These Top Alexa Skills will get your romance started with Alexa who is your personal assistant on Amazon Echo devices. Amazon’s Alexa has grown tremendously in popularity and use this year. There are approximately 5,000 skills available in the catalog that you can link with your Amazon account. Here are my top 11 picks of top Alexa skills that you must enable and use.
1. TED Talks
You can use TED Talks Alexa app to explore TED’s vast library of inspiring talks, ideas, and thought by leaders across the globe. You can add this Alexa skill to play the latest TED talk, random TED talks, or search for talks by topic or by speaker name. Moreover, you can also play funny, persuasive, inspiring, courageous, or jaw-dropping talks too. After my morning news brief I use this skill to inspire just before leaving for work.
Get TED Talks here
Review: It’s quite an impressive app, easy to use, and versatile. You just have to ask Alexa to play a TED talk on any genre you like and you won’t feel disappointed. However, some users might face issues while playing videos.
2. 7-Minute Workout: Get a guide workout
It’s an Alexa skill designed to increase metabolism, improve energy, lower stress, and remove fat!
To get started, you just need to say ‘Start 7-Minute Workout,’ and you will be guided through the entire routine. Take breaks as you need them, and let Alexa know when you are ready to begin the next exercise, but don’t forget to push yourself! Make sure you stay hydrated during your work outs so you don’t die.
Get 7 Minute Workout here
Review: The best thing about this Alexa skill is that you can customize this skill as per your needs. This skill is available only for the premium customers. It’s easy to use, but can be time wasting if you’re not familiar with the exercises.
3. Spotify: The best for music streaming
Spotify is one of the best music streaming services around, and with Echo. Premium subscribers have complete access to the type of music they want to listen – be it a specific artist, mood, playlist and even decade.
Get the Spotify Alexa Skill here
Review: This is probably the second best top Alexa skill we have on the list. This Alexa skill is easy to use with Amazon Echo. You just need to connect with Amazon to get access to unlimited music database. It has a vast music library and comes along with a free subscription plan with approx. 30 days limitation. I use this skill when we throw dinner/house parties.
4. Glad Recycler
We all have to do our part to save the planet since Trump doesn’t care about the environment. This simple Alexa skill will help you and your family live a greener lifestyle. The service will help you to know about if an item is recyclable or not.
Enable the Alexa skill here
Review: It’s a nice app, but it doesn’t respond for all materials. It’s takes time to reply for queries. It has an impressive and exhaustive recycling database with witty responses!
5. Ask My Buddy
This Alexa skill will allow you to alert your friends if you need help. Your contacts will receive the alerts via an email, a text, or a telephone. This is perfect if you party way to hard, often fall and can’t get up, or get lost easily like your old friend Waldo. Please excuse my real quick tangent about Waldo. Was he lost or did he just like traveling the world? I think that he liked to travel and blend in with the crowds but then we were all like let’s get our Liam Nelson on and find him. I found Waldo so many times. I’m basically Liam Nelson.
Pro Tip: But on that note I would never play the following games with Liam Nelson. Hide and Seek, Man Hunt, Ring O Liveo, Tag or Where’s Waldo. It just won’t be fun and then you can’t even try and fight Liam Nelson when he wins all the time because he will beat you up. It’s a lose lose situation. But if he does beat you up you can use this Alexa Skill to get help and you are basically on your own if he beats up the people who come to save you. You’ve been warned.
Enable the skill here
Review: This app is quite helpful for everyone. The best thing is you can set up several contacts with a variety of contact methods and can blast out a message to everyone effortlessly.
6. TrackR: Find your phone
This is probably the top Alexa skill on this list because you can use this Alexa Skill to find your phone. You just need to sign up for this skill and have to shout “Alexa, find my phone.” This will make your smartphone ring at full volume.
Get TrackR Skill here
Review: The usefulness level is off the chart on this skill. This app is quite helpful for iOS users, but android users many face compatibility issues. It’s easy to use. This app works perfectly with one phone but if you want to use this app with other phone then you may need to unpair it from the first one.
7. Capital One
This Alexa skill allows you to check your credit card balance or make a payment when one is due. The skill performs security checks and requires your username and password to sign in. You have to provide a four digit code to open the skill.
Get Capital One here
Review: This skill is free to enable. This app offers an awesome feature to make pending payments. It’s bit slow, but helps you to stay up to update about your all accounts.
8. Google Calendar: Never miss a meeting again
If you’re a person who keeps on forgetting important dates or pretty much everything, Google Calendar Alexa skill is a life savior. You can ask your Echo to remind you about important meetings and other important events.
Get Google calendar skill here
Review: The best thing is that it’s compatible with all devices, but you might face some issues with the interface. The syncing of the skill with the real calendar may require some effort.
9. Mixologist
This skill gives your Amazon Echo the ability to search a curated database of thousands of fine cocktails. The Mixologist Alexa skill can:
• Search by the name of the drink.
• Find cocktails containing specific ingredients including vodka, gin, and rum, etc.
The Mixologist will add a “Home Card” containing full ingredients and instructions to make your cocktail. My wife and I use this skill all the time.
Get Mixologist skill here
Review: This skill has a great interface and contains variety of recipes. It provides clear instructions for the recipe plus they send you the home card so you can read it if you need it.
10.Valossa Movie Finder
This Alexa skills can help you to find movies based on context or by genre and date. You can ask like, “Alexa, find the best horror movies of 2016.” This is great if you need help finding something to watch on NetFlix.
Get Valossa Movie Finder here
Review: This skill contains dynamic content. This skill is versatile, works pretty well and provides accurate results. It might not provide you the name of the movie that you asked for, but it offers results relevant to that query.
11. Automatic
Automatic talks to your car with the Amazon Echo skill. Just link your Automatic and Amazon Echo, and you can ask where your car is located, how much you’ve driven in the last day, how much gas is left, and even more. This skill requires an Automatic adapter.
Get Automatic skill here
Review: This app is pretty good to know where your car is parked, but needs some amendments. If the Ashton Kutcher had this in “Dude Where’s My Car” then the movie would have ended a lot faster.
There are a ton of Alexa Skills but these are my picks for the top Alexa skills out as of 4.13.17. I’ll update this post as I find new skills. Use this top Alexa skills article as an on going reference. This post contains Amazon affiliate links so if you buy something we will get compensated.
