Best Music Streaming Service for 2022

May 9, 2022 Ty Pendlebury

    Spotify
    Best music streaming service overall
    See at Spotify
    Apple Music
    Best alternative to Spotify
    See at Apple
    Qobuz
    Best for audiophiles
    $13 at Qobuz
    Tidal
    Best for compensating artists
    See at Tidal
    Amazon Music Unlimited
    Best for Prime members
    See at Amazon

    Streaming is the most convenient and popular way to listen to your favorite songs, and it no longer means you have to compromise on sound quality. A growing number of providers include lossless and spatial Dolby Atmos audio, but with so many different music services on offer, how are you supposed to choose?
    If you’re shopping around for a new music provider — inspired by developments such as?Joe Rogan versus Neil Young, for example — the two things you need to consider most are monthly cost and compatibility. Though prices have been more stable at around $10 a month — not something I can say with?live TV streaming?– there have been some other big changes recently, including the addition of hi-res music. Most of the services have music catalogs of over 60 million songs, so that’s not really an issue, and they enable you to stream from your phone, computer or speaker, though some are better at this than others.
     Sarah Tew/CNET
    I’ve checked out the biggest names, including?Spotify,?Apple Music,?Amazon Music?and?YouTube Music, as well smaller contenders such as Tidal, Qobuz, Deezer and?Pandora Premium, to see how each platform stacks up for your subscription buck. It’s worth noting that, in this roundup, I’ve purposefully left out services that can only play music in a radio format (such as Pandora, Napster and UnRadio) and don’t allow you to select your own songs. Streaming should be about choice, and that includes being able to listen to whole albums at a stretch.
    So which music streaming services offer the best combination of price, sound quality and library size? Read on to find an in-depth look at each of the services and a feature comparison, along with a full price breakdown in the chart at the bottom of the page. We’ll update this list periodically. And if you want the TL;DR, these are the top three.
    Read more:?Apple Music vs. Spotify: Comparing the Top Music Streaming Services

    Angela Lang/CNET
    Spotify
    Best music streaming service overall

    Spotify is a pioneer in music streaming and is arguably the best-known service. It offers a number of curated music discovery services, including its Discover Weekly playlist, and is constantly implementing new ones, such as Stations. It’s also ramped up its nonmusic content with a push toward?podcasts, which indirectly led to folk-rock icon?Neil Young leaving?the service.
    When it comes to choosing a service, it’s a close race between Spotify Premium and Apple Music, but Spotify still wins as the best music streaming service overall. This is thanks to a fun, easy-to-use interface, an extensive catalog and the best device compatibility. Spotify also offers the best free tier: Without paying a dime or providing a credit card number, you can stream Spotify Connect to numerous Wi-Fi devices.
    Meanwhile, Spotify missed the deadline of late 2021 for its?new HiFi (lossless) tier, and the company can’t say?when it will be coming. Meanwhile, competitors like Apple Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and Tidal are now offering lossless or even Dolby Atmos music at no extra charge. In addition, Spotify hiked prices on a number of plans in 2021, even though the base price remains $10 a month in the US.
    The Good?

Free version is impressively robust
Spotify Connect simplifies connecting to wireless speakers and AV receivers?
Easy to build your own playlists and sync them for offline listening
Allows you to follow artists and be alerted when they release new music or announce an upcoming show
Now includes podcasts

The Bad

Advertisements in the free service can be intrusive
You can’t listen to specific songs in the free tier, just a mix based on the requested music
No lossless option
Podcasts have begun to overshadow music in importance

    Best for:?People who want a solid all-around service, and especially for people who love to make, browse and share playlists for any scenario.

Read our Spotify review.

