10 Best Music Player Apps for Android

The way we listen to music has changed a lot over the years. Our music players have been replaced by smartphones, which are much more capable. Some might argue that a dedicated music player brings better audio quality but most of us are fine with what our smartphone offers in terms of audio quality. And since we take our smartphones wherever we go, it’s naturally a media consumption device for us.

All Android smartphones come with decent music player apps but our music collection is precious to us and thus, we need an able music player to manage our music just the way we want. As with every other app, we have a lot of choices when it comes to music player apps on Google Play Store. While it is good to have so many options to choose from, it can be confusing too and finding the best music player isn’t easy. We love helping you, so we tested most music player apps and these are the best ones we found:

Best Music Player apps for Android

1. Poweramp Music Player

Poweramp has been a famous music player on Android and it still remains a solid option. There are tons of features and they are wrapped in an attractive yet complex looking user interface. The app supports most music formats we know of including mp3, mp4, wma, ogg, flac, tta etc.. and playlist formats like m3u, m3u8, pls and wpl. Its playback capabilities include support for gapless playback, crossfade, dynamic queue and replay gain. There’s also support for lyrics and you can search for lyrics with the musiXmatch plugin. You can also customize the look of the app through various themes, skins and other customization options. It also makes sure to use Android’s capabilities with 4 different widgets along with lockscreen configurations. All the widgets come with more than 10 different looks, which you can further customize to meet your needs.

The app also makes sure you can control the music you are listening to. There’s ability to adjust bass & treble along with support for stereo eXpansion, various band optimized graphical equalizers & custom equalizers, mono mixing, balance and more. Overall, Poweramp is arguably the most feature rich music player for Android and the developers have made sure the interface is constantly updated to look modern. While the app does not implement the much loved Material Design UI, it features an attractive looking interface which works for a music player. Some might find it complex due to the number of features but it should be good once you get used to it. On the performance front, Poweramp does not disappoint at all. In our testing, we found the app perfectly smooth & fluid. So, if you are an audiophile and want a powerful music player, give Poweramp a try. It is available for a free 14-day trial, so you should definitely check it out.

Install: (Free trial, Full version $3.99)

Compatibility: Varies with device.

2. BlackPlayer Music Player

If there’s one app that leaves a solid first impression on users, it has to be BlackPlayer. BlackPlayer Music Player, living up to its name, features a gorgeous black interface and some beautiful transitions that make sure you are impressed upon first viewing. Moreover, the performance of the app is spotless and you will surely notice how quick it feels. Thankfully, the app works flawlessly in the long run as well. The music player supports the popular local song formats like mp3, flac, ogg and wav. It supports gapless playback, lyrics, built-in equalizer along with the freedom to use a third party equalizer. There’s also support for bassboost & 3D surround virtualizer along with ability to edit tags and other details of a song, artist or album.

BlackPlayer also brings three good looking widgets, automatic or manual album art management, scrobbling, sleep timer and more. The app looks great but you can enhance it further with themes and color accents. It is available in a free version and the good news is that it doesn’t feature ads. There’s also a paid version dubbed BlackPlayer EX, which brings additional features like more themes & color accents, more widgets, Bitrate, samplingrate & format details and way more. Basically, it’s the more feature rich and more advanced version of the two. We would recommend the BlackPlayer EX but if you are okay with the basic features, then the free version should do just fine.

Install: (Free, Paid version $2.00)

Compatibility: Android 2.3.3 and up.

3. Shuttle

While Poweramp and BlackPlayer are two attractive looking apps, they don’t really adhere to Google’s Material Design guidelines. Well, that’s where Shuttle comes into play. The beautiful Material Design music player app for Android has been many people’s favorites and rightly so. It brings a host of cool features along with a clean and smooth user experience. Shuttle uses Android’s native media capabilities, so it supports various audio formats like mp3, ogg, wav and flac. It supports gapless playback, 6-band equalizer with bass boost, beautiful customizable widgets, embedded lyrics and more.

Along with its music player features, the app packs various options to customize the interface. There are various themes with ability to choose theme color, accent color etc. The app also brings the ability to manually add artwork, scrobbling for Last.fm, White & Blacklist and more. Shuttle is available in a free as well as a Shuttle+ paid version, which brings ID3 tag editing, folder browsing, Chromecasting to your TV and more themes. If you are a fan of Material Design UI, you should get Shuttle Music Player. Along with the good looks, the app performs aptly too and we found no lags or stutters in our testing. To sum things up, Shuttle Music Player brings an easy to use interface along with most music player features we expect.

Install: (Free, Plus version $1.49)

Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up.

4. Rocket Music Player

Rocket Music Player is another very popular music player app for android, which has been known for its extensive feature set. The app has implemented Material Design UI but makes it more functional by not wasting spaces. It supports mp3, wav, ogg, m4a, mp4 audio formats and m3u, m3u8 playlist support. The app includes ability to play music, podcasts and even videos. It includes 5-band equalizer presets and ability to add custom sets. Other features of the app include custom lockscreen support, batch selection, various Material Design themes, album art management, embedded lyrics and more.

