Spotify wishlist: 10 features I’d like to see

Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

I’m a genuine fan of Spotify. I don’t just mean the convenience and vast song library that could describe many music streaming services, I’m talking about the innovative features, handy recommendations, and other things that make it a fairly polished product. That doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty of room for improvement, especially considering the cost of the Premium plan. I’m paying Spotify enough of my money, so the developers can also have my two cents on what could be better. To that end, here’s my wishlist of ten Spotify features I’d like to see introduced.

I’m just talking about Spotify Premium in this rundown. I had the free version of Spotify for a long time, so I know how maddening it is. I eventually relented and started paying, and that’s exactly the point. It’s meant to tease you enough to want the service but annoy you enough that you end up going Premium. It’s deliberately limited, so suggesting improvements to it is pointless. Spotify probably also has reasons for not yet implementing any of the features I’m about to suggest to the Premium service, but whatever they may be, they’re not about extracting more cash from me.

Spotify features wishlist

I don’t mind embarrassing songs showing up in my Recently Played list, but it’s how they then feed Spotify’s algorithms that bugs me. Even if you remove those songs from your taste profile, they can still show up in the recommendations on your home screen. My friend could send me some trash track, or my voice assistant could mishear me, and I’m stuck with Spotify pushing that song at me for a while. It’s madness.

2. Change the home screen

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

Failing the above, at least let me reorder or remove stuff from my home screen. I get that Spotify wants to push me recommendations, and I also get that this may be more of a cynical attempt to keep me streaming as long as possible than the kindness of bringing more music to my life. Fine, whatever. But where’s the harm in letting me change it? Even replacing a recommendation I’ve removed with a different one would be progress, but I can’t even remove them to begin with.

In my case, I’d like the option to stop Spotify from recommending alternative versions of the same song to me. If I play a track by an artist, it’s generally because I want to hear that artist’s rendition of it. On the rare occasion that I’m curious about alternative versions of the same tune, I’m happy to go looking for them. I don’t want the Spotify algorithm trying to push every remix, cover, acoustic version, and whatever else on me. Give me something new.

4. Full artist tracklist

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Why on earth can I not see all of an artist’s songs in one comprehensive tracklist? It seems like such a basic request. Sure, you can search for the song title, go find it in the album if you happen to know which one it’s on, look in the ‘This Is’ playlist, etc, but there’s no reason why it should even take that much effort.

I mentioned at the top that Spotify might have reasons for doing or not doing the things it does, but the lack of this type of feature really makes you question the app’s approach. Maybe there’s some subtle commercial value in not offering something so fundamental, but it isn’t apparent.

You can see a glaring example of this setting being needed if you check out the discography of The Rolling Stones. Their last two regular studio albums were Hackney Diamonds in 2023, and Blue & Lonesome in 2016, but the Spotify discography for the iconic group shows a whopping 17 albums between the two. Let me filter those out.

6. Quicker Library access

Joe Hindy / Android Authority

I’d love a setting for the mobile Spotify app to open on my Library as I always go straight there anyway. Alternatively, I’d be happy enough if I could create a shortcut to go straight there on my phone’s home screen. Either would be better than going through the Spotify home page each time when I’m rarely in the mood for recommendations.

It would also be nice if the display of the library could remain as I leave it. I’m personally always going to my playlists once I’m on the main library page, which means that I have to tap Library in the bottom right then Playlists in the top left every time I open the app. That might only take a few moments each time but it still frutstrates me when there are easy solutions that Spotify could implement.

Some of the people in the credits have profiles on the Spotify website. A white arrow next to their name in the credits takes you to their profile page, where you can see more of their work listed. But they’re in the minority, and at that point, you might as well just Google them to find out more. Letting me search them directly in the Spotify app should be a no-brainer.

8. Shuffle multiple playlists

Ryan Haines / Android Authority

I can shuffle the tracks on one album, but I’d like to be able to choose three albums and shuffle the songs on all of them. It’s not a lot to ask, and it presumably wouldn’t be hard for Spotify to do. The same goes for playlists — perhaps I want to listen to randomized songs from a couple of my favorite lists.

I know there are simple workarounds for this. I could combine all the tracks into one playlist to shuffle, or I could manually add them to my queue. But I’d like it to be even easier.

Then you go to the mobile Spotify app, and the folders are gone. Why? Please get on it, devs.