The best player for Android - TOP 12 players for Android

Every Android smartphone has built-in applications for listening to music, but they usually have poor functionality and the same interface. Therefore, many users are looking for alternative options. Downloading a free player is quite simple - there are hundreds of them on the market, but just two simple requirements for the application - user-friendly design and good sound - significantly narrow the selection.

Nevertheless, we coped with the search task. Take a look at the rating, which contains the best music players for Android. Below are the top 7 applications for lovers of high-quality sound.

Poweramp

According to users, Poweramp is the best music player for Android. Does not contain advertising, downloads for free, but works for 14 days in trial mode. Afterwards you need to buy a permanent license at a price of 4 USD.

The player plays popular music file formats, including: alac, flac, ogg, tta, ape, aiff, etc. Supports cue markup file. Allows you to adjust high and low frequencies. It also contains a fully customizable 10-band equalizer and 16 presets.

The application can only play music from the memory of a mobile device. Therefore, listening to songs from the local network, cloud or radio is not available by default. Only if you mount the folder to the file system.

The player window contains buttons to quickly navigate to folders, controls, and songs in the folder being played. There are buttons for repeat, shuffle, rating, as well as standard tools: pause/play, move to another song and folder.

The drop-down list contains preset selection, search, viewing words and tags, sleep timer and settings. It is worth noting that this audio player is rich in adjusting the parameters of covers, sound and music library. There are settings for headset/wireless headphones and lock screen. It supports changing the graphical interface due to downloadable shells, as well as customizable widgets.

Impression

The Poweramp application justifiably takes a leading position among music players. The player allows you to comfortably listen to music in most known formats, customize sound effects, design, lock screen and other parameters. General shortcomings are not significant.

Phonograph

The owner of a simple, but at the same time interesting interface design in the so-called “material” design. If desired, the theme, like the color, can be changed. Supports most music file formats.

What else is different about “Phonograph”:

Through the equalizer, you can customize the channels yourself or select preset presets, for example, classic or pop.
There is a separate slider to enhance the bass.
If you connect headphones, the surround sound slider becomes available.
Provides integration with the Last.fm service and support for scrobbling.
You can listen to tracks along with the lyrics on the screen.

Listening to music without problems is exactly what Phonograph is about.

Article to help: Speakers are noisy, hissing, making noise: 4 causes of the problem and effective solutions

Musixmatch

The application positions itself more as the largest database of song lyrics, where translation and editing by users is available. Musixmatch also allows you to synchronize texts in other players and services: Youtube, Poweramp, Spotify, SoundCloud, etc. It is downloaded for free, but there are restrictions in the form of advertising and saving texts for viewing without the Internet. The cost of a monthly license is approximately 1.6 USD, for a year it is temporarily 11.6 USD. The license must be updated regularly.

The number of understandable formats is significantly inferior to Poweramp. Therefore, listening to music in flac or a more exotic extension will not work. There are no problems with mp3 and aac. The built-in 5-band equalizer includes 10 presets, and also supports saving user settings. Bass boost and 3D effect controls are available.

The initial audio player window is divided into tabs, where songs are sorted by: albums, genres, artists, folders, songs and playlists. Unnecessary categories are disabled in the settings; creating your own category is not provided. In the hidden side window, useful features worth noting include the function of determining the composition and FloatingLyrics – displaying texts in other applications.

Settings are limited to headset and FloatingLyrics settings. There is also a “black list” item to exclude scanning of folders with short signals: notifications, ringtones and alarm clocks.

The player screen allows you to display 2 options for displaying the words of the song. Contains repeat and shuffle buttons, as well as buttons: pause/play and song switching. There is an option for LyricsCard - creating your own cover. Editing song mixing and sleep timer.

Interface of the Musicmatch application.

Impression

The Musixmatch player will allow you to find out the content of songs and sing with your favorite artist. At the same time, the inconvenient display of text will require some time to adapt and get used to. In addition, the banner to purchase a license is too intrusive and wildly annoying. Sometimes you have to close an advertising offer 2-3 times per minute. In addition, the purchased license is required to be renewed annually, which is comparable in cost to 11 copies of Poweramp. And thanks to the defective equalizer and limited support for formats, the player is not suitable for music lovers.

