Spotify

Spotify's UX (interface and user experience) is infinitely better than its competitors in this space, it makes it much easier to listen to large volumes of music.

It comes down to the recommendation engine. As a builder, I need to get into 'Deep Work' mode quickly. Spotify’s algorithms (especially Discover Weekly and the Focus mixes) are unmatched at curating the right background noise for coding without me having to manually manage playlists.

I haven’t really used any other apps as such. I did try JioSaavn briefly, but not for long. I’ve always preferred Spotify over everything else.

I’ve been using Spotify for years, and what keeps me hooked isn’t just the massive library—it’s how personal it feels. The algorithm really understands my mood better than I do some days. One minute I’m diving into deep work with lo-fi beats, the next I’m back in 2010 reliving my teenage angst. From a social media manager’s perspective, I also appreciate how their playlists feel like community spaces—micro-cultures built around shared emotion or focus. It’s not just “music streaming”; it’s mood curation at scale.

For a long time, Spotify has definitely provided a unique service at an unbeatable price. Recently, I've been encountering all sorts of problems that are pretty much taking away my desire for them, but I haven't decided whether to say goodbye and look for another alternative. Some of the problems I encounter: 1. I'm constantly encountering serious bugs in the Windows PC software. 2. Even with their special "Weekly Discover" feature, it's not like it used to be, more and more songs I don't enjoy listening to and most of them don't really grab me... 3. I don't like all the updates they decided to implement regarding the feature of blocking songs "only in this playlist" and "for 30 days". If I block a song - I want to block it permanently!

Spotify and I have a complicated relationship. The music catalog is solid, recommendations are usually on point, and the UI is clean — I’ll give it that. Daily Mixes and Discover Weekly are still some of the best algorithmic playlists out there. But man, there’s a lot that holds it back. First, the app feels heavier than it should be. Lags randomly on desktop, and the mobile version eats battery like it’s on a mission. Also, the fact that some features are weirdly inconsistent between platforms (like queue management or library sorting) is just... why? And don’t even get me started on podcasts. Mixing them with music in the same interface was a mistake. I listen to one episode, and suddenly half my home feed is flooded with stuff I didn’t ask for. No way to opt out properly. It’s just messy. Still using it, mostly because I’ve built so many playlists over the years and I know where everything is. But if something better comes along with proper library control and less noise — I’m out.

Great app, but the random play when not paying to use it is a bit annoying, I can accept adverts and such, when I only want to listen to a certain song, it's put in the middle of a random list of songs, that's a bit of a waste of time, I've been forced to listen to a lot of other songs in order to listen to one, that's bad, I'd rather choose to go and listen to it or watch adverts to listen to this one designated one song. I'd rather listen to or watch adverts to hear that particular song. Or maybe it would be better to add an option for the user to choose whether to watch adverts or play randomly.

I’ve been using Spotify daily for over a decade, and while I still rely on it, I think the radio feature really needs a refresh. It often jumps between completely different genres for example, I might start with something reggaeton-ish and suddenly get rap or something totally unrelated. It feels like the suggestions are based too much on what others listened to rather than what’s sonically similar. I'd love to see a more consistent and style-focused algorithm. Yes, there are playlists, but honestly, they’re starting to feel repetitive. These days, I often go elsewhere to discover new music which is a shame, because Spotify used to be great at this.

This has hands down the best algorithm for suggesting music for my tastes. I've tried some other streaming services, and none can really compare to what Spotify recommends me. In "Discover Weekly" I frequently get artists that have less than 30.000 listeners that I have almost zero chance of discovering myself. What makes it great is those artists actually have good music that I enjoy. This feature (this and the fact that it can be used for free, of course!) is probably the reason why I don't consider changing to its competitors, as long as free plan allows for listening to all its library on PC.