For the everyday listener, we think Spotify’s extensive discovery and social capabilities more than make up for that.

Audiophiles may be disappointed, but to our ears a track like Lizzo’s “About Damn Time” sounds as good as how one would hear on terrestrial or satellite radio. Spotify Premium peaks at 320kps - akin to a very high-quality mp3 file - which is good enough for the great majority of music listeners who aren’t concerned with hearing every little nuance. The one area where Spotify doesn’t really compete with rivals like Apple Music and Tidal is sound quality, offering only compressed streams - there is no lossless streaming here. The service has a number of original and exclusive shows, including the polarizing but popular “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “Stuff You Should Know,” “Living and Learning With Reba McEntire” and “Jemele Hill Is Unbothered.” Similar to music, discovering podcasts is easy, whether you’re searching by genre or hosts or just relying on Spotify’s algorithm.

It’s also one of the few music services to also offer millions of podcasts within its app, and while this feature isn’t universally loved due to the controversial nature of some content, the ability to listen to NPR news segments between algorithmically curated music selections makes it a great alternative to radio. Finding popular music or discovering new artists is simply the best with Spotify. Spotify is also compatible with Shazam, meaning you can use the latter app to identify a song on the radio or while you’re out at the mall and then be taken to the former to listen to it in full. That doesn’t even count various playlists curated internally by Spotify staff. There are weekly, monthly and yearly playlists based around genres that users frequently listen to, which are a great way to discover new artists. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN accountĬurated playlists like Rap Caviar and Discover Weekly - as well as smart algorithm-based recommendations - make Spotify the premier destination for music discovery.

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