Beginner Shuffle Question

[Will_T]

I have read a few threads on shuffle and they seem to be about more complicated ways to make the shuffle mode do certain things.  No one seems to have my complaint so I must be doing something wrong.  My question is just why when I choose shuffle play on a playlist does Spotify play the songs in the same order each time? 
They are mixed up and not just in the order of the playlist, but each time it is the same shuffled order.  After listening to a playlist shuffled a few times, I now know which song will start the playing and then which song will be next, etc.  Even if I stop listening 1/2 way through, the next time I open Spotify and shuffle play that playlist again, it will start over at the beginning with the same songs in the same order.  Maybe I have some setting incorrect?  Thanks!

[R0bR]

I don't think it's you. There have been complaints about shuffling of music for many years, it's surprising how long it's taking to address it.

I have many albums and well over 1000 songs in my Spotify library, I don't use playlists I just go to my song list and hit shuffle. Since using Spotify for about a year now I've probably only heard about 50 different songs during shuffles. I won't get the same song playing but I will get shuffled songs from maybe 2 or 3 albums of the same artist. The behaviour is totally random but overall it is a repeat of the same songs.

I was a Microsoft Groove user and moved to Spotify when Microsoft deprecated their service. I'm used to a truely full algorithmed shuffle of ALL music in my library, not only that Groove would also play the same mood and tempo type music together and transition to other mood and tempos in a very smooth manner. Groove was a great experience in comparison, I like Spotify overall but the shuffling is very annoying. I might as well dump all my songs except for the 50 or so Spotify likes to play.

[Will_T]

Thanks!  I am beginning to believe you are correct.  Unbelievable that as successful as Spotify is, that the shuffling feature is still in the technological dark ages!

[Will_T]

It is very interesting that I just found this:  https://community.spotify.com/t5/Implemented-Ideas/Implement-an-actual-shuffle-function/idi-p/27607

Spotify closed that suggestion almost two years ago and says there that the suggestions have been implemented.  However, it seems that the exact same problems described in that link still exist, at least for me.  That makes me start to think again that I am doing something wrong or have some option set incorrectly.  Frustrating.

[R0bR]

I don't understand why you think you're doing something wrong, it's a shuffle button...press it...done! If there actually is more that has to be done to get it to work then Spotify has serious thought issues. From my perspective it's all in the algorithm and Spotify has some serious work to do around it. All other Music services can do it, why Spotify Shuffle sucks is beyond me.

If I wasn't a Premium user I wouldn't care and just take what I get for free, the fact that I am and have to deal with or move my library to a different service is annoying.

[Will_T]

Yes, unfortunately you are most likely correct.  As a new user though, I was so surprised that the shuffle button does not work correctly that I was thinking there must be more to it and I was missing something in the interface or settings. 

Since shuffle is such a basic tool, it seemed preposterous to me that Spotify would not have it implemented correctly.  A shuffle button should certainly play more than a small percentage of the songs in your playlist.  It should also not play the ones it does in essentially the same order each time you use it.  It should also not start at the same place with the same songs each time you use it.

I think of shuffling as this:  If there are 200 songs in a play list, shuffle should play all of those songs sort of like a deck of shuffled cards.  I can think of no reason why it should favor some songs over and over and seldom or never play others.  Also no reason why it should play some songs back to back, in the same order, over several new sessions of shuffling.

But after much more reading, I think this is just how shuffle works in Spotify.  I guess that for some reason the powers that be at Spotify do not see shuffle as an important feature.  I guess we just have to assume they are correct as they have access to user usage data.  Maybe only a very small percentage of us use shuffle much so any improvements to functionality are way down the Spotify priority list.

[deadgreysnow]

Spotify is useless for shuffle. I have tried it for a month every year for the last three years. I just subscribed again a couple days ago, and wouldn't you know it? The shuffle is still broken. (G1 Google Pixel) I have complained about it every time and I have never gotten a helpful reply let alone a solution. Probably just a few if/then statetments to program, but they can't be bothered with it apparently. Not only that, but if you really dig, you see it's been an issue since AT LEAST 2012. Spotify is a garabge company full of garbage people. Cancel your premium ASAP.