Spotify doesn't have everything
Spotify boasts a streaming library of more than 35 million songs, and Apple Music claims even more, with 45 million. But there are some holes in these collections. Some albums are held up in seemingly never-ending debates over rights issues, while other records are exclusive to rival services such as Tidal and Amazon. So, even if you have nearly everything on Spotify, here's what you're still missing.
Joan Jett's album "Bad Reputation"
Released, re-released and later remastered, the Joan Jett album "Bad Reputation" (and many of her other releases) are nowhere to be found on streaming services. And that's a major bummer, no matter if you fell in love with Jett's song "Bad Reputation" when it originally came out, or as the theme song of NBC's Freaks and Geeks. The raucous album also features her cover of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)." — Henry T. Casey
Where to Find It: Just keep replaying the intro to Freaks and Geeks to hear "Bad Reputation." Or, if you're on Apple Music, you can buy songs from this album on iTunes to add them to your iCloud Music Library. You can use this trick to help fill in your playlists for other entries on this list, and Google Play Music offers a similar cloud-locker functionality.
Frank Ocean's album "Nostalgia, Ultra"
The Eagles' Don Henley is all that stands between you and legitimate ownership of R&B singer/songwriter Frank Ocean's first album. Yes, this album is stuck in music-rights limbo, thanks to a sample of "Hotel California" in the song "American Wedding." And while certain singles are on streaming services, the rest of this iconic album is nowhere to be found. — Henry T. Casey
Where to Find It: The album's singles "Novacane" and "Swim Good" are on Spotify and Apple music, and the whole album is on file-sharing networks.
Aaliyah's "One in a Million" and "Aaliyah"
Aaliyah was the 22-year-old princess of R&B known for such hits as "Back and Forth" and "Try Again" who died in a plane crash 17 years ago. Many of us still fondly remember her angelic voice and silky melodies, but a new generation of music fans may never get to stream most of her greatest hits. Aaliyah's first album, "Age Ain't Nothing But a Number," is available on services such as Spotify and Apple Music, but her last two records are noticeably missing. The absence, according to a 2016 report from Complex, is because Aaliyah's uncle owns those albums' masters and has withheld them from streaming services for reasons that are still unknown. That means you'll have to shell out cash for full albums if you want to hear some of Aaliyah's most iconic jams, like "Are You That Somebody?" — Caitlin McGarry
Bikini Kill's catalog
One of the most influential punk bands of all time remains absent from streaming services, and that doesn't look to change anytime soon. "In one way, I like the idea of everything free and streaming because it seems cooler and more punk rock," Bikini Kill bassist Kathy Wilcox told The Verge back in 2013, "but the reality is that then people in bands have to have day jobs to survive, and that might mean they make fewer records or break up altogether." Fortunately, the Riot Grrrl pioneers have since started their own record label, where they've re-released the entirety of their discography. — Adam Ismail
De La Soul's "De La Soul Is Dead" and "3 Feet High and Rising"
Contract complications have been holding up the streaming versions of the early works of seminal rap group De La Soul. So, while you can hear Posdnuos, Dave and Maseo's later works on Spotify and Apple Music, younger listeners would be missing most of the story if "And The Anonymous Nobody" and "The Grind Date" were the only full-lengths from the group.
That would ignore their first two records: "De La Soul Is Dead" and "3 Feet High and Rising," two of the most important records in rap history. The former provided a jazzy sonic shock to the system, and waved its bright, pastel, almost-cartoonish cover to inform you this record broke from the traditions of alpha-male machismo that dominated rap. The latter album pushed against the boundaries even harder, but was so undeniably good that it earned one of the first five-mic ratings from the hip-hop magazine The Source. — Henry T. Casey
Tool's catalog
It's been 12 years since Tool's last album, "10,000 Days." In that time, the alt-metal legends haven't just snubbed streaming services — they've ignored digital distribution entirely. You won't find Tool's discography on iTunes, let alone Apple Music or Spotify. However, a report from Bloomberg (of all places) dating back almost exactly one year ago claims that could change very soon. Given the news just this week that the band is really, honestly, recording its highly anticipated fifth record right now, it's possible Tool could make their streaming debut before the end of the year. — Adam Ismail
King Crimson's catalog
Under the leadership of six-string samurai Robert Fripp, King Crimson evolved from '60s prog pioneers to '80s art-rockers to a math-metal octet today. The music isn't for everyone, but not many other bands can be said to have influenced Yes, Black Flag, Tool, Mastodon and the Dillinger Escape Plan. Unfortunately, due to Fripp's near-complete control, you can't hear much of the band's output on streaming services, including any of their studio albums. — Paul Wagenseil
Where you can find: YouTube
Beyoncé's "Lemonade"
Looking for songs that celebrate womanhood while nursing the hurt of a cheating spouse? Then "Lemonade," the latest opus from Beyoncé is for you. Similar to husband Jay-Z's work, Beyoncé's bittersweet letter to generational love, hurt, forgiveness and growth can be found only on Tidal. But true members of the Beyhive will fork out that $9.99 ($19.99 for high-res audio) to listen to "Lemonade" and watch the incredible visual album, right? -- Sherri L. Smith
Jay-Z's solo albums
Jay-Z's fans may not have 99 problems, but they do have at least one: His solo albums aren't on Spotify or Apple Music. That's what happens when you invest heavily in a competitor to Spotify, as Mr. Carter did with Tidal. Soon, Jay moved his whole solo catalog — yep, everything from "Reasonable Doubt" to "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" through "Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter" and even "Blueprint 1, 2 (The Gift & The Curse) and 3" — to his own online jukebox. — Henry T. Casey
The Jon Brion-produced version of Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine"
Leaked albums are often criticized as revealing an unfinished work that wasn't ready for public consumption, but they can also prove invaluable in giving us the best version of a record. Such is the case of Fiona Apple's "Extraordinary Machine," as the version which made it to stores is a tainted, filtered version of the original.
The album's original producer. Jon Brion, told MTV News that Epic records wasn't satisfied with the original version, and that it wanted something more akin to Apple's earlier work. Then, Mike Elizondo, who's more known for his work with Dr. Dre and Eminem, was brought in to reorganize the record and shape it for commercial success, and wound up stripping out much of the record's nuance and uniqueness. Fortunately, the original Brion version made it to BitTorrent servers, and is a record of what should have made it to consumers and Spotify. — Henry T. Casey
Garth Brooks' catalog
Sure, Mr. Brooks (combined with his alter-Ego Chris Gaines) is one of the top-selling artists of all time, but you won't find any of his stuff on Spotify or Apple Music. Why is that? It might have something to do with Spotify's history of deals with artists that don't benefit the musicians enough, and that Brooks, who's sold more than 170 million records, wanted to work with people who paid him what he thinks his music is worth. So, instead of spreading his music everywhere, where every fan could hear it, Brooks struck a deal with Amazon Music to be the exclusive online streaming service for all of his albums. — Henry T. Casey
