# Favourite Radio Stations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378 "2007-11-06T03:32:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/1 "2007-11-06T03:32:44Z")
Ever since moving back to Montreal, I have basically stopped listening to the radio, since none of the English-language stations here appeal to me, and I’m not a fan of a significant enough chunk of French music to want to listen to those, either. The “big three” English stations around here are CHOM 97.7 - a rock station, 99.9 The Buzz, mostly rock and alternative, I think and Q92, soft rock. There’s also a “hits” station, lots of pop, IIRC. I’d like to listen to The Buzz, but reception on this side of the mountain is terrible and patchy at best, so it really isn’t much of an option. CHOM is _almost_ good. They just seem to only have a playlist of about 20 songs, and they aren’t even the best of the genre; there’s just something about the entire format that I dislike. It seems aimed at people much older than I am, which makes it a little boring to listen to. One of the (very) few things I miss about Hamilton is Y108; an old and new rock station that did a very good job of playing the favourite “classic” songs as well as adding in new things, and promoting local rock/alternative music. They advertised to the 20-30 year old demographic, more or less, so it was humour and events and news that appealed to me (I’m 26, btw). They had a couple of awesome contests - the “Man Cave” and “Rock and Roll Fantasy” would have me scrambling for the phone trying to get my name in! When Y108 played songs I disliked, or I just felt like a change, Toronto’s 102.1 Edge was a pretty good backup, though I often felt too old for that station! Most of the time I would listen to radio in the car, when I didn’t have a CD in the player. I miss having that option. Do you ever listen to radio? How are the choices where you live? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/2 "2007-11-06T04:33:15Z")
XM is the only way to go. I refuse to listen to terrestrial radio anymore. XM has everything I need, and sans commercials. It’s worth every penny. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/3 "2007-11-06T04:38:28Z")
104.5 KFOG / 97.7 KFFG KFOG is by far the best radio station in the Bay Area. 10@10, acoustic sunrise, Dave Morey’s voice, knowledgable jockeys, a playlist that goes on for weeks… ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/4 "2007-11-06T04:39:03Z")
**Suburban Plankton** and I love KYDS (91.5 FM) out of El Camino High School here in Sacramento. Most eclectic radio station ever. Totally run by the kids at the high school. Where else can you hear Frank Sinatra followed by NIN followed by Bob Marley? ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/5 "2007-11-06T04:52:21Z")
[QUOTE=Rhiannon8404] **Suburban Plankton** and I love KYDS (91.5 FM) out of El Camino High School here in Sacramento. Most eclectic radio station ever. Totally run by the kids at the high school. Where else can you hear Frank Sinatra followed by NIN followed by Bob Marley? [/QUOTE] Virtually any college station in the world? Although those are some fairly big names for college station. If you reduce it down to jazz/hardcore or grunge or punk followed by reggae, that’s one of my more common line ups during my show. Not to mention 10 other genres thrown in there. Oh, and mine at the moment is WUAG 103.1 FM. UNCG’s college station. > **[IOSBET ✮ Bandar Slot Thailand Resmi dengan Akses Mudah & Provider Terpercaya...](https://cmbdomar.pl/oferta/artykuly-elektryczne/)** > > IOSBET menghadirkan bandar slot Thailand resmi 2026 dengan akses mudah, provider terpercaya, pilihan permainan lengkap, serta pengalaman bermain yang cepat dan nyaman. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/6 "2007-11-06T04:56:21Z")
[QUOTE=ZebraShaSha] Virtually any college station in the world? [/QUOTE] Except that none of the colleges in our area have radio stations, unless you count the NPR station that is licensed to Sac State. I love it because high school students are programming the station 100% and you aren’t getting just pop and hip hop. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/7 "2007-11-06T05:01:50Z")
