Implement an actual shuffle function

[RoninTheOrigina]

Yes, you read that right.  The "shuffle" function in Spotify is nothing more than a randomizer.  There's a difference?  YES.

RANDOM - Play one song.  The next song can be ANY song in your playlist.  Including the one you just listened to.  Though I've never had this specifically happen, I literally just heard the same song that I heard 2 songs ago.  This is how Spotify's "shuffle" currently functions.

SHUFFLE - Take your entire list, shuffle them (like cards), and play the first song in the shuffle.  Once finished, move that song off the pile.  Once the pile is depleted, shuffle the deck again and start over (maybe pop a message up).

I know enough about programming (not much) to know that shuffling is probably a bit harder than random, but come on.  I may be in the minority, but I don't have a lot of little playlists.  I have one list with nearly a thousand songs in it, because I like all the music, and am rarely not in the mood for one of those songs.  But what I can't stand is hearing the same song over and over again.  I think there may even be songs in my list I haven't heard yet, while I've heard others 4-5 times.

I know it may not matter much, but I would probably lay down the money for at least a year subscription if this feature was implemented.

EDIT: Another user pointed out that I can see what all is queued up in my shuffle by clicking the Play Queue link, and that Spotify supposedly sets up a rolling shuffle of 50 songs.  It would be nice if this range could be expanded to say 50-100% of your playlist.

EDIT 4/6/12: I just dealt with the same song 16 tracks later.  The song played the first time yesterday afternoon.  I went home, listened for a bit on my home PC (just a few songs), then started listening again this morning.  If the list recycles itself after a day, or if you log in from another computer, I see that as an area for improvement.

[julianerenee]

Spotify has THE ABSOLUTE WORST customer service I have ever dealt with in my life... I have been dealing with this and another issue of not being able to remove songs from my playlists, for A YEAR. I can't wait till another app comes out so I can leave Spotify.

[julianerenee]

you would think.. they get $10 a month from everyone and you can't even call them for help. you have to wait a week for a response through either email or facebook and they never help you completely, so you have to wait another week for another reply. it takes months to sort something out. they can afford a phone #....

[wmerson1971]

I have to agree with the customer service issues.  I'm not one of those "change it or i'll go elsewhere" kind of users, however reading though many of the support articles here, I am really leaning to change.  I think they are too focused on getting new users, that the customer care offered for current users has declined severly.  

[eroberts12391]

I've been a premium member for a while now and I've noticed that the shuffle function on playlists rarely or imperceptively changes the order in which songs are played. I have a playlist of almost 1000 songs and it seems that the same songs come up in the same order each time I hit shuffle. Also, the Radio stations seem to play the same songs in the same order when you start or restart a station. I would love for the radio to play new, similar music to the song, artist, or playlist that I used to create the station.

Thanks!

[user-removed]

I kept Spotify using their free service for now just incase they fix it. I
use several other services including XM to ease the pain of the inept
dealings at Spotify. thanks, Bocceking

[ARCINTHE757]

---

eroberts12391: "I would love for the radio to play new, similar music to the song, artist, or playlist that I used to create the station."

That's where Pandora Excels over Spotify. When you create an artist or genre radio channel the algorithym that is used selects other "musically similar" tracks, including some from artists that I never would have considered otherwise. I do love how Pandora handles this, but the song selection seems alot wider on Spotify, which is why I switched from Pandora One to Spotify Premium almost 2 years ago. I have just recently cancelled my Spotify Premium subscription because of the dysfunctional shuffle feature and switched back to Pandora One. Another downside to Pandora is that it does not have many of the options and functions like Spotify, but I can deal without certain bells and whistles in exchange for a more varied music experience.

[wmerson1971]

I have canceled my spotify subscription.  I was waiting for Apple Music to have a better look and functionality , I downloaded the IOS10 beta version today and I have to say that the interface is a huge improvement and Apple's family plan is a **bleep** of lot eaisier to use then Spotifies.  You have no idea how many times my kids have saved their music into mine.  So i'm going to give apple music a try and see how it goes.  I'll post back here to let you all know how it compares .

[wmerson1971]

OK, so it hasn't been more than a few hours, and I can tell all the iphone / ipad users to stay the **bleep** away from IOS10 Beta 1 .....  Its Beta 1 for a reason ...  but I can say that the Apple Music App does work WAY better than the current public version and , even thought IOS10 may be two months away, I will wait and keep using Apple Music.  I have a library of around 2500 songs, and in 3-4 hours of listening and skipping songs, I did not hear the same song twice, which is really all i've wanted.  Sorry Spotify, but sometimes the little differences, mean the most to consumers.

[RockieRat]

Great news! How does the Apple Music library compare to Spotifys? I'm into some obsure stuff and basically no pop music whatsoever; (No one can ever taunt me with Taylor Swift or whatshisname who's married to that vile troll and her sisters or even Beyonce. Just. Don't. Care.). Love everything from noise or pre-punk, to post-punk and electroclash - plus that whole new wave of Psych indie artists! Will I be happy? ((Guess I should just start poking around, eh??))

So yeah - maybe it's time to start moving over. I don't think I've ever heard any of these issue addressed by an actual Spotify employee. They once helped me with the desktop app (Mac) that wasn't playing through airplay properly. That issue was never resolved either. 

[kcpz]

*sigh* Apple Music still misses the mark on Library size... There are
bands that just don't have a deal with AM and are selling their stuff
on iTunes... 😞