The summer of 1994 saw the creation of a company that has largely changed the way we shop, read, give gifts, and even view media. Amazon.com, founded by Jeff Bezos, started out as a mere resource for buying books. Based out of Seattle, Washington, the website filled orders for people in 50 states and 45 countries-all in its first 30 days of doing business! And today, it is run by more than 97,000 employees. Needless to say, Amazon became popular fast. And it has only grown tremendously since then. Over the years, Amazon has continued to cover more ground and in September 2007 began including music services, such as buying and downloading tracks. Music streaming, however, didn't become an Amazon service until June 2014. In other words, Amazon streaming is very new but still very convenient for certain consumers. If you have an Amazon Prime account, or if you're thinking of getting one, listen up. Prime Music, as they call it, is now available for all Amazon Prime members in the United States-at no additional cost to your membership!

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The Good

If you already hold an Amazon Prime account, the awesome news is that you pay no additional fees to stream their music. As a member, you immediately have access to over one million tracks and hundreds of playlists. What's more, Amazon streaming is ad-free, which means there are no interruptions to your listening experience. But that's not all. You'd think that since Prime Music comes with no extra fees that it would come without many perks. On the contrary, you can:

Handpick the songs you want to listen to (rather than being fed automatic tracks)
Skip or repeat songs as often as you want
Download tracks and listen to them offline without an Internet connection
Create playlists of songs that you've downloaded

Not bad at all! Amazon streaming also works with a wide variety of mediums, including Android, Windows, iOS, Roku, Sonos, and the Web. You can stream from devices like a Fire Phone, iPhone, iPad, Fire Tablet, Fire TV, Mac, PC, and even your car. They offer a free music app you can download too. But do be aware that Amazon apps work through the Amazon Cloud Player, which you'll have to download to use. If you're unsure about Prime Music, you'll love the length of their free trial period. For one month, Amazon lets you preview what it's like to stream with them-in the hopes that you'll love what you experience and sign up for that Prime account.

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The Bad

Probably the biggest downside to Prime Music is that you're required to have an Amazon Prime account in order to stream it. So even though there's technically no additional cost for streaming as a Prime member, you're also already paying the $99 fee per year (or $49 if you're a student) for the account. That means no free version is available in any sense of the term. Prime Music is also currently available in only the United States. While Amazon ships products across many countries around the world, the site hasn't linked music streaming to other countries, so if you're traveling or moving out of the US, you'll no longer have access to it. Furthermore, Amazon's music selection is pretty small compared to most competitors. One million songs sounds like a lot, but when other companies boasts 10, 20, or 30 million+ songs, Amazon's library starts to look like slim pickings. Along with this, they typically don't offer the most recent songs, so you can't expect to stream new releases through it. Another obvious con for Amazon is the fact that they've only offered streaming since mid-2014. That's not very much time to work out software errors, add tracks to the music library, and rectify other issues that inevitably pop up in the first few months (or years) of opening up shop. And while some competitors have been streaming music for more than 10 years, Amazon is still quite young and inexperienced, at least in this department.

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The Bottom Line

What makes Amazon music different is that it's directly linked to Amazon Prime, which has a very large customer base already. Unlike other streaming services, Prime Music is a service that comes with a membership that offers loads of other benefits, such as video streaming and discounts on mail orders. In this way, Amazon.com has set itself up to potentially gain a lot of streaming customers fast. They also stand out because they take features like offline listening, unlimited skips, and on-demand listening and put them all into one streaming service. What does this mean for you? It means that if you're an Amazon Prime member, you're in luck. You'll automatically enjoy great streaming services, albeit with a smaller music library and a slightly lower bit rate (256 kbps). And if you're not a Prime member, here's just one more reason you might consider signing up. Essentially, Amazon has rewarded current Prime members, enticed music lovers to join, and set itself apart from the more accessible and less expensive competitors.

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User Reviews

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4.4

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408 Reviews

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51%

4 grade

36%

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10%

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1 grade

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Sherman Watson

I use Amazon Music when I drive anywhere. I can pick any artist and listen to their entire body of work or listen to similar artists. I stream through Bluetooth on my car radio and Bluetooth speakers at home. I would not be able to afford a library as large as Amazon's. During a recent 10 hour trip I was able to listen to my favorite music during that trip.

4 years ago

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Rakim Carpenter Tulsa, OK

That jeff sure knows what he's doing !!!! All of my favor songs are on this app favor playlist great for workout traveling or just a good ol outing

5 months ago

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Tammy Koch St Louis, MO

I don't have any complaints! Amazon Music has allowed me to keep all my music in one 'place' so I can access it anywhere. I listen on my smartphone, laptops, and through my TV with Fire Stick. They have a huge collection, good stations and playlists, and podcasts.

