diff --git a/src/lib/state.svelte.js b/src/lib/state.svelte.js
index 1c914ae..2e5f8d6 100644
--- a/src/lib/state.svelte.js
+++ b/src/lib/state.svelte.js
@@ -3808,10 +3808,20 @@ function songCandidates(
             // Filename ends with the title → it IS this song, not a longer
             // title containing it ("Holiday" vs "Holiday in Cambodia").
             if (normText(f.name.replace(/\.[^.]+$/, "")).endsWith(want)) s += 250;
-            out.push({ username: r.username, file: f, score: s });
+            out.push({ username: r.username, file: f, score: s, slotFree: !!r.has_free_upload_slot });
         }
     }
     out.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score);
+    // STREAMING needs bytes now: a peer with no free upload slot usually
+    // queues the request and never starts inside the failover window, and the
+    // quality-first score let busy lossless peers occupy the whole failover
+    // list — "Da Funk", with hundreds of sources, spent over a minute walking
+    // dead candidates (2026-08-03). Stable partition: peers that can deliver
+    // immediately first, best quality within each half. Downloads keep the
+    // pure ranking — a save can afford to wait in a queue for the better file.
+    if (streamOnly) {
+        return [...out.filter((c) => c.slotFree), ...out.filter((c) => !c.slotFree)];
+    }
     return out;
 }
 
@@ -3928,9 +3938,21 @@ function albumCandidates(
             else if (folderColours.length) s -= 900;
         }
         audio.sort((a, b) => a.name.localeCompare(b.name, undefined, { numeric: true }));
-        out.push({ username: g.username, folder: g.folder, files: g.files, audio, score: s });
+        out.push({
+            username: g.username,
+            folder: g.folder,
+            files: g.files,
+            audio,
+            score: s,
+            slotFree: !!g.r.has_free_upload_slot,
+        });
     }
     out.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score);
+    // Same availability partition as songCandidates, same reason: a streamed
+    // album must START; a busy peer's better folder is a save-time choice.
+    if (streamOnly) {
+        return [...out.filter((c) => c.slotFree), ...out.filter((c) => !c.slotFree)];
+    }
     return out;
 }
 
@@ -4300,7 +4322,13 @@ export async function streamSong(artist, title, opts = {}) {
         resolver.error = `No streamable sources found for “${title}”`;
         return;
     }
-    for (const c of candidates.slice(0, 4)) {
+    // Failover budget: the first candidate gets 12s (an indirect handshake
+    // can honestly take ~10), the rest 8s — a candidate that has not sent a
+    // byte in 8 seconds is not about to. The old flat 15s × 4 walked a full
+    // minute of dead peers before the music started.
+    const tryList = candidates.slice(0, 4);
+    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < tryList.length; attempt++) {
+        const c = tryList[attempt];
         player.queue = [
             {
                 path: c.file.path,
@@ -4324,7 +4352,7 @@ export async function streamSong(artist, title, opts = {}) {
         ];
         const queuedItem = player.queue[0];
         playQueueIndex(0);
-        if (await waitForStreamStart(15000)) {
+        if (await waitForStreamStart(attempt === 0 ? 12000 : 8000)) {
             // Keep the album going: resolve + pre-buffer the next album
             // track in the background, Spotify-style.
             //
@@ -4570,7 +4598,9 @@ export async function streamCatalogAlbum(album) {
         resolver.error = `No streamable album sources found for “${album.title}”`;
         return;
     }
-    for (const folder of candidates.slice(0, 3)) {
+    const folderTries = candidates.slice(0, 3);
+    for (let attempt = 0; attempt < folderTries.length; attempt++) {
+        const folder = folderTries[attempt];
         player.queue = folder.audio.map((f, i) => {
             const ct = catalogTrackFor(f, i, folder.audio, catalogTracks);
             return {
@@ -4594,7 +4624,7 @@ export async function streamCatalogAlbum(album) {
         for (const it of player.queue) rememberStreamSource(it);
         player.catalogRef = { albumId: album.id ?? null, trackId: null };
         playQueueIndex(0);
-        if (await waitForStreamStart(15000)) return;
+        if (await waitForStreamStart(attempt === 0 ? 12000 : 8000)) return;
     }
     stopPlayback();
     resolver.error = `Sources for “${album.title}” aren't responding — try again in a moment`;