[QUOTE=Rhiannon8404] Except that none of the colleges in our area have radio stations, unless you count the NPR station that is licensed to Sac State. I love it because high school students are programming the station 100% and you aren’t getting just pop and hip hop. [/QUOTE] Oh, right on then. High school stations, especially one with good programming, are a rare thing indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/8 "2007-11-06T13:17:57Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] The “big three” English stations around here are CHOM 97.7 - a rock station, 99.9 The Buzz, mostly rock and alternative, I think and Q92, soft rock. There’s also a “hits” station, lots of pop, IIRC. [/QUOTE] My brother is a DJ at the Top 40 station in Montreal, 94.7 from 2-7 pm (Java Joel). He lives in Cleveland and voicetracks. Having grown up near the Canadian border and listening to Montreal and Ottawa radio, he can pepper his talk with Mr. Dressup references when necessary. 😉 > [@](#): > > CHOM is _almost_ good. They just seem to only have a playlist of about 20 songs, and they aren’t even the best of the genre; there’s just something about the entire format that I dislike. It seems aimed at people much older than I am, which makes it a little boring to listen to. CHOM \*used \* to be good. Whenever I’m visiting Northern NY, I tune in to see what the old stations sound like (and to hear a Tragically Hip song or two). CHOM is nothing like it was in the 80s. They would play current rock in 1985-88, like U2. CHEZ-106 was my other favorite station when they weren’t classic rock. That’s where I heard Bruce Cochburn, Jane Sibbery, Kim Mitchell, 8 Seconds, etc. > [@](#): > > Do you ever listen to radio? How are the choices where you live? Albany radio sucks, for the most part, but we have one of those “We play anything” sations that is actually Siena College’s station, but sounds nothing like college radio. It’s a lot more professional sounding and they are one of the top 5 college stations in the country. But, now there’s a public radio station that plays Adult Album Alternative. I love that I can hear The Shins, local bands, Echo and the Bunnymen and oodles of bands I’ve never heard before, and George Harrison. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/9 "2007-11-06T16:11:15Z")
[WXPN](http://www.xpn.org/) in Philadelphia (and on the web) is just about the only reason I still listen to the radio. Well, that and NPR. They have one of the deepest playlists I’ve ever heard. E.g., over the last 24 hours (not including special programs), only 23 artists have appeared more than once, with 174 other artists appearing just once. The repeaters give a good sense of the type of music the station plays:[ul] [li]Badi Assad [/li][li]Ben Harper [/li][li]Bob Marley & The Wailers [/li][li]Bruce Springsteen [/li][li]Chuck Prophet [/li][li]Feist [/li][li]Joe Cocker [/li][li]Josh Ritter [/li][li]K.T. Tunstall [/li][li]Mark Ronson [/li][li]R.E.M.[/li][li]Sea Wolf [/li][li]Talking Heads [/li][li]Tegan And Sara [/li][li]The A-sides[/li][li]The Band [/li][li]The Hold Steady [/li][li]The Killers [/li][li]The New Pornographers [/li][li]The Rolling Stones [/li][li]The Weakerthans [/li][li]The Who [/li][li]Van Morrison [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Cemetery\_Savior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Cemetery\_Savior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cemetery_Savior)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/10 "2007-11-06T16:24:06Z")
I’ll add my favorite Chicago local, [WXRT](http://www.wxrt.com/) Recent playlist: Now Playing Time: 11/06/2007 10:13:50 am Artist: U2 Title: SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY Previously Played DAVID BOWIE Title: YOUNG AMERICANS BEN HARPER & THE INNOCENT CRIMINALS Title: FIGHT OUTTA YOU BODEANS Title: GOOD THINGS THE SHINS Title: PHANTOM LIMB INXS Title: NEVER TEAR US APART ROLLING STONES, THE Title: ROCKS OFF DAVID GRAY Title: YOU’RE THE WORLD TO ME COUNTING CROWS Title: MR. JONES JIMI HENDRIX Title: FREEDOM TALKING HEADS Title: STAY UP LATE MELISSA ETHERIDGE Title: BRING ME SOME WATER RYAN SHAW Title: DO THE 45 ERIC CLAPTON Title: BEFORE YOU ACCUSE ME WILCO Title: WALKEN GOMEZ Title: SEE THE WORLD THE WHO Title: SQUEEZE BOX GOMEZ Title: SEE THE WORLD CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL Title: UP AROUND THE BEND THE CHURCH Title: UNDER THE MILKY WAY PETER GABRIEL Title: SHOCK THE MONKEY THE HEPTONES Title: BOOK OF RULES AMY WINEHOUSE Title: YOU KNOW I’M NO GOOD STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN Title: CROSSFIRE VERTICAL HORIZON Title: EVERYTHING YOU WANT I am very surprised there isn’t a 3-song chunk of blues in there as well. -Cem ---
