Where to Listen to Arabic Music
Listening to music is one of the best ways to passively expose yourself to a language. It’s an activity that doesn’t take additional time from your day; you can listen to music while cooking, cleaning, walking, or even working. The frequent word repetition common in most styles of music makes it an easy opportunity to pick up new vocabulary and expand your understanding of words and phrases that you may already be familiar with. Plus, I have yet to find a more effective way to memorize vocab than having song lyrics stuck in my head.
In the last few years, Arabic pop and rap music have gotten long overdue international attention so it’s easier than ever to listen to and discover more Arabic music. From music apps to playlists to archives, here are some of the resources we frequent when looking for fresh Arabic language tunes.
A note about the playlists: with the exception of the Fi Kalam playlist, we are not the curators of these lists. Some of them feature songs about nationalist or other topics that do not reflect our own views and values.
Best Arabic Music Apps
Best overall music app: Anghami
Anghami has the largest collection of Arabic music and music from the MENA/SWANA region. It’s by far the most popular app for Arabic language music, whether you’re a fan of the classics or want to keep up with the newest releases. Anghami is compatible with most devices and programs so, if you’re willing to pay for a subscription, we recommend signing up for Anghami. They do have a free version available as well but it has many ads.
Best underground music app: Mideast Tunes
If you're looking for a niche genre, or new and hard-to-find music from the MENA/SWANA region, this is the app for you. It's not compatible with all devices, unfortunately, but you can stream online even if you can't download the app. Mideast Tunes streams for free and doesn’t have ads, which is an added bonus for this app.
Best Playlists for Variety
Fi Kalam Playlist (YouTube)
This playlist (link here) is a compilation of all the songs we have featured on the website. It’s Levantine-dialect heavy and includes a lot of indie/alternative tunes along with some Sudanese hip hop, a hint of rock, and a couple common classics. For lyrics and vocabulary for these songs, visit our music page.
اصوات الربع الخالي (Spotify)
There is one particular Arabic music playlist on Spotify that is my favorite when it comes to variety and duration. If you have Spotify, you can access the playlist at this link here. It includes a delightful mix of old and new artists, instrumental tunes and lyric-heavy ballads. The playlist covers a range of music styles from all over the Arabic-speaking world and is hours long to keep you entertained all the way through your day.
Best Playlists for Classic Arabic Music
سهرة رائعة مع كبار فناني أصوات خالدة من زمن الفن الجميل (YouTube)
If live music is your thing, this four hour compilation of live performances from decades past is the list for you (link here). It features many of the Egyptian greats, including Farid al-Atrash, Sabah, Abdel Halim Hafez, Um Kalthoum, and many more. The description of this playlist includes detailed notes on who appears where in case you want to go directly to your favorites.
Arabic Classics (Spotify)
This playlist (link here) includes many recognizable legends of Arabic music from the last 70 years or so. It’s a 50 song, 11 hour, multigenerational playlist that includes both Fairouz and her famous son, Ziad Rahbani, Warda, Sabah Fakhri, along with many more.
اغاني الستينات العربية (Anghami)
This Anghami playlist (link here) is specifically focused on hits of the 1970s, a golden era of sorts of Arabic music. Many of these household names and hit tunes laid the base for the rise of the Arabic pop music of the 90s and through to today. Fairouz, Leila Mourad, and Um Kalthoum are well represented on this playlist.
From the Archives:
For a unique dive into the cassettes of decades past, take a listen to the catalog of the Syrian Cassette Archives. Learn more here.
Best Playlists for Arabic Pop Music
Best Arabic Songs of All Time (YouTube)
If pop music is your jam, this playlist (link here) is one worth checking out. It includes 200 songs, mostly from the last few years but with a few older tunes mixed in. There’s plenty of Nancy Ajram, Amr Diab, Balti, Elissa, and more.
Best Arabic Songs (Spotify)
This appropriately named, 25 hour playlist (link here) spans from the dawn of the pop music era to today. There are so many artists on here that it would be a disservice to name any particular ones. I’m still making my way through listening to this list and it has not disappointed so far.
Best Playlists for Arabic Indie Music
Arabic Indie/Underground (YouTube)
If you’re looking for one playlist to keep you going for days, look no further than this 338 song, 30+ hour compilation (link here). This playlist, simply called, “Arabic Indie/Underground” covers most notable artists on the scene for the last decade or so plus a number of lesser known artists. If you prefer to listen on Spotify, you can find the identical playlist on that platform here.
Arab Contemporary Alternative Music (YouTube)
This 77 song playlist (link here) has a decent variety of popular indie artists of the last few years. There is a lot of Cairokee, a bit of Bashar Murad, some Souad Massi, DAM, and more. This one works well if you want some variety but not a days-long playlist.
Indie Arabic (Spotify)
For a well-rounded Arabic indie music overview, we recommend this 147 song list (link here). It features some surprising collaborations and remixes as well as a variety of indie music ranging from pop to rap to rock, and beyond.
Top Arabic Indie (Anghami)
To keep up with the latest trends in Arabic indie music, Anghami has an ever-updating playlist of the top 50 streamed indie songs (link here).
We are the curators of the Fi Kalam playlist on this list. All other playlists featured here were created by outside parties and may include songs about topics or contain lyrics which do not reflect our own views and values.
