I come from an era of Case Logic CD cases, Winamp, and desktop computers with actual disc drives. That’s where my journey begins. In 2005 I recall handing over my collection of CDs to a close friend, Kevin Weel. He was building a digital library for a streaming music startup with Elan Feingold and Marty Weel called MusicStream. This was before Spotify, TIDAL, Qobuz, or Apple Music. Unfortunately it was basically impossible for a tiny company to negotiate streaming rights with the major labels, so the company never ended up launching a product, but it was a cool glimpse into the future possibilities of streaming music as well as the social aspects of streaming.
The app allowed users to play music on mobile (Windows Mobile!) and PCs. You could create and share playlists, see your friends’ activity, and even chat. One might say it was ahead of its time, and it’s not hard to connect the threads between MusicStream and Elan’s next project, the Plex Media Server. And then years later, Plexamp was born—and like goldilocks finding the right porridge (or Black Sabbath finding Bill Ward, my music has found its forever home.
So Long, Apple Music
So now what do I do with all of this music? If I were smart, I would have built a NAS but I wasn’t, so I ended up getting an iTunes Match subscription to store my collection in the cloud. It’s still a great tool when getting your music in iTunes over to Plex, which allowed me to download all my music when I was ready to build my first NAS. Maybe this is you now—consider making the leap like I did!
Feeding the Music Beast
So now that I have my old collection, what’s next? How do I continue to build that collection? When purchasing music these days I find myself on Bandcamp, HDtracks, or straight from a record label like Merge Records. Also, if you collect vinyl, most of the time it’ll include a digital download. Great way to support the artist.
My Music’s Forever Home
Now that I’m all set with keeping up my music collection, what’s the best way to enjoy it? Plexamp of course! I made the switch from the Plex app to Plexamp for the ultimate music-focused experience, complete with unique features like custom radios and mixes, Guest DJ, visualizers, and offline listening.
Everyone has their favorite settings in Plexamp, but I’m gonna share mine with you here. I like turning on Autoplay in playback settings to keep the party going. Now you don’t have to deal with that awkward silence or decide what to play next when you’re finished with an album. I also like that you can customize what it plays next, easily swiping between the different modes.
In Playback settings, Equalizer Presets is also super useful. Enjoy that lossless music at its best by selecting the equalizer preset corresponding to the headphones or speakers you’re listening with. Plexamp integrates with the most excellent AutoEq repository with optimal EQ curves for thousands of popular headphones.
For that music journey, visuals are just as important as sound. So make sure you select Dark Theme in your Appearance Settings to enjoy beautiful Ultrablur backgrounds, which extracts the key colors out of artist and album artwork to create a seamless and lovely backdrop. Dark is my favorite Theme and one of four Themes to satisfy every taste. Oh, and if you’re looking for something trippy, make sure to take advantage of the Visualizers.
Customizations Really Tie the Room Together
You can also customize your home screen and get right to the music you’re looking for, if you’re not into the defaults. One of my favorites is On This Day. Ready to listen to Shudder to Think’s 1994 album Pony Express Record? You can tune a smart playlist exactly how you like it, and then add it to your home screen in a variety of different visual styles. For example, you could add a little carousel with a random assortment of albums you’ve played over 100 times, but haven’t played in the last six months. How cool is that?
Hey DJ, Can You Turn It Up?
Guest DJ is a great way to throw a bit of sparkle into what you’re playing, whether you want to keep listening to the same artist with DJ Groupie or use DJ Contempo to keep the mood going with tracks from the same era. It’s a surefire way to stumble on some gems you haven’t listened to in a while.
Put the Needle to the Record
We made Plexamp free so that everyone can free their music. Give it a spin and once you get going, a Plex Pass will unlock the features that will take your tunes all the way to 11.
About Jerry
Jerry works in our Marketing team as a designer for all things Plex. He’s been a Plex user since 2012 and Plexian since 2015. Originally from southern California and now based in Las Vegas, he’s passionate about all things design, helping his creative crew, and learning new tools. When working hard on the next big campaign, Jerry throws on Russian Roulette by The Alchemist and zones out pushing pixels on the screen. Family is number one for Jerry, but when he’s got some grown-up time, he catches his favorite band or hops into his local record store.
More Support
Want a deeper dive? We’ve got you covered:
Plexamp
Sonic Analysis for Music
Need to start from the beginning? Here’s how to get your server up and running:
Intro to Plex
Quick-Start Guide to Server Set-Up
More on Plex Media Server Installation
More from Plex Pro Week ‘24
