Recommend me some good Internet radio stations!

December 9, 2011 4:52 AM

Recently, I discovered that I can listen to Internet radio at work (i.e., they're okay with streaming music to my computer). So I wanted to ask the hive mind: what stations do you enjoy listening to, and what do you recommend?

I lean slightly towards indie rock, but am interested in expanding my horizons. I have downloaded iTunes, so a station that is accessible from there would work. Or a URL would do.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Much thanks!

posted by tallmiddleagedgeek to computers & internet (41 answers total)

I don't often stream music, but when I do, I use Slacker Radio.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 4:54 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I really like Boot Liquor Radio on Soma FM. It plays a mix of Americana, Southern Rock, alt-country and vintage country and it's introduced me to many artists I'd never have heard of otherwise.
posted by essexjan at 4:56 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

Radio Paradise has a great mix of eclectic music.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 4:59 AM on December 9, 2011 [6 favorites]

TuneIn.com will give you the world. The only thing I wish it had was a "random station" button, but it's still tons of fun to browse by location.
posted by Edogy at 5:01 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

KCRW's music channel plays great music, more indie rock than anything else, to listen to while working.
posted by betweenthebars at 5:07 AM on December 9, 2011

AncientFM
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 5:11 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

Seconding Soma and TuneIn. I LOVE those two. WWOZ, best radio station ever, also streams over the Internet, too.
posted by Kitteh at 5:12 AM on December 9, 2011

I also came to say KCRW's 24-hour music channel is really good. Also, dublab is pretty eclectic and often surprising.
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 5:26 AM on December 9, 2011

I give a second vote to Radio Paradise. Also love "Groove Salad" on Radio Soma
posted by Seymour Zamboni at 5:28 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

KDHX streams and has its shows available anytime for two weeks after they air. (click on radio...then listen.) Every two or three hour block has a different DJ and they often bring their own records to play.
posted by notsnot at 5:34 AM on December 9, 2011

I'm sure you've already heard of it, but I like Pandora.
posted by phoenixy at 5:35 AM on December 9, 2011

If you are able to download software, I recommend Spotify because it lets you pick specific songs and albums to listen to. There is both a free and premium version.
posted by davidvanb at 5:51 AM on December 9, 2011

As someone who is *very* fond of pianos, I was particularly geeked to discover "Whisperings Solo Piano Radio". Awful name aside, it's pretty good and great to have in the background while you're working.

(apologies for the lack of source... I may have actually found it through AskMe, though!)
posted by indiebass at 6:07 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

My Guy loves KEXP. I'm fond of John in the Morning, myself. They also do some really great in-studios.
posted by crush-onastick at 6:16 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Fourteenthing Radio Paradise.
posted by dgeiser13 at 6:18 AM on December 9, 2011

I stream CBC Radio 3 all day at work. It's quality Canadian Indie music - usually a petty eclectic mix of Indie Pop, rock, hip-hop, electronic, etc. It's found at http://radio3.cbc.ca/

One think I particularly like about it is that if a show comes on that I'm not fond of, I can switch from the main hosted stream to one of the unhosted genre streams.

Friday mornings is the R3-30 show - a top 30 of Canadian Indie music. I look forward to it all week!
posted by arcticwoman at 6:22 AM on December 9, 2011

2nding Groove Salad on soma.fm. I use Folk Alley for my folk fix and have a bunch of pandora stations mixed/massaged as well.
posted by jquinby at 6:24 AM on December 9, 2011

Support public radio and listen to some great indie rock at the same time: The Current on Minnesota Public Radio. I personally love this station. Here's their playlist.
posted by theraflu at 6:29 AM on December 9, 2011 [3 favorites]

The BBC streams worldwide online. If you are into indie stuff BBC 6 music is probably your best bet.
posted by TheOtherGuy at 7:00 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

WERS, out of Emerson College in Boston.
posted by celilo at 7:01 AM on December 9, 2011

Another vote for KCRW's Eclectic24.
posted by orthicon halo at 7:12 AM on December 9, 2011

WFMU!
posted by Chenko at 7:19 AM on December 9, 2011 [3 favorites]

Spotify also added an app today that will build a streaming radio station based on songs you select. Check the beta for Spotify with apps.
posted by shinynewnick at 7:34 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

Resonance104.4fm calls itself the world's first radio art station. I think they've got an interesting mix of more and less accessible music as well as very wide-ranging cultural reporting.
posted by villanelles at dawn at 7:35 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm a big fan of Strangeways Radio. "Dream Pop, Trip Hop, Brit Pop, Shoegaze, Electronica, Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Post Punk, Dark Wave, and Alt. Classics," according to their homepage. They also have their music library online, so you can see exactly if what they're giving is what you'd like to be getting.