Along with the various features, Rocket Music Player has been loved by many people thanks to its playlist tools. It supports live/dynamic playlists, playlists manager and playlist shortcuts on homescreen. Rocket Music Player is available in a free version but there’s a Premium version as well and it brings a number of advanced features. Rocket Music Premium brings support for more audio formats like alac, tta, ape, mpc, wav, flac, wv & wma, 10-band equalizers, premium themes and more. There’s also a subscription based cloud version, which brings album art downloading, playlist backup & restore, auto tag editing and artist pictures. You can check out the differences between these versions here.

Install: (Free, Premium version $3.99)

Compatibility: Varies with device.

5. Stellio Music Player

Stellio Music Player might not be a very popular music player app but it’s quite a stellar offering nonetheless. Firstly, the user interface is beautiful and you are sure going to be impressed by it. The transitions, animations and smooth performance are a treat for our geeky eyes. The app is not all about the looks, as it’s no slouch when it comes to features. It packs in playback features like crossfade, 12-bands equalizer and 13 audio effects including VolumeAmp, Tone, Balance, AGC, Echo, Reverb, Z-Treble etc. The music player supports a ton of audio formats including wv, wvc, ape,mpp, mpc, mp+, mp4, m4a, flac, wav, ogg, , mp3 and way more. It supports cue, pls and m3u playlist files as well.

Along with music player capabilities, it also brings 5 beautiful customizable widgets, sleep timer, lyrics, tag editing, scrobbling and more. The app also lets you configure it for the lockscreen. Moreover, the good thing is that the app performs brilliantly and there were no hiccups in our testing. There’s a 10-day trial available for Stelio, after which you will have to pay for the full version.

Install: (Free trial, Full version $1.69)

Compatibility: Android 4.0 and up.

6. Phonograph Music Player

Phonograph is another budding music player that impresses you with its stunning Material Design looks. It follows Material Design UI guidelines to the tee, be it the colors, floating button or even the ripple effect transitions. Along with the UI, it also includes some very cool gestures which makes navigating way more easier. Phonograph doesn’t have many advanced features but the UI is a treat to the eyes. Along with the usual features, the app packs in gapless playback support, equalizer, sleep timer, queues along with various audio effects. It comes with support for popular audio formats like mp3, wav, flac and ogg.

Other features of the music player include Last.fm integration for scrobbling, tag editor, detailed file information, playlists, lockscreen support, widgets and more. It also brings various UI elements that let you jump over from a song to a artist with one tap or swipes. We found the app to be very smooth and the various intuitive gestures surely make the app way more appealing. Phonograph Music Player is available on the Play Store for free but there are in-app purchases you will have to make for certain items.

Install: (Free with in-app purchases)

Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up.

7. Pixel Music Player

Pixel Music Player is one of the new music player apps and as with most news apps, it brings an interesting experience. The app features a modern interface and while it does look similar to BlackPlayer, it incorporates Material Design’s colors and floating button as well. Along with the beautiful interface, Pixel brings some very good features. Firstly, the player supports popular audio formats such as mp3, wav, ogg and flac. On the playback front, it brings gapless playback, equalizer (with support for external equalizer), bassboost support, 3D virtualizer etc. The app also brings its very own music streaming service and music recommendations.

One of the best features of the app is its queue management. The queue can be accessed through a swipe from the right edge in the ‘Now Playing’ screen and you can easily drag tracks to sort things to your wish. Other notable features of the app include ID3 tag editor, lyrics support, scrobbling, folder tab, widgets and more. It also supports lockscreen and notification control, and lets you manage your headset buttons. Other than that, the app lets you enhance its good looks through themes and various customizations. The good looks of the app go synonymous with the fluid and lag-free performance it brings. Pixel is available in an ad-free free version but it’s a bit limited. However, there’s a Plus version, which unlocks all the features & settings.

Install: (Free, Plus version $2.24)

Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up. 

8. n7player Music Player

If you are bored of the same old menus and lists in your music player, you should give n7player a try. It brings the most innovative way to browse your music. Who would have thought pinch to zoom could make up for an user friendly interface in an app. n7player makes sure you don’t have to search through songs or artists and instead, you can find them through very simple gestures and pinch to zoom. The app also lets you browse music the conventional way but sadly that UI still features the Holo interface language from Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. Coming to the music playing features, the app supports most popular codecs including mp3, mp4, m4a, ogg, mid, flac, wav, aac, xmf etc. When it comes to playback, there’s gapless playback support, timer, 10-band equalizer with presets & ability to add custom ones along with ability to tune bass & treble, channel balance, audio normalizations and more.

n7player also brings playlist management (m3u), tag editor, album art grabber, scrobbling, lyrics support along with support for lockscreen configuration and headset button configuration. Other features of the app includes ability to stream music to other devices through Chromecast or AirPlay or DLNA and music visualizer. n7player is surely a great combination of advanced features and innovative UI and screenshots above certainly don’t do justice to it, you have to try it to know it. Not everyone would like it but there’s no harm in giving it a try, is there? Well, n7player is available in a free version which is a bit limited and you will have to unlock more features through a purchase.