    See at Spotify

    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Apple Music
    Best alternative to Spotify

    Apple Music runs second to Spotify in terms of subscribers, but surpasses its rival in a few key areas. It offers a friendly interface, over 90 million tracks, and compatibility with both iOS and Android devices. Yes, it has spatial audio albums at no extra charge, but these 1,000 tracks are dwarfed by the rest of the catalog.
    Not surprisingly, Apple Music is the best choice if you’ve invested heavily in the Apple ecosystem. If you own an?Apple HomePod?or Mini, it is the default subscription service to summon music with your voice. Apple Music also makes the ideal companion for an iPod Touch, which, after 20 years, is still a thing. There’s also a ton of curated playlists, many handcrafted by musicians and tastemakers, but it lacks the robust sharing options built into Spotify.?
    Apple Music is the only one of our top three with a digital locker to store your own library of songs — YouTube Music, below, is the other music locker option. There are two ways to upload your music: for free with a Music subscription, but with?DRM; or $25 a year for iTunes Match, which will let you download again even without a Music subscription.
    The Good

Spatial and hi-res music included for your $10 a month
Combines your iTunes library with music you don’t own, with a choice of music lockers
Human music experts and algorithms help find music you’ll want to hear based on what you play
You can control what you hear or search for new music using Siri on Apple HomePod or other Apple devices

The Bad

The Android app and experience isn’t as fun as the iOS one
Doesn’t work with old iPods (except the iPod Touch)

    Best for:?Those who are wrapped up in the Apple world, or who simply want excellent value for money.

Read our Apple Music review.

    See at Apple

    Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET
    Qobuz
    Best for audiophiles

    Qobuz offers hi-res audio streams too, and unlike Tidal you don’t need a specialized MQA decoder to listen to them. They can sound great on an Android phone or a high-end music system. It may not offer Dolby Atmos music, but the current catalog of songs on other services isn’t that impressive anyway.?
    The service offers two plans — the hi-res Studio Premier ($13 monthly or $130 yearly) and the $180 annual Sublime Plus. Uniquely, the service offers its own hi-res download store, and if you sign up for Sublime you get a discount on purchases.
    At 70 million tracks, Qobuz’s streaming catalog rivals Tidal’s and Spotify’s in number, though it may not have the most obscure artists. Qobuz generally steers towards hi-res recordings so it is especially suited to jazz and classical fans, though its rock selection is fairly robust. The fact that it’s cheaper than Tidal, and doesn’t require a specialized equipment to listen in 24-bit/192Hz, makes Qobuz our favorite service for serious music lovers.
    The Good

The app is really clean and fun to use
Ability to listen to 24-bit music without needing a specialized decoder
One of the more affordable hi-res services
Offers a download store as well

The Bad

May be some gaps in the catalog?
No spatial audio

    Best for:?Audiophiles who want hi-res music for a decent price plus the ability to buy and download albums.
    $13 at Qobuz
    Also worth considering


    Sarah Tew/CNET
    Tidal
    Best for compensating artists

    Now?partly owned by Jack Dorsey’s Block, Tidal has introduced some important changes recently: namely that it now has a free tier called, naturally, Tidal Free. The company also offers the $10 Tidal HiFi plan, which includes lossless playback, and the premium $20 Tidal HiFi Plus tier.
    Tidal HiFi Plus may be the most expensive of all the services, and while it offers hi-res and Dolby Atmos mixes, it now has another good reason for this. Tidal’s main hook has always been that its higher subscription price translates to better payouts to artists — especially musicians who aren’t at the top of the pop charts. The service will now pay your top streamed artist each month a 10% cut of your subscription fee. Even if you only stream one song all month the full $2 will go to them. Forget fractions of a cent for a play; with enough spins from enough people, this could mean serious money for your favorite band.?
    While Tidal used to be the best option for audiophiles, Qobuz has caught up by promising arguably better sound quality (no MQA decoder required), a cheaper price and some recent improvements in its catalog. Based on my own experience, Tidal still trumps it for breadth — and it now exceeds 80 million tracks, including longtime holdouts Metallica. If you’re an audiophile, a fan of urban music or a mix of both, then Tidal should appeal to you.?
    The Good

