Since its arrival on the web, music streaming has revolutionized how we listen to and discover music. With the rise of technology and easy access to the internet, it has become an essential part of our daily lives. A multitude of platforms have appeared in recent years, which has made it difficult to choose. This article brings you the top 8 best services in 2023.
Spotify
Spotify is undoubtedly the most well-known and best music streaming platform. Released in 2008, it currently has over 205 million paid subscribers and over 500 million total users, with those taking advantage of the free plan. Spotify’s greatest strength is its availability on all connected devices (PCs, mobiles, connected TVs, cars, etc.). Among its many features, you will appreciate its high-quality personalized content, with song recommendations perfectly adapted to everyone’s tastes.
Its catalog includes more than 80 million songs, many podcasts, and other types of content. It relies on the MP3 format for audio quality, which is unfortunately increasingly obsolete. Spotify’s service can be used for free with ads. It offers several paid offers according to your needs. With Spotify Premium, which costs €9.99 monthly, you can listen to music without ads and with higher audio quality options.
AppleMusic
If you use iOS devices like iPhones or iPad, Apple Music is your right choice. It was launched in 2015 and now ranks second among the world’s most popular music streaming services. Apple Music has one of the largest music catalogs on the market. It is embellished with over 100 million tracks from various genres and eras, over 30,000 playlists and numerous radio stations.
The platform also offers tailored recommendations based on smart algorithms and your listening histories. It is available on various Apple and Android devices. It provides high-quality sound. The prices offered by Apple Music are attractive compared to competitors. Its packages are 4 in number:
- The voice at €4.99/month
- Student at €5.99/month
- Individual at €10.99/month
- Family at €16.99/month for up to six people
Amazon Music
Amazon Music offers users a vast music library of over 100 million songs. This ranks it among the most important music streaming services. You can access playlists organized by publishers and your playlists according to your tastes and listening habits. To ensure a better experience, Amazon Music allows you to stream your favorite tracks to various devices, such as smartphones, tablets, computers, smart speakers, and smart TVs.
The platform can be controlled via voice commands with the Alexa smart assistant. If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can enjoy the Amazon Prime Music service for free but with a limited number of songs and playlists. Amazon Music Unlimited membership starts at $4.99 for students. It offers $9.99 individual and $14.99 family plans. The HD plan costs $14.99 monthly for access to Hi-Res audio quality.
Deezer
A Indin music streaming service, Deezer, was launched in 2007. It is now available in more than 180 countries and has more than 10 million subscribers, most of whom are in France. It has a full catalog containing 90 million songs. Deezer offers several sound qualities, which makes it successful. For free, you can listen to MP3 (160 kbits/s).
The paid version entitles you to 320 kbits/s up to FLAC (1,411 kbits/s). The other big advantage of Deezer is its extensive compatibility. You can listen to your favorite songs on all classic devices (Web, PC, mobile) and on various connected objects, such as smart TVs, compatible cars, connected watches, etc. Deezer has a free version with ads and low sound quality. These paid formulas, without advertising, are multiple depending on your needs:
- DeezerStudent at €5.99 per month
- Deezer Premium at €10.99 per month
- Deezer family at €17.99 per month
Qobuz
On Qobuz, you can access over 90 million songs via unlimited streaming. It lets you explore various musical genres, including classical, jazz, rock, hip-hop, and many more. Founded in 2007, this platform stands out as one of the best services in 2023, thanks to its exceptional audio quality. It has long been the only one to allow you to listen to songs in CD quality in FLAC format for download. Today, all titles in its musical catalog are available in Hi-Res quality (24-bit FLAC up to 192 kHz).
In addition to high-resolution streaming, Qobuz also offers some interesting features. It allows, for example, to select the protocol for its Windows desktop application. The platform also leaves plenty of room for the editorialization of its content. As for its prices, the subscription starts at €12.50 per month for a Studio Premier Solo account. The Family package costs €20.83 per month for 6 accounts. The Studio Sublime offer starts at €16.67 per month if you want more quality.
Napster
After years of disappearance, Napster reappeared in India in 2013. It was originally an illegal download service but is now becoming one of the best music streaming platforms. It offers more than 40 million titles in its catalog, unlimited accessible without advertising and which can be downloaded for offline listening.
The Napster platform is available in 33 countries. All songs are offered in MP3 quality at 320 kbits/s. The interface is simple and intuitive, easy to use for everyone. Got a handy audio equalizer to change the sound levels. At Napster, there is no free version. To access its music library, you must subscribe to its only paid subscription, which costs €9.95 per month.
Tidal
Established in 2014, Tidal is one of the most popular music streaming services. One of its main assets is its high-fidelity audio quality. It thus provides a lossless streaming experience where audiophiles and music enthusiasts can feel every detail and nuance. In addition, Tidal’s catalog is extensive, with more than 80 million songs accessible unlimitedly.
It is also one of the few services providing video content, with over 350,000 clips, concerts and podcasts. The only problem with Tidal is its high price compared to the competition. Indeed, to enjoy high-fidelity sound quality (HiFi Plus), you must pay € 19.99 per month. However, for the rest, the prices are almost the same:
- HiFi at €9.99 per month
- HiFi Family at €14.99 per month
- Student HiFi at €4.99 per month
YouTubeMusic
If we rely solely on the catalog to judge the quality of a streaming platform, then YouTube Music is certainly the best of all. Indeed, you can listen to all the music and videos available on YouTube, corresponding to several hundred million titles. You, therefore, have access to a wide range of musical genres and lives, remixes, podcasts, and radio stations. YouTube Music offers personalized playlists and recommendations based on your listening history.
It also incorporates other additional features. It allows you to search songs based on lyrics and download music for offline listening. Its weak point lies in its audio quality, which does not exceed AAC at 256 kbps. You can use YouTube Music for free but with many limitations and the presence of ads. For subscriptions, you have several options: Classic subscription at €9.99 per month
- Family at €14.99 per month
Classic subscription and YouTube Premium at € 11.99 per month
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