The best apps for listening to free music on your Android phone or tablet
Henry Nicholls/Reuters
You can get free music on an Android phone through a variety of apps.
Streaming apps like Spotify and SoundCloud offer free versions that are ad-sponsored.
There are also dozens of radio apps, which let you listen to radio stations locally or around the world.
If you grew up in the early 2000's, you probably remember the days of Limewire, Napster, and even waiting for a song to come on the radio just so you could hear it again.
Safe to say, those days are now gone. And while it's somewhat of a relief not to have to go to such complex measures to get music on your phone anymore, it's also a little bit of a pain.
It seems like all music requires a monthly subscription now, or otherwise you have to pay nearly two dollars to own a single song.
It's not as bad as it seems, though. It turns out that there are still plenty of places you can listen to free music nowadays — especially if you have an Android phone.
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How to get free music on your Android phone or tablet
Hollis Johnson/Business Insider
Below are some of the best apps for free music available on the Google Play Store. Try them out, and see what you think.
Spotify and other streaming services
Melanie Weir/Business Insider
Almost everybody thinks of Spotify as a subscription streaming service, and that's because they are — but not exclusively. Some people aren't aware, but you can download and use Spotify for free. You're just giving up a few of their premium features.
With the free version of Spotify, you can listen to any playlist or album — but for most of them, only on Shuffle mode. You can skip songs up to six times an hour.
You can't listen to Spotify Radio - a feature that creates a radio station based on a song you choose — but you do have access to daily mixes. You also have to listen to ads every few songs.
If you loved the iPod Shuffle when it was popular, then the free version of Spotify is perfect for you.
Also worth noting: Pandora, Google Play, iHeartRadio, and Amazon Music work more or less the same way.
Internet radio apps
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There are also dozens of other free radio apps, like TuneIn, iHeartRadio, and Radio Garden. These apps don't let you download music, but instead listen to radio stations from around the world.
This, of course, means that you can't pick what specific song or artist you listen to. You instead pick the radio station.
TuneIn and iHeartRadio let you browse by genre, location, and more. They're supported by ads, which will occasionally interrupt the music to play.
Radio Garden is a bit different in that only has a limited number of radio stations, and it only lets you search by location. However, its interface — a massive globe that you can spin and move around freely to find new stations around the world — is very fun to explore.
SoundCloud
Melanie Weir/Business Insider
Despite its oft-comedic reputation for being the default follow-up to a viral tweet, SoundCloud itself is actually a great platform for discovering new music.
There are well-known artists available on the app, but most of them require that you use the paid version to listen to their work.
Still, SoundCloud has streaming available across every genre you could possibly imagine, and there are also plenty of free streaming opportunities available.
Who knows? You might just discover the next big thing on this app.
Related coverage from How To Do Everything: Tech:
The best apps for downloading and listening to free music on your iPhone
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How to change your ringtone on an Android phone, and pick between preset or custom ringtones
How to connect your Spotify account to Facebook using a computer or mobile device
How to save data on your Android device in 5 different ways
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