdly powerful cross-platform option designed for media management with the ability to handle your entire music collection and plugins to extend functionality.
Offline may be better, but it’s not perfect
Storage, syncing, and the trade-offs you can’t ignore
I’m not going to pretend that having an offline library is perfect. You need physical storage, although modern devices offer plenty. Finding and downloading music takes a lot more effort than typing a song name into Spotify. And yes, discovering new music is harder without algorithmic recommendations.
But once you’ve built your library, those downsides start fading. You’re no longer renting music month after month. You’re no longer at the mercy of licensing negotiations. You’re no longer hoping your favorite song doesn’t get pulled tomorrow.
Owning your music changes how you listen
The freedom to organise, edit, and keep your collection forever
Streaming sells you an illusion of choice. You have access to millions of songs, sure, but that access expires the moment you stop paying, your internet dies, or a licensing dispute happens. An offline library is immune to these issues.
There’s no buffering, no connection errors, no syncing delays. Your music just plays. You can listen underground on the subway, on flights, hiking in areas with zero signal, or anywhere else your heart desires. There’s also no data usage, so you get to save it for when you actually need the internet.
This was the moment I knew it was time to buy CDs again — and drop Spotify
I hit play on an artist I loved, and Spotify gave me everything except their music.
Ownership matters more than marketing wants you to think. When you download music, you own it in a way streaming will never provide. Artists and labels can’t revoke access, services can’t remove it, and you won’t wake up one day to find your favorite music missing.
There’s also something satisfying about curation and control. You pick exactly what’s in your library. You organize it however it makes sense to you. You tag songs with custom metadata, change artwork, and create your own playlists without algorithms deciding what you should like. This isn’t possible with streaming. Your music shouldn’t be optimized for engagement; it should be what you actually want to hear.
