Top 10 Best Music Player Apps For Android

Published 2020-03-13

Though most Android phones set Google Play Music as the default music player app for audio playback, there are other Android music player apps that you can use to get a full-featured experience while listening to your favorite tunes.

It’s true many users have shifted to music streaming platforms, such as YouTube Music and Spotify.

Still, the old Android music player apps allowed us to listen to an on-device playlist, even when we’re on a flight without internet signals. To have only the selected favorite songs playing on your phone, without going through the hassle of browsing stations on some of these best music player apps was really relaxing.

Thanks to Android, we still have some amazing music player apps to explore and listen to our personal collection of songs without hassle of poor connectivity or worrying about the availability of certain albums. The best part here is that you can have your entire playlist on one music player app rather than having multiple music streaming apps to browse all your favorite artists.

So, reminiscing about the old-fashioned way of listening to music, here we have the best music player apps on Android listed for you. A lot of them are free to use, whereas some use a freemium model of service, where these apps contain in-app purchases and advertisements. Pick your choice well per your need and convenience:

List of Top 10 Best Android Music Player Apps

1. Musixmatch

Musixmatch was founded in 2010 in Italy as a lyrics-finder app and is currently the best music player app on Android. Musixmatch gained attention as one of the first Android music player app-cum-lyrics databases. Musixmatch has saved lyrics of multiple songs of different languages (even regionals) on its servers. It also allows users to add lyrics on their own and then sync it with the song as well. The app has added support to music streaming apps where a lyrics panel pop-up on-screen whenever music is streamed on these apps.

Key Features:

One of the best music player apps for Android, Musixmatch player, displays lyrics on-screen. The lyrics are pulled from the databases on the app’s servers and appear on-screen whenever you’re online.
The Android music player app has a feature called Floating Lyrics where a floating panel pops over your phone-screen to display lyrics while the song plays on music streaming apps such as YouTube, Spotify, Alexa-powered Prime Music, and Google Play Music.
The app works on a freemium model. If you purchase the pro version of the app, you can save appearing lyrics offline.
It has a decent equalizer built within the app to allow users to tweak audio playback quality.
Users can manually add lyrics and sync them with the song in the premium version of the app. This amazing music player app has perfectly bifurcated all playlists, albums, and songs.
Users can create lyrics cards within the apps. A new partnership with Instagram now allows users to add Lyrics stickers on Instagram stories.

Pros:

It offers lyrics over the display while you play songs. They lyrics works with online streaming apps as well.

The lyrics database consists of songs of many other languages apart from English.

Allows manually adding and syncing lyrics

Cons:

To view and sync lyrics, one has to have internet connectivity. Offline lyrics can only be saved if users pay for a premium version.

The manually added lyrics are sometimes wrong and not correctly synced.

2. Google Play Music

One of the top Android music player apps, Google Play Music, was always the first choice of music lovers for a very long time. It was considered the best music player app that used to support audio playback for any music that is downloaded on your device. It still does but has also converted itself into a subscription-based streaming app. The good part is that you can always use it as a basic music player app for audio playback.

Key Features:

It is free to use since it comes with Google apps pre-installed in Android phones. However, streaming services are subscription-based.
The music player allows free streaming of radios in some locations that are created based on different music genres. For personalized ad-free music, you need to buy a subscription.
The music player scans your phone for audio files, including voice messages and ringtones and then lists them all in the player.
Users need to create their own playlists for offline music to separate their songs into different lists per their convenience.
This amazing music player app supports multiple audio formats including MP3, AAC, WMA, ALAC, etc.

Pros:

It has a mix of local Android music players and an online music streaming platform.

Supports multiple audio playback formats.

It can be connected to Google Home smart home device as well as Google Android Auto while driving.

Cons:

Free online streaming does not offer a personalized experience.

No embedded lyrics are supported

3. Music Player – MP3 Player & 10 Bands Equalizer

More of a sound booster and amplifier application, Music Player is one of the most popular music player apps for Android. It has a ten-bands equalizer that allows you to make heavy customization in the audio playback you receive while playing a song.

Supporting all music formats, this music player app is dedicated to giving you the highest audio output possible. There are pre-set music tones that you can automatically apply to a song to modify the output accordingly. Besides, it has a perfect theme collection and supports lyrics.

Key Features:

Ten band equalizer allowing modifications in bass output, stereo settings, balance, amplification, and sound virtualization.
With the right headphones, users can tweak settings for surround sound experience.
Trim songs to create ringtones and background notification tones.
Apply presets to add tone and modify the output.
Supports lyrics. It has its own database from where it fetches the lyrics on display.
Have seven themes to apply for UI customization.
Support all audio formats, including MP3, WAV, FLAC, AAC, APE, etc.

Pros:

Have multiple equalizer tools to modify audio playback quality to produce the best output while listening to songs.

Have a feature where you can trim songs to create ringtones.

It also displays lyrics fetched from its own database.

