12 Best Places to Listen to Free Music Online

For YouTube Fans: YouTube Music

YouTube Music is a version of normal YouTube dedicated to streaming music videos and songs. It works like the regular website but excludes all the non-music content. Everything is available on demand, so you can play any song you want. It's easy to search for music, create playlists, and subscribe to channels for updates when a new song drops.

You can find playlists for specific genres, decades, activities, or moods. YouTube Music also lets you upload your music to listen from anywhere. The site's home page has personal mixes and handy categories; I've seen Mindful instrumentals, Dance Moods, The Holiday Season, All-time essentials, and International Women's Day.

I like that I can hide the video; it's a great way to listen without distractions. I'm also a huge fan of the lyrics that I can read for some songs — they even show up in line with the music for some tracks. This works from the TV app, too.

This site is especially useful if you use it often. I have found so much new music here because I get recommendations based on my playlists and listening history.

With a paid subscription, you can listen ad-free, offline, and with your screen off (on mobile). There are individual and family plans.

Unlimited, Super Customized Radio: Jango

Jango is another music streaming service that makes it easy to listen to free music online from a computer, smartphone, or tablet. It's advertised as an ad-free, customized radio service.

Beyond the unlimited listening and minimum commercials, what makes this service great is that you can build custom radio stations by simply picking your favorite band or singer. There are also hundreds of pre-made stations you can look through by genre.

One neat feature I enjoy using is the variety setting. While playing from any station, adjust the variety meter to teach the site what it should play for you. There's also an edit button where you can choose other artists to add to the station; Jango will play songs by them and other related artists.

Visit the trending section to jump to the most popular radio stations like Viral Global Hits, Dance Virality, Internet Hits, Indie Life, and The Millennium Bug.

A Mix of New and Old Music: Spotify

Spotify is one of the first apps I reach for when I want to stream music because I like the way it works and that it includes tens of millions of songs.

Once you're set up, search and listen to your favorite music, create playlists, and share music with your friends. You can also access curated playlists. There are plenty of free tools for creating a Spotify playlist online.

Premium plans let you download Spotify music, listen without ads, stream higher-quality audio, play songs on demand, read song lyrics, and skip songs as often as you like. There's one for individuals, families, and students, and all are usually free for the first few months.

The free music through Spotify plays through a web browser, mobile device, or desktop manager that you can download to your computer. Grab the Spotify app, or visit the link below to stream the free music from a browser.

Find Up-and-Coming Artists: SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a long-time favorite of mine that I return to when I want to hear something new. It lets people upload music for free, so it's a great place to find up-and-coming artists.

You can see what's trending on SoundCloud and browse genres like disco, electronic, country, ambient, and more. There's also a search tool, so you can quickly find tracks, bands, and podcasts. Follow artists to stay on top of their new releases, and like tracks and playlists to store music in your personal music collection.

SoundCloud Go+ lets you listen without ads and even offline, plus offers higher-quality audio. You also get access to premium tracks. A free 30-day trial is available, and it's half-off for students. Free SoundCloud mobile apps are also available.

Professional DJ Mixes: Mixcloud

Mixcloud asks you to re-think radio. The music here is put together by DJs and radio presenters from around the world, making for a different listening experience than what you may be used to. Sort these mixes, radio shows, and music podcasts by mood or genre as well as searchable tags.

For example, if I open the classical music show, I can add ambient and chillout tags to get a highly customized station that will play that type of music.

There are Mixcloud apps available for iPhone, iPad, and Android if you want to listen on your phone or tablet. It's also available for Apple TV. You can pay for more features like zero ads, the ability to rewind, and early access to new features.

Create Custom Radio Stations: Pandora

Pandora is a great place to find tracks from your favorite artists, and it's a great place to discover new music. When you search for an artist, genre, or composer, the service creates an online streaming radio station based on what you like.

What I appreciate most about using Pandora is that as I listen to custom stations, I'll hear songs and artists similar to those I've already liked. I can then tell Pandora to play more tracks like what I've listening to or to move in a different direction.

It lets you make dozens of unique custom stations that contain music that you love. But if you're not even sure where to start, I recommend the Top Stations and Genres page.

Premium and Plus are the ad-free, paid versions of Pandora that include features like a desktop program, higher audio quality, offline listening, and more. You can also get the family plan for six people. There may be discounts if you're a student or in the military.

See everywhere you can stream Pandora for links to app downloads.

Listen to Live Radio From Around the World: TuneIn

TuneIn is probably the best place to listen to live radio stations over the internet. It's possible to find local stations in your area, but you can also search over 100,000 stations from around the world.

Sort radio stations by genre to find anything from rock, ambient, and religious music to sports stations, business news, and travel podcasts. I like to look through the trending radio stations to see what other users are listening to.

TuneIn works from a web browser or desktop program on a computer and through mobile apps. Your favorite stations can be stored in your account to have access from all your devices. For more features like fewer ads, you can try TuneIn Premium for 30 days.

Stream Music Ad-Free Every Day: AccuRadio

AccuRadio is like other online radio services on this list. Browse for a station by genre, or have them pick a random one if you're not sure what you want to listen to. You can also view the most popular music for inspiration. There are a handful of mobile apps so that you can listen on multiple devices.

Sign up for a free user account to hear fewer commercials, customize your channel to suit your tastes, and save channels as favorites. You can also "ban" an artist or song to stop hearing that music.

I love that, on certain days, you can listen with zero commercials without a paid account! This is awesome, and very different from most of the music sites I've used.

Some of the interesting genres available here include beautiful music, Canadian, love songs, opera, movie & TV music, and Nordic folk songs. If you make a free account, you can even blend channels for a unique mix.

Live Local Radio: iHeartRadio

iHeartRadio combines live radio and custom music streaming into one awesome website and app. You can listen to live radio stations on iHeartRadio by selecting the city and genre that you like, and it displays the stations that match your search criteria. You can also build custom stations around the songs and artists you like.

I've had a good time using the iHeartRadio mobile app because it supports a sleep timer and has an alarm to automatically play my favorite stations in the morning.

To play specific songs, replay music from the radio, listen offline, build an unlimited number of playlists, and skip more songs, you have to pay for Plus or All Access.

A Different Way to Find YouTube Music: Freefy

Freefy is another free music streaming service you can use without making a user account. What makes this website different from the others is that it plays audio from YouTube, so it's similar to YouTube Music, detailed above, but it provides some different ways to find stuff to listen to.

For example, you can use Freefy to search through your recently played songs. YouTube provides a list, but it's not searchable. Freefy can also play all the items in your listening history.

Like YouTube Music, this service separates music by new releases and what's popular right now. There are also featured playlists and genres. Another thing I like is the playlists, which I can make public and even open up for collaboration if I want someone else to help me build a collection of songs.

The mobile app works on Android and iOS.

No-Commercial Radio: LITT Live

LITT Live (formerly Dash Radio) is another internet radio website where you can stream free music. I like it because there aren't commercials, there's a link to read lyrics, and you can browse for songs by decade.

Some of the other genres include jazz, classical, world, hip-hop, pop, Latin, and country.

Apps are available on dozens of platforms, including Android and iOS.