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.

[sgreene822]

Thanks for your response and I will try this work around. I still feel that
it shouldn't be this complicated just to get shuffle to work.

[mjhasbach]

I have 2,300+ deduplicated songs in a playlist, and I keep hearing the same songs over and over with shuffle on. I will try the "workaround", but this really should be addressed. Shuffle is a core feature.

[vesperavespera]

We've now implemented a better shuffling algorithm that avoids playing a couple songs from an artist too close to each other.

That fix is bull**bleep** & Spotify is taking advantage of this issue.

Look at it this way:

• Don't play artist X again until artist Y has also been played
• Don't pay artist X again until artist Y has also been paid

Spotify will likely never provide truly random shuffling. It would have happened already (it's laughably easy to implement).

Spoiler

They need control over shuffle to manipulate the masses to cover their own asses *tilts tinfoil hat forward*

[Freetrack2]

I guess spotify's shuffle preferes songs for which they have to pay less for playing them, maximising their profit?

[RoninTheOrigina]

OP here...this has been on the board for 3 YEARS now, with over 1100 Kudos.  My mailbox exploding this morning prompted me to stick my head back in (long since jaded that nothing was actually being done).  

I took an entry level programming class in college and I'm pretty sure I learned how to right a shuffle by the 8th WEEK.  Which means you probably don't actually care, or more likely, as others have suggested, IP holder money is involved.

[Freetrack2]

We all got an awesome pattern matching brain which may sometimes fires a false alarm. On the other hand, a songs library with thousands of songs where most of them are simply not played, looks like a bug / or intended...

[KentoOfHardrock]

You're right vesperavespwra and freetrack2. It has to be based on the amount they pay for each song. I got suckered into the 99¢ for 3 months deal, and my experience has been subpar. Dig the increaaed audio quality, but because of finally having premium, I realized the shuffle function sucked, when I was skipping the same songs every 2 or 3 plays. As soon as I read your reply, it clicked with me. This band Motion City Soundtrack, they have 7 albums, plus an album from a tour. Out of 7 studio albums worth of songs, Spotify plays the live album 6 out of 10 songs. ALWAYS. How is that possible, if they aren't manipulating it purposefully. I want to find a list of the most expensive songs for Spotify, make it a playlist, and see if the app **bleep**s itself.

[Rob_C]

There's one way to find out if Spotify really are manipulating things with a dodgy shuffle function - why don't a bunch of us create the same playlist and play it on shuffle. We then post on here what songs get played. If we all get the same songs then we know there is something funny going on!

[Duckdammit]

I agree I keep hearing the song repeat but never here some

[Artracing]

I'm dropping my premium subscription because of this.