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I gave up on Spotify after the Neil Young debacle. I've tried Deezer and Qobuz both really weren't as good as Spotify they lacked the range of songs and creatin

by s_dev 3y ago

I gave up on Spotify after the Neil Young debacle. I've tried Deezer and Qobuz both really weren't as good as Spotify they lacked the range of songs and creating playlists was really awkward -- any other alternatives people would recommend?

johnsutor 3y ago
I used to use Tidal, thought it was pretty solid and the hi-fi streaming was an added bonus.
- z3dd 3y ago
  I still use it, it's fine, but with enough annoyances that leaves me thinking if the grass is greener elsewhere.
- lukew3 3y ago
  Same. I switched back to Spotify though because I missed the vast amount of user generated playlists you can look up on spotify. Also, Spotify caches a lot more than Tidal, so it performs better when I'm walking around connected to my spotty college wifi.
Kezzo 3y ago
Youtube music is really good.
- throwuxiytayq 3y ago
  YouTube Music barely works, is terribly designed even by Google standards, lacks basic features any free music player had in the 90s, and they'll probably shut it down next week anyway.
  - sofixa 3y ago
    Which basic features is it missing? And even if it is shut down (it is the result of the shutdown of Google Play Music, and there is no successor, so unlikely in the near future), you'll still have YouTube itself to listen music on, so no real loss there.
    - throwuxiytayq 3y ago
      Seamless (gapless) playback (that actually works). Equalizer. Cross-fade. Volume normalization. Buttons that react when you click them, not 5 seconds later. Desktop app, I'll even take a shitty electron wrapper. Literally anything related to customization of the application/playback/UI/music library. If I'm setting the bar too high, just playing audio without freezing or bugging out constantly would already be a huge improvement. > there is no successor, so unlikely in the near future What is Google's successor to Google+, Stadia, Reader, Wave, Buzz, Domains, blocklist feature, YouTube Streams, Inbox, Health, Answers?...
- avbanks 3y ago
  YT muisc is my favorite music streaming platform. It actually has a great algorithm for suggestions.
sailorganymede 3y ago
I’ve been using Soundcloud since I was 14 and still keep it up. It more or less has the same songs (with some exclusions here and there) and it has tons of mixes which are lovely. I love having lofi on as i code so i got a few 2 hour mixes to power me through.
- wkjagt 3y ago
  Would you mind sharing the lofi mixes you’re listening to? I love lofi music when concentrating on something.
  - sailorganymede 3y ago
    Of course! I have written it all out here: https://github.com/bhurghundii/sharing-things/blob/main/lofi-mixes-i-love.md https://github.com/bhurghundii/sharing-things/blob/main/lofi... Happy listening ~
- fhd2 3y ago
  SoundCloud is my main thing these days, it seems to have way more of the niche stuff I'm interested in (like game music). Thought it wasn't particularly popular, but I happily recommend it.
have_faith 3y ago
I've decided to go mostly offline. Bandcamp purchases, ripping CD's from charity shops, etc... all going into a local media server. I use NTS radio for on the go stuff and discovering new music. I pay for their membership which is very reasonable.
- peblos 3y ago
  Do you listen to music on your phone? If so, watch OS and app are you using?
  - have_faith 3y ago
    Not very often, trying to wear headphones less generally. At the moment though that's done with Spotify and NTS radio apps. I might mirror my music library onto the phone though. I was also thinking of moving my music library onto a server and streaming it from there, not sure with which software yet.
  - ikesau 3y ago
    The bandcamp app is great. You get 2-3 free streams of any album, plus an enormous catalogue of radio shows to discover new music through. It's really reinvigorated my passion for music. Once you've listened to an album a couple of times, you have to pay for it and then you get unlimited streams. If there's an artist that isn't on bandcamp (many artists on major labels aren't) then I use plexamp. The monthly bill for that server has effectively replaced my streaming bill.
  - xethos 3y ago
    Not OP, but I absolutely adored Airsonic-Advanced and DSub from F-Droid. Caching, streaming, quality-adjustment (FLAC on wifi, lower quality ogg on data), adding music, and scrobbling all worked amazingly well. Would very highly recommend, and I have yet to find anything better.
  - Semaphor 3y ago
    For me: Android with Symfonium, streaming (or locally cached) from my Jellyfin server.
terinjokes 3y ago
I've been using Qobuz (along with my own Navidrome instance) for the past year. The depth of music in some genres seems pretty good, and seems to have all the mainstream artists, but once you get past them in indie/pop/rock genres the gaps in the catalog really start to show. I've reached out to some artists, and no one seems quite clear why their releases don't appear in Qobuz when they appear in all of the competition. Unfortunately, none of the competition makes lossless streaming available (and I'm not counting Tidal's MQA, even if it was available on Linux). When I joined they had some social features, and searching for user created playlists seems possible. The last couple of times I've tried I've only gotten Qobuz's official playlists in search results. I've had to make do with syncing playlists from Spotify with Soundiiz. When combined with how inaccurate the metadata is (including the lack of ability to report the inaccurate metadata) and the lack of any new features in the past year (including lack of copying pre-saves from every other platform), it really seems like investment in Qobuz has stalled. It's too bad, because it seemed pretty promising. I really miss Rdio. :'( For listening to Navidrome on the go I use the "substreamer" app on Android. The "Podcast Republic" app also works well for listening to college radio streams to find new artists. Disclaimer: I was previously at Grooveshark.
- TheUndead96 3y ago
  Grooveshark, now that's a name I have not heard in a long time
  - terinjokes 3y ago
    I debated even including the disclaimer. It's been ages since it was shut down, and it's been 13 years since I was even there. However, I didn't want to violate some HN netiquette by not being transparent.
    - TheUndead96 3y ago
      I'm glad you included it, I have fond memories using Grooveshark :)
_flux 3y ago
I use Tidal, mostly to support an underdog, though I'm not sure how much that reflects reality nowdays.. However, they are in the process of adding better APIs for developers to use, so at least that's a plus in my books: https://github.com/orgs/tidal-music/discussions/categories/ideas-feature-requests https://github.com/orgs/tidal-music/discussions/categories/i... The default recommendations were pretty hip-hop-based for me, though, but nowadays it's better. I also subscribe to di.fm, which probably tells a bit about my music taste.
- ciabattabread 3y ago
  Wasn’t Tidal owned by Sprint? (And apparently it’s now owned by Jack Dorsey.) Isn’t that like supporting Zune for being an “underdog”, despite it being owned by Microsoft?
  - _flux 3y ago
    TIL :), though Block only acquired the majority of it at 2021, so relatively short time ago. Well, people bought Windows Phones probably to avoid buying Android or Apple phones, so I guess it's still the same?
jug 3y ago
YouTube Premium for both YouTube Music and ad-free YouTube without caring for any adblocking hoops? I've been considering it. Their family deal shares price with Spotify Family here and it's much better value. Some people also claim that it offers better sound quality despite similar bitrates than Spotify. Besides, more automated mixes (even an offline mix), better recommendations, and plenty of music videos and good music video discovery.
- therealdrag0 3y ago
  What pisses me off about YT is their music and videos share the same playlists. So if you import your Spotify to ytm you get a bunch of music playlists in your yt. I wish it was separate.
musictubes 3y ago
Apple Music.
footy 3y ago
I gave up around that time too, initially for Tidal. These days, I've mostly gone back to buying most music I listen to. I've even bought many of the things I pirated as a teenager-I value music, so why shouldn't my spending habits reflect that? Discovery is through the came channels I used 20 years ago, plus some youtube. Record stores are great for used stuff-I picked up ten albums on CD for like $32 last month. Plus, I run a navidrome server, so I can stream (some of, I have a lot of vinyl) my own music when I'm out. I'm a lot happier with this arrangement.