Pandora

Price: Free/up to $9.99 per month

Pandora is kind of a helper for such a list. It's available in most infotainment centers in vehicles anyway, and it would honestly be wrong if it didn't come with Android Auto support. You all know how Pandora works. You turn on the radio station, listen to music, skip the occasional song, hear an occasional ad, and move on with your life. There's a premium option for $9.99 per month, which adds on-demand music selection, more powerful playlists, unlimited skips on classic radio stations, and higher audio quality. It's a solid option in the music streaming space, but we're not sure it'll usurp the industry's best like Spotify.

AIMP

Free music player with no ads and no need to purchase a license. Works on the Android platform from version 4.0 and higher.

The AIMP audio player claims to support 23 music formats, including flac. A convenient 10-band equalizer is available. 17 settings have been prepared, and the creation and saving of custom settings is also supported; broadcast music from the network. There are no other sound changing effects.

The music player window displays the cover art, the track number being played, and the total number of songs. Repeat and shuffle buttons; pause/play, forward and backward, rewind slider.

Playback of the music library is implemented through playlists. Therefore, you need to manually add an album, folder, or multiple folders. For convenience, switching playlists is implemented using left-right gestures.

A hidden window on the left allows you to go to the equalizer, set the sleep timer; select playlist, bookmarks, queue and settings. Among the settings, it is worth noting the choice of settings for the headset button, changing covers and entering proxy server parameters.

AIMP application interface.

Impression

In terms of musical capabilities and reading formats, AIMP is not much inferior to Poweramp, and in some places it is on par. But there is a noticeable gap in the number of settings and functions. At the same time, AIMP allows you to play music from the network using built-in tools, which Poweramp cannot do. And the development of playlists seems better. AIMP player is also completely free and does not contain advertising.

foobar2000 - famous music player

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.foobar2000.foobar2000

foobar2000 is an advanced audio player for Android devices. In fact, the PC version of this music player is quite famous a few years ago. It is designed with simple features but offers high quality audio playback. It can play a wide range of audio formats such as MP3, MP4, AAC, Vorbis, Opus, FLAC, WavPack, WAV, AIFF, Musepack.

This music player allows you to stream music from UPnP servers to your Android phone. It can also work as a powerful standalone music player. It supports Full ReplayGain playback and scanning.

PlayerPro

The music player is paid, the price is 3.81 USD. A free trial version with a 15-day trial period and advertising is also available. Some features are only available in the full version of the program.

PlayerPro audio player plays most music formats. A 5-band equalizer is available, upgradable to ten bands. Select one of 24 equalizer presets, as well as create and save your own presets. There are 6 reverb presets - the effect of playing in a room, studio or hall, with a corresponding echo signal. Two bass and volume controls.

The player window contains standard controls, including buttons for going to playlists, repeating and shuffling songs. There is a volume control and a rating panel. General action buttons: add to playlist, share and lyrics. Context menu with additional options. There is also a sleep timer. And for convenient sorting of songs, the main page has a navigation panel with search and user favorites.

The application contains a lot of parameters and settings, which allows you to customize the player to suit any preferences. It is worth noting support for changing graphic design, customizing the lock screen, wired and wireless headsets. Also sound installations, including downloading the DSP package.

Interface of the "PlayerPro" application.

Impression

Aside from the awkward navigation, PlayerPro is quite usable. The application contains free modules, including a DSP package and a 10-band equalizer, and also supports changing the graphical interface. At the same time, you should think about purchasing a license, since the basic version is available for only 15 days.

jetAudio

The player runs on Android firmware 2.3.3 and higher. The basic version of jetAudio player is free, but contains intrusive advertising and paid add-ons costing 0.95-2.86 USD. The advanced version includes some additional features and costs 3.81 USD. There are no advertisements, but there are add-ons similar to those in the basic version, at the same price. It is worth noting that add-ons for each version are purchased separately. Therefore, purchased add-ons in the free version are not suitable for the paid program.

The player plays a lot of music formats, including flac, APE, TTA, etc. Contains a 10-band equalizer (20-band in the extended version) and 37 presets. Allows you to customize sound effects using jetAudio, through the AM3D sound amplifier, Bonjiovi DSP, Crystalizer, as well as view selected effects in one window. In this case, the duration of the effects is limited to 30 seconds, after which they turn off and offer to purchase the add-on.

