The music giant is to music what Netflix is to TV and, unless you’re very discerning (or very unlucky), you’ll find a great selection of your favorite music (and more) in a very easy-to-use app. Add that to the fact that Spotify's available almost anywhere you go and it’s no wonder that it tops the charts when it comes to music.

This lets you log in to the app on any device with Facebook, and your Facebook name and picture shows on your profile. Learn more about Spotify and Facebook here. Select SIGN UP WITH FACEBOOK or CONTINUE WITH FACEBOOK (on mobile). If you’re not already logged into Facebook on the device, you’re directed to enter your Facebook details. For detail on connections and network settings, refer to “Owner’s Manual”. Network connection (example) 2. Get the Spotify app Download the Spotify app to your mobile or tablet device from the App Store (for devices running iOS) or Google Play (for devices running Android), and then register for an account. Playback of Spotify contents.

The top choice when it comes to streaming music

For everyone except an unlucky few, Spotify is all the music you’ll need.

Get Spotify App

Spotify is one of the most popular music apps around, and it’s not at all difficult to see why. Firstly, it’s hugely accessible. There is a version of Spotify available for almost every platform you could think of using and this is a large part of its likability. This version for Windows is exactly the type of flagship app you’d expect - it’s crisp-looking, fast, and easy-to-use and, although music quality depends largely on the quality of the device you’re reproducing it on (and not the app you’re using to play it), only the pickiest ears will have anything to say about the quality of the music you can listen to with Spotify.

The most basic level of Spotify is free, which is why it really is “music for everyone”. You can also sign up to Spotify Premium by paying a monthly fee. On the premium tier, the user experience is just a little bit nicer, with the ability to download music (great for planes), skip songs you don’t like and, many people’s favorite plus - you don’t have to listen to the ads.

Premium or not, the app is very easy to use. The main interface shows you a selection of things you’ve been listening to recently, or music Spotify has decided you’ll probably enjoy. Your library and playlists live on the left, and to the top on the left, you’ll see the Home, Browse, and Radio buttons. Browse is a nice feature for the undecided, as it’s a great way to find new music and artists. Radio is where you’ll want to go if you want music to play without having to make too much of an effort - pick an artist or music type, and it will find music related to it and play until you tell it not to.

Spotify’s charms don’t end with traditional music and their version of radio, however. By using Search and Browse, you’ll also be able to find podcasts, charts, new releases, and even upcoming concerts in your area, as well as being able to find music by mood or purpose, like studying or exercising.

Spotify’s settings are relatively simple and it’s here that some users do have complaints. When you head into the settings area, most of the things you can tweak are pretty simple or have nothing to do with music playback or quality. The number of tweaks you can actually make to the music is pretty low (you can add crossfade and change the streaming quality but beyond this, you have relatively little control over the music. For most, this lower degree of control is actually enough but, for a few, it’s unfortunately too little.

Spotify doesn’t often go wrong but when it does the support team is usually fast to react. You’ll also find an acceptable amount of help online but you’re unlikely to need to do much troubleshooting yourself.

Where can you run this program?

This version is for Windows. There are also versions for other platforms, like Android, iPhone, and Mac.

Is there a better alternative?

There are certainly alternatives to Spotify, but whether or not they’re better is really subjective. YouTube Music is slated to start making waves in the streaming music market soon, but we still haven’t seen what it’s capable of doing. Google Play Music and Apple Music are contrasting giants; the former is nice if you have a lot of your own music, and the latter is ok only if you’re happy to use iTunes, as you need it for Apple’s streaming service. Deezer and Wave are also on the market, but they haven’t even begun to challenge Spotify’s reign.

Our take

For many, many people, Spotify provides music they want, works wherever they are, is easy to use and much more. If you’re an average music user, you know your favorites are on the platform, and you want your music solution to 'just work', then Spotify is the one for you. Some people are unlucky and find that their absolute favorites haven’t reached an agreement with Spotify and, as a result, aren’t in the catalog, which is a real shame. Others dislike the fact that the music you’re listening to is never yours (in which case, streaming music isn’t for them). Others believe that streaming music is (possibly) damaging artists, given that revenues are not as high as before when people bought albums. If any of these are pricking your conscience, then you might want to look elsewhere. For the rest though, Spotify is all you need.

Should you download it?

If you have average music needs and your favorite artists are available, download Spotify. If you have your own music, want greater control over playback, or just don’t like the idea of streaming, look for another music-listening option.

1.0.89.313

Digital music might not have the same allure as sitting down to listen to a record on your turntable, but what it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in convenience — especially when you aren't home with your collection.

It's been five years since Spotify publicly launched and shifted the music industry's focus toward streaming as a way to combat illegal downloading. While the streaming business model is far from perfect, even the most casual music fan should test out streaming while it's still growing.

See also: How Spotify Engineered the New Music Economy

If you're just dipping your toe into the stream, follow our beginner's guide and soon you'll be listening to Spotify's massive library without the worry of losing precious hard drive space.

Signing Up

As with most services, you can register for Spotify by connecting your Facebook account for optimal social features, or create an account with your email address.

Pick the subscription that suits your music habits. The prices are in USD, but the tiers are the same internationally: No cost will get you desktop listening interrupted by ads; $4.99 per month allows for unlimited desktop streaming; users who pay the premium $9.99 per month can listen on all desktop (via desktop app or web player) and mobile devices with offline syncing privileges on mobile (Spotify Radio is the only free mobile feature.)