by s_dev 3y ago

johnsutor 3y ago

I used to use Tidal, thought it was pretty solid and the hi-fi streaming was an added bonus.

z3dd 3y ago
I still use it, it's fine, but with enough annoyances that leaves me thinking if the grass is greener elsewhere.
lukew3 3y ago
Same. I switched back to Spotify though because I missed the vast amount of user generated playlists you can look up on spotify. Also, Spotify caches a lot more than Tidal, so it performs better when I'm walking around connected to my spotty college wifi.

Kezzo 3y ago

Youtube music is really good.

throwuxiytayq 3y ago
YouTube Music barely works, is terribly designed even by Google standards, lacks basic features any free music player had in the 90s, and they'll probably shut it down next week anyway.
- sofixa 3y ago
  Which basic features is it missing? And even if it is shut down (it is the result of the shutdown of Google Play Music, and there is no successor, so unlikely in the near future), you'll still have YouTube itself to listen music on, so no real loss there.
  - throwuxiytayq 3y ago
    Seamless (gapless) playback (that actually works). Equalizer. Cross-fade. Volume normalization. Buttons that react when you click them, not 5 seconds later. Desktop app, I'll even take a shitty electron wrapper. Literally anything related to customization of the application/playback/UI/music library. If I'm setting the bar too high, just playing audio without freezing or bugging out constantly would already be a huge improvement. > there is no successor, so unlikely in the near future What is Google's successor to Google+, Stadia, Reader, Wave, Buzz, Domains, blocklist feature, YouTube Streams, Inbox, Health, Answers?...
avbanks 3y ago
YT muisc is my favorite music streaming platform. It actually has a great algorithm for suggestions.

sailorganymede 3y ago

I’ve been using Soundcloud since I was 14 and still keep it up. It more or less has the same songs (with some exclusions here and there) and it has tons of mixes which are lovely. I love having lofi on as i code so i got a few 2 hour mixes to power me through.

wkjagt 3y ago
Would you mind sharing the lofi mixes you’re listening to? I love lofi music when concentrating on something.
- sailorganymede 3y ago
  Of course! I have written it all out here: https://github.com/bhurghundii/sharing-things/blob/main/lofi-mixes-i-love.md https://github.com/bhurghundii/sharing-things/blob/main/lofi... Happy listening ~
fhd2 3y ago
SoundCloud is my main thing these days, it seems to have way more of the niche stuff I'm interested in (like game music). Thought it wasn't particularly popular, but I happily recommend it.

