Amazon Music Unlimited review

A decade ago, I would spend my weekends sitting between library aisles, thumbing through cracked CD cases to find new music. With the evolution of streaming services, this process has been revolutionized. While I occasionally miss those library days, I appreciate having a vast music library at my fingertips. Amazon Music Unlimited exemplifies this progression, offering over 100 million songs in high-quality audio formats. As of 2024, whether you’re an audiophile or a casual listener, Amazon Music Unlimited presents a compelling option in the crowded streaming market.

Editor’s note: this review was updated on July 23, 2024, to reflect changes in Amazon Music Unlimited pricing and include new features.

What streaming quality does Amazon Music Unlimited support?

Amazon Music Unlimited offers three tiers of audio quality:

1. Standard Definition: Lossy compression, similar to other streaming services
2. High Definition (HD): 16-bit/44.1 kHz (CD-quality), average bitrate of 850 kbps
3. Ultra High Definition (Ultra HD): Up to 24-bit/192 kHz, average bitrate of 3730 kbps

The service automatically plays the highest quality available based on network conditions, device capability, and user settings.

Streaming quality is about more than kilobits per second

When looking at streaming services, it’s easy to judge audio quality by a file’s transfer rate (kilobits per second, aka kbps). However, this is an oversimplified—and often inaccurate—way to understand quality. Instead, we have to take file type into account when discussing audio compression. File compression comes in all different flavors and file types, like the MP3 format, to account for human hearing limitations.

These formats don’t just randomly discard data. Instead, they take psychoacoustics into account to intelligently remove information the human ear and brain cannot process. Amazon Music HD encodes via FLAC for lossless, compressed data transfer. This gives you the best of both worlds: FLAC files retain all data and use less data than uncompressed .WAV files.

How does Amazon Music Unlimited work?

Amazon Music Unlimited has both mobile and desktop apps that let you find and play HD and Ultra HD tracks. The interfaces for each are very similar, making it easy to switch between the two. Amazon’s app isn’t the most beautiful, but it’s serviceable. Sure, it feels outdated compared to Apple Music and Deezer, but many will appreciate the function-before-form philosophy. Animations like rising and falling volume level bars are overlaid atop a playlist header image on both apps, which may be neat to some.

Navigation is clear cut

Both apps use an intuitive design language. On mobile, the bottom row divides access into “home,” “find,” “my music,” and “Alexa.” The home tab resembles all other streaming service home tabs. Users are greeted with suggested albums and songs, popular playlists, and featured releases. Amazon Music Unlimited also provides a set of curated Ultra HD playlists, so you can instantly access Hi-Res audio files without digging through the app.

The “find” tab has a search banner with descending broad categories below: playlists, stations, new releases, and charts. Search functionality is similar to Spotify; once you begin typing, suggestions populate and continue to do so the more you type. It also saves recent searches, which can easily be cleared. When you select to search by playlist, you can filter results by mood and genre. I liked searching by mood as a way of switching up my workout playlist.

In order to make use of Alexa, you have to agree to the terms and conditions, which include granting microphone access. Although I’m wary of granting any application microphone access, I appreciate how quickly Alexa registers and responds to commands. It’s significantly faster than when I use Google Assistant to skip tracks on YouTube Music or Spotify. I find it fascinating, yet unsurprising, that Google Assistant access is blocked when using the Amazon Music app. To ask Google anything, you must exit the Amazon Music app, which can remain running in the background. You can, however, cast from Amazon Music to a Google Home device, such as the Google Nest Audio.

The settings menu may be accessed by hitting the three stacked dots in the top-right corner of the screen. Within the menu, you may toggle things like loudness normalization, hands-free Alexa access, automatic downloads, a sleep timer, and more. You can also designate where downloads are stored, be it locally or on an external microSD card.

Music playback, creating playlists, and more

Immediately upon selecting a song, the “now playing” window opens and provides basic playback controls, including shuffle, loop, and view queue. On the same screen, you can select devices to cast to. You can even view lyrics, and the display syncs up with the song, like karaoke. It’s an excellent addition but not as intriguing as Spotify’s Genius Lyrics feature, which includes partial interviews with artists about the current song.