Users at the premium tier can also listen to music at a higher bit rate, which is essential for anyone who has quality headphones or earbuds.

Image: Spotify

Before you start listening, check your preferences and privacy settings to make sure you are sharing as much or as little with the world as you'd like. If you connected your Spotify to Facebook but don't want to broadcast your tunes on your News Feed, uncheck the Facebook sharing option. Leave the Spotify sharing section checked to show up in your followers' feeds — this amplifies Spotify's social music discovery potential.

This page is important because you can choose whether or not to make your playlists viewable to the public as soon as you start, or make it public on your own terms. Also, you can opt-out of Spotify showing your top artists and tracks on your public profile, if you aren't one to brag about such things. Plus, you can connect your Spotify account to Last.fm so your scrobbles stay representative.

Organizing Your Music

Library and Local Files

In the left sidebar, you will find your Collection. Here, you can access local files (go to Preferences to manage the folders from which Spotify can import files) and music saved to playlists. The Library section puts all of this music in one place. By accessing the files found on your hard drive, Spotify acts as a one-stop shop for listening to all your music, meaning you don't have to open iTunes or another player.

Playlists

Playlists are Spotify's main draw. You can create your own by clicking the New Playlist button, or following and subscribing to other users' playlists. Bookmark an album by saving it as a playlist, too.

Image: Spotify

You can also set up a collaborative playlist among friends to prep for that that perfect road trip or party. Right click on a playlist to check off the collaborative option and share the playlist with your friends. This alt-menu also shows the option to change the privacy settings to 'Make Public' or 'Make Secret,' depending on your preferences.

See also: 11 Tips and Tricks for Spotify Power Users

Image: Spotify

If you want to stay up-to-date with a specific user's playlist, click the green 'Follow' button on the bottom of the top title bar, and it will save to your side bar. You'll get a notification when songs are added to the playlist.

Play Queue

Spotify App Open

This option is ideal for when you aren't listening to an album, since queuing up a song via the right-click menu will place it after the track you are currently listening to, and will interrupt a record.

When listening to a playlist or playing music in the background, the queue is great for accommodating requests and spur of the moment sing-a-longs with friends.

Sharing and Discovering Tunes

In the last year, Spotify has significantly amped up its social and music discovery features to keep up with its competitor Rdio, which prioritizes social discovery.

See also: 7 Music Discovery Tools to Find New Tunes

Following

Image: Spotify

Spotify lets you follow friends, artists and organizations (follow Mashable's account here!) to see what your network is listening to. You will get a notification when artists you follow add music to their catalogues.

The social feed lives in the right sidebar, and at the top Spotify will make recommendations to follow, including Facebook friends or artists your friends enjoy. This feed will show what your friends are listening to right now, songs they've added to playlists, new playlists they've created, tracks they've starred, and playlists, songs and albums they've shared on Spotify.

Music Apps Spotify

If you didn't register your Spotify account through Facebook, you can still search for friends and organizations via the search bar.

Sending and Sharing Music

Image: Spotify

You can highlight your favorite music in Spotify's social feed by sharing via the button on artist, album or playlist pages, or the right-click menu. Write a message and check your connected social networks if you want to share to Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr, too.

The Send tab on the right of the box allows you to send music to individual users in a private message.

Discover

Install Spotify App

The Discover section is filled with custom recommendations based on your music history. If you are stuck picking out something new to listen to, you can get lost scrolling down this page.

Image: Spotify

In addition to suggestions of new artists deemed algorithmically similar to ones you already love, Spotify will remind you of albums and songs you haven't listened to in a while. Sometimes the recommendations don't feel right, but the algorithm can only improve the more you use it. Unfortunately, there is no option to reject or modify suggestions at this time.

If you are unsure you might like one of Spotify's suggestions, hover over the album art until a play button appears. Then click it and hold down to preview the song.

This will interrupt whatever you are currently listening to, but once you let go of the play button, your song will resume. It is not the smoothest listening feature, but it can come in handy, especially when browsing to make a playlist.

Spotify Download App

Apps

Spotify's unique apps can also help you find music when you aren't feeling inspired, or you'd like a change of scenery. Some apps will tell you the lyrics of the song you're listening to, others will provide you with a review, and a few will show you what is trending on the charts, web and social media.

We recommended the following apps: Pitchfork, This Is My Jam, Domino, Twitter #Music (formerly We Are Hunted), Any Decent Music?, Blue Note, TuneWiki and Billboard.

Radio

Spotify Radio functions like a typical Internet radio service. You can create stations by artist, song, album and genre, and upvote or downvote songs you love or hate. Spotify Radio is free to use on the mobile app, even if you aren't a Spotify Premium user.

Mobile

App Store Spotify

Image: Spotify

Download Spotify App For Pc

Spotify's mobile app is a pared-down version of the web player (tablet apps more closely resemble the web player), from which you can select playlists to download for offline listening, to save your data usage. This is only available for Premium users.

Another feature exclusive to the mobile app is Browse. This saves you the trouble of coming up with a playlist yourself, which is helpful when you're out and about while using Spotify on your smartphone.

Now that you've completed your crash course on Spotify, get streaming!

Mashable composite image: iStockphoto, akindo