High-fidelity music streams including Dolby Atmos surround mixes
Lots of video content, including concert livestreams
Profiles and record reviews on every page, plus up-and-coming artist spotlights
Free tier, while its top tier offers payouts for favorite artists

The Bad

The mobile apps and web player aren’t as straightforward as some others
The catalog isn’t as exhaustive as Spotify Premium
Most high-res music uses MQA, which needs a specialized decoder

    Best for:?Musically inclined purists who care deeply about sound quality and discovering new, up-and-coming artists.
    See at Tidal

    Screenshot: Ty Pendlebury/CNET
    Amazon Music Unlimited
    Best for Prime members

    Amazon Prime Music comes “free” as part of a Prime membership, but users can choose to upgrade to Music Unlimited. In addition to an expanded catalog, the step-up now includes the original HD service?at $8 for Prime members, or $10 if you don’t have Prime. Music Unlimited now gives you access to millions of lossless tracks as well as 1,000 “spatial” remixes, which can be played on Dolby Atmos soundbars, Android or iOS devices and the Amazon Echo Studio. In terms of usability, the Music Unlimited interface is also more powerful than before with playlists, genres and podcasts all accessible from the main page.
    The Good

Cheaper than the top three if you’re an Amazon Prime member
Lyrics automatically pop up on the “now playing” screen
Hi-res and spatial audio from Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos at no extra charge
Offers free music stations for Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Amazon Tap (includes ads)

The Bad

Artist profiles don’t have biographies
The service no longer includes a music locker

    Best for:?Amazon Prime members who want to save a few bucks on a decent music catalog and higher-quality streams.

Read our Amazon Music (Android) review.

See at Amazon

Read more

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What Is Spatial Audio? The AirPods 3 and MacBook Pro Surround-Sound Trick
Best Speakers for 2022

The best of the rest YouTube/Screenshot by Ty Pendlebury/CNET

YouTube Music: YouTube Music is the successor to Google Play Music, and if you sign up for the ad-free?YouTube Premium?at $12 per month, you get YouTube Music thrown in for free. The good news is that YouTube Music is a mostly impressive service — the lower bit-rate of 256kbps is mildly annoying — but Google has retained the predecessor’s music locker system enabling users to upload new tracks. In even better news, YouTube Music offers a cleaner interface than Google Play Music plus over 60 million tracks to choose from. Instead of playlists, YouTube Music offers well-curated radio stations that play endlessly and are updated often.?See it at YouTube Music.
Deezer:?French stalwart?Deezer?has been operating in the States since 2016, and it has a lot to offer, including a free tier (mobile only) and 90 million tracks. It has more subscribers than some others on this list, thanks in part to its previous affiliation with Cricket Wireless. The main Premium plan is $10 a month, but users are also able to upgrade to a lossless version (CD quality) for $15 a month. It reportedly boasts more users than Tidal, and it offers a couple of unique features. For example, it’s the first service to offer the ability for users to?upload their catalogs from competitors?at no extra charge.?See it at Deezer.
Pandora Premium: Still one of the most popular streaming radio services in the US, Pandora also offers the a la carte Premium ($10 a month) and no-ads Plus ($5 a month). The result is more flexibility than most competitors, and Premium has gained plenty more subscribers in recent years, even if the service is not keeping up in terms of overall catalog size. Sadly, its audio quality is among the lowest available, even on the Premium subscription (192Kbps), and it doesn’t really offer enough of an incentive for an upgrade from its highly popular free tier.?See it at Pandora.