By tapping the menu setting (three vertically stacked circles), you’re given a drop-down of options like adding a song to a playlist or your library. You can also view song credits, though the results are disappointing. I commend Tidal for encouraging subscribers to explore specific song contributors through its credits information, which Amazon Music lacks. You’re really only shown songwriter credits, whereas Tidal informs you of producers, composers, lyricists, featured artists, and other contributors like engineers and marketers.

Within the same menu, you may see what customers who listened to the current song have also shown interest in. This is one of my favorite features, and I wish it were more prominent. Music discovery is easily accessible with the advent of streaming services, and this is a unique way to discover new artists.

Listen to 3D audio

As of 2024, Amazon has significantly expanded its spatial audio catalog, making it a strong competitor in this area. The technology has become more mainstream, with an increasing number of artists releasing music mixed specifically for spatial audio. This feature particularly shines on high-end audio equipment, providing an immersive listening experience that traditional stereo can’t match.

This is not the same as Apple’s Spatial Audio with head tracking, which is exclusive to Apple headsets like the AirPods Pro (2nd generation) and AirPods (3rd generation). Amazon Music supports Dolby Atmos and Sony 360 Reality Audio spatial audio formats.

This support makes sense, seeing how Amazon and Fraunhofer IIS, the company behind Bluetooth LE Audio and the new LC3 codec, partnered so Amazon can now use the MPEG-H audio decoder in its software, including the Echo Studio, which owners can use just their voice to request a song. For those unfamiliar, MPEG-H powers Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format.

Are local media files supported?

Yes, Amazon Music Unlimited allows access to local audio files directly through the app. This is great news for listeners like me, with a few Bandcamp downloads floating around their Android folder app. Device files are accessible and clumped together with music downloaded from Music HD.

Save data by downloading music

You’d be wise to invest in a microSD card, because lossless audio files are storage-hungry beasts. I advise against throwing caution to the wind and streaming over your cellular network. After all, streaming such large files can quickly eat away at your data plan, leaving you at a loss before the end of the month. Anyone whose smartphone lacks expandable storage should still download music. Just remember space is much more finite.

How much does an Amazon Music Unlimited subscription cost?

• Prime members: $9.99/month or $99/year
• Non-Prime customers: $10.99/month
• Single Device plan: $5.99/month (limited to one Echo or Fire TV device)
• Student plan: $5.99/month (for eligible students)

The Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan deserves special mention. Priced at $15.99/month or $159/year (for Prime members), it allows up to six family members to enjoy individual accounts under one subscription. Each member gets personalized recommendations and playlists, making it a cost-effective option for households with multiple music lovers.

What’s the difference between Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music?

Amazon Music Prime (included with Prime membership) offers ad-free access to 100 million songs but with limitations on on-demand playback. Amazon Music Unlimited provides full on-demand access to the entire catalog, along with HD, Ultra HD, and spatial audio options.

The following table breaks down the different features of Amazon Music Free, Amazon Prime Music, and Amazon Music Unlimited.

Should you get Amazon Music Unlimited?

Amazon Music Unlimited provides a comprehensive music streaming experience with high-quality audio options. Its value proposition is strongest for existing Prime members and Alexa device users. While it may not lead in terms of user interface design or social features, its audio quality and large catalog make it a solid choice for many listeners.

The service’s strengths lie in its audio quality options and integration with Amazon’s ecosystem. However, users prioritizing a sleek interface or robust social features may find other services more appealing. As with any streaming service, individual preferences for catalog, ecosystem, and specific features will play a significant role in determining its suitability for each user.

What are the best alternatives to Amazon Music Unlimited?

As of 2024, the music streaming landscape continues to evolve. Spotify has yet to launch its HiFi tier, offering CD-quality audio, so it still doesn’t match Amazon’s Ultra HD offerings. Apple Music has maintained its competitive edge with lossless and spatial audio options at no extra cost. Tidal remains a strong contender for audiophiles, though its higher price point may deter some users. YouTube Music has improved its audio quality but still focuses primarily on its video content integration.

Amazon Music Unlimited’s audio quality offerings are comparable to other high-resolution streaming services. Its integration with Alexa devices may appeal to users already invested in the Amazon ecosystem. However, its user interface and social features are less developed compared to some competitors.

Frequently asked questions about Amazon Music Unlimited