I rebuilt a real offline music library — and it’s better than streaming

You know that sinking feeling when your favorite song vanishes from Spotify without warning? Or when your internet cuts out right in the middle of your commute? For the longest time, I considered these acceptable trade-offs for the convenience that music streaming apps offer. I was wrong.

If a 28-year-old MP3 player can still rock today , I wondered why can't an offline music library too? So built one, just like the good old days, and it's better than streaming.

The best places to build a legal offline library

There are platforms that still sell files

The tough part about building an offline music library is being able to download all your songs as individual files. Sure, streaming services like Spotify or YouTube Music let you download tracks, but these files aren't accessible outside