Install: (Free, Full version $3.99)

Compatibility: Android 2.2 and up. 

9. Google Play Music

Google Play Music is pre-installed on most Android smartphones these days and chances are, you might already be using it. While it’s more than just a music player, considering its streaming features, it’s a capable music player as well. What works in Play Music’s favor is the fact that it’s a Google app and it integrates nicely with Android. Another thing that makes the Google’s music app unique is its cloud support. You have the ability to play your whole collection of songs from any platform with ease. It also supports all the popular music formats including mp3, wav, flac and ogg. While the app is no match to others on the list when it comes to advanced features, it manages to hold its own due to its cloud support, streaming services, clean UI and smooth operation.

Like all Google apps, Play Music too features the Material Design UI but oddly, it doesn’t seem to be implemented that well. Yes, there’s the tinted status bar and lots of colors but there’s no action button. Well, if you are okay with the basic music player features like equalizer, audio effects etc. then you might as well give Google Play Music a try. If you are looking for another music player app that works both for your offline music collection as well as your streaming needs, you can give Amazon Music Player a try.

Install: (Free)

Compatibility: Varies with device.

10. Musixmatch

Musixmatch music player has been known for its lyrics support but it’s also a very capable music player. First talking about its lyrics capabilities, it brings a new Floating Lyrics feature, which lets you see the lyrics anywhere in a cool little popup. There’s also ability to identify lyrics of a song playing nearby and it shows you synced lyrics no matter what song you are playing. It also detects lyrics of regional songs. While we certainly like the lyrics feature, we would love the ability to have offline lyrics. Moreover, Musixmatch offers a mXm plugin to bring lyrics inside other music players that support it. If your favorite music player does not support the mXm plugin, you can always install the Musixmatch app, which detects songs on other music players and brings you lyrics nonetheless.

Along with powerful lyrics support, the app also brings an equalizer packing some cool presets and ability to add custom settings. Other features of the app includes sleep timer, Android TV & Wear support, ability to cast music & lyrics to TV through Chromecast. Musixmatch certainly lacks the advanced features of a music player but we recommend it due to its great lyrics features and beautiful interface. The app has Material Design UI in tow with a shuffle floating button on the home page. It also features a gorgeous “now playing” interface with full screen album art background. The app is available for free but there are some in-app purchases it offers.

Install: (Free with in-app purchases)

Compatibility: Varies with device.

Honorable Mentions

  • PlayerPro Music Player

PlayerPro is a very capable music player with most advanced features we’ve come to expect from the likes of Poweramp. If you can live with a somewhat outdated UI, the app brings a number of cool features like Skins, ID3 tag editing, lyrics, tag effects, 10-band equalizers, DSP plugins, Smart playlists and more.

Install: (Free trial, Full version $4.95)

Compatibility: Android 2.1 and up. 

  • GoneMAD Music Player

GoneMAD is another beautiful music player app with Material Design UI implemented in all its glory. The app supports a ton of audio formats including aac (mp4/m4a/m4b), mp3, ogg, flac, opus, tta, ape, wav, wma etc. Along with 1000+ themes to customize the app, it includes some great features like crossfade, gapless playback, smart playlists, gain control, virtualizer, equalizer, DSP Limiter and more.

Install: (Free, Full Version $0.99)

Compatibility: Varies with device.

  • Pulsar Music Player

Pulsar is a lightweight music player, which aims at bringing swift performance and a clean user interface. Along with the clean Material Design UI, the app brings support for audio formats like mp3, flac, aac, ogg, wav and more. Other notable features include auto sync album art, tag editor, gapless playback, smart playlists, Chromecast support, sleep timer and more.

Install: (Free)

Compatibility: Android 4.0 and up.

  • CloudPlayer by doubleTwist

We know doubleTwist as a capable music player app and the company recently introduced its new & innovative CloudPlayer. As the name suggests, it lets you sync your songs from cloud storage services like Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive. The music player brings a fast user friendly interface laced with Material Design and it brings features like high fidelity lossless sound, 10-band equalizers, Android Wear & Auto support and lot more.

Install: (Free trial with in-app purchase for Premium version)

Compatibility: Android 4.1 and up. 

SEE ALSO: 15 Best Music Streaming Sites and Internet Radio

Best Android Music Players for all your music needs

There’s no dearth of great music player apps on Android but according to us, these are the best! If you are looking for a music player with advanced capabilities, the likes of Poweramp, Rocket, PlayerPro should meet your needs. Prefer some eye candy in your music players? Give BlackPlayer, Stelio, Phonograph and Pixel a try and if ease of use is your priority, Shuttle and Google Play Music are the ones to go for. The ball’s in your court now, so make your choice and do let us know about your favorite music player app for Android.

Comments 3
  • Ang says:

    I do think Onkyo HF Music player, jetAudio HD plus and Neutron Music player should be on the list.

  • Iggy Azalea says:

    The writer must have been really drunk to say that Black Music Player does not follow material design guidelines. And on a side note, he also forgot to add screenshots for Google Play Music.

  • Yogesh Chaudhary says:

    hello please post the list of top music players made by Indians.

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