The best music player apps for Android (2015)

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• jetAudio Music Player

This is one of the better music players on Android, mainly for its strong host of tweaks and effects you can add when listening to your music. Plugins include the AM3D Audio Enhancer and Bongiovi DPS, which enhances sound processing in a way that only true audio enthusiasts will appreciate. Pay 3.29 GBP/4.99 USD for the Plus version, and you get a whole load of widgets, viewing options, pitch shifting and much more, making this possible the most tinkery music player out there.

• Equalizer+

As its name suggests, Equalizer+ is both a music player, and a pretty capable frequency equalizer. The app allows you to control 5 band frequencies, and save up to 10 custom presets. The basic version of Equalizer+ is free, but you can also get the Pro version, which includes extra features like Bass Boost, Fade, and dual screen equalizers.

• Poweramp

As one of the most popular music players for Android, Poweramp is a safe bet for your musical needs. You can also customize the app with different themes to suit your liking. Album art and lyrics can also be integrated into the player, and it provides an impressive ten-band equalizer to help tweak your sound output. You can even save your EQ presets, allowing you to set up specific ones for specific headphones. The only downside is that Poweramp displays the directory names of the songs and albums in your library when you are browsing, and it looks a little untidy.

• PlayerPro Music Player

Also hovering around the top of the Android music player app chart is PlayerPro Music Player. Like Poweramp, lyrics and album art can be downloaded and displayed while playing music (most of the artwork and lyrics were even visible when I first launched the app). Also, there are different skins, themes, and extensions that you can use with this player to help customize your experience. Song tags can be edited directly from the app and it even has scrobbling support for sites such as Last.fm so that you can sync your listening habits. PlayerPro comes with a variety of options for lock screen widgets that provide you with quick access to the music player, and its features are rounded off by smart playlists, which adapt to your listening habits.

• n7player Music Player

This app creates a unique experience when you use it: you can view the interface as a “tag cloud” - with the artist or song name appearing on your screen, and their size depending on how much you listen to the given music. It looks great, and n7player even comes with its own EQ with haptic feedback. It's a really well-thought out app, and each new feature I tried out impressed me. Creative, with some interesting usage of multi-touch, n7player is definitely worth checking out. It hasn't been updated in nearly a year at the time of writing, so it looks like it's not evolving any further, but it remains one of the most highly-rated music apps on the Play Store.

• Rocket Player

Rocket Player is a feature-rich underdog which competes against some of the bigger names. With various templates and themes that you can download, The free version gives you a pretty standard batch of options, while for 2.49 GBP/3.99 USD, you get Premium features such as left/right balance control, preamp, and more audio formats. An extensive search option lets you search across different tags, playlists, even composers, and the whole thing feels intuitive and easy to use thanks to a recent Material Design-style update.

• Google Play Music

Google Play Music offers access to a huge online catalog of music that you can stream if you have a subscription, but the app can also play music stored in your Android smartphone library. Google Play Music syncs with your Google account, which means your playlists and songs are accessibly instantly across multiple devices. Google Play Music also offers customized recommendations based on your current listening habits and music library, and, of course, it comes with the Android 5.0 Lollipop Material Design interface.

What's your favorite music player for Android, and which features do you find most important? Tell us in the comments!