Music streaming has been my go-to for about the last 5-6 years now. Back then (5 years is a long time in technology land!) there weren't a lot of options. That industry recently exploded and we now have over a dozen options both paid and free.
Over this span of time I've tried them all...no literally. All of them. I was always in pursuit of the one that was a perfect fit that had all the best features. Honestly, it was an uphill battle till recently. My Sonos demanded some prerequisites that pigeon-holed me into certain services that were compatible. They've recently went all out and started supporting a trillion different services now.
Fast forward to today and I can say that Google Play All Access is my favorite and provides all the features I need. I'll now go over how I came to this conclusion and why this works best for me and list a few of the services worth mentioning.
In no particular order:
Pandora - Hands-down the best radio type service and it's free if you don't mind the occasional ad. Their paid version eliminates those. I've tried other service's radio version and they don't even compare. The compilations they put together are great and typically spot on. If you use the service long enough you're able to make pseudo playlists by thumbs-downing songs you don't like and they will eventually weed out the stuff you don't care for and play only what you like. They do offer some social media interaction.
I usually use Pandora to discover new stuff to add to my permanent playlist over on the Googles.
Go create a Will Smith station over there. You'll thank me (and Jenna Marbles) later. Click her video with NSFW caution haha.
Methods: Web and Mobile.
Rhapsody - This was my first ever music streaming service I ever subscribed to. They had 2 plans. One that was PC only + 1 mobile device and one that you could add up to 3 mobile devices to. They were under the radar and didn't advertise very much and they were also fairly expensive at $15 a month. They have a radio option but it doesn't compare to Pandora. You do have unlimited access to their music library to create unlimited playlists. If self-created playlists aren't your thing then move it along. They do offer some social media interaction with the web version but no one uses it so they won't be able to open it lol. RIP Napster, don't trip on RealPlayer.
For a long time this was about the only service Sonos supported with their system too.
They've since got a bit of a face-lift in the last year as they've teamed up with T-Mobile and added a third tier of cheaper service "UnRadio" and even special pricing with them if you are a T-mo customer. I hated to leave them, it was a good gig while it lasted but again, Google ended up providing more features for me and even at a lower cost.
Methods: Web, Mobile, and PC App. - Allows offline/downloadable music.
Rdio - This service was okay. I found a lot of the music I wanted wasn't there. They're fairly new to the market so they might not have everything yet. I don't really have anything bad to say about it except for the free version literally limits you to XX amount of hours before telling you to subscribe. The actual number to that seems to be a mystery.
I didn't hate this one but I didn't love it either. Again....free or paid. There's other services I feel are a little better.
Methods: Web, Mobile, and PC App. - Has a sync ability but I didn't use it long enough to determine if this was their "offline" mode or not.
Spotify - Ok so Spotify has its place in the world, that's for sure. I can't ignore them but I don't need to use them either. Spotify is a pleasant blend of radio, suggested compilations (Spotify & fellow user created), and self-created playlists for free. The ads... annoying as hell. There's physical pop up ads in the overlay and radio commercials as well. Makes me rage a little. Butttt it's free. You can also see what your friends are listening to and subscribe to their playlists.
Don't pay for this service. You can get superior service elsewhere if you're looking for a subscription based plan.
When I signed up for Spotify (beta) there was no social media embedded into it yet. It didn't require a Facebook account at the time. Now, if I'm not mistaken, it requires you sign up via your FB account now. I've also found out that when you search for specific music, it pulls up really obscure nonsense that sounds like it was recorded in someone's mini van sometimes.
Methods: Web, Mobile, and PC App. - Allows offline/downloadable music.
Google Play All Access - My sweet sweet Googles. Yup. Self proclaimed fanboygirl. When they announced this service at I/O 2013 I hopped on it immediately...like F5'd the sign up page. Got special pricing for being an early adopter. UI took some getting used to but overall I really liked it. I used it for about 4-6 months before I inevitably switched back to Rhapsody due to my Sonos integration. Google Play wasn't supported yet, sadly. I switched back to Rhapsody for the time being till they got their integration together. Now I'm back and happier than ever.
They too have radio stations, personally I think they're not quite as good as Pandora, but not terrible. Unlimited playlist creations, and you can share playlists with other subscribers. The real kicker here is if you're someone like me that enjoys some off the wall remixes, or weird video game soundtrack compilations that don't always come up on these services, they have cloud storage inside Google Drive that allows you to incorporate your own MP3's into your playlists. You can play them back from anywhere, even mobile devices.
Once you start using it, and creating playlists, and listening to radio stations they will start giving you recommendations based on your listening history.
My only gripe about this one is there's no PC app. There's Chrome extensions you can get that turn into a pop out player but it's still just a browser. Social integration with G+ and direct playlist/song links for everywhere else.
Methods: Web & Mobile. - Allows offline/downloadable music.
Beats Music - lol.
Song of the day:
Google Play: Ninna Nanna - Lulu Rouge
Spotify: Ninna Nanna - Lulu Rouge
Thank you, drive through.
