These guys blew me away when I was an undergrad back in California. Late one night I fiddled with the radio tuner until I hit this commercial free station dishing up new artists and rare releases in a series of carefully curated shows. They have been at this for a few decades so their archives are pretty stellar and since 2004 they have been developing their online music experiment to include the All Music Stream and Simulcast (through site or itunes) plus loads of features that include DJ picks, podcasts, iphone app, live in-studio recording sessions and National Public Radio broadcasts. If you fancy the music you hear you can purchase it quick and easy. You can even become a member, support their work and get loads of cool freebies and benefits.

Next on my music hit parade is wers.com, broadcasting out of Emerson College in Boston. They have been treating my right for years with all sorts of shows including Rockers (Boston’s home for reggae) and 88.9@Night (Real hip-hop commercial free). Their kid’s show, The Playground, is worth a listen especially if the wee ones are around.

My last two suggestions are perhaps more familiar to those with more than a few miles on the information super highway. There are two gifts the web has spawned in the last few years for music lovers and musicians the world ‘round. If you haven’t been introduced to Pandora.com it is the answer to finding new music based on your current favorites. The Music Genome Project creates an online radio station specific to your tastes. Punch in Finley Quaye and you get a personalized station playing his music plus artists similar to it. Make as many stations as your like and listen for free. However, unless you are running a VPN or Hotspot with a US IP address on your computer or mobile device (iphone app) you will never know the pleasure that is Pandora; Unless of course you can pony up $4 a month for the same features and plus way more for my fourth favorite- last.fm.