Some alternatives recently discussed:
NewPipe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47020218
PipePipe: https://pipepipe.dev/
As recommended by https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47021252 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47020412
I haven’t used any of these alternatives myself.
If you're fine with a paid option (although it's source-available and distributed for "free" on their website), then Grayjay [0] is my personal favourite. I can't remember the last time I saw an error. On NewPipe, I can't say the same.
[0]: https://grayjay.app/
Alternatively if you're interested in paying, YouTube Music has a subscription option, or YouTube Premium includes YouTube Music.
> interested in paying
Does this really happen? Do people think, "I wonder what else I can pay for today, I love paying"?
Newpipe has been very good at playing and patching the cat and mouse games that YouTube will suddenly roll out now and again.
Or skipvids.com if you don't want to install anything
Revanced on Android devices is the perfect solution for all of the youtube shortcomings