Andy Walker / Android Authority
YouTube Music always feels like that niche music streaming service that only the nerd in your friend group is using. I am that nerd in my group, by the way. I’m a fan of YouTube Music purely because of its vast library — and I’m not talking about the official 100 million or so songs it hosts. I mean the billions of unnamed, unknown, obscure music videos with 5,000 views that I can slip into my YouTube Music playlists. Not gonna lie, it’s a huge flex for me that I discovered such little-known underground tracks from decades ago.
But while I’m raving about YouTube Music, others are happily vibing on Apple Music or Spotify, and for good reason. My love for YTM doesn’t mean I think it’s flawless. It has A LOT of room for improvement, and I guess Google could learn a thing or two — or six — from Spotify and gift them to me as a Christmas present <3
What’s the #1 reason you’d switch from YouTube Music to Spotify? 96 votes Sound quality 36 % App ecosystem 22 % Design/UI 30 % Sharing & social 11 %
Lossless music
You win a grand total of zero points for guessing this one. I know you saw it coming from a mile away, but it’s important, so let’s get it out of the way. Spotify kept us waiting for lossless audio for half a decade. There were endless rumors about it launching as a separate tier. But when Spotify finally rolled it out recently — albeit in just a few countries — it bundled it in the same Premium plan.
YouTube Music, meanwhile, is still among the handful of big streaming services that don’t offer lossless. Yes, it’s a more advanced feature that requires an external DAC and proper wired headphones that support the higher audio quality (no, your handy Bluetooth earbuds won’t cut it). But considering YTM’s ever-increasing Premium prices, you at least deserve the option to use it when you have the setup in place.
Real apps across platforms
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Sure, YouTube Music has Android and iPhone apps. But what about everything else? You can get away with Google Keep being web-only, but why force the same limitation on a service that absolutely needs offline access? Offline playlists become particularly crucial when the network drops: flights, country roads, underground stations.
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