1 year ago

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Eddie Rios Ogden, UT

When Amazon does something-it does it in a big way. Same for Amazon Music. Everything under the sun is available in terms of music content. Its compatibility to other Amazon services is unique and helpful. All the streaming has easy to use tools. Music is easy to enjoy with Amazon Music.

2 years ago

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Kenneth Garwood

I have been an Amazon prime member for years and really like how they keep adding benefits and this latest one on music is really great. I love the extensive choices of music and cannot find a reason for improvement at this time.

4 years ago

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Alicia Holman Gilbert, AZ

Very easy to use and I like that it links with all of my other accounts. They have a large amount of music as well. The App is easy to use, but I wish they had someone to talk with when questions arise. There isn't a great customer service department to talk with when issues come up.

4 years ago

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Don Montegut, LA

The music options for Amazon Prime isn't known by many but it is as good as the others. There are a million choices and the best part is it comes free with an Amazon Prime subscription. You can upgrade and get even more music options.

4 years ago

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Mark Frogley Phoenix, AZ

Amazon Music came with my Amazon Prime account so I put no value in it. I got sick of the commercials on Pandora so I decided to give Amazon Music a try and was pleasantly surprised! I had no idea that I had all of this music at my fingertips!

4 years ago

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Korinne C Riverton, UT

I love Amazon Music. I don't use it as much as spotify, but I do use it often. I love that I can tell Alexa to play any song on Amazon music and it works. And I do love that it is included in the cost of Amazon Prime and I don't have to pay extra for it.

10 months ago

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Alicia Mesa, AZ

I have used Amazon Music a few times and have been pleased with what I have experienced. One thing I really liked about it was that I could find a few things on there that I couldn't find anywhere else. Overall, there isn't as much of a selection as I would have anticipated, but from what I have used and interacted with, it was a good experience and I would recommend it to others.

10 months ago

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Cole Haight South Jordan, UT

I thought that this was great way to listen to music. It was a very easy to navigate and you were able to download music with ease. There are some free songs and there is an option to get amazon unlimited to have all music free. Overall it is a great app.

10 months ago

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Saylor D Herriman, UT

Amazon Music has a great selection of songs and is very easy to use! We love to play Amazon Music while we cook and bake, and it makes our time much more fun. We love how many songs you can find, even songs that aren't super popular!

10 months ago

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David Martin San Diego, CA

Amazon music is the very first app that I will open when I want to listen to music. I buy most of my digital music from Amazon, so the Amazon music app makes listening to my purchased music very convenient. You can even listen to general music stations through the Amazon Music app. Every year at Christmas time, I pay for one month of Amazon Music Unlimited so I can stream unlimited Christmas music for the whole month. I do feel like paying for Amazon Music Unlimited every month is a bit too expensive, so that is why I only do it for one month out of the year.

2 years ago

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Luke Swierczynski Troy, MI

Comes free with your prime membership so I was amazed when I realized the extent of the collection they offer. There are some premium features, but if you just want to stream some hits just ask Alexa.

1 year ago

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Mason Allen Pleasant Grove, UT

Amazon music is a fine platform. I like that it is linked to my Amazon Prime and that is has a huge library. I am annoyed that I did not know this was a thing for a long while so I had been paying for another music service while I had access to Amazon Music all along.

1 year ago

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Missy Charleston, IL

I love that Amazon Music can pretty much play whatever comes to mind. It's easy to use the app to make playlists or to access recommended playlists based on our music selections. I think the service is worth the cost.

2 years ago

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Paula Mock

I have used this company for close to two years. I pay the yearly fee for unlimited music. I can stream music on my phone, computer, and on my Amazon devices (fire tv, Alexa). I can play individual songs, artists, and album. I wish it was a little less money, or included with an Amazon Prime Membership.

4 years ago

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Jailene Torres Tallahassee, FL

I like Amazon Music because of how easy it is to play on my Alexa device. If I don't want to listen to my usual playlists on other platforms, I go to Amazon Music because I know that the music it shuffles will be within my tastes and I am bound to find a new song I like.

9 months ago

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Shon Scoville Lehi, UT

I love that I can make my own playlists in Amazon music. So can my kids. However, it really bugs me that when my kids are streaming, I can't. I have to pay more for that. I feel that I already am paying for a service, why not let us all stream.