The screen with the player contains the usual controls, as well as some settings for quick access: sleep timer; detailed information about the track, including search on YouTube; regulators, etc. For additional navigation and search for songs, there is a corresponding panel on the main page of the player.

The number of customizable parameters in the application is no less than the number of sound effects. The user can change the display of music, the player interface, the lock screen and music playback. In addition, there are installations for smartphones with an integrated DAC.

Interface of the "jetAudio" application.

Impression

In terms of greed, the developers of jetAudio have surpassed the Chinese. The basic version is limited in capabilities, which does not allow you to fully appreciate the benefits of the application. In addition, advertising and an intrusive offer to buy the full version of the program are annoying. Also, purchased add-ons in the basic player are not suitable for the extended version. On the other hand, such a number of settings and sound effects have not yet been collected in any player.

BlackPlayer

Simple, not overloaded and at the same time functional player BlackPlayer. It is free to download, but contains some restrictions. The cost of the full version is 0.3 USD. Minimum requirements for installing Android 4.1 and higher.

The player supports basic formats: mp3, wav and ogg. Includes a 5-band equalizer, 10 presets, a bass booster and a 3D virtualizer.

The audio player window contains standard control buttons, a rewind slider, repeat and shuffle buttons. You can also view song lyrics, download and change covers.

In the settings, the user has access to extensive options for changing the design and transition effects. Changes in themes and background of the player window, interface, audio. Supports assignment and control of headset buttons and lock screen.

Interface of the BlackPlayer application.

Impression

The BlackPlayer player is not overloaded and offers comfortable navigation. Contains useful functions and settings. And the RAM consumption is 2 times less than in PlayerPro and jetAudio. On the other hand, Poweramp and AIMP are still far away.

Results

Many players have been released for Android, but only a few of them are worthy. Our rating lists 15 players that differ in their design and functionality. The choice is up to the user. Someone needs maximum minimalism and a minimum of functions - in this case, Retro Music Player or BlackPlayer, which are not overloaded with design or unnecessary technologies, is suitable. Real music lovers need more serious players like Poweramp or Neutron Music Player. The lack of features is not necessarily a drawback for the player, because not everyone needs them. In the same way, not everyone needs to use technology - with simple headphones or speakers the changes are almost unnoticeable, but the phone is loaded. Accordingly, the main criterion when choosing a player is the user’s needs.

Video - Choosing the best player on Android

HikiPlayer

Music player with a minimal set of features and file navigation. The player is free to download and contains no advertising. There is a restriction on downloading covers from the Internet. To unlock you need to pay 1.12 USD. Declared support for Android 2.1 and higher.

The player supports popular music formats, including CUE markup files. There is a 5-band equalizer, 10 presets, a bass booster and a virtualizer. You can also view song lyrics.

When you first start it, you need to add music to the playlist. If multiple folders are added, the songs will be displayed separately. For a better understanding, it is rational to load covers into folders, otherwise empty space will appear in the player.

The application allows you to control music from a playlist, widgets on the desktop or from the status bar. In the first case, you can activate shuffle, repeat the song, set a sleep timer or adjust the equalizer.

Settings allow you to set your preferred appearance by editing the color scheme: buttons, slider, background, text, etc. Select fade in sound and skip short files.

Interface of the HikiPlayer application.

Impression

HikiPlayer is a simple player that is not overloaded with unnecessary functions, free and without advertising. Due to low RAM consumption, it is suitable for low-power devices. At the same time, adding songs to a playlist is inconveniently implemented. And without covers, it becomes difficult to understand which folders and songs are available in the playlist.

Shuttle

It has an intuitive and pleasant interface. In this musical “Shuttle” everything is distributed into the appropriate sections: albums, songs, etc. Provides powerful playback of tracks in almost any format, including standard mp3.

Why Shuttle found a place in the top music players for Android:

Tracks can be added to the playlist in the desired order, which is convenient, for example, during training, when you need to gradually increase the rhythm.
Supports not only audio, but also text information (lyrics of songs).
Covers for compositions are automatically added; there is no need to install them manually.
There is a 6-band equalizer for fine-tuning the sound.
There is a scrobbler that studies the user’s musical preferences and compiles an individual selection of hits.

