Where I Discover Music

“I can’t live without my radio” - LL Cool J

Ever since I was young it was all about the radio. What was great about living in the Jersey Shore, you got a plethora of radio stations from New York to Philadelphia where there was always something to listen to. Times did change with MTV and, eventually, the Internet, but technology helped us get beyond those radio wave boundaries where you can now listen to, pretty much, any music curator around the world. So instead of resorting to popularity algorithms from streaming services that don’t have everything, I took the road less traveled by listening to the various free music stations created by people who fully listen to the music they play.

So here are the places I tend to go to when I truly want to listen to the music I want while discovering something new in the process.

There are six major music streams I turn to when I want to discover new music. These are NPR Music centric, but the benefits of public radio come without the annoyance of repetitive commercials.

NPR Music

  • 90.5 The Night (WBJB - 90.5FM Lincroft, NJ)

    I first resort to the most local from Brookdale Public Radio. In addition to a very eclectic radio station, they also offer the following radio streams:

    • FM Flashback - think of it as the classic rock station you’ve always wanted.
    • Altrok - If you were a listener of FM106.3 back in the day, think of this as the station that continues its legacy.

  • FUV Music (WFUV - 90.7FM New York, NY)

    I mostly listen to the FUV Music stream for its 24/7 eclectic mix

  • XPN2, Exponential Radio (WXPN - 88.5FM Philadelphia)

    Another great 24/7 which tends to be more Philly-centric. Also their World Cafe sessions are a standard for true musicians

  • Eclectic24 (KCRW - 89.9FM Los Angeles)

    Definitely, the most eclectic stations I’ve ever discovered. In addition to its Eclectic24 stream, there are two programs I try to catch up on:

    • Liza Richardson - her eclectic playlist is a treasure in discovery
    • Metropolis - I consider the weekly Jason Bentley set the standard in dance music

  • The Current (KCMP - 89.3FM Minneapolis/St. Paul)

    Plays the latest in new music and the music inspired by it.

    • Purple Current - Also, by representing the state of Prince, they have a 24/7 stream playing all types of music in the style of The Artist.

  • KEXP - 90.3FM Seattle

    Another great eclectic mix with a website that contains a lot of great on-air studio sessions

The method to the madness of deciding what station to listen to is to spin a wheel.

Other NPR Music Streams I Get Into:

  • Vocalo (WBEZ - 91.5FM - Chicago)

    It’s rare to find a public radio station focused on Alternative R&B and Hip-Hop, but I totally appreciate this find.

  • The Jazz Bee (WBGO - 88.3FM Newark)

    It’s all about that jazz with this station that doesn’t disappoint the true aficionado.

    • Rhythm Revue - there is a hidden gem on Saturday mornings with this set playing the best in classic R&B

  • New Sounds (WQXR - 105.9FM Newark)

    This is the classical music arm of New York Public Radio, but it’s also the station that brings you NewSounds, which total defies any genre.

Other radio stations / music sites I may catch when I am not in the NPR Music mood:

  • The Hype Machine

    This site does a great job curating songs from music blogs and allows the users to participate in its algorithm. The also have a nice weekly newsletter called the Stack which provides a sneek peak of selected tracks from emerging artists

  • Vintage Obscura Radio

    This Station provides a place to hear all the music posted on r/VintageObscura. To catch the truly rare gems that are out there, this Reddit Community was a huge find for me

  • WSOU - 89.5FM South Orange, NJ

    Who would’ve thought that Seton Hall University is the loudest authority on rock.

Commercial Stations

I will admit that most of the NPR Music streams I listen to tend to stick to a Adult album alternative radio format and are kinda light on hip-hop and R&B. So, I to tend to stick to the tried and true when I need to scratch that itch.

The only two stations that matter if I am around the city:

If I feel the need to catch The Original Quiet Storm, I will pop this on in the evening time.