With Amazon Music, you don’t need to break the bank for good music.
Despite the stereotype, not all audiophiles have the budget to splurge on just about anything. That’s why having a music streaming platform that offers the best value for money is a godsend.
Here’s why I think Amazon Music is the best choice for this:
1. Generous Free Trial
First off, if you don’t mind a few ads, you can use Amazon Music completely free. But if you prefer an ad-free experience, Amazon Music offers a 30-day trial period so you can try out all the perks without any commitment.
Now, here’s a pro tip: new subscribers can actually extend that trial to a full 90 days.
And if you’re a student, you’re in for an even sweeter deal.
Amazon Music offers a six-month free trial of Amazon Prime Student, which is the longest free trial that Amazon currently offers.
2. Budget-Friendly Subscription Options
Amazon Music offers A LOT of subscription options to fit different budgets and needs.
If you’re already a Prime member, you get access to Amazon Music at no extra cost. That means you can listen to 100 million tracks and top podcasts without any ads or skip limits, all included in your regular Prime subscription.
The only catch is that you can only download songs from select ‘All Access playlists’ and listen in lossy formats up to 320 kbps. But honestly, that’s not too shabby considering it’s the same max audio quality as Spotify.
Of course, if you want the full Amazon Music Unlimited experience, Prime members can get it for just $9.99.
Non-members, on the other hand, can still get Amazon Music Unlimited for $10.99 or choose from these special plans:
- Family plan for up to 6 people: $16.99 per month
- Students: $5.99 per month
- Single Device plan: $5.99 per month
3. Additional Prime Benefits
Amazon Prime members not only get access to Amazon Music but also enjoy a host of other benefits.
These include:
- Fast, free delivery on over 300 million items.
- Prime Video with exclusive X-Ray access for behind-the-scenes content.
- Prime Reading for thousands of books, magazines, and audiobooks.
- Prime Gaming for free games and in-game content.
Prime members can also save on prescriptions as they can get medications for as low as $1 per month from Amazon Pharmacy. And, enjoy benefits like Amazon Day where you can choose a designated day for weekly deliveries.
These perks change from time to time depending on Amazon’s partners. For example, users can currently also get a free one-year Grubhub+ membership for unlimited $0 delivery fees on orders over $12.
The best part is, it’s only $14.99.
4. High-Quality Audio at No Extra Cost
For audiophiles, Amazon Music provides high-resolution audio at no additional cost.
It offers five audio quality settings:
- Best Available: Dependent on your network connection.
- Data Saver: 24-96 kbps
- Standard: 320 kbps
- HD: 16-bit, 44.1 kHz
- Ultra HD: 24-bit, 192 kHz
This is right on par with the audio quality you get from popular audiophile choices like Tidal and Qobuz.
Speaking of Tidal, they actually followed in Amazon Music’s footsteps recently and stopped charging extra for their HiFi Plus plans. Meanwhile, word on the street is that Spotify is still planning to make HiFi an add-on that you have to pay extra for.
Aside from that, Amazon Music also supports Dolby Atmos and Sony 360RA, which deliver an immersive 3D audio experience if you have compatible devices. That really makes it different from other services that only offer standard-definition streaming (*cough* Spotify and YouTube Music *cough*).
5. Extensive Library
At last count, Amazon Music had a library of over 100 million songs, which puts it right up there with Spotify, Tidal, and Apple Music.
But it’s not just about the size of the library – it’s also about the diversity.
Amazon Music has a huge range of genres and even includes harder-to-find stuff like video game soundtracks and fan covers.
You’ll also find a great selection of podcasts and music videos on Amazon Music, all organized by genre and iconic artist categories like Classic Hip-Hop and ’90s Pop Throwbacks. Plus, you can check out behind-the-scenes footage, live performances, and Twitch livestreams.
Now, I’ll admit that Amazon’s podcast selection might not be quite as extensive as Spotify’s. But overall, the sheer variety of content available makes Amazon Music a really comprehensive streaming platform no matter what your tastes are.
6. User-Friendly Interface
Amazon Music’s interface is simple and easy to use.
Sure, the web browser isn’t something I’d use nor recommend. But, both the desktop and mobile apps have a clean, minimal design that’s less cluttered than some of the competitors.
The navigation bar is straightforward and makes it easy to quickly jump to different sections, so you can find and play your favorite music without any fuss. Thanks to the simple menus and filters, managing your music library, creating playlists, buying songs, and downloading them are all intuitive, too.
Personally, I found Amazon Music very easy to use right from the start, with practically no learning curve.
7. Tight Integration With Amazon Devices
To make this user experience even better, Amazon Music also works seamlessly with Amazon devices.
Alexa’s voice-control technology is seriously impressive – way better than anything I’ve seen from other platforms.
You can tell your Echo to play any song and it’ll do it without a hitch. You can also search for songs by lyrics, queue up your playlists, and even ask Alexa to play music that matches your mood.
Plus, with Alexa-enabled smart devices, you get access to behind-the-scenes commentary and these things called ‘Side-by-Sides’ where the artists give you more context on their songs and albums.
If you’re already using Amazon devices, this deep integration with the Amazon ecosystem makes Amazon Music a really appealing choice.