There's nothing better than a gift that literally keeps on giving.
This holiday season, one of the most useful (and pricey) gifts you can give is a music streaming subscription. But which one should you pick? From Apple to Spotify to Tidal, there's a slew of paid streaming platforms vying for your monthly dollars.
Here's the precise streaming service to buy for the music fan who has everything ... but could use a little bit more.
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1. Pandora
Best for: The hardcore Serial obsessive
Price: $4.99 per month
Pandora is still kicking, and here's why you should care. The song shuffling, radio-style service is great for the casual music fan who just wants to hear more songs that sound like "Hello" by Adele. The service also acquired subscription streaming service Rdio earlier this year. Though it's not yet clear what they'll do with it, this could mean an on-demand streaming addition is coming to the music company.
In addition, Pandora is branching out beyond music, recently signing a deal to stream Season 2 of the hit true crime podcast Serial (though the podcast will still be available on iTunes as well). Pandora also recently acquired Ticketfly, a live events service, signaling a new strategy to earn revenue by selling concert tickets.
2. Tidal
Best for: The ultimate diva fan
Price: $9.99 per month for premium, $19.99 for HiFi
Tidal may be in serious CEO trouble, but don't count out Jay Z's streaming service just yet (for now, anyway). The newest service on this list, Tidal's main glory is its star-studded roster of artists, among them Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and Madonna.
Users can get exclusive content and perks, like presale tickets to Rihanna's world tour and music videos like "Feeling Myself." Its premium level also boasts lossless high fidelity sound quality, if you care about that sort of thing.
3. Google Play Music
Best for: The library-on-the-go user
Price: $9.99 per month
Google Play Music is perfect for the audiophile with way too much music in their personal library, but not enough space to store it. The music service allows users to store up to 50,000 songs from their computer and stream it across all their devices. On top of that, there's also 35 million songs available, so you can fill in music that you don't have.
You'll also automatically have access to YouTube Red, which means you can watch YouTube videos without ads, as well as save videos and playlists for offline use in the mobile app.
4. Apple Music
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Best for: The Apple purist/Drake enthusiast
Price: $9.99 per month, or $14.99 for the family plan
Apple Music is ideal for the Apple purist who wants virtually everything a streaming service can offer. You can stream music, listen to your existing library and tune in to Beats 1 radio shows from tastemakers like radio DJ Zane Lowe, Pharrell, Dr. Dre, Jaden Smith and Drake.
Speaking of the 6 God: The artist has an exclusive deal with Apple and has released music videos on its streaming service, including delightfully meme-worthy "Hotline Bling". With Apple Music, you'll always be up to date on Drizzy's latest moves.
5. Spotify
Best for: The playlist addict
Price: $9.99 per month
If you're a playlist addict, Spotify is for you. The aesthetically pleasing streaming service has a playlist for every conceivable mood, genre and occasion, and also has the "Discover Weekly" playlist feature, which compiles a list of songs you might like based on the music you already listen to. There's also the handy app, where users can save music for offline listening, so you can still listen to your songs without an WiFi connection.
Spotify is an essential service for the hungry music obsessive who loves discovering new music, but is also perfect for an overwhelmed music fan who just wants to let their service do the hard work of collecting great songs.