My opinion isn't even based on all the JRE stuff with Spotify recently, I just don't like Spotify anymore. I use it every day, but only because it's the best I have. The UI changes at least a bit every single quarter, and if I have a weak connection, but my songs are downloaded, I still can't access them. I have to disconnect from any network and then I can access my *downloaded* music. It's slow on my cheap, but recent Android phone, all for an app that plays music. On my old phone, it just stopped working. It was two years old. They finally added lyrics back, but about 4 or 5 years ago, they had lyrics and removed them, saying they'd be back soon, but didn't communicate anything about it. They soon removed the button that said it would be back soon.
So many artists I listen to don't have a legitimate way to purchase their music, so moving to completely owned music is difficult (this would be optimal for me). Even if I was able to make that move, finding new music would be a lot more difficult. I will say that Spotify is 100% responsible for the new music I find, which it does do a good job at.
The problem is that the Spotify alternatives are even worse than Spotify. I really do think it is the best I have, but god damn do I dislike a lot about it.
I recently switched to Jellyfin, self-hosted on a raspberry pi. I already had a pretty large music collection and I'm building more and more out with Bandcamp purchases.
I managed my own library for a decade+ before I got Spotify. I realized, like you, that the app, recommendations, etc. weren't worth it any more this year. So I switched back to managing my own library. It's a bit of work to set everything up, but it's honestly fun to consciously think of my library again. Give it a try -- happy to share details about my own setup if you're on the fence.
So many artists I listen to don't have a legitimate way to purchase their music, so moving to completely owned music is difficult (this would be optimal for me). Even if I was able to make that move, finding new music would be a lot more difficult. I will say that Spotify is 100% responsible for the new music I find, which it does do a good job at.
The problem is that the Spotify alternatives are even worse than Spotify. I really do think it is the best I have, but god damn do I dislike a lot about it.