The 5 Best Free Music Apps — 2022 Review

Hey! Do you love music?

Music is an essential addition to my life.

Mind you, I’m not a musician but a supporter of musical arts. I am an equal-opportunity listener. 😀

As I write this, I’m listening to “The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music.” This kind of music helps me write.

So, why do I love music so much?

Well, here are just a few things music does for us:

• Boosts memory
• Lightens our mood
• Reduces anxiety and depression
• Holds off fatigue
• Builds task endurance

Music apps are the way to go, whether you listen to music sometimes or all the time.

Between 2014-2021, there were 82.1m paid music streaming subscribers in the U.S., which generated $4.6bn in streaming music paid subscriptions.

Music apps are part of our daily existence. We use them for entertaining, working out, driving, as backgrounds for videos and presentations, dancing, and much more.

And, lucky me, I was asked to review the top 5 music apps of 2022 by FocusGroups.org!

Keep reading to find out the top 5 free music apps of 2022. 🙌🏻

Why Are Music Apps So Popular?

Music is an integral part of our lives, and it's no surprise that music listening and collection are so popular.

Whether you're a fan of old-school rock or modern country, collecting music is a great way to connect with your favorite tunes and feel like you're part of a community.

You can use music apps to build your music collection and join the millions of people who love spending time surrounded by their favorite tunes.

Music apps allow us to:

• Get easy access to the music we like
• Share music with friends through playlists
• Find out about musical performances and track tour dates
• Purchase tickets for concerts
• Watch favorite music videos
• Find new music similar to what you like
• Connect with friends and follow what they’re listening to

Not all music apps allow us to do the same thing, but there are plenty in the “music verse” that will offer us what we need and love.

So, here are my Top 5 Picks for the Best Music Apps of 2022 (iOS and Android)

1. Spotify — Free with upgrade available

(iOS, Android, Linus, Mac, Windows)

Spotify serves as a digital music, video, and podcast provider. You can find millions of songs and other content from around the globe, all free.

You can use Spotify across your devices, including your computer, phone, tablet, TV, car, etc.

*NOTE — With the free version, you can only access music and podcasts through their app and can’t export their content outside the app.

Spotify allows:

Listeners to view top lists and new releases

Anyone to make a playlist and share it with others

Push notifications, so you can find new songs and albums similar to artists you like and follow

You can also choose to upgrade to Spotify Premium.

Unlike the free version of Spotify, Premium allows you to download and listen from anywhere, play any song on your mobile, listen to ad-free music, and have unlimited skips.

The Premium version is $9.99/mo after receiving one month free.

2. Pandora — Free

(iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows, Mac)

With Pandora, you can enter the artist you want to hear, and Pandora will play their song along with other similar songs.

When listening, you can rate the song, and the app will play more songs like those you like. The AI will improve at suggesting music to your liking as it learns your preferences.

You register free for Pandora, but you will see advertisements, and you have a limited number of songs you can skip per day.

You can save your stations when registering, so they are on the phone app.

3. Shazam — Free

(iOS, Android, Chrome)

Shazam is an entirely free app with no upgrades to premium offered.

The free version will:

Identify songs playing around you if you don’t know the name of the song

Store songs in your user account so you can share them with your friends

Listen to every song it hears until you stop it

Not play ads

The app allows you to generate a link, play the song on Apple Music, and add the song to your Apple Music playlists.

*NOTE – You must have Apple Music to play songs in total.

4. LiveOne – Free with upgrade available

(iOS, Android)

You may remember Slacker Radio. LiveOne is the next generation of Slacker.

LiveOne has pre-programmed radio stations for almost any genre you want to hear.

When listening, you can refine it to hear more music you like, which helps introduce you to new music.

You can generate playlists you like and new stations and track your favorites.

The free version does include the following:

Advertisements,

A limited number of songs you can skip, and

Doesn’t play music on demand.

You can upgrade to LiveOne Plus for $35.88/year and receive no advertisements, unlimited skips, and their highest audio quality.

5. iHeartRadio (Free with upgrade available)

(iOS, Android, Kindle Fire, Windows)

iHeartRadio finds nearby radio stations.

You can listen to music and podcasts and create your favorite music stations based on your favorite songs.

It allows you to:

Search for stations

Listen to categories of songs such as the ’60s, ’70s, ‘80s, classic rock, country, etc.

Use your created station as an alarm with a timer and snooze button

View lyrics

Read artists’ biographies, and

Share stations with friends.

You can also upgrade to iHeartRadio Plus or All Access for either $9.99 per month (Google Play Store, Web, Amazon, and Roku) or $12.99 per month for iOS Apple Store sign-up)

With these, you get more features like unlimited skips and playlists, instant replays, commercial-free, unlimited playlists, and more.

A Final Thought

As mentioned earlier and given the statistics, music is an integral part of America.

It can make us feel better during difficult times and give us a sense of how to feel when times are confusing.

If you’re an avid listener like me or find old and new music intimidating, use any of the above apps to make it easier.

With the above apps, you can start with music you know and allow the apps to introduce you to more excellent music that meets your tastes.

Next time you’re feeling happy and want to dance, sad, and you feel like crying, or working out and need a good beat, check out the apps and rock your house!

From all of us at FocusGroups.org, we wish you many days of happy music listening.

❤️