“Shuttle” can be installed on smart phones and tablets running Android (for example, MediaPad T5 AGS2-L09 10″).

Music Player

The player is downloaded for free, but contains aggressive advertising in the form of recommendations, banners and full-screen ads. To disable, you need to pay a one-time fee of 3.75 USD for the PRO version. Installation requires Android 4.0.3 or higher. RAM consumption – 246 MB.

The music player plays popular file formats. Contains a 5-band equalizer, 8 presets, bass boost, virtualizer and reverb with 6 presets.

Music in the player is sorted into categories: albums, artists, genres and folders. You can play all songs or create playlists. When playing songs, a panel with the title, pause button and switch to the next track is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

In the hidden panel on the left you can change graphics, equalizer, sleep timer and music scanning button. There are also settings and a switch for a floating window with the display of song lyrics. Customizing the design involves choosing a picture and button color, or setting a white background and button color.

The player window contains standard controls and cover art. You can set a rating, add to a playlist and adjust the equalizer.

The settings offer to set the switching of songs by shaking, navigation with the headset button and automatic pause when the headphones are disconnected.

Interface of the Music Player application.

Impression

The Music Player application offers good options for changing the design and grouping songs. At the same time, optimization and abundance of advertising are in the best Chinese traditions. RAM consumption is 5-8 times higher than normal, advertisements are crammed everywhere, and the developer asks 3.75 USD to disable advertising. What a meager 5-band equalizer, clumsy translation and high RAM consumption - a lot. Not recommended for use on low-power devices.

TOP 15 best players for Android

Photo	Name	Rating	Price
#1		Poweramp	⭐ 5 / 5 5 — votes	Find out more
#2		Neutron Music Player	⭐ 4.95 / 5	Find out more
#3		AIMP	⭐ 4.9 / 5 2 - votes	Find out more
#4		jetAudio	⭐ 4.85 / 5 1 - voice	Find out more
#5		MX Audio	⭐ 4.8 / 5	Find out more
#6		Solo Music	⭐ 4.75 / 5 2 - votes	Find out more
#7		Pixel Music Player	⭐ 4.7 / 5	Find out more
#8		Media Monkey	⭐ 4.65 / 5 1 - voice	Find out more
#9		PlayerPro Music Player	⭐ 4.6 / 5 1 - voice	Find out more
#10	Retro Music Player	⭐ 4.55 / 5	Find out more
#11	ONKYO HF Player	⭐ 4.5 / 5	Find out more
#12	Foobar2000	⭐ 4.45 / 5 1 - voice	Find out more
#13	BlackPlayer	⭐ 4.4 / 5	Find out more
#14		Mezzo	⭐ 4.35 / 5	Find out more
#15		Eon Player	⭐ 4.3 / 5	Find out more

Which player for Android would you choose or recommend?

Take the survey

MP3 player

The application combines a music player and an MP3 song cutter for calls. Contains non-disabled advertising. Works on devices with Android 2.3.3 or higher. RAM usage – 152 MB.

The player plays the most common music compositions: MP3 AAC, AIFF, etc. Includes a 5-band equalizer and 10 presets. There are also controls for enhancing bass, volume and balance.

The initial screen is the player window. The user has access to a standard set of switches, search, adding to favorites and an equalizer. Going to the library allows you to listen to specific songs, sorted by tabs: album, recent, folders, genre, etc.

Color scheme settings, queue, playlist, sleep timer, etc. are hidden in the drop-down list of the player window. It also contains a melody cutter, which only allows you to set the start and end times of the cut song.

There are no useful settings. The only thing worth noting is the color scheme settings.

Interface of the "Mp3 player" application.

Impression

The “Mp3 player” player is interesting due to its melody cutter, composition grouping and color scheme settings. The application has not received updates for a year, contains advertising that cannot be turned off, and the translation is a set of random phrases that are difficult to understand. The player is not suitable for constant use.

Why aren't all apps compatible?

The answer is simple. Not all software developers have decided to turn to this feature that Google launched for cars. Additionally, before Android Auto 2.0, we could only find a few compatible third-party apps. Although time has passed and the trend towards this software has continued, various developers have already started showing more interest in developing applications directly for Android Auto .

