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Buying Guide: 9 Great iPad Apps For Streaming Music
Streaming music iPad apps come in two varieties: ad-supported free (typically with premium options), or subscription-only. These apps, which are typically based on an existing website, each have their own functions. Some let you stream albums on demand, listen to themed playlists, discover new artists, read lyrics, and more.
Unfortunately, a few streaming music services—AOL Radio (which is now powered by Slacker), Jango Radio, Last.fm, Turntable—lack dedicated tablet versions, but they have iPhone versions that you can run in 2X mode. It's not the most visually appealing solution—a true iPad app would be preferable—but if you want to use one of those services there isn't any other option.
In addition, services such as Shazam and SoundHound let you identify songs by analyzing music structure. They aren't proper streaming music services, but point to true music apps installed on your iPad such as Pandora and Rdio.
The nine streaming music iPad apps in this roundup include both big names in the space as well as lesser known services. Regardless of popularity, these services bring rock, pop, classic, hip hop, funk, and other genres (including comedy, news, and sports talk depending on the app) to Apple's slate, and of course to your ears.
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FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP
Batanga (for iPad)
Free
Like Latin music? Batanga serves up a mix of Spanish and English peaking artists, but some menus are in Spanish on the English language venison of the site. Read the full review ››
MOG (for iPad)
$9.99 per month
MOG, like many other streaming music services, carries millions of tracks in its catalogue, but what makes the service stand out from the pack is its sound: MOG boasts high-quality 320 kbps audio that's more than double that of its rivals (when streaming over Wi-Fi). Read the full review ››
Pandora Radio (for iPad)
Free
Pandora Radio, one of the most recognized names in the streaming music service space, brings its large library and Music Genome Project-powered song recommendation engine to the iPad. The free, ad-supported Pandora Radio (also available as a $36 per year, ad-free Pandora One premium service) competes with other streaming music players including the likes of Slacker Radio and Spotify to win over your ear, but manages to fall short of their class-leading standards by missing some key features.
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Rdio (for iPad)
$14.99 per month
Rdio (pronounced are-dee-oh), since its August 2010 American and Canadian debut, has managed to carve out a niche of its own in the streaming music space for those who prefer discovering new acts through social connections. The company's recently revamped iPad apps brings the service to Apple's slate with a new, panel-driven interface and a catalog that boasts nearly 18 million songs. The $14.99 per month in-app subscription fee is rather pricey, but if you fancy mashing up music and social networking it may be worth the cash.
Read the full review ››
Slacker (for iPad)
Free
Slacker Radio's iPad brings the service's deep customization options, offline caching, on-demand streaming, live ESPN sports talk, and other bells and whistles to music fans. Slacker for iPad also features a bright, beautiful touch-sensitive interface that's more intuitive that the Web version. Read the full review ››
Songza (for iPad)
Free
Songza may not possess on-demand tracks and albums, but this free iPad app specializes in community-curated playlists that will appeal to music die hards who enjoy making mixes. Unfortunately, the Songza app doesn't allow playlists creation or editing—that's reserved for the website. Read the full review ››
Spotify (for iPad)
9.99 per month
Spotify for iPad is an ear- and eye-catching way to enjoy Spotify, the Editors' Choice pick for streaming music players, on your iPad, but it lacks the intuitiveness, flexibility, and depth of its desktop service. There's no free version, but if you're a fan of Spotify's brand of streaming audio, give it a download. Read the full review ››
Stereomood
Free
Stereomood is a streaming music iPad app that lacks many features seen in similar apps (for example, song and artist search), but it may be worth a download if you want to discover new artists. Read the full review ››
TuneIn Radio Pro (for iPad)
$0.99
Radio aficionados who want to expand their listening beyond what's offered by their local radio stations will find a lot to like in the TuneIn Radio Pro. This 99 cent iPad app lets you tune into over 70,000 global AM and FM stations that run the gamut from sports talk to J-pop. Even better, you can record programming to your iPad's storage, dig through archived programs, make music purchases, and connect with Last.fm to further tailor your listening experience there. It's a remarkably ambitious app that, thankfully, manages to execute well on nearly every level.
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