**Author:** ![Nutty\_Bunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d07c76/32.png) [@Nutty\_Bunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nutty_Bunny)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/11 "2007-11-06T17:41:23Z")
**Cemetery Savior** , THANK YOU for posting that!! That’s a great mix of music and I’m listening online right now. That’s going in my favorites! ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/12 "2007-11-06T22:44:57Z")
Gotta put in a word for the PIG. That would be KPIG in Freedom, California. They were one of the first radio stations to stream on the Internet. The joy is the jocks really do pick their own music, and they are a bunch of old pros who know their way in and around the genres. They play a mix that includes roots, alt-country, blues, vintage rock, folk, reggae, R&B, zydeco, comedy bits and probably a half-dozen others. There’s a bluegrass show Sunday nights, a live-music-in-the-studio show Sunday morning, and the not-to-be-missed “Uncle Sherman’s Dirty Boogie” on Saturday nights. I’ve listened to them from Oregon for about six years now, and when they went to a pay service, I signed up for the huge $5.99 a month from Real Audio (which gets me several thousand stations as well) and have never regretted it. Here’s a current playlist: Tue 1:14pm Eagles Outlaw Man Tue 1:10pm John Fogerty Longshot Tue 1:06pm Harry Nilsson Coconut Tue 1:01pm Lucinda Williams 2 Kool 2 Be 4-Gotten Tue 12:47pm C.J. Chenier And The Red Hot Eat More Crawfish Tue 12:32pm Byrds Wasn’t Born To Follow Tue 11:59am Jerry Jeff Walker Mr. Bojangles Tue 11:49am Widespread Panic Little Lilly Tue 11:41am Rev. Billy C. Wirtz Everybody’s Lips But Mine Tue 11:33am Bruce Cockburn Let The Bad Air Out Tue 11:29am John Trudell Blue Indians Tue 11:25am Billy Joe Shaver Moonshine And Indian Blood Tue 11:17am Roy Rogers I’m With You Tue 11:14am Eric Clapton Fall Like Rain Tue 11:09am Toots And The Maytalls Love So Strong Tue 11:01am Raul Malo You’re Only Lonely Tue 10:54am Brother An daorach bheag Tue 10:50am John Hiatt Ethylene Tue 10:46am Norah Jones Be My Somebody Tue 10:40am Shawn Colvin Heart Of Saturday Night (Loo Tue 10:36am 3 Twins Look At The Day Tue 10:32am Poco A Good Feelin’ To Know Tue 10:27am Flatlanders Go To Sleep Alone Tue 10:17am Tony Furtado These Chains _live_ Tue 10:13am Mick Jagger Wandering Spirit Tue 10:10am Bruce Springsteen Radio Nowhere Tue 10:05am Bonnie Raitt Trinkets Tue 10:00am Taj Mahal Queen Bee Tue 9:57am Little Feat Six Feet Of Snow Tue 9:49am Doug Sahm Get A Life (A Tale Of Modern Tue 9:46am Edwin Mccain Lost In America - piggy edit Tue 9:42am Kevin Welch Life Down Here On Earth Tue 9:36am J.J. Cale Cajun Moon Tue 9:33am Joni Mitchell For The Roses Tue 9:28am Steve Earle Down Here Below Tue 9:22am B.B. King & Ivan Nevill’s Du Goin’ Home Tue 9:15am De sol Santos Tue 9:11am Junior Brown Guitar Man Tue 9:08am Sherry Austin Less And Less Tue 8:58am Jerry Jeff Walker Singin’ The Dinosaur Blues Tue 8:49am Michael Nesmith Rio Tue 8:46am Madeleine Peyroux Dance Me To The End Of Love Tue 8:41am Mother Truckers North Bound Trail Tue 8:30am Bob Dylan Just Like A Woman Tue 8:21am Maria Mckee Power On, Little Star Tue 8:10am Tom Waits Big Joe And Phantom 309 Tue 8:07am Bruce Springsteen Magic Tue 8:02am Bryon Bowers 4 Wet Pigs ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/13 "2007-11-06T23:58:30Z")
My favourite radio station is an A.M. news talk station. Boring? No way. I drive 25 minutes to work, and 25 minutes home. I get updated with world events, local news, weather, sports, business, and there are phone-ins and interviews to boot. I rarely tune into F.M. anymore. Sometimes on weekends when the same 50 songs aren’t being played, and when infomercials are abounding on the A.M. station. I actually feel out of touch if I’m not tuned into talk radio. I am very in tune with local news and politics due to my choice of switching to talk radio. Try it: you’ll like it! ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/14 "2007-11-07T00:10:32Z")
