1. Google Play Music 
There are plenty of music apps out there. Between Pandora, Spotify, SoundCloud, iHeartRadio, Rdio, iTunes Radio, etc there are plenty of options for listening to music on your phone or tablet. But sometimes you want to listen to your own artists you've downloaded, for free, with your own playlists, in whatever order you want, and that is where Google Play Music is awesome. Basically, you download the Play Music Manager on your computer and upload ALL your music through it. Then, with the Play Music app you can access it all without it taking any storage on your phone. Now of course you'll need data or wifi to access it, but you would with any of those other apps too. The difference here is that there's no ads, it's your choice music, and it's free. Another cool feature, if you use iTunes, is that the Play Music Manager will automatically upload music that you've added to your iTunes library on your computer. Definitely woth the zero cents per month for this one :)
2. Evernote
If you have a mobile device and you do not have Evernote, stop reading this right now and go download it (not really, keep reading this). Evernote is all about productivity. It's, at its most basic, a note taking app, but it's designed it to be so much more. It's great for making check lists, or scanning pages, or setting reminders, or creating project ideas for work. One cool feature is that it will look at your calendar, know if you are at an event, and title your notes accordingly. There are several ways to organize and search for your notes. When you create a note it will use Location Services to figure out where you are and you can later search by notes taken in certain locations. You can also tag your notes with certain phrases to easily find later. Or you can organize notes into Notebooks like "Recipes" or "Movies I want to see". Evernote also has something called Work Chat where you can share your notes with someone else that has Evernote and they can add to or edit your note as well, which is great for collaboration on projects. If you are an iOS user, Evernote has a great widget that goes in your notifications shade that makes it super convenient to access.
There are many more parts to Evernote that I haven't even discovered yet, but once you start using it, it becomes integral to your every day life.
3. IF (formerly known as IFTTT)
IF, or IFTTT (If This Than That) takes productivity to another level. It puts your device to work for you. What it all comes down to is recipes. Basically if this happens, then make this happen. 
Or, for example, if someone tags me in a photo on Facebook, then save it to an album on my phone. 
Then you will see that any time someone tags you in a photo on Facebook it will be saved to your phone. Pretty convenient. But, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many apps that IF works with, and you can tweak the recipes in so many ways to make them work just right for you. There are tons of recipes published by other people you can use, and adapt for you, or you can create your own. A few I use include: if a new post for an item I'm searching for on Craigslist is added, I get an email with the link. Another one is that if I post on Blogger, it will post the Blogger post to Twitter. One last one: if I use Siri (or the iOS reminder app) to make a reminder, it will create a reminder in Evernote; that way I can see it on my iPhone, android tablet, or computer. These are just a few of the seemingly endless recipes that are out there. IF has also recently come out with two new apps, DoNote and DoButton, which takes efficiency to an even higher level. So, put your phone to work for you and get IF!
4. Shazam
*🎶song playing🎶* "Who sings this song? I think it's Beyoncé! Or, wait, maybe it's U2! I just don't know!" <-- classic scenario. That's why Shazam was created. If you don't know what song is playing, or who sings it, just Shazam it! There's not a whole lot of description needed for this app. Two touches of your phone and you know what song is playing, who sings it, when it was released, what album it was on, if it won any awards, and the lyrics; all, usually, within about 10 seconds.
It also conveniently provides links to purchase the song and it keeps a record of your "tags" so you can go back later and check out your newfound music discoveries. Very simple and very convenient. Check it out!
5. Mailbox
If you hadn't guessed it already, Mailbox is an email application that works with Gmail accounts. The built-in features of this app are what separate it from other email apps. The goal of Mailbox is to get your inbox to zero. You can archive, delete, snooze, or file your emails; and the way you do this is quick and fun. Swiping. 
Swipe right= Archive or Save
Far swipe right= Delete
Swipe left= Snooze
Far swipe left= Add to list
Now, when it comes to "snoozing" your emails, you have options. You can remind yourself in an hour, later that day, in a few days, in a week, or you can just pick a date, and it will send you the same email again. And as far as lists, you can create however many you want, such as Receipts, Coupons, Church, Finance, Craigslist finds, or whatever else you fancy. The goal is just to be organized with your email, that way you know where to look when you need to find something. It's a very simple layout, it's easy and fun to use, and it keeps at least part of your life organized :) Sorry Apple Mail and Gmail, Mailbox is just the best.
So, those are the 5 top (non social media) apps that I always have on all my devices. I would recommend everybody at least try them, because I think you will see how much you enjoy using them.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and I welcome your feedback.
Be safe. Be courteous.
Ryan
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