# What do you generally listen to when you are in the car **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 16, 2019, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886 "2019-01-16T18:58:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/21 "2019-01-16T21:17:44Z")
About 60% SiriusXM, 10% FM, and 20% MP3s. 10% silence. ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/22 "2019-01-16T21:18:31Z")
Usually NPR, sometimes the Christian station or a Weezer or Our Lady Peace CD. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/23 "2019-01-16T21:28:15Z")
55% Sirius XM 45% podcasts ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/24 "2019-01-16T21:41:42Z")
Commercial-free, college radio. Or _silence_. Or one of those cassette-player adapter thingys with a cord plugged into my iPod (usually on shuffle, unless I have some new tunes I want to binge on). When I’m in the old car, I enjoy the technology of an FM converter providing the signal to its AM radio. Or I listen to the clatter, clatter, clatter of the Ford, in-line-six valve train. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/25 "2019-01-16T21:44:44Z")
Pacifica Radio (Jazz and Justice), NPR, the classical music station, on occasion a rock station, and lots & lots of CDs. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/26 "2019-01-17T02:02:56Z")
Our wonderful local classical station, WCLV. I rarely listen to it at home, just in the car. But occasionally, when they’re playing something “unlistenable,” I switch to NPR. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/27 "2019-01-17T02:21:28Z")
About 90% USB thumb drive full of MP3s, 10% NPR. It used to be more even than that, but these days I find myself yelling at the radio as much as listening, so I just play music to avoid the stress. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/28 "2019-01-17T07:35:01Z")
I don’t drive, but if I did, it would be the exact same podcasts that I listen to on the train. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/29 "2019-01-17T09:47:15Z")
It’s too bad you put “talk radio” and “news” as part of the same choice, because they are so different. I can’t abide call in shows of any kind, even Science Friday, and I’ll turn to something else if one comes on. NPR news or public affairs shows are what I listen to, and I switch to music if whatever show is on is uninteresting or unbearable. ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/30 "2019-01-17T11:13:27Z")
Since your poll allowed multiple choices, I picked Audio book and Silence. I don’t tolerate anything with commercials anymore. I’ve heard enough of them in my 60+ years on this rock, and am removing them from my world. I had a free year of Sirius and eventually grew annoyed with their commercials and quit listening. They advertise themselves or some sort of music event between songs. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/31 "2019-01-17T13:29:39Z")
On a long trip, some rock but mostly silence. The radio interferes with my thoughts, which are simply brilliant to me. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/32 "2019-01-17T14:46:25Z")
The go to for my wife and me have become podcasts, primarily _My Brother, My Brother and Me_ and _The Adventure Zone_. It’s practically my only podcast time. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/33 "2019-01-17T14:46:34Z")
Exclusively podcast and audio books. Every component of my car’s head unit other than the Bluetooth receiver is a waste of planetary resources. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/34 "2019-01-17T14:50:47Z")
Podcasts or audiobooks, unless my wife is in the car. She doesn’t like my podcasts or audiobooks, so-- she’s not allowed to ride in my car. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/35 "2019-01-17T15:01:55Z")
Music on a USB drive 70% of the time, Podcasts 20% of the time, Audiobooks 10% of the time. All percentages rough ballpark figures, of course. I might turn on the radio in the afternoon if there was a major news event and I want to listen to people discuss it but the content to commercials/traffic/weather/etc ratio rarely makes it worth it even for an hour long commute. If I was driving 20min I could easily not hear a single minute of actual talk content. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/36 "2019-01-17T15:22:30Z")
Usually, I’m listening to an audiobook. If my husband is with me we listen to either the Christian “rock” station or my Amazon playlist which is mostly 60’s-70’s & 90’s music. I also like to listen to podcasts when I haven’t had a chance to download a new audiobook. If I’m with my mom, a sister or friend we generally gab. If I’m with my grandkids (especially my 8 yo grandson) we’re listening to a VERY weird range of music. He loves: The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance The Star Spangled Banner That’s Amore Rise Up Puff the Magic Dragon The Zamboni Song Take Me Home Country Roads Hallelujah What Makes You Beautiful So I have a playlist just for him. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/37 "2019-01-17T15:23:53Z")
I listen either to an audiobook or to Public Radio. Mostly Public Radio. I’m continually hunting for new audiobooks. I have my card validated in all the libraries of nearby towns so I can get fresh material. If I buy something, it has to be something I’ll listen to multiple times, to justify the cost.\* My guilty pleasures are Clive Cussler (plus his writing-partner-du-jour) and Douglas Preston/Lincoln Childs novels. They’re so wonderfully, absurdly off-the-wall. If they don’t make you say “Oh, come ON! I CAN’T believe you’d do that!” at least once per book, they haven’t done their jobs. I listen to a lot of history and other nonfiction. \*I’d really like more science fiction, especially classic science fiction. But CD audiobook science fiction rarely gets published unless it’s a recent work, or ties into some current movie or TV series. I’ve got some Heinlein, one Arthur C. Clarke, and a couple of anthologies, but the latter are pretty poor. I may have t break down and try Audible. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/38 "2019-01-17T15:36:35Z")
Many albums, dismembered and randomized to wondrous surreal effect, and played rather loudly: Agent Orange, Die Antwoord, Avril Lavigne, Berlin, Black Flag, Black Lips, Bleached, Blue Oyster Cult, Boston, Cars, Cramps, Cyndi Lauper, Damned, Dead Kennedys, Dollyrots, Drivin ‘n’ Cryin, Lo Fidelity Allstars, Fratellis, Girl in a Coma, Green Day, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Insane Clown Posse, Jacknife Stiletto, James, Jane’s Addiction, Joan Jett, King Missile, Leon Russell, Marilyn Manson, Mark Knopfler, Missing Persons, Moody Blues, My Chemical Romance, Natalie Merchant, Nena, Nina Diaz, Nuns, Peter Tosh, P!nk, Police, Pretenders, Proclaimers, Radkey, Ramones, REM, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Suicidal Tendencies, They Might Be Giants, True SOunds of Liberty, Tubes, Van Halen, Velvet Underground, Veruca Salt, Violent Femmes, Waitresses, Wall of Voodoo, Warren Zevon, Who, X-Ray Spex, coupla soundtracks. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/39 "2019-01-17T15:39:14Z")
^ What, no NARF? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2019, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886/40 "2019-01-17T15:42:59Z")
Music CDs and a rather diverse collection with everything from GWAR and ICP to Jefferson Airplane to classical and Tom Lehrer. Depends on the traffic and my mood. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-generally-listen-to-when-you-are-in-the-car/827886.md?page=3)