Spotify shuffle is not shuffle? You are not alone

Despite being the most popular music streaming app, Spotify is far from perfect. One common issue that users have reported for years is the broken shuffle feature that only shows the same few songs on a Spotify playlist. While the company could technically fix this issue by implementing a basic algorithm, it seems like the problem is only getting worse over time.

According to multiple posts on Reddit ( 1 , 2 ), Spotify’s shuffle button has gotten particularly bad lately. One user notes that the app keeps shuffling the same 50 or more songs — despite a playlist of 3,000 songs. Another user found that the app keeps playing the same 20 songs when shuffling a playlist of 10,000 songs.

The shuffle feature in Apple iTunes prevented the same song from playing again until all other songs in a specific playlist had been played. This kept the queue fresh and no songs were skipped.

Spotify could easily implement a similar rule in the backend of its app, or at least build an algorithm that demotes songs with higher play times. This would save users from having to play the same few songs over and over again while some of their favorites go unplayed.

It’s unclear whether Spotify recently updated its shuffle feature and broke it even more, or if users are just inadvertently fed up with how unreliable it is at the same time. One potential workaround for those affected is to play any song from a specific playlist and then toggle the shuffle option in the queue. Some users have reported that this sometimes shows less frequently played songs compared to hitting the main shuffle button in a Spotify playlist.