Cons:

Most features are only accessible via the premium version of the app

The 3D surround sound is not highly effective.

4. Musicolet

Musicolet is one of the best music player apps for Android when it comes to offline music players. It supports only local audio files for playback. There is no internet-based service associated with Musicolet;therefore, it can work well without connectivity. It has an easy-to-navigate interface and supports lyrics embedded within the audio file. This absolutely free music player app for Android comes with a built-in equalizer for a better audio experience.

Key Features:

Absolutely free and does not run any kind of advertisement.
Has built-in features to tweak equalizer settings, add home-screen widgets, and enable/disable earphone/lock-buttons controls.
It can be synced with Android Auto to play songs while driving.
It can add up to 20 songs in a single queue of songs. The list can be accessed separately in a different sectionto edit the order of songs in playback.
Song names, album art, and other tags can be edited from within the app. You can also add a timer for the app to shut down after a specific number of songs.
Users can manually write lyrics or fetch .lrc files from their device to display lyrics over a song playback.

Pros:

No ads, works completely offline, and is totally free.

It comes with a built-in equalizer and earphone control support.

Multiple song queues can be formed (maximum 20). Supports Android Auto.

Cons:

Earphone control settings, embedded lyrics settings, and equalizer settings all are to be handled manually.

The tag editor feature sometimes does not function correctly.

Also Read: 7 Essential Apple CarPlay Apps

5. n7player Music Player

If you can spend some bucks on a music player app on Android, then n7Player is the best music player app on Android. It has a 10-band equalizer with support for multiple audio formats. The best part of n7Player is that you can play audio through this music player app on different devices using services like Chromecast.

Besides, it has all the basic features for home screen widgets, volume-button controls, navigation through apps, and surround sound effects (varies device to device).

Key Features:

– Surround Sound support with specific headphones.

Ten-band equalizer supporting music amplification, bass boost, etc., thus providing high-quality audio playback.
Have a third-party add-on that displays lyrics over songs.
Allow music streams across devices using Chromecast.
Supports multiple audio formats including, MP3, MP4, M4A, OGG, WAV, 3GP, MID, XMF, OGG, MKV*, FLAC, and AAC.
This Android music player app is not completely free and is to be purchased after 14 days trial.

Pros:

One of the best music player apps for Android, thanks to its cross-device streaming support.

Fine 10-band equalizer. Built-in presets for auto settings are available

Surround sound support with the right devices and headphones.

Support add-ons to embed auto-fetched lyrics.

Cons:

The apps is not free but have to be purchased after 14 days trial.

The basic music player is just like a basic music player app on Android without any additional features.

All the features listed above comes only with the premium unlocked version of the app.

6. Pi Music Player

Pi Music Player is a combination of floating YouTube and your basic music player app on Android. While the app allows playback for locally downloaded songs (or other audio files), it fetches songs from YouTube in its Discover section that can be played online. These songs pops-up a picture-in-picture floating YouTube widget, which plays over Pi Music Player. Besides, the app has an in-built equalizer to adjust playback quality per type of song.

Key Features:

This open-source music player app allows users to listen to locally downloaded songs which are automatically scanned once you give the app storage permissions.
Pi Music Player has YouTube support. In the Discover section, you can find redirecting links to trending songs. These songs are played on a floating YouTube widget, which can be overlayed on other apps.
The app has an equalizer of its own to tune up your audio playback experience per your interests.
You can create your own Audiobook and list of Podcasts from the locally downloaded files.
The app has a ringtone cutter, wherein you can trim audio files to get ringtones of your choice.

Pros:

The interface themes are attractive and give a colorful, refreshing look to the app.

The ringtone cutter allows making custom ringtones. It’s the best music player app on Android when it comes to that.

Allows making personalized audiobooks and a list of podcasts.

Cons:

The Discover section seems useless as they are just YouTube playlists redirected to the app.

The app is ad-supported. You get 30 app openings ad-free after the first installation, post which ads will appear during app usage.

Also Read: 10 Best Music Player for Windows

7. Phonograph

Phonograph is the most basic music player app for Android users. All you need to do is start the app. The app would automatically scan media once you give it storage permission. The interface is simple, just like our old-school music player apps, which not to mention, were the best Android music player apps once. There are sections you can slide through to access songs via All Songs, Playlists, Artists, Genre, and Albums.

Key Features:

It is a basic music player app with easy navigation and a limited interface and UI.
The songs can be accessed right from the home screen, while albums and playlists can be accessed sliding through the screen.
Phonograph has a Pro version whereby users can compile the app on Github for free. The Pro version has added features such as tag editor, theme engine, etc.

Pros:

Easiest navigation and minimalistic design, just like a basic music player app.

The major design is based on the earlier version of Google Play music.

Completely offline and the size is just 5 MB, making it perfect for locally downloaded playbacks.

Cons:

The additional features are bundled in the Pro version, which is to be purchased separately.

No design customization or equalizer.

