What’s better than a quiet afternoon reading with a nice cup of tea? Not much, but you can try adding some free classical music playing in the background. Well, obviously not all of you will agree. But if it sounded good to you, read on.

Classical music is loved by many and misunderstood by many more. On the Internet however, it doesn’t matter if you’re well versed in classical music history or could instantly recognise a Handel piece when you heard it or not. There’s plenty of experts out there programming the best works for their audiences. All you have to do is take a listen and see what you like.

Tactics First

Where will you find classical music to listen to online?

Classical Music Internet Radio Stations

The easiest way to listen to classical music online is to find a digital classical music radio station. This takes no time at all and you may realise that you’ve found yourself with so many great options that you never even consider the alternatives.

Since the radio stations change URL every now and then, plus there’s a plethora to choose from, I’ll point you in the direction of some great collections of digital classical music radio stations. These could easily become your go-to sites to listen to classical music.

Download Free Classical Music MP3s

There are a number of fantastic ways to get free classical MP3s online, which we’ve already covered in detail on MakeUseOf.

Explore Social Networking Music Sites

There are many social networking music exploration sites. Not all of them feature classical music, but the larger ones certainly do.

1. Shoutcast Internet Radio Directory

Shoutcast has one of the most comprehensive directories of Internet radio stations. It also keeps track of listener counts and can therefore list the stations in order of popularity for you, so top UK and US stations are nice and easy to find. Not only can you browse the classical genre, but you can browse sub-genres as well, such as baroque or choral music. Perfect if you’re in the mood for something specific.

2. Live 365 Internet Radio Directory

Live 365 is another huge Internet radio directory, so you’ll find plenty of radio sites to listen to. Just click on the “Classical” genre and you’ll be presented with the most listened to classical radio stations in the directory, plus related genres. To the left, you’ll see the station from the top of the list, ready to play and showing you the current track if possible.

Also, when you play a station, you’re automatically given a list of related stations. This makes changing your choice and exploration even easier.

3. Classical Web Cast

Classical Web Cast is a simple, but well-curated list of only classical music and divides their collection into three distinct lists: USA, Europe and the Rest of the World. It even features quite a few Australian radio stations.

4. Listen Live EU

Listen Live EU is a simple, yet thorough list of European radio stations, and has a section dedicated to classical music stations in Europe. Since you’re only listening for the music, it doesn’t matter if you can understand the commentary or not. Dive in and have a listen!

5. MusOpen

Try MusOpen to download some legal, free classical MP3s. It’s a good way to explore and to be able to keep the classical music you listen to and like.

6. Grooveshark

Grooveshark has an amazing collection of music. For classical music, just head to the main site and choose the “Classical” genre from the genre options on the left.

7. Pandora

Pandora is available to those of you in the US. Just type in any classical composer you like and it will take you from there.

8. Last.fm

Last.fm will let you listen to any genre of music you like by choosing a given tag radio. Check out the Classical tag radio and keep an eye out for similar tags you might try later. This should keep you busy for a while!

9. YouTube

Don’t forget YouTube has plenty of music on it. Search for “Classical” to find users who focus on classical music, listen to classical music playlists and more.

Or check out many more ways to play music on YouTube.

10. uWall Classical

There’s a great service called uWall, which makes listening to music on YouTube really easy. Check out their Classical genre for some quick listening.

I hope that keeps you busy listening to classical music for a while. If you’ve got any favourite online classical radio stations, please feel free to tell us in the comments!

Image Credit : MonkeyMike