Additionally, one of the main points, compatible or not, is that it does not jeopardize people's driving , meaning it is not distracting. For this reason, there are no compatible apps with which you can watch videos while driving, and we won't see video game software compatible with this feature for cars. For this reason, apps that want to be compatible with Android Auto must be aware of the safety measures set by different countries for road driving. Therefore, these aspects should not only be worked on by developers, but they should comply with the requirements and restrictions set by Google.

Rocket

The Rocket music player is free to download from the app store, but comes with some limitations. The premium version costs 2.8 USD. To use cloud backup of playlists, you need to subscribe to an annual subscription for 3.17 USD. RAM consumption – 162 MB. The program runs on Android 4.1 and higher.

Rocket player plays all formats supported by the Android OS, but this requires a premium version of the application. You can use M3U, M3U8, PLB playlists. There is a customizable 5-band equalizer and 9 presets.

When you first launch the application, it scans your memory for music tracks. This is useful for automatically updating the database after new songs become available. If unnecessary, the parameter can be disabled in the settings. Music is grouped: by songs, artists, albums, playlists and folders. Sorting and mixing functions are also available.

The player window is standard. Cover art, rating, slider and playing time are displayed. Along with the usual controls, shuffle and repeat buttons are available.

The player settings allow you to set sound parameters and the assignment of headset buttons. Moreover, automatic equalizer settings are available for wired and wireless headphones. You can also customize the display of covers and tabs, choose one of 33 design themes.

Rocket application interface.

Impression

In its basic version, the Rocket player is not the best choice for regular music listening. Some functions are unavailable, advertising is annoying, and the 5-band equalizer is not enough for a pleasant sound. In addition, RAM consumption is 168 MB, which is a lot for devices with 2 GB of RAM.

Pulsar

An excellent choice for offline listening to tracks. Pulsar allows you to do this without annoying advertising.

Why this player is worthy of attention:

Everything is neatly systematized - albums, artists, tracks, folders, so finding the desired composition will not be difficult.
Convenient playback of tracks - the functionality is reminiscent of the native player in Android smart phones (pause/continue, rewind, mix, etc.).
An equalizer for demanding music lovers - you can, for example, change the sound frequency or turn up the bass.
There are several multi-colored themes in the settings - you can choose the visual component when playing music.
Sleep Timer - Simply enter how many minutes to stop playing after and the player will turn off automatically.

All basic features are free. But to open the equalizer, you need to purchase the Pro version.

For sports and active people: Choosing a player for sports - 4 main criteria

just LISTENit

Free music player just LISTENit with declared support for devices running Android 2.3 and higher. There is non-disabled advertising. RAM consumption ranges from 66-179 MB.

The player allows you to listen to local and streaming music compositions. For the latter, there is a separate tab with a selection of the most popular and relevant songs. Popular file formats are supported, including FLAC and OGG. There is a 5-band equalizer with reverb and 22 presets, bass boost and virtualizer.

With the first launch, the player scans the memory for the presence of music. The settings also set an exception for songs less than 60 seconds long. It is worth noting that you cannot disable forced scanning. Therefore, every opening of a program or switching from another application is accompanied by a memory scan.

The initial window of the just LISTENit player offers to listen to “all songs,” favorites or recent ones. Also create a playlist. The hidden window on the left contains an equalizer, sleep timer, settings, night mode and change of design. For the latter, there is a choice of auxiliary palettes to suit every taste.

In addition to general playback, music is grouped by artist, album, and folder. Several sorting methods are available. The player displays cover art and standard controls, including a rewind slider. You can also adjust the equalizer parameters and add buttons: to favorites, folder or playlist. A widget with toggle and pause/play buttons is also displayed in the status bar.

The player has no settings as such.

Application interface "just LISTENit".

Impression

just LISTENit is a nice music player with normal ergonomics. The impression is spoiled only by the high RAM consumption - 160 MB, minor flaws with scanning and localization, as well as the presence of only a 5-band equalizer.

Spotify

Price: free

Spotify is the world's most popular music streaming service. In some cases there is a reason for this. A good example is that Spotify is usually one of the first music streaming apps to support new technologies like Android Auto. You all know what Spotify does. You can stream millions of songs, listen to your playlists, listen to music on demand, and take advantage of Spotify's unmatched discovery features. Android Auto support is excellent and we had no issues getting stuck in the car. You can use it for free (with ads) or for $9.99 per month without ads or additional features.