Top services compared

	Amazon Music Unlimited	Apple Music	Qobuz	Spotify	Tidal	YouTube Music
Monthly fee	Prime members: $8, ￡8, N/A; Non-Prime members: $10, ￡10, AU$12; Echo-only service: Free, AU$5	$10, ￡10, AU$12; Voice $5, ￡5, AU$6	$13, AU$20	$10, ￡10, AU$12	Hi-Fi: $10, ￡10, AU$15; HiFi Plus: $20, ￡20, AU$24	$10, ￡10, AU$12
Free option?	Yes, with ads	No	No	Yes, with ads	Yes	Yes, with ads
Free trial period	30 days	3 months	30 days	30 days	3 months	30 days
Music library size	75 million	90 million	70 million	Over 82 million	Over 80 million	Over 60 million
Maximum bit rate	256Kbps, 3,730Kbps (HD)	256Kbps, TBD	6,971Kbps	320Kbps	1,411Kbps	256Kbps
Family plan?	Yes, $15, ￡15, AU$18 for up to 6 people	Yes, $15, ￡15, AU$18 for up to 6 people	Yes, $16.67, ￡16.67, AU$45	Yes $16 per month, up to 6	Yes, 50% off each additional account, up to 4	Yes, $15, ￡15, AU$18 per month for up to 6 people
Student discount	No	Yes, Price varies by country	No	Yes, $5, ￡5 with Hulu and Showtime	Student HiFi: $5, Student HiFi plus: $10 (US only)	Yes, $5
US military discount	No	No	No	No	Yes	No
Offline listening	Mobile and desktop	Mobile only	Mobile and desktop	Mobile and desktop	Mobile only	Premium and mobile only
Radio stations	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Podcasts	Yes	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Music videos	No	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Music locker functionality	No	Yes	No	No	No	Yes

Music Streaming FAQs
How do you transfer your library between services?

Without contracts it’s pretty easy to cancel one service and start with another. That said, swapping between music services isn’t as straightforward, for example, as swapping between movie locker services using?Movies Anywhere. If you don’t want to have to rebuild your playlists and library from scratch when you switch, you have two main options — a music locker service such as YouTube Music (but this implies you have a library of ripped or?bought MP3s), or the library import tool?Soundiiz. The latter is a service that lets you import the songs from each of your music services and transfer them, and while there’s a $4.50 monthly charge, you can always cancel once you’ve converted your library. Recently, Deezer has offered the ability for new users to convert their libraries from other services for free (via another service called?Tune My Music).?
Do I need spatial or Atmos audio?

The short answer is “no” and the long answer is “not in the slightest.” Stereo music has been around since the ’50s and the catalog dwarfs the handful of Atmos audio tracks by comparison. Apple may rave about?how “magical” spatial music?is, but unless you have a?pair of compatible AirPods?or an expensive?Atmos system, you won’t be able to hear it properly anyway. In our own listening tests we’ve found that the catalog is indeed quite limited and the quality of the mixes varies wildly. The music industry has?tried unsuccessfully to push surround music?every 20 years or so — Quadraphonic in the ’70s,?DVD-Audio?in the 2000s — but good old stereo will never go out of favor.
Which music streaming service has the biggest catalog?

At the time of writing, Apple Music has the largest catalog with 90 million tracks, followed by Spotify at 82 million. But that’s not the end of the story: The number of songs offered by a music service used to be the main differentiators, but all of the major ones offer over 60 million tracks. As always, it’s quality over quantity that counts, and particularly if you’re looking for more obscure tracks. Depending on your favored genre, some of the services offer a more robust catalog that includes many under-the-radar, indie or hip-hop artists. If you’re constantly on the hunt for your favorite new band, a streaming service like Spotify or Tidal may be more up your alley. Users who are less ambitious about expanding their musical taste will be satisfied with the smaller catalogs Amazon Music Unlimited or Pandora offer. On the other hand, Apple Music is somewhere in the middle, offering a healthy mix of mainstream tunes and underground unknowns.
Which services include music lockers?

Amazon was one of the first services to offer uploading your MP3 collection into the cloud, but this was?officially discontinued in 2018. Meanwhile, both the?Apple?and YouTube services allow you to combine your personal music collection with the streaming catalog, though tagging and organization can be a time-consuming challenge (your myriad live Phish tracks won’t organize themselves). Still, if you’ve invested money in digital music over the years, those two services offer a patch to continue enjoying that music online.