9 months ago

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Sadie Scoville Lehi, UT

I love Amazon Music! Especially Amazon Music Unlimited. The app is so easy to use and it's not just music, but there is podcasts too! The only thing I don't like is how much the unlimited plan is...

9 months ago

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Lauryn Pelch West Jordan, UT

I use amazon music almost everyday. I love all the different songs and stations there are. The reason I gave it 4 stars is every once and a while it stops working and it won't let more than one person listen to it. It also signs me out but overall it is definitely one of my favorite ways to listen to music.

10 months ago

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kaij West Jordan, UT

The best thing I love about Amazon Music is the discovery playlist. Amazon Music finds songs that are similar to songs you listen to. It is really a easy way to find new music which I am always looking for. One thing about the search feature doesn't work 100% of the time, like you have to dig a little deeper to find to the song sometimes.

10 months ago

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Brynlee Dalton Riverton, UT

I have loved Amazon Music so much! It has been so amazing to hear the different songs. There is such a variety of songs, so I can always find what I'm looking for. I would give it a 10 out of 10.

10 months ago

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Bryan Peterson Herriman, UT

I love Amazon Music! I used to use Google music until I found this. I love being able to have multiple profiles so my kids can listen too. Setting up a playlist and searching for songs is super easy!

10 months ago

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Laurel Dalton Salt Lake City, UT

I love using Amazon Music on my Alexa! One challenge that I was not expecting to encounter is that when our wifi cuts out, the account becomes disconnected resulting in having to re-login. Other than internet issues, I would highly recommend Amazon Music as it has a variety of songs that make it easy to listen to many genres.

10 months ago

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Kaylee Gay Columbia, MO

Amazon Music has such a variety of songs on their playlist. It is so easy to look up a song and make your personal playlists. You can have playlists for all kinds of music genres that you love. I love that they have the whole Hamilton Musical so I can memorize all of the songs!

1 year ago

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Jaelynn Florence Tallahassee, FL

Amazon music is the best streaming service. They have stations that are customized to your personal likings, no advertisements, and so much more. The Alexa feature is also a great addition to Amazon music. They have a multitude of artists and songs to choose from to create a customizable experience.

1 year ago

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Karlie Ady West Valley City, UT

For the cost, the quantity of music offered is great. What I don’t like is how the parental controls work. I wish they were more detailed i.e. block songs with certain words or alternatively, since she can recognize my voice, havea feature with a voice-enabled password I could give to allow something when adults use it vs kids. As it stands, the levels of differentiation for maturity are pretty broad. You end up blocking stuff you might want to hear, and hearing stuff you would think would be blocked.

1 year ago

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Paige Ellis Slade Gilbert, AZ

There is not one day that has gone by in the past forever that we haven’t listened to Amazon music. It legitimately is the soundtrack of our lives. My kids are especially great at turning on their favorite songs and we have Amazon music to think for so many of our kitchen dance parties.

1 year ago

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Corbin Short West Wendover, NV

Amazon Music has been nice for having an Amazon Echo but other than that, it has just been easier as an Apple user to use Spotify or Apple Music. Other than that, everything is the same.. Just depends I think what device you are on.

1 year ago

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Madison Rees Logan, UT

The best part about Amazon music is that it can be used with Amazon. It all tied together and I don’t have to purchase another account. It is worth every bit of it! Costumer service is amazing! Returning items is easy! Absolutely amazing!

2 years ago

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McKenzie Logan, UT

Great music listening option! Our entire family enjoys Amazon’s streaming music service. There are literally millions of songs to choose from and it is so easy to make a playlist with each persons favorites. Everything stays organized and your music is easy to find because it is just a few clicks away!

2 years ago

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Kylie Best Norcross, GA

This is my go to app for playing music, I used to not know what a lot of the songs my friends would play were until I found amazons music billboard songs and now I’m in tune with all the latest songs. I don’t have amazon unlimited which means I’m restricted from certain songs but a lot of the music and stations in fact, almost all are free. Their podcasts are great to listen to when on the go or when your looking for a laugh or honestly anything. I love this app and it is a day to day use for me!

2 years ago

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Nikki Wildomar, CA

I loved the ease for music especially when I was training for a half marathon and needed good music. It’s was easy to use and had a lot of options. And was helpful when frozen 2 came out and we needed to replay the soundtrack over and over 😜

2 years ago

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Lottielyn Schwenke Orlando, FL

The thing I love most about cooking is saying, 'Alexa, play Today's Hits on Amazon Music'. We have an echo in all our rooms and I love filling the house with music when I'm home, makes things like cooking and chores fun when you can dance along.