NRG Player

The initial version of the NRG Player application is downloaded for free. To disable advertising, you need to pay an additional 1.85 USD. For a version without advertising, but with extended functionality - 0.85 USD monthly. Subscription can be canceled at any time. The player runs on Android 4.0 and higher. RAM consumption – 63-75 MB.

The player supports the main types of formats, including lossless - FLAC, ALAC, APE, etc. There is a 10-band equalizer and the same number of initial blanks. Additional effects include: amplification of sound, low and high frequencies; reverb and compressor.

The music library allows you to listen to songs: by folders, tracks, albums, artists and genres. There are also buttons to shuffle tracks and add to a playlist.

The player window has standard large navigation buttons. Choice of assessment available; Go to the music library, equalizer and playlists. There is also a small widget in the status bar for quickly switching songs.

Settings allows you to set the necessary options for your headset and lock screen. Customize the color scheme or download themes, select a folder with music.

Interface of the NRG Player application.

Impression

NRG Player consumes less RAM than the other two competitors, but this figure is 2 times higher in comparison with the same Poweramp and AIMP. Thanks to the 10-band equalizer, pleasant sound quality is achieved, which is another plus in the overall collection. Therefore, if you are willing to turn a blind eye to the inconvenient interface and advertising, then the player is worth trying.

Voting for the best player for Android

Which player for Android would you choose or recommend?

Poweramp

38.46 % ( 5 )

Neutron Music Player

0.00 % ( 0 )

AIMP

15.38 % ( 2 )

jetAudio

7.69 % ( 1 )

MX Audio

0.00 % ( 0 )

Solo Music

15.38 % ( 2 )

Pixel Music Player

0.00 % ( 0 )

Media Monkey

7.69 % ( 1 )

PlayerPro Music Player

7.69 % ( 1 )

Retro Music Player

0.00 % ( 0 )

ONKYO HF Player

0.00 % ( 0 )

Foobar2000

7.69 % ( 1 )

BlackPlayer

0.00 % ( 0 )

Mezzo

0.00 % ( 0 )

HiBy Music

The player supports lossles and lossy formats, as well as music playback via a USB DAC, provided the Android system version is 7.0+.

Features and system requirements

Required Android version: 4.4+.
Installation space required: 67 MB.
RAM consumption: 336 MB.
Advertising/in-app purchases: yes/no.
Supported audio formats: DSD (DSF, DFF, DST), ISO, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, M4A, AAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis. CUE sheets.
Additional features: 10-band customizable equalizer, sorting and grouping of music tracks, import via Wi-Fi, automatic music search.

The player's home page contains buttons for quick access to the music library, playlists, streaming music to other devices, and search. The developers offer customizable categories for displaying songs for quick sorting and searching by tags: name, album, artist, genre, etc. And at the bottom of the screen there is a compact panel with playback of the current song.

Broadcasting music from a smartphone to external audio systems is implemented using the built-in HiByLink utility. Just activate the function and pair via Bluetooth. HiByLink will be useful for owners of portable speakers and home audio systems.

Useful parameters are located in the hidden panel on the left:

Import via Wi-Fi . Wirelessly copy music and other files from a PC, provided that the computer and smartphone are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Search for music . Automatic search for music on the device and in the folder with the ability to exclude short songs.
Equalizer . Customizable 10-band equalizer. 9 initial presets and customization of your own parameters are available.
MSEB . Additional adjustment of sound parameters: bass boost, stereo, etc. Saving and restoring settings is supported.
Plugin . Choice of four plugins.
Play at scheduled time . Automatically turns on music in the interval of 1-120 minutes.

The settings contain playback options via USB DAC, selection of sampling frequency, transitions between songs, etc. Automatic pause setting is supported when the wired headset is disconnected.

Impression

HiBy Music pleased us with its pleasant sound, easy navigation and a sufficient number of settings, which in total allows the player to rank after PowerAMP and AIMP, as well as compete with BlackPlayer. However, HiBy Music has some shortcomings. In particular, consumption of more than 300 MB of RAM or up to 3 times compared to PowerAMP and AIMP. Fortunately, the developers regularly update the application, so we can only hope that errors will be corrected in the future.