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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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Amazon Music

65
Value score / 100 Worth paying? Depends It depends

Amazon Music offers a vast selection of music, but its free and Prime-included tiers are plagued by forced shuffle, ads, and technical issues, making the paid Unlimited subscription necessary for a good experience.

Free + in-app purchases seen up to $35 4.7★ lifetime (3,292,042) since 2012

Amazon Music provides a large music library and is praised for its audio quality and ad-free experience in its paid tier. However, many users report significant issues with the free and Prime-included versions, such as forced shuffle, frequent ads, and app instability, leading to frustration and a push towards the paid subscription.

Free vs paid

The free version of Amazon Music is heavily criticized for forced shuffle mode, inability to play specific songs, limited skips, and frequent ads R4R19R80R145. Even with an Amazon Prime membership, users report not having full access to features, experiencing ads, and being unable to play specific songs without an additional subscription R9R84R85R224. The paid Amazon Music Unlimited tier, however, is praised for being ad-free, allowing users to choose specific songs, download music, and offering a wide selection R15R21R25R33.

Value complaints

  • Many users complain about having to pay an additional subscription for Amazon Music Unlimited despite already paying for Amazon Prime, feeling that core features like ad-free listening and on-demand playback should be included.R9R84R85R224
  • The free and Prime-included versions are heavily criticized for forced shuffle, inability to select specific songs, limited skips, and frequent ads, pushing users towards the paid tier.R4R19R80R145
  • Some users feel that the service has become a 'money grab' as features previously available for free or with Prime are now behind a paywall.R56R80
  • Concerns about the cost being higher than other arguably better apps, especially given the perceived lack of features in the free/Prime tiers.R34R393

Where it delivers

  • Users appreciate the wide selection of songs and genres available, including K-pop and regional Mexican music.R8R10R18R36
  • The paid Amazon Music Unlimited tier is praised for being ad-free, allowing song selection, and offering good audio quality.R15R21R32R33
  • Some users find the app's organization and usability to be excellent, making it easy to use.R25R42
  • The ability to download songs for offline listening is a valued feature in the paid version.R25
Worth paying if

It is worth paying for Amazon Music Unlimited if you are a Prime member who wants an ad-free experience, the ability to play specific songs on demand, and offline downloads, as the free and Prime-included tiers are severely limited R15R21R25R33.

Skip / stay free if

You should skip paying for Amazon Music if you expect a full-featured music streaming service with your Prime membership, as many core features are locked behind an additional paywall R9R85R224. Also, skip if you prioritize app stability and a smooth user experience, as many reviews mention frequent crashes, slow loading, and other bugs R5R13.

Evidence note: Recent reviews (mostly 3-star) highlight ongoing issues with app performance, shuffle functionality, and the presence of ads even for Prime members, reinforcing the negative sentiment found in 1-star reviews regarding the free/Prime experience. The lifetime rating of 4.7 is likely skewed by positive experiences with the paid tier or older versions of the app, as many recent reviews express significant frustration with current limitations and monetization strategies.

