Songza for iPhone Review: Automatically Match Music to Your Mood and Activity

Finding the right music for my current mood or activity was never an easy task, but a new iPhone app makes finding the perfect playlist as simple as three taps.

Songza is a free music streaming app that makes it easy to find the right type of music in just a few taps on the iPhone, Android or in a browser.

There’s no need to give Songza an artist to start with thanks to the concierge feature. With the current time, activity and genre and the app starts spinning exactly what’s needed.

Compared to the old method of hoping Pandora gets what I want and asking friends on Twitter and Facebook for ”contemplative chill music with lyrics”, Songza clearly wins.

Skeptical? I was, but after a few days using Songza I’m addicted. Songza’s curated playlists are amazingly accurate given how little I need to tell the service about what I want to hear. The curated playlists don’t rely on algorithms, but on musical experts.

Magical is the best word to describe the last 5 songs that played on my current acoustic evening playlist with toned down version of Mrs. Robinson, a Dylan song I never would have known to add to a playlist and a stunning rendition of Shelter by Ray Lamontagne.

The song choices make me feel like a character in a TV show, where the perfect music for the moment starts playing at just the right time.

Songza also let’s users select music from a listing of activities that range from Between the Sheets and Coding to Drinking at a Dive Bar, Hanging Out In The Man Cave and Road Trip.

I’m also a huge fan of the Work/Study (without Lyrics) playlist, which delivers many genres of music with no lyrics to distract from work. Each of these activities offers many playlists spanning genres and sub-genres, providing something for everyone – no matter their musical tastes.

The app also offers a popular playlist listing with featured, trending and all-time popular playlists. These listings each offer 3-4 playlists that catch my eye each time I look.

Songza is a free app and service with no audio ads to interrupt the music. There are in app ads shown at the bottom of the now playing screen, but they are un-intrusive.

Songza is the ultimate app for finding the right music for the right moment. I highly recommend giving the free app a spin.