have_faith 3y ago

I've decided to go mostly offline. Bandcamp purchases, ripping CD's from charity shops, etc... all going into a local media server. I use NTS radio for on the go stuff and discovering new music. I pay for their membership which is very reasonable.

peblos 3y ago
Do you listen to music on your phone? If so, watch OS and app are you using?
- have_faith 3y ago
  Not very often, trying to wear headphones less generally. At the moment though that's done with Spotify and NTS radio apps. I might mirror my music library onto the phone though. I was also thinking of moving my music library onto a server and streaming it from there, not sure with which software yet.
- ikesau 3y ago
  The bandcamp app is great. You get 2-3 free streams of any album, plus an enormous catalogue of radio shows to discover new music through. It's really reinvigorated my passion for music. Once you've listened to an album a couple of times, you have to pay for it and then you get unlimited streams. If there's an artist that isn't on bandcamp (many artists on major labels aren't) then I use plexamp. The monthly bill for that server has effectively replaced my streaming bill.
- xethos 3y ago
  Not OP, but I absolutely adored Airsonic-Advanced and DSub from F-Droid. Caching, streaming, quality-adjustment (FLAC on wifi, lower quality ogg on data), adding music, and scrobbling all worked amazingly well. Would very highly recommend, and I have yet to find anything better.
- Semaphor 3y ago
  For me: Android with Symfonium, streaming (or locally cached) from my Jellyfin server.

terinjokes 3y ago

I've been using Qobuz (along with my own Navidrome instance) for the past year. The depth of music in some genres seems pretty good, and seems to have all the mainstream artists, but once you get past them in indie/pop/rock genres the gaps in the catalog really start to show. I've reached out to some artists, and no one seems quite clear why their releases don't appear in Qobuz when they appear in all of the competition. Unfortunately, none of the competition makes lossless streaming available (and I'm not counting Tidal's MQA, even if it was available on Linux). When I joined they had some social features, and searching for user created playlists seems possible. The last couple of times I've tried I've only gotten Qobuz's official playlists in search results. I've had to make do with syncing playlists from Spotify with Soundiiz. When combined with how inaccurate the metadata is (including the lack of ability to report the inaccurate metadata) and the lack of any new features in the past year (including lack of copying pre-saves from every other platform), it really seems like investment in Qobuz has stalled. It's too bad, because it seemed pretty promising. I really miss Rdio. :'( For listening to Navidrome on the go I use the "substreamer" app on Android. The "Podcast Republic" app also works well for listening to college radio streams to find new artists. Disclaimer: I was previously at Grooveshark.

TheUndead96 3y ago
Grooveshark, now that's a name I have not heard in a long time
- terinjokes 3y ago
  I debated even including the disclaimer. It's been ages since it was shut down, and it's been 13 years since I was even there. However, I didn't want to violate some HN netiquette by not being transparent.
  - TheUndead96 3y ago
    I'm glad you included it, I have fond memories using Grooveshark :)

_flux 3y ago

I use Tidal, mostly to support an underdog, though I'm not sure how much that reflects reality nowdays.. However, they are in the process of adding better APIs for developers to use, so at least that's a plus in my books: https://github.com/orgs/tidal-music/discussions/categories/ideas-feature-requests https://github.com/orgs/tidal-music/discussions/categories/i... The default recommendations were pretty hip-hop-based for me, though, but nowadays it's better. I also subscribe to di.fm, which probably tells a bit about my music taste.

ciabattabread 3y ago
Wasn’t Tidal owned by Sprint? (And apparently it’s now owned by Jack Dorsey.) Isn’t that like supporting Zune for being an “underdog”, despite it being owned by Microsoft?
- _flux 3y ago
  TIL :), though Block only acquired the majority of it at 2021, so relatively short time ago. Well, people bought Windows Phones probably to avoid buying Android or Apple phones, so I guess it's still the same?

jug 3y ago

YouTube Premium for both YouTube Music and ad-free YouTube without caring for any adblocking hoops? I've been considering it. Their family deal shares price with Spotify Family here and it's much better value. Some people also claim that it offers better sound quality despite similar bitrates than Spotify. Besides, more automated mixes (even an offline mix), better recommendations, and plenty of music videos and good music video discovery.

therealdrag0 3y ago
What pisses me off about YT is their music and videos share the same playlists. So if you import your Spotify to ytm you get a bunch of music playlists in your yt. I wish it was separate.

musictubes 3y ago

Apple Music.

footy 3y ago

I gave up around that time too, initially for Tidal. These days, I've mostly gone back to buying most music I listen to. I've even bought many of the things I pirated as a teenager-I value music, so why shouldn't my spending habits reflect that? Discovery is through the came channels I used 20 years ago, plus some youtube. Record stores are great for used stuff-I picked up ten albums on CD for like $32 last month. Plus, I run a navidrome server, so I can stream (some of, I have a lot of vinyl) my own music when I'm out. I'm a lot happier with this arrangement.