I also enjoy Indie 103.1.

I wish I worked somewhere that didn't block streaming media. You lucky dog, you. :)
posted by themanwho at 7:42 AM on December 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

seconding the Current. Love the station. Great mix of music. You can listen to it for an entire day without hearing the same song twice. Lots of indie, lots of stuff that you won't hear anywhere else. You still get DJ chatter, which I think is a big improvement over a lot of internet radio stations, but it's public radio so no commercials!

Just a heads up, they're doing a mini-drive right now (through 7pm 12/9/2011) so there's a little more chatter than normal.
posted by ghostiger at 8:10 AM on December 9, 2011

Gilles Peterson on BBC.
posted by DelusionsofGrandeur at 8:16 AM on December 9, 2011

At work we use Pandora, and it's almost always on Madcon and Lupe Fiasco. STP and Eagle Eye Cherry are the only other stations worth mentioning that everyone listens to.

But when I'm there alone I put on a stations based off of Hendrix's Red House.
posted by theichibun at 8:59 AM on December 9, 2011

Came to recommend KCRW--especially Morning Becomes Eclectic. Nic Harcourt is now at KCSN, so I'd give that a try as well.
posted by Gusaroo at 9:25 AM on December 9, 2011

Not a radio station per se, but I've come to love the Onion AV Club's Podmass, where they review podcasts from the previous week or so.

Sometimes they are a bit behind, but Podmass is a great way to learn about podcasts you might not be aware of and good podcasts really make the time fly by.
posted by Fister Roboto at 9:26 AM on December 9, 2011

Radio FIP from France plays a striking mix of great music that works great as background listening. They do lean heavy on jazz, if that matters to you. Added bonus: occasional DJ talk is all in French, which just reminds you about how freaking cool the station is.
posted by anotherbrick at 10:43 AM on December 9, 2011

Whoop. Here's the link to Radio Fip link.
posted by anotherbrick at 10:44 AM on December 9, 2011 [2 favorites]

Chenko: "WFMU!"

Rinse.fm - grime, dubstep, UK garage, funky, drum and bass
posted by wcfields at 11:06 AM on December 9, 2011

I'm finding Radio Paradise (millionthing it!) plus Spotify is a killer combo for discovering new (to me) music.

Hear a cool song on RP, search for the artist on Spotify, make a playlist of a few albums, enjoy listening bliss.
posted by BrashTech at 11:48 AM on December 9, 2011

I listen to a lot of Pandora, well worth the annual subscription IMHO. I also enjoy TuneIn and Digitally Imported.
posted by xedrik at 12:05 PM on December 9, 2011

I love the Peak from Vancouver for awesome indie rock all day long.
posted by pised at 2:05 PM on December 9, 2011

I'm a pretty strong KEXP (Seattle) guy. I'd listened to it over the Internet for years, and then when I finally got to visit there and hear the actual broadcast, it was pretty cool.

The good thing about KEXP is they have stream of shows in different genres ranging from world music to Seattle bands. Enjoy!
posted by Fister Roboto at 2:20 PM on December 9, 2011

Not indie exactly, but easily appreciated by the indie-minded is LuxuriaMusic.com.

"Surf Music, Bossa Nova, Exotica, Space-Age Bachelor Pad, Jazz, Soft-Psych, Sunshine Pop, Wall of Sound, Latin, Go-Go, and Film & TV music of the past 50 years are expertly distilled and blended in order to concoct the “highly intoxicating and sometimes hallucinatory” LuxuriaMusic Sound"

Great for at-work music that's intriguing without requiring a lot of attention. I dig it.
posted by yalestar at 4:17 PM on December 9, 2011

Thank you, hive mind - much appreciated. I look forward to much happy listening.
posted by tallmiddleagedgeek at 5:40 PM on December 9, 2011

I'm all about Digitally Imported and sometimes Pandora. DI's sister site sky.fm may be of interest to you.
posted by vsync at 5:55 PM on December 9, 2011

No WXPN? SAVAGES I say...SAVAGES! :-)
posted by littleredwagon at 6:08 PM on December 12, 2011