The 10 Best music apps

Listen to a far-flung radio station, play back your band's tracks or search for your favourite music. These apps do it all

1. TuneIn Radio

Pretty much every single radio station in the world in one place, TuneIn allows you to listen to 70,000 live radio stations and around two million podcasts. You could listen to a different station every day for the rest of your life, and there's not much more to say other than that.

Free, iOS, Android

2. Garageband

Transform your phone into a portable recording studio with the app version of Apple's hugely successful Garageband programme. Although one band, The Ultramods, used the app to record an entire album, most musicians will find the app a handy way to listen back to rehearsal sessions and experiment with song structures.

£2.99, iOS

3. Songkick

For lovers of live music, Songkick is a dream app. It creates a personalised concert calendar based on your music library and gives you a heads up when your favourite bands are doing a gig.

Free, iOS, Android

4. Downcast

Break free from iTunes with this app that allows you to download and listen to your favourite podcasts without having to sync up with your computer. Browse, download, rename podcasts and create smart playlists to organise your listening library.

£1.99, iOS

5. Twitter #music

For those who feel the need to live tweet their every waking moment, this music app from the creators of Twitter will be a welcome addition to their smartphone. The app shows tweets along with each track and you can jump into the conversation as you listen.

Free, iOS

6. Musyc

A beautifully designed musical game in which you create a symphony by bouncing different coloured shapes around the screen. Designed by FingerLabs, who have also designed drum machine and guitar pedal-based apps, it is a tranquil and harmonious game that will be loved by music and production geeks alike.

Free, iOS

7. Soundhound

The ultimate music search engine, Soundhound allows you to scout out tunes by singing, humming, typing or playing back the track. Once recognised, you get the full works; lyrics, videos, ringtones and links to iTunes.

Free, iOS, Android

8. Figure

This is a must-have for beat junkies and producers who can't go a spare minute without wanting to play around with some new sounds. It gives you a drum, bass and lead synth and a drumbeat programmer you can tweak with your fingertips to your heart's content.

£69, iOS

9. Panamp

A music player to challenge the limitations of the iPhone's default music app. Panamp allows you to make dynamic "queues" of your favourite tracks on the go, find related information about your tracks as you browse your library and "Power Search" with a single swipe.

£1.49, iOS

10. Discovr Music

Discovr is an enticing proposition for anyone who wants to find some new music. Follow your favourite bands and this sharply designed app will bring you all their music, videos and photos, and lead you to new artists via its intriguing mind map feature.

Free, iOS