Frequently asked

Is Amazon Music truly free?
Amazon Music offers a free tier, but it comes with significant limitations such as forced shuffle, frequent ads, and inability to play specific songs on demand R4R19R80R145.
Do Prime members get ad-free music with Amazon Music?
No, many Prime members report still experiencing ads and being unable to play specific songs without an additional Amazon Music Unlimited subscription, despite their Prime membership R9R84R85R224.
What are the common technical issues with Amazon Music?
Common technical issues include frequent app crashes, slow loading times, songs restarting unexpectedly, playlists lagging, casting problems, and purchased music disappearing R5R13R14R20.
Can I play specific songs on Amazon Music without paying?
Users of the free and Prime-included tiers frequently report that the app forces shuffle play and does not allow them to select specific songs or albums R4R11R19R28.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R9] 1/5 · US Not included in Prime: Why would I be asked to spend an additional $12/month on top of my $139/year Prime membership? What the heck is that about…
  2. [R84] 3/5 · US Dislike Subscription Ads: I remember when I would ask Alexa to play a specific song by a specific artist, and it would play the song. At times, it’s telling me that in order to be able to do so I need to have the monthly subscription.
  3. [R85] 2/5 · US Subscription: I already pay for Amazon prime which is supposed to give me ad free music and an app that I love which up until today has changed. You now have to pay for a second plan on Amazon Music alone to get the music played that you want which is beyond frustrating. I’m not going to pay for something and not get the benefits that I’m supposed too. I’m sick in tired of companies we use all the
  4. [R224] 3/5 · US Not 100% included w prime subscription: I pay a ganillion dollars prime subscription and still don’t have 100% access to all features.
  5. [R4] 1/5 · US If I could give it no stars, I would: I try to listen to an album and every single time it shuffles the music with no way to turn shuffle off. It also seems to think that I would like it to add random music into the mix that I neither want nor care for.
  6. [R19] 1/5 · US Worst music app ever: Horrible app doesn’t play the music or album you want it just shuffle to what ever
  7. [R80] 1/5 · US Money Grab: At one time it was my goto music app. It was a minor inconvenience when songs went from free to behind a paywall, but that was alright. Plenty of others available. Now, I can’t download onto my phone for playing free of data usage. My playlists are automatically shuffled, sometimes with other music and no ability to start on the song I want. And now I can only skip a song 2 or3 times.
  8. [R145] 3/5 · US Adds: This app is mid at best. Has two adds after twos songs,and after 2 for three. Has a limited amount of skips per day. Dose not let you choose the song in your playlist. And you can’t download music without the membership. But at least it has podcast.
  9. [R56] 1/5 · US Greed is rampant: How much greed can Amazon have. In addition to the Amazon prime membership they now want $254 to listen to the unlimited. Which this used to be part of the membership before. Getting tired of no longer nickel and dimming but simply ripping off the consumer. I refuse to continue to pay additional $….. go ahead and ignore us and we will go back to vinyls
  10. [R34] 2/5 · US Not as good as Spotify: People,just get Spotify. It’s so much better. The only way Amazon Music is good is if you have Amazon Music unlimited and who wants to pay for that? Just get Spotify, it’s way easier.
  11. [R393] 3/5 · GB Occasionally Poor: Beneficial to Prime subscribers who used to get it for free but now not anymore and is more expensive than other arguably better apps. Slow to load sometimes and few songs not on the app for some reason. There are also a few occasions where the song selected does not play and a completely different song is playing instead, despite displaying song title and album cover. Was worth
  12. [R8] 5/5 · US D: I like the K-pop
  13. [R10] 5/5 · US Goo quality music: It has a endless list of songs to choose from and it Haines great recommendations
  14. [R18] 5/5 · US It’s good: I highly recommend it. It’s super fun to listen to and it has like most of my favorite songs.
  15. [R36] 5/5 · US Delightful selection: Best music app I really enjoy listening
  16. [R15] 5/5 · US Love it: I hate when you have to hit shuffle to play the Song that you want, and this app doesn’t do that! I mean idk if it does if u don’t pay, but it’s not a bad price. And love that you can skip as many songs as you want
  17. [R21] 5/5 · US Good quality!: There’s no ads which I love and you don’t have to pay for it because there’s no ads, unlike other music playing platforms. I love the song variety and all of the abilities such as Queues, and Play Next.
  18. [R32] 5/5 · US Awesome!!!: I tried so many different music streaming platforms but all of them had tons of ads and they were poor quality but Amazon music is a great choice and I highly recommend it!!
  19. [R33] 5/5 · US SO AMAZING!!: you have all ur music and no ads it’s like the best ever!! totally recommend!!! (but the podcast variety could be a little better but it’s still great)
  20. [R25] 5/5 · US Best music app: Clear, concise, and excellent layout, making it easy to use. Songs downloadable, so available without WiFi.
  21. [R42] 5/5 · US Best Music App: I love using this app for music! The organization and usability is superb! I always recommend it to anyone who is looking for a music app. So much better than Spotify!
  22. [R5] 2/5 · US Unstable: App crashes frequently
  23. [R13] 1/5 · US Technical issues make it not worth the cost: Frequently, casting from a device to speakers doesn’t work. Regularly, directly playing music on Amazon speakers stops, changes volume, or other impediment to enjoying music. Various other nitpicks means I’ll return soon to just buying my music physically and skipping this service.
  24. [R14] 5/5 · US Playlist problems: There has been patches to a lot of bugs for me, and I appreciate that a lot, but my biggest issue still isn’t fixed. My playlists are lagging so freaking hard. I need this fixed, it takes forever just to load into a playlist and even longer to scroll down enough to see the next 2 songs. Please fix the playlists!!!
  25. [R20] 3/5 · US Changed everything: App layout totally changed amd rose yet, music I purchased totally disappeared.
  26. [R11] 5/5 · US How do I upgrade!?: Well I love this for many reasons but the only problem actually there are a few for instance how the heck can I upgrade! It never tells you how to upgrade and it so annoying that there isn’t any other way to listen besides shuffle mode and I feel it should take a few things from audiomack
  27. [R28] 1/5 · US No shuffle: Platform is confusing. If i hit shuffle i get an error code everytime. Added albums and it says i have no songs. Going back to apple music.

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store