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.

[stewart100]

Please stop suggesting this, it's really not helping. It doesn't cover
every case of shuffle not working, and it clearly shows that the shuffle is
broken anyway. A workaround is not a fix.

[rednblu]

Thanks for the data.  Are you using Windows 10 and the latest Spotify player?  Many thanks for the data . . . .

[35191]

I have a 1500+ playlist with a lot of different artists, yet the Spotify app seems to have a preference for a couple of artists / songs. Apparently it is based on some sort of buffer, so the solution seems obvious: the app should clear the buffer when the user turn shuffle off and on again. How hard can this be?

It has been years since this was first reported and it is still not fixed. Obvious Spotify doesn't really care about it's customers.

[SmallSunSnake]

One of the most frustrating aspects of using mobile or desktop is that sometimes when you switch off shuffle and then switch it back on, the songs will not reshuffle in a different order. Usually I do this because the first time I shuffled there were many songs by the same artist in a row. Sometimes the playlist does reshuffle and sometimes it does not, no matter if it's my 1,500+ song playlist or just an album.

[Troy-F]

I'm new to Spotify but thinking of cancelling - this thread started 4 years ago and shuffle mode still **bleep**. Also, no ability to not play explicit songs.?? Hire some developers and add some of these BASIC features.

[emrolluke]

I don’t like this update. I’m using spotify on my iPhone and whenever I shuffle from All Songs, only songs starting with A and B are being played. If I play We Will Rock You, only songs staring with W and X plays. It really **bleep** and defeats the purpose of the shuffle. I checked if this is the case for Android, but no. Android still has the old shuffle. Please change this because it **bleep**!

[CatWthHumanEars]

It's been 2 years almost to the date and countless complaints and STILL we have the EXACT SAME PROBLEMS! Spotify has obviously gone to the point where they care about their pocketbooks more than delivering quality entertainment. I want to use Spotify because it is so clean and organized but if I hear Piano Man by Billy Joel ONE MORE TIME TODAY ON THIS SHUFFLE I'm gonna scream. FIX. THE. SHUFFLE!!!

[whitworth]

Hi, yes, shuffle works well now on iPhone, but when I cast to a Google Chromecast Audio, Spotify only shuffles a smaller sample of the playlist, or songs from my library.

[jaseyrae98]

On a playlist with 180 songs from 27 different artists, I don’t like hearing 4-10 songs from the same artist in a row. I don’t like that it seems to put things by genre, so no matter what song I start with, the “shuffle” places almost all of the songs from a different genre in a row with one or two other songs sprinkled in. I noticed today on a playlist with 117 songs that less than 100 of them were actually getting played. I’m so tired of this, and I hope it gets fixed soon.

[Bodestone]

I have actually cancelled my account due to this as my only reason for subscription was for background shuffling via the Google Home Mini.

I just can't justify paying for it until I can use it for the reason I decided to start paying for it in the first place.

I have had another online chat with the Spotify team, initially to confiem that my premium would continue until end of contract, and have been assured that the shuffle issue is with the relevant teams.

In the mean time I'll stick to the 2.5k songs on my phone from CD conversion that don't pass 1990 bar Flight of the Concords, Wurzels, David Devant and His Spirit Wife, and a couple more.