My car’s currently in the shop and the loaner I’ve got has XM. The stations I’ve kept it on are Fred, Ethel, Lucy, and The Verge and while I’m really enjoying it (it’s one of the main reasons I don’t want to give it back, actually), I don’t like it enough to get a subscription myself. My terrestrial station of choice is WDOD out of Chattanooga and it’s a pretty typical “90s and Now” alt-rock station, which suits me well enough if I’m not in the mood for any of the CDs I have in the car but I usually carry my mp3 player wherever I go and tend to listen to it, instead. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/15 "2007-11-07T00:13:50Z")
Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Ro\_Carter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7feea3/32.png) [@Ro\_Carter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ro_Carter)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/16 "2007-11-07T00:36:50Z")
The radio station I listen to the most is Virgin Radio UK, over the internet. They play a very good variation of new brit music and classics (for some reason it always amuses me when they play “Sweet Home Alabama”). When in the car, and n a more local level, I used to listen to 94.1 out of Lansing all the time, until recently when I switched to it only to find them playing Michael Bolton (they’d switched formats to “soft rock”… barf). When in the Grand Rapids area, I generally put it on 97.9 WLAV (classic rock), but tend get irritated with one specific DJ who will NOT shut up about his truck or fishing. If you are looking for things to listen to when you are near a computer, I’d suggest looking through iTunes’ list of radio stations. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/17 "2007-11-07T03:05:31Z")
WFMU. [Listen online.](http://www.wfmu.org/) Dig into the archives. Dig _deep_ to find gold. Dig deep to find God. [Make the blog your new God when you’re done.](http://blog.wfmu.org/) WFMU is the best. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/18 "2007-11-07T08:40:41Z")
[QUOTE=JohnM] [WXPN](http://www.xpn.org/) in Philadelphia (and on the web) is just about the only reason I still listen to the radio. [/QUOTE] Hey, you stole my answer! It’s also worth noting for people in other areas of the region that XPN has repeater stations in Harrisburg, the Lehigh Valley, the Baltimore area, and, as of a week or two ago, Lancaster, York, and Middletown. I really never touch the dial on my radio anymore. XPN is what I always wished radio stations could be. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/19 "2007-11-07T16:31:31Z")
These days, I only listen to local radio ([WASH](http://www.washfm.com/main.html)) when I get up in the morning. I prefer iTunes/iPod or Australian radio ([4BH](http://www.mytalk.com.au/Stations/music/4BH/Pages/default.aspx) or [2NG](http://www.2ngradio.com/)) at other times, except when former local DJ [Paul Harris](http://paulharrisonline.blogspot.com/) is on [KMOX](http://www.kmox.com/pages/2615.php). The reason for this is that I try to avoid local commercials whenever possible and the insipid generic music that American stations now play instead of commericals on their Internet feeds is even worse. Australian commercials are much more enjoyable, plus with the time difference I mostly get their overnight stuff. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Missy2U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378/20 "2007-11-07T17:45:59Z")
[WLUP](http://www.wlup.com/), 97.9 Chicago. Some of my friends mock me and say I’m stuck on “the oldies” but hell - they say that about my husband, too. And my friends are idiots anyway, so I’ll listen to what I want. Played on 11/7/2007 11:41 AM “OPEN” - SAMMY HAGAR 11:36 AM “HOT FOR TEACHER” - VAN HALEN 11:32 AM “ARE YOU EXPERIENCED” - JIMI HENDRIX 11:26 AM “RIDIN THE STORM OUT (LIVE)” - REO SPEEDWAGON 11:10 AM “HEARTBREAKER / LIVING LOVING” - LED ZEPPELIN 11:06 AM “BLURRY” - PUDDLE OF MUDD 11:02 AM “HAVE A DRINK ON ME” - AC/DC 11:01 AM “I CANT DRIVE 55” - SAMMY HAGAR 10:53 AM “FEELS SO GOOD” - VAN HALEN 10:49 AM “THE LAST FIGHT” - VELVET REVOLVER 10:43 AM “HAVE A CIGAR” - PINK FLOYD 10:36 AM “CANT YOU HEAR ME KNOCKING” - ROLLING STONES 10:32 AM “MACHINEHEAD” - BUSH 10:27 AM “THE ZOO” - SCORPIONS, THE 10:17 AM “WONT GET FOOLED AGAIN [LP” - WHO 10:13 AM “LITHIUM” - NIRVANA 10:08 AM “I DONT KNOW” - OZZY OSBOURNE 10:05 AM “BREAK ON THROUGH” - DOORS 10:01 AM “SMOKIN” - BOSTON [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favourite-radio-stations/425378.md?page=2)