The best free music downloading apps for Android

The Android app store is flooded with content. Millions of apps are sitting there for your consideration, all making wild promises. When it comes to choosing which free music apps to download, it’s particularly brutal.

There are countless apps vowing to let you listen to anything you want without signing a contract or paying a dime. Most of these claims are incredibly sketchy, but there are a handful of apps out there that let you listen to and download seemingly endless amounts of music for free.

Here are a few music apps for Android that you should seriously consider.

The best free music download apps for Android

1) 4Shared

4Shared isn’t an exact science, but if you’re willing to put in some effort, it can be a powerful search tool for music fans. Users upload their libraries to the massive 4Shared database, which allows others to browse through whatever is shared. Search by upload time, size, file type, or name, basically trying your luck with whatever you hope to find. 4Shared gives each user 15GB of storage to use, there’s plenty of content to sift through. Just don’t expect any Spotify-like optimization.

2) Soundcloud

Offering up 135 million tracks, SoundCloud has one of the largest music libraries online, as long as you’re looking to discover new artists. While there are plenty of major label tracks available, if you’re looking to download free songs, your best bet on SoundCloud is with its deep library of independent artists. From hip-hop and EDM to jazz and podcasts, SoundCloud offers an almost bottomless well of music to discover.

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3) SuperCloud Song MP3 Downloader

Of all the apps included on this list, SuperCloud Song MP3 Downloader is the biggest gray area. You can’t download it from the official Google Play store, and given the selection that it offers, its legality is questionable to say the least. However, if you want an absurd selection of music that you can quickly download on your Android device, SuperCloud Song MP3 Downloader is your match. All you have to do to download or stream tracks is find them using the search bar. The service doesn’t offer playlists or other standard functions of music apps. It simply puts the music in your hand and asks you not to ask which truck it fell off of.

4) MP3 Music Download Pro

MP3 Music Download Pro pulls its tracks from Mp3pn.net, a website that streams tracks from proxy file servers rather than storing them directly on the site. So yes, you’ll be able to download songs, including some big pop hits, but your selection will be limited by whats on the website. Users have reported that downloads are slow to show up on your device, but if you’re willing to wait, it’s a solid—if slightly dubious—option. Any app that includes an eight-point explanation of how it doesn’t break copyright laws is probably worth asking questions of.

5) Spotify

Spotify is the best music app available right now. You can use Spotify’s free service to stream nearly any song known to man, but for $9.99 you can download all of those songs to your phone for offline listening, with perfect sound quality, no ads, and best of all, the piece of mind of knowing you’re paying it forward to the artists. Yeah, $9.99 is significantly more expensive than free, but if you want the best music interface, best sound, and best selection, there is no comparison to be had. Splurge a little bit.

Looking for more help? Check out our list of the best Android apps and Android games that everyone should own. 

Editor’s note: This article is regularly updated for relevance.