Here is a Spotify player available on all platforms (Windows, Linux, Mac, etc) and has Last.fm scrobbling and keyboard shortcuts.

I recently started using Spotify and discovered how awesome it is to listen to music I would otherwise not be able to. I tried out the official players from Spotify (Windows player at work and Linux player at home) but found that they didn't give me the freedom I wanted. I need customization keyboard shortcuts and last.fm scrobbling.

Eventually I discovered the Nuvola player for Linux. It is basically just a wrapper for the web version of Spotify. This allowed keyboard shortcuts but I found this to be too buggy to be usable.

Eventually I figured out an idea that works perfectly for me and is super simple: use Google Chrome.

Now to be clear, I had tried the web player before on Chrome, but I found that it didn't work quite to my liking. I wanted a separate program that I could put in the background of my browser. The trick I discovered however was to simply make a new Chrome account dedicated only to Spotify (Chrome is amazing in its ability to create multiple accounts). This turned out to work better than expected with some added bonuses and the ability to add some customization.

Below, I will show you how I setup Chrome and why it works so well as a Spotify player.

The fist thing I did was setup a new account on Chrome. You can do this by clicking on the user/name icon in the top right, then clicking on "Switch person."

You will have a window come up where you can add a person.

The reason I setup an account specifically for Spotify is because I have found that some of the extensions I use on my normal browser caused problems when I was using Spotify. Not only that, but I like having a separate window dedicated to just Spotify. This way if I want to put a window on another screen or in the background, I can easily do that. When I close my Spotify window then open it up again, it is right back to how it was when I closed it.

While not necessary, after I have created a new account, I like to sign into the browser with an account I use just for Spotify. The reason I do this is because it makes it easier for me to setup across browsers or after I reinstall an OS. Rather than going through the process of installing all the Chrome plugins, I can simply login. Look at my post here if you need an easy way to sign up for a new Google account.

Once you have signed into Chrome (or not) you can go to the Web store and start installing extensions. The first one I like to install is the Last.fm Scrobbler. To use this, you simply login to your last.fm account in the browser after you have installed the extension.

Next I will install Streamkeys. This extension allows you to set global shortcuts that will work with Spotify.

On the options page for the extension there is a link to allow you to set your global shortcut keys for this extension. I like using Alt + . for next track, Alt + , for previous track, and Alt + Spacebar for play/pause. This allows me to control my music easily without my fingers leaving their positions on the keyboard.

With these extensions installed, you now have a fantastic Spotify web player that will work on any OS. You can customize it further by adding other extensions or themes.