Key Takeaways
- Spotify offers a solid foundation with 100 million+ songs, a great user interface, and quality audio that will work for most users.
- Personalized playlists are one of the streaming service’s standout features, with Spotify creating diverse mixes based on your listening habits.
- Useful AI features, compelling social elements, offline listening options, and the annual Spotify Wrapped make the service stand out from the competition.
There are lots of music streaming services available today, and many of them are, at their core, indistinguishable from each other. However, for me personally, one music streaming service stands above the rest, thanks to its incredible range of features and unbeatable value for money.
In order not to bury the lede, my preferred streaming music service is Spotify, and I’ve been using it (and paying for it) for many years. However, I have also tried some of the other music streaming services to make sure I’m not missing out. And I don’t think I am; Spotify is still number one.
1 The Essential Elements Are All Solid
The first thing to note about Spotify is that all the essential elements are solid. Spotify boasts an incredible music library of around 100 million tracks, the user interface is well-designed and easy to navigate, and the audio quality is good enough that all but the pickiest of audiophiles will be satisfied.
If you want to listen to a song, it’s likely to be available on Spotify (unless it’s very old or niche). The UI is fluid and responsive, and the mobile app is especially well laid out, given how many features there are to explore. No, Spotify doesn’t yet boast high-fidelity audio like TIDAL and others, but most people can’t even tell the difference, so just tweak Spotify’s equalizer until the sound suits you.
2 The Range and Quality of Personalized Playlists
If there’s one thing that Spotify does sublimely well, it’s personalized playlists. While there are many ways to listen to music through streaming services, playlists are right up there. As well as allowing you to create your own playlists, Spotify creates them for you based on your listening habits.
Spotify boasts a whole section of playlists that are “Made for You,” and it’s here that you’ll find mixes based on artists, genres, and moods, playlists designed to help you discover new music, and the ever-changing Daylist, which updates constantly, and features quirky titles.
3 The AI Features Are Actually Useful
Generative AI is making its way into many different products and services these days, and Spotify is no exception. However, unlike AI features being added elsewhere, Spotify’s is actually useful. Spotify’s AI features range from an AI DJ that provides links between songs to an AI Playlist Generator that creates playlists based on nothing but text prompts.
Spotify is clearly keen to experiment with AI and explore ways in which it will improve music streaming. However, every new AI feature is being tested and rolled out methodically to ensure it actually works. The aforementioned AI DJ is, at the time of writing, still in beta, for example.
While you can choose whether to use them or not, Spotify’s social elements can add to the overall experience of using the app. You can share songs, albums, or playlists with others, create a playlist with friends, and even follow artists or podcasters.
Every Spotify user has a profile, so you can choose to follow others, have them follow you back, and share your listening activity. These are all simple social features that can easily be used without interfering with the core Spotify experience.
5 The Presence of Podcasts and Audiobooks
Spotify isn’t just about music anymore, and I think this is a good thing. While you can still use Spotify just to listen to music, you also have the option to listen to podcasts and/or audiobooks on it, too. The podcast player is so good that I use Spotify to listen to podcasts rather than using a dedicated podcast app.
Not everyone likes the addition of other forms of media and would prefer Spotify to be all about music. However, each medium has different tabs, so if you only want to use Spotify to listen to music, you can. Just avoid clicking on the Podcasts and Audiobooks sections of the app.
6 The Ability to Listen Offline to Save Data
One of the best things about Spotify is the ability to download songs, podcasts, and audiobooks to listen offline. This means that you can prepare for a vacation ahead of time and then avoid using data completely while away. I have downloaded all of my Liked songs on Spotify, meaning I have a huge playlist to fall back on while away.
I also create specific playlists for trips and parties and then download them to avoid burning through data when I don’t have access to Wi-Fi. The latest innovation is a playlist called Offline Backup, which Spotify automatically populates with songs you’ve recently listened to in case you lose a connection.
7 The Sheer Joy of Spotify Wrapped Every Year
Last but not least, Spotify is the best music streaming service around because of Spotify Wrapped. This annual roundup of your year spent on the app is genuinely exciting as you see how much time you racked up listening to music and what your preferred artists, songs, and genres have been over the past 12 months.
While other music streaming services offer similar roundups, none can compete with Spotify Wrapped. The joy of scrolling through your stats before sharing them with others is a highlight of my year and something I start looking forward to once summer ends. As sad as that may sound, it shows how well Spotify pulls this off.
If you currently subscribe to Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or TIDAL, I’m not about to argue against your choice of service. These great music streaming services allow you to listen to music on demand. However, for the above reasons, I believe that Spotify beats the competition in terms of the number and quality of features and the value for money offered.
