The 13 Best Internet Radio Stations of 2023 (Lifewire)

DI.FM: Best Electronic Music Internet Radio

Now known as DI.FM, Digitally Imported launched in 1999 as an internet radio service that lets you stream electronic music 24/7. They have a team of curators that choose the best music from each genre or style.

In addition to browsing the most popular channels, here are several subcategories you can pick from: trance, EDM, dance, house, lounge, chillout, techno, bass, ambient, deep, classic, vocal, hard, and synth. The last time I streamed from here, I listened to the LoFi Lounge & Chill station; it was perfect as background noise.

You can follow any channel to add it to your list of favorites for easy access later.

If you’re a paying user, you can change the audio quality, listen in external players through a playlist file, skip more tracks, and access premium-only stations. Free users can make an account to like and dislike tracks.

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Relax FM: Best Radio Stations for Relaxing Music

Relax FM is a radio station out of Moscow, Russia, that features instrumental, English, and foreign music.

There are multiple channels to pick from, including Relax Life, Relax Nature, Relax Latino, and Relax lo-fi, among others. True to its name, I find it super relaxing, especially while doing repetitive things like cleaning.

While you can listen online from anywhere, including the official Relax FM website, it’s also available locally to Moscow listeners at 90.8 FM and some other stations.

The apps linked below are from radio.net because the official Relax FM apps are in Russian. You can stream this radio station from radio.net, too.

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SomaFM: Internet Radio for Awesome Indie Music

One of the best ways to find new indie music is with this internet radio station from SomaFM. The DJs hand-pick all the best indie songs they can find and let you listen directly from your browser or with your favorite media player.

Some of the artists and bands I’ve heard here include Amanda Cadore, Alvvays, Aloha, Polica, Carroll, Paranoids, Violents and Monica Martin, Beck, and Neko Case.

I love that the Indie Pop Rocks station shows all the artists they’ve played in the last two weeks so that I can not only see which artists were played more than others but also get a link to their tracks on Amazon. There’s also a handy recently played songs list for an idea of the content.

Something else you can do is add songs to a list of your favorites, from where you can easily purchase them.

I prefer indie music, but several other channels are available if you’re not into it. This includes holiday music, ambient electronic and experimental space music, early 2000s classics, and others.

This internet radio station can be streamed from the web as well as through a mobile or desktop app. If you prefer the TuneIn app, you can use it, too; just search for SomaFM Indie Pop Rocks! on TuneIn.

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WLTW 106.7 Lite FM: New York’s Best Variety Radio Station

Owned by iHeartMedia and often New York’s top-rated radio station, WLTW 106.7 Lite FM plays all types of music, from modern day back to the ‘80s. This is my go-to when I’m not really sure what I’m in the mood for.

This station delivers dance, pop, rock, disco, R&B, punk, new wave, and more, from artists and groups like Wham!, George Michael, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Camila Cabello, Tears for Fears, Prince, Duran Duran, Cutting Crew, No Doubt, and many others.

If you like a recently played song from the WLTW 106.7 Lite FM radio station, you can start your own station based on that type of music, and even skip through the songs, unlike you can on the radio.

An iHeartRadio subscription lets you replay songs from the radio, save songs from the radio to your own playlist, and more. I use the free version often, and I honestly never feel like I’m missing out on those features.

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Cinemix: A Radio Station for Movie Soundtracks

This is a neat one! If you’re in the habit of buying soundtrack CDs from your favorite films, then you’ll love this radio station. It features music found only in movies and TV shows, and since it’s ad-supported, it’s totally free.

Just a few examples of movies and shows that Cinemix features music from include Supernatural, Bicentennial Man, Lost, Guardians of the Galaxy, Call the Midwife, Last Chance Harvey, War for the Planet of the Apes, and many others.

The current song, plus the three upcoming and several recently played songs, are listed out for you.

