If you load your Android device with your favorite music files, you will need a good music player app. Fortunately, there is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to music players on Android. But no matter how many I try, there is one app that I keep finding my way back to: Musicolet.
It’s 100% Free
They say the best things in life are free, and Musicolet is definitely one of them. There are many music players for Android that run the gamut of paid, ad-supported and free. Generally speaking, the free music player apps are either incredibly basic or littered with ads. It pretty much forces you to shell out some cash for a decent music player. That is, unless you opt for Musicolet.
Musicolet has a number of advanced features, as well as a clean and easy-to-use interface, all for the low price of nothing. It’s worth noting that there are some niche features that are unlocked by forking over a nominal fee (more on that later), but most users will find everything they need in the free version.
User Interface & Navigation
Another thing I really like about Musicolet is the user interface. Musicolet adopts a minimalistic design, which is not only aesthetically pleasing, but practical from an operational standpoint. All of the player’s controls – as well as its menus – are all located within the bottom third of your device’s screen.
This makes everything easily accessible, even when you are operating a phone with one hand. I can skip tracks, change the volume, scrub the playback bar, organize playlists, adjust levels and more, with nothing more than my thumb.
Multiple Search Options
Another thing that Musicolet does well is give users multiple ways to search for their music. Navigate your library in the standard ways we’ve come to expect – by artist name, album title, and genre – or one of the few other ways to explore their collection.
You can explore folders on your device’s internal and external storage and add tracks to an unlimited number of custom playlists. Musicolet will also keep track of recently added and played music. Having this many options means you’ll always be able to find the track you’re looking for.
Robust Tag Editor
Stumble across a track that doesn’t have the correct metadata tag information? Missing cover art? Musicolet boasts a built-in tag editor that can rectify any errors you find. Edit the metadata of both individual tracks and batches of music files. This includes things like song title, artist name, album name, genre, and year of release.
In addition, you can add album cover art to your songs. The metadata is saved to the audio file, so if you transfer the songs to another device, like your PC, any tag editing you did within Musicolet will remain.
Create & Edit Synchronized Lyrics
When listening, Musicolet gives you the option to display the lyrics of the song that is playing. You can even edit lyric (LRC) information if you find errors. Furthermore, if the audio file lacks LRC information, you can add lyrics manually.
You can add lyrics in one of two ways. You can type out the lyrics yourself or direct Musicolet to search for the lyrics for you. However, as Musicolet does not have any integrated Internet connectivity, it finds lyrics via your device’s default Internet browser. Just copy the lyrics, and paste them into Musicolet.
Multiple Equalizers
Even if you don’t consider yourself an audiophile, an equalizer is a powerful tool that can transform your listening experience. An equalizer gives you the ability to boost or cut specific frequencies to your listening preferences.
Musicolet boasts separate equalizers for different output devices. You can fine tune your levels for your headphones, your home stereo, your car and more.
Completely Offline
It seems like everything connects to the Internet these days. If you are pining for the days when you weren’t perpetually online, Musicolet is for you. It doesn’t require any Internet connectivity to work – ever. This comes with the added bonus of being completely ad-free. Of course, there are some drawbacks to this, but in my opinion, the pros outweigh the cons.
Customizable Widgets
A lot of music players for Android have widgets that allow you to control playback without having to open the app directly. Musicolet’s widgets are some of the best looking and functional that I’ve seen.
There are both home screen and lock screen widgets that have a number of customization options. I find myself using the lock screen widget all the time. Being able to change tracks and pause playback without unlocking my phone is really convenient.
Sleep Timer
When I was a kid, I often used to fall asleep with my headphones on. As an adult, I still like to do the same from time to time. In those earlier days, when the CD was over, the music stopped, and I didn’t have to worry about it playing all night, draining the battery of my Sony Discman.
With a large collection of digital files on my phone, music could play for weeks before it ever stopped. Thankfully, Musicolet has a sleep timer. You can set it so that Musicolet turns itself off after a predetermined number of songs or a certain amount of time.
Drawbacks
There’s no denying that Musicolet boasts some impressive features and is my personal favorite music player for Android. That said, it doesn’t tick every box. If you’re someone who is looking for the following features, you may want to consider a different Android music player.
Basic Equalizer
As I mentioned above, Musicolet does offer a separate equalizer for different outputs. However, there are other players that offer more granular equalizer control. If you like to tinker with frequencies, you may want to check out PowerAmp. This premium music player has long been lauded as an Android music player geared toward audiophiles.
No Streaming Playback
Due to its offline nature, Musicolet can only play local files, meaning audio files that are stored directly on your Android device’s internal or external storage. Unfortunately, this renders you unable to play files stored in the Cloud and stream from services like Spotify or Apple Music. If you have a personal media server or a subscription to an audio streaming service, you won’t be able to use Musicolet to access that music.
There are music players for Android that give you the best of both worlds. An app like Symfonium allows local playback, as well as integration with streaming services.
Limited Gesture Control
Musicolet primarily operates through button presses. There are some gesture controls, such as swiping up for the next track in a playlist and swiping down for the previous track. While this doesn’t really bother me, if you’re looking for a music player that you can operate without looking at it, you’ll need to look elsewhere. However, the Impulse app relies on nothing but gesture controls for hands-free operation.
Locked Features
As I mentioned earlier, the free version of Musicolet is pretty much the entire package. However, there are a handful of features that are locked behind a paywall. This includes the ability to crossfade tracks. This is my biggest gripe with Musicolet, as many music players for Android have this feature. Additionally, Musicolet lacks the ability to cast media to another device, like a TV.
Musicolet is a powerful, feature-rich music player for Android. It’s lightweight and completely free, making it my go-to app for playing local files on my Android device. There are also those few minor annoyances. Hardcore audiophiles may find some of the equalizer options lacking. If you like ripping your physical media and are after a capable, aesthetically-pleasing music player for your local tracks, look no further than Musicolet.
Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Ryan Lynch.
