Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

2017-04-05 01:03:51

Given that in 2017, music streaming seems to be the most popular way to listen to music, does anybody think that foobar2000 and mp3's are obsolete?   i personally use both and there are pros and cons to both but i really think that foobar will never be obsolete.
ive had a premium spotify account for a couple months now and i love it.  i think its a really great way to listen to and discover new music but the sheer power of foobar can never be matched.    foobar allows me to perform search functions and to organize playlists in a way that is light years ahead of what spotify can do.   Spotify is convenient, but foobar is powerful.  i think they work hand in hand.  

/thoughts anyone?

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #1 – 2017-04-05 09:38:02

They are not obsolete if you refuse to use streaming sites.

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #2 – 2017-04-05 10:16:54

I'm not closely familiar with modern music download on demand "cloud" services. From what little I know of them, I see that they require that the user surrenders most of their essential computing 'freedom' to use them. The convenience to me seems short term. Operators of the service decide how the platform is run: how demanding their web-enabled software client is, at what point older operating systems are forcibly made obsolete, the features of their player, the selection of non-remastered music that is available, the sound quality including loudness. If users are not happy, they can come to forums, complain and petition, usually in vain. They could hop from one cloud service to another, but ultimately they have to comply with updating treadmill and with what the marketing department considers good enough.

Any effort directed at influencing a streaming service is better spent in setting up own audio player and music collection. A music file cannot be made obsolete by the existance of streaming services. The servers themselves still have to carry audio files. A player software is still delivered and installed to access them. I would consider it most inconvenient not to have a choice in the selection of format and player.

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #3 – 2017-04-05 18:22:49

Streaming is not attractive for those of us with data caps. I'm in a rural location, and though I'm only a 30 minute drive from a major city, my only option is satellite. Once I reach my cap, I get throttled to 200kbps, which means frequent (and annoying) buffering if I want to surf at the same time.

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #4 – 2017-04-05 19:35:16

Frank Zappa said communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff. That's why I think private mp3 collections will never be replaced by streaming services.
At the beginning I thought they were useful to discover new music, but it looks like their algorithms are getting so politically correct they only suggest music I already know.

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #5 – 2017-04-05 22:37:16

lol Dave...that impossible...everytime you click on a song, it will suggest a pretty decently long list of songs that are similar....and then when you choose a song from that list, it will suggest another list...and it never ends.... you cant know every song already 

i think Spotify's suggested songs algorithm is pretty nice.  That being said, im very capitalist when it comes to mp3's

Re: Foobar vs Spotify and other streaming sites. Which is best?

Reply #6 – 2017-04-06 12:08:21

My top arguments for your own mp3 collection and use of foobar:
- There are still several artists missing on streaming platforms or at least there are several albums or other releases missing
- Tags are not available or not correct, especially if re-releases, remastered versions, etc. are missing
- The possibility to filter with the help of facets (which i enjoy a lot) is completely missing in streaming services
- I just like to choose how i want my songs/albums/artists to be displayed
- Data plans and the need to always be online if your only using streaming services

What i really like about Spotify:
- The recommendations especially the weekly discover playlist which always gives me some songs I never heard before or haven't listened to for a long time
- The social aspect like "what are my friends listening to right now", but they could make so much more out of this feature (recommendations or comments from your friends to certain artists, songs, albums)