A subscription service for classical and opera that beats Rhapsody?

February 8, 2013 1:26 PM

Rhapsody's catalog is pretty good, but poor search and spotty album info are making me unhappy. I want to be able to choose albums and tracks to stream, so I'm not looking for radio. Opera is my priority. Can you help?
posted by markcmyers to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: Have you tried Spotify? Seems like exactly the kind of thing you're looking for - and they have a pretty great classical collection, including opera (most of the opera I listen to is 20th century, and I've not been disappointed with Spotify). There are also great classical music apps for it - Ulysses Classical and Classify are both pretty great.
posted by Lutoslawski at 1:28 PM on February 8, 2013

Best answer: I second Spotify! They have a great music selection. I listen to classical from time to time. They have a free and paid version if you want to check it out first.
posted by Cybria at 1:41 PM on February 8, 2013

I'd try Rdio. Same price as spotify and a comparable catalog, but better music discovery, apps and user experience.
posted by milarepa at 1:51 PM on February 8, 2013

Response by poster: Whoa! I just started the free trial for Spotify Premium, searched for my favorite singer, Natalie Dessay, and found a ton of her albums! I think this is going to go very well. Thanks! Now the only question is, do you say Spoti-fie or Spoti-fee?
posted by markcmyers at 1:59 PM on February 8, 2013

Best answer: spo-ti-fie
posted by raihan_ at 3:21 PM on February 8, 2013

Also, have you checked your library? Some libraries subscribe to music services, so that might be an additional source for you.
posted by kristi at 12:57 PM on February 9, 2013

I'm surprised nobody mentioned classicalarchives.com. When I compared the two, it had a much better classical selection than Spotify. It has a free two-week trial period; give it a try.
posted by kalapierson at 2:21 AM on February 15, 2013