If you become a VIP member, you can see the 20 most recently played songs instead of just a few, as well as dedicate and request songs, and more.

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KEAN 105.1 FM: Texas’ Best Country Music Radio Station

Based out of Texas, KEAN 105.1 FM is the best internet radio station to stream country music. They have a handful of DJs that choose the best country music for you, and all the upcoming shows for the week are listed on their website.

KEAN 105.1 FM plays songs from Kenny Chesney, Kane Brown, Maren Morris, Rodney Atkins, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and many others. See what’s played recently to get an idea.

Some internet radio stations play in a separate part of the site so that when you click elsewhere, like to view upcoming shows or recently played songs, the music won’t stop playing. To do that with this one, you need to open the pop-out player.

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K-LOVE: Christian Music and Talk Radio

Launched in the early ’80s, K-LOVE, a solely Christian music station, is today one of the world’s top-streamed online radio stations. It’s also delivered over FM radio in numerous U.S. cities.

Every week, millions of online listeners can hear music from MercyMe, Rend Collective, Zach Williams, Francesca Battistelli, Skillet, for KING & COUNTRY, Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, Micah Tyler, Lauren Daigle, and more.

The website has a few other channels beyond the live stream, that targets Christmas, ’90s, and 2000s music, specifically.

The K-LOVE mobile app only shows four recently played songs, but it also has a Verse of the Day page and information on all the artists played on the radio station.

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Radio Santa Claus: Christmas Music All Year Round

Based out of Santa Claus Village in Finland, where Santa is around all year long, is the Radio Santa Claus station where thousands gather every day to listen to Christmas music any time of the year.

The music here comes from singers like Frank Sinatra, Colbie Caillat, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Blake Shelton, Dean Martin, Sara Bareilles, Andrea Bocelli, and children’s choirs, among others.

The Android app is even simpler than the website. You can start and stop the live stream, see what’s currently playing, and leave a comment for other listeners to see.

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My House Radio: Commercial-Free Dance Music

My House Radio has a simple mission: to promote artists and DJs who produce dance music in genres like house, deep house, soulful, and classics. They have more than 40 DJs from around the world.

It’s a phenomenal radio station for dance music because you’re never distracted by commercial interruptions. Plus, you can listen all day, every day.

I like to use the stripped-down player (here) when I’m listening on my phone, to avoid all the unnecessary graphics and other web pages. You can also listen to My House Radio on Airtime for a decent UI. The same radio station is available through TuneIn and other streaming services.

Instrumental Hits Radio: Internet Radio Without Lyrics

Instrumental Hits Radio has been delivering a “blend of instrumental genres” in the form of a radio station since 2013. Some of the music you can hear here include classical, big band, new-age, lounge, orchestral, and jazz.

Something I find unique about this website is the ‘request your favorite song’ feature. You can do so every 30 minutes.

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Fun Kids: Kid-Friendly Online Radio Station

Fun Kids is a UK-based online radio station that features music more appropriate for a younger crowd. It’s part of a larger children’s media brand that includes kid radio stations like Fun Kids Junior, Fun Kids Soundtracks, and Fun Kids Classical.

Although this is clearly meant for children, I have to say that the soundtracks station is entertaining even for me (particularly when The Lion King music comes across my screen).

In addition to a live radio service are several on-demand shows you can re-listen to at any time. Elsewhere on the website are podcasts for kids, quizzes, videos, book recommendations, and more educational and informative kid-friendly content.

There’s a mobile app for Android, iOS, and Amazon Fire.

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Jazz24: Commercial-Free Jazz Radio

Jazz24 is a KNKX Public Radio station that streams jazz music online and locally in Seattle and Tacoma, Washington, on 88.5 FM.

This online radio station plays jazz from artists like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, Diana Krall, and Pat Metheny, among others.

The mobile app has an alert feature you can enable to start playing jazz automatically when the timer goes off. You can also access this radio station through various streaming links.

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