Once upon a time, radio was king. Nowadays, the medium may not be as popular as alternatives such as TV and online services, but that doesn’t mean that radio is dead. Finding a radio player outside of your car can be difficult, though.
Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives online that let you access a wide variety of radio stations. No matter what you’re looking for, here are the five best websites that have you covered.
1. FMRadioFree
FMRadioFree is an online radio service that lets you access over 15,000 US radio stations whenever you want them. There’s a lot of choice here, and the website is easy to navigate as well.
By default, the FMRadioFree landing page will show you some of the more popular radio stations, such as FOX News Radio or MSNBC. Clicking on the station of your choice will take you to a new page where the broadcast starts playing–it's as easy as that.
From there, you can adjust volume and play and pause at your own discretion. If there’s a song that you particularly enjoyed, then the website will list it beneath the channel box, so you can get its name and artist as well.
FMRadioFree lets you access a wide variety of radio stations across the US. You can filter radio by location, so it’s easy to find your favorite local radio station just by choosing your state.
If you’re looking for something more specific, you can also discover radio stations by genre. If you know exactly what you want, you can even search for the station by name as well.
2. radio.net
Next up is radio.net, a free online radio accessible anywhere on the internet. radio.net features over 30,000 radio stations from all over the world. This gives you an incredible variety of options to listen to.
radio.net features some of the more interesting channels under Editor’s Picks, which lets you listen to music that you normally wouldn’t be able to on your regular radio.
But if you’re just looking for something local, radio.net supports that, too. Based on your location, you’ll receive a number of recommended local stations, and you can even search for them by name or click the random button for a truly unique experience.
You can like stations as you listen to them, and radio.net will remember recently played stations, so you can easily customize your preferences. Finding the right station for you is easy.
radio.net features almost 50 different genres and topics that you can search by. You can sort the various stations in this way, or by sorting by top stations, the stations that are most popular. This makes finding something new and just right for you easier than ever.
3. iHeartRadio
iHeartRadio is one of the most feature-rich radios on this list, with a wide variety of features and options that you’re bound to find useful. You’ll even find starting off quick and easy.
The site features a simple button that lets you easily and quickly pick out some of your favorite genres of music. From there, iHeartRadio will recommend to you a variety of radio stations that it thinks you will like based on those preferences.
You can choose a station from here or from a wide variety of live radio stations. The number of options here is a little more limited than some other entries on the list, but the information given is more in-depth.
iHeartRadio even features contests and promotions from the radio station in question, as well as related podcasts. You’ll also find other radio stations you might like based on your listening on the page.
What makes iHeartRadio stand out, however, is its artist radio stations. You can select an artist that you like, such as Billie Eilish or Post Malone, and iHeartRadio will generate a radio station based around their music whether that be their top hits or similar artists.
iHeartRadio also includes a variety of music news, making it easier to access that content as well. You can also sort stations by genre.
4. Online Radio Box
The next entry is Online Radio Box. Whereas other online radio stations, such as FMRadioFree, focus on one location with a large amount of depth, Online Radio Box focuses on delivering the widest breadth of stations possible.
The website splits radio stations into six distinct regions based on continent. Once you choose from either Africa, Asia, North America, South America, Europe, or Oceania, you can then choose a country corresponding to that region.
No matter what country you end up choosing, Online Radio Box has a list of radio stations that you can listen to from that country. The variety here is truly impressive, giving you insights into a wide variety of different cultures and peoples.
Online Radio Box also features the ability to search by genre, and as you might have guessed these options are similarly extensive. Choosing rock as your genre, for instance, gives you no less than 35 sub-genres of rock for you to choose from if you so wish.
5. TuneIn
Finally, TuneIn makes it to this list. Like other platforms we've mentioned, it gives you access to popular stations and podcasts in your area, as well as an extensive number of sports stations.
TuneIn features live sports, a wide variety of sports talk stations, and even the option to sort sports stations by genre. You can even pull up upcoming games to favorite in advance and then listen to them on the day.
TuneIn makes a departure from some of the other entries on this list by also featuring a premium account option. Choosing to subscribe to this service gives you access to a number of features.
You receive live NFL, MLB, and College Sports stations, as well as a variety of others. There are fewer ads across all stations, as well, and completely commercial-free listening for CNN, FOX News Radio, and others.
The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be the Only Way
Hopefully, you’ve managed to find something that has been able to help you listen to the radio no matter where you are. While online radio is a fantastic way to do just that, there are always other options for you moving forward.
Consider the devices around you, your phone, TV, and car. There’s a whole world of options out there that you can explore, and online radio stations are just the beginning.