The shuffle function - problems, imrpovements, suggestions

[NonameSL]

I love spotify. My only problem is the shuffle function. It's not REALLY random.

If you haven't noticed this, you're probably new to Spotify.

Current issues with the shuffle function:

 - When I restart my computer, the same queue restores from a certain song. Every time. And then, I click shuffle - and it always shuffles to a next queue, which is the same one every time.

 - Now I don't really know how to describe the next issue, so I'll include an explanation of what I mean: I have two identical playlists, A and B, but B has 20 more songs. I often listen to A, and when I switch to B spotify puts those specific 20 songs in the shuffling to be above all others. This is not prioritizing songs I haven't heard in a while, because there are songs I haven't heard in months:

 - There are songs that I haven't heard in months. I have a 20 hour playlist, and I listen to a lot of spotify. Like 7-12 hours a week, and there are still songs I haven't heard in over 2 months.

It makes listening really annoying. I keep hearing the same songs and I'm sick of it.

Solutions:

 - Make shuffle truly random. That's it. Just shuffle the playlist, no strings attached, and play it by the queue.

 - Split shuffle into two functions - "Normal" shuffle (Which randomly shuffles your playlist), and a Smart shuffle feature, with all the features currently included like prioritizing songs you haven't heard in a while and new songs, etc.

General Improvements:

 - Store the queue for each playlist in your servers, and then retrieve it. As simple as that. That way we won't have the same queue on restart problem, and we will hear new songs as time goes by. This could be enabled by default / changable in the settings.

[rednblu]

                           Bravo!

I like the alternative designs you suggest for fixing these persistent bugs in the Spotify shuffle.

Your idea of a [stored queue for each shuffled playlist] is key to making the Spotify shuffle work, I would say.  The way it is now, every time you restart, the Spotify shuffle guarantees a repeat of every single track you have already played before you finish the playlist!-- In contrast, if you played from a [stored queue for each shuffled playlist], you would guarantee playing every track without hearing even one repeat-- is that your idea?

Have you tried any of the "user programming fixes" for these persistent bugs in the Spotify shuffle?

I recommend >> this user programming fix. <<  You can either Shuffle the current playlist in place-- Or you can produce a new shuffled playlist with " - shuffled" appended to the OriginalPlaylistName.

So you have something like your idea of a [stored queue for each shuffled playlist], right?-- You just restart with the NextTrack for each playlist.  Is that what you had in mind?

[NonameSL]

Glad to hear you like it 🙂

The stored queue idea is an extra suggestion because it doesn't fully solve the main problem, it just addresses a different part of it - listening between devices / after restarts with the same queue in the programs cache. The true shuffle improvement because it addresses the shuffle function not being random. Combining them both would eliminate those two issues. But the main problem is that the shuffle function isn't truly random.

The site you provided seems nice, but the shuffle in place function doesn't work- it keeps throwing me errors. But producing a new shuffled playlist would mean I have the same queue each time, and I wouldn't want that because my stored queue suggestion isn't implemented, so I'd keep hearing the same songs over restarts/different devices 😛 

[rednblu]

I like very much what you say about the usefulness of your [stored queue] idea.

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... I wouldn't want that because my stored queue suggestion isn't implemented, so I'd keep hearing the same songs over restarts/different devices 😛

Right on, I say!  My friends think they have shown me how to implement a Working prototype for a [stored queue] function among and between all different mobiles, desktops, laptops, iPhones, and iMacs among my circle of friends.

Maybe the following is useful-- Maybe not for you-- In any case, I take this opportunity to summarize the current "design" of the Working prototype that I just revised

* I have a family account, but I use only three of the five loginIds-- I also have two legacy free accounts that I still keep for various operations, such as assembling and deDuping a massive 9000 track playlist of every Spotify track by every thumbsUp Artist M-N.

* One vintage Vista Windows lapTop I use to assemble my [stored queues] that service all Spotify players on all devices among my friends-- For myself, on this Central Vista Windows workhorse, I maintain a separate [stored queue] for each device-- just to simplify the prevention of repeats-- I cut the whole 9,000 track master playlist into three [stored queue] playlists, one for each of three devices that I use regularly.

* If you are interested, I will describe how the [stored queue] works for about 7 friends that play from one [stored queue] Offline on their mobiles.

* I produce-- mainly automatically-- a public playlist that serves as a [stored queue] for OffLine play >> https://open.spotify.com/user/rednblu/playlist/0td5oLjwJt59zm1sVHbAHP << always refreshed automatically to around 3000 tracks.

* I refresh that [stored queue] playlist by deleting from the top according to my quick estimate of my heaviest using friends-- I can see what each of my friends' last track was because their last track when they play on WiFi occasionally will be recorded under the display of "Friend feed".  Make sense?

* Then I replenish that Offline [stored queue] from the bottom to keep it around 3000 tracks-- I replenish that particular [stored queue] from a shuffled extract from a library of over 22,000 tracks of Artists that my friends say are similar-enough to Van Morrison.-- I like to hear that one too-- but my favorite perpetually refreshed [stored queue] contains lots of FarOut classical music and percussion displays and thunderstorms and whale songs.

* And when my friends restart their play from whatever [stored queue], they choose, they understand that they have to track by [stored queue]-- such as copy to a LastPlayed playlist for that [stored queue]-- the track that they last played from that [stored queue]--

* When they restart, they start from the next track after that track they last played, and if that track they last played is not there-- because I have deleted it from the top in my automatic refresh-- they simply restart playing from the top.

Now of course, Spotify could automate all of that simulated but working [stored queue] function--

Spotify could create some version closer to your brilliant [stored queue suggestion]-- Hence, all of the above is just a waiting for the Lord to come solution, right?  (We both laugh.)

But the Spotify music that I hear from this Working prototype [stored queue] function is divine and perfect and glorious and extraordinary in depth and variety-- and hardly ever do I get a repeat that I take the time to prevent!