2 years ago

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Lindsay Ploeger Salt Lake City, UT

I love the access to all the music I want, past and present. The option to make my own playlists that I can then still play while offline without having to buy all the songs is very beneficial. I did not like that, while using the free version, I noticed more and more of the songs I had been able to play previously were suddenly only available with an unlimited membership.

2 years ago

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Tiauna Anderson Salt Lake City, UT

I use our Amazon music account literally every. single. day. with my girls. We love to dance all day long to the songs and it's so convenient to say "Alexa, play..." The music catalog available is extensive and we are able to find any song my girls are looking for. I highly recommend.

2 years ago

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Epham16 Winter Garden, FL

I used to pay for multiple music streaming sites but it was just too much for me. But since I already pay for amazon services it is so nice that the music streaming service is included!! I can listen to all of my favorites still without paying for another app on my phone

2 years ago

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Robert Wilson Rockville, MD

AS part of my Amazon Prime membership I use their music streaming service a lot. It is especially useful at work as they have a wide variety of music covering just about anything I can think of. The quality of the sound is good. I like that is part of my Prime membership as it makes feel like I got a bonus service for nop extra money. If you are a member I highly recommend it.

2 years ago

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JDWain Tallahassee, FL

I love having my amazon music connected to my alexa at home. it makes my alexa 100% better and is a must have add on. I have always had a good experiences when dealing with amazon customer service and they always fix whatever problems I have.

2 years ago

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Lawrence Lee Provo, UT

I like it okay! But I feel Spotify really owns this space. I used Amazon music streaming for a summer and it was just missing a lot of songs I liked. The platform was a little clunky and not as intuitive to navigate. It did its job alright if I just queued up everything I wanted at once. It's constantly improving, but I sometimes just use YouTube when I'm not using Spotify to find music I want to listen to as they can suggest other new and existing songs that I typically like. Also, still concerned about privacy with Amazon because they say they're not listening but it's still unsure how much they're recording through the Alexa devices.

2 years ago

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Adrianne murray Brigham City, UT

Honestly we use Amazon music every single day. Who doesn’t love baby shark 40 times a day. No seriously i listen to Country music every day while cleaning house. It’s definitely worth the music selection. My teenagers like it for a lot of their rock and heavy metal

2 years ago

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Jeremy Brown Riverton, UT

I love Amazon music because it has lots of my favorite songs and groups. I is very helpful so you can just search up your favorite songs and then they will play it. And also you can make your own playlist and so you can add new songs all the time and there is no limit on how many songs you can put on.

3 years ago

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Gail Strother Bentonville, AR

Love that prime music is include with my Prime membership. Great product.... only drawback, I get tired of the constant requests to upgrade to a premium version. I am happy with what I have. Leaving on a good note. Great selection and easy to use.

3 years ago

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Jennifer Smith Salt Lake City, UT

I love waking up to soft music with Amazon Music. I use my Echo Dot to stream the music and it is enjoyable and easy. Any time I want to stream music, I turn to Amazon because they always have what I want, and it is so simple to access.

3 years ago

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Ashley Pleasant Grove, UT

This is so awesome and it comes with your Amazon Prime membership! I love the selection of artists and how they group them. Its easy to navigate and always available when I have my phone. Everybody should have their music ready to pump at any given moment right?

3 years ago

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Katie Howard Pleasant Grove, UT

It's super easy to play streaming music from Amazon if you have an Echo. I just ask Alexa to play a certain playlist, and that's it. Yet another reason I love my Amazon Prime account. I love discovering music this way that I otherwise might not listen to.

4 years ago

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Amber Saratoga Springs, UT

We have 4 echo dots that connect up to our Amazon music subscription. It’s really fun to be able to talk to our speaker and have it tap into any song we want to hear. Amazon music also offers audio books which is a plus. For me it’s hard to choose between Apple Music or Amazon Music. We like Apple for our iPhones and IPads, but it doesn’t work as well with our Amazon speakers. So we like Amazon in the house. I wish there was something out there that connected them both.

4 years ago

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Shari Evers Lehi, UT

Just jumped on board to the family music plan. With all the free apps, and other music available I wan't sure if this would be worth it. It is definitely worth it! It is easy to navigate, easy to download, really just the best!

4 years ago

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Mauri Miller

We love amazon music and have it playing in our home all the time. We can find any artist or song we want to hear and with 7 different people in the house that is a lot of different song choices. Very easy to use and manage

4 years ago

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