8. Vanilla Music

If you’re looking for a great open-source music player app on Android, then Vanilla Music is your best choice. Being an open-source music player app, Vanilla Music is mostly based on the theme and interface from Google Play Music. Besides the interface, the font and navigation also share a significant resemblance with Google Play Music. But it’s totally free, without ads, and has the potential to get more features from global contribution.

Key Features:

Vanilla Music is an open-source music player on Android that is mostly based on Google Play Music.
Full source code is available on GitHub.
Supports folder-based and tag-based navigation of locally downloaded songs.
Supports multiple audio formats such as MP3, OGG, FLAC, PCM.

Pros:

It’s an open-source music player app with the code available on GitHub.

Supports multiple audio formats and is easy to navigate through playlists.

Free and even supported for Android 4.1 KitKat users.

Cons:

Some users of older Android versions may experience bad functionality while navigating, mostly in creating/editing personalized playlists.

No equalizer added yet and neither it supports embedding lyrics.

9. Black Player

If you are fond of the new dark mode revolution, then Black Player is the best music player app on Android for you. The basic theme is black but can be customized by users to add other colors in layers. Besides the player works offline like the others and has added support for Wear OS and Android Auto. Moreover, the app supports LRC files for lyrics and has a five-band equalizer, an amplifier, and sound virtualizer.

Key Features:

The black-themed music player for Android is known for its elegant interface and design, getting it among the best music player apps.
Supports playback on WearOS and Android Auto.
It has a versatile Equalizer and Bass Amplifier for better audio output per the song type.
Supports all audio formats, including MP3, WAV, OGG, FLAC, M4A, etc.

Pros:

The black-themed design is easily navigated and is appealing to the users.

Supports multiple audio formats, embedded lyrics, and has added support for Wear OS and Android Auto.

Built-in tag editor to manage playlists and songs.

Cons:

Is packed with ads. The premium version named Black Player EX has to be purchased.

10. MX Player

MX Player is a video player for Android but supports audio playbacks as well. The audio player on the MX player has to be enabled through the app settings. This Android music player is best for those who like to listen to songs at a high volume using the HW+ decoder. However, there are no additional services such as equalizer, and the songs are organized as they are downloaded in the device, without bifurcation into Albums and Customized Playlists.

Key Features:

The app has a built-in audio player, which once enables, turns MX Player into a music player app.
The HW+ decoder allows users to listen to songs at a higher volume.
The app does not allow Playlist creation and display songs in folders as they are saved on the device.
Unlike videos, you can enable audio playback in the background while you continue to use your phone.

Pros:

High-volume playback on HW+ decoder.

Can play video songs as audio playbacks thus adding songs to your playlist.

Allow background playback of .mp3 files.

Cons:

The app does not support playlist creation. Songs are displayed in folders, or as saved in the device.

No separate equalizer or lyrics support.

Lack of personalized music playback experience makes it a last resort among music player apps for Android.

Downloading Music on Local Storage

Take Note. These applications support locally downloaded music on your device. However, one must ensure that the locally downloaded songs are either purchased or are downloaded from legally approved sources. Downloading copyrighted music is not permitted, and we do not endorse or support such activities. Here’s what you should know about the legality of locally downloaded music:

– Downloading copyrighted songs from torrents is illegal. You must purchase the album from an authorized distributor.

– You can download copyrighted material if it’s made available for free distribution by the artist or the producer, such as on YouTube.

– If you’ve purchased an album on your device through online distribution and then somehow loses it, you are allowed to go ahead and download free alternatives of those albums.

– You can rent music from platforms or borrow it from a friend without facing legal ramifications until the lender has not made a separate copy of it.

FAQs

Which Is The Best Music Player App for Android?

Musixmatch is undoubtedly the best music player app for Android devices. Besides supporting playback for locally downloaded music files, it also supports music streaming platforms to display floating lyrics of the songs played. The lyrics database at Musixmatch consists of thousands of lyrics of many international songs.

The app has a decent equalizer and allows creating personalized lyrics card. Moreover, it is easy to navigate through playlists and also supports the creation of personalized playlists. The app is free to use unless you want to save lyrics offline for which you can buy a subscription.

What Music Player Apps on Android can Play Music in Background?

All the apps that are listed above support background audio playback of any song you play over them. Even MX Player’s audio player supports background playback.

What Apps Can I Download Music on?

While downloading songs within the app is only possible on online music streaming apps, there is one such app on the list which has this feature. Google Play Music is also a music streaming app along with a music player app for Android. However, the user must buy a subscription to access the online streaming library and then download songs within the device storage.

Conclusion

These are the best music player apps for Android. These apps are tried and tested and work perfectly on Android devices. While the most popular apps among these are the ones that are owned and operated by big organizations such as Musixmatch and Google Play Music, some new entries which are open-sourced on GitHub such as Vanilla Music and Black Player are also decent apps that support audio playback and have intuitive navigation.

Have you tried any of these apps on your device? Which one is the best music player app for Android according to you? Hit the comments to tell us your opinions.

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