Pandora internet radio
[Price: Free]First up is the venerable Pandora internet radio. This was one of the originals to offer this kind of service. You can create your own stations or listen to ones that have already been made. It features just short of a million songs and you can get all of that for free if you don’t mind ads. There is also a daily skip limit so make sure you only skip the songs you really dislike.
C'mon, everyone else is using it!
PROS
- A decent track library.
- Pretty much all features come on the free version.
- Creating, deleting, and listening to stations is very easy.
- Its very popular. You likely know someone who uses Pandora.CONS
- Ads are fine but the daily skip limit is annoying.
- Smaller track library than most competitors.
- No FM stations and no talk radio.7.5
iHeartRadio – Internet Radio
[Price: Free]iHeartRadio is another very popular option but this one more closely emulates real radio. Not only does it offer over 18 million songs to listen to but it also has talk radio selections for news, sports, finance, comedy, and entertainment. It even includes some FM and AM radio stations if you need those.
It may even be better than real radio.
PROS
- Contains a boat load of music stations and talk radio stations.
- Totally free to use with ads just like real radio.
- Radio selections for your tastes, including seasonal and holiday channels.
- Actual FM and AM radio stations can be found here.
- App keeps up on the latest in Android design elements.
- Custom stations supportedCONS
- Has a history of using the same commercials over and over again.
- Has the occasional bug here and there.9.0
iHeartRadio is the essential radio Android app for all radio fans, not just music fans.
Internet Radio
[Price: Free with in app purchases]Internet Radio is the most aptly named app we’ve ever seen. It also happens to be fairly good at playing radio stations over the internet. This is one of the few selections on this list that supports radio stations from other countries so if you wanna listen to Russia’s top 40 hits of 2014 you can certainly do that. It also includes some features as in app purchases such as radio recording and a sleep timer to turn it off after a while.
Less diverse in some ways, more diverse in others.
PROS
- Includes real AM and FM radio stations from multiple countries.
- One of the few selections that offers radio recording.
- Categorically sorted.
CONS
- The design is a little antiquated.
- No custom radio stations.6.5
It’s not as diverse in some areas but much more diverse in others and it’s free to use!
Live365 Radio
[Price: Free]Live365 Radio is unique because it’s not automated stations like you’d get with Pandora or even iHeartRadio to a degree. Every station is managed by a person who picks the playlists and runs their own thing. It features over 250 genres of music although you don’t have access to all of them unless you participate in their subscription service. If you do, though, the ads are also removed and that’s always a good thing.
Something a little different.
PROS
- Individually managed radio stations is a cool idea.
- Over 200 genres of music to choose from.
- Free to use with ads.CONS
- Developers go long periods without updates.
- Some app issues have been reported like difficulty turning the app off.
- You don't have access to every station until you buy the subscription service.6.0
If this looks like your cup of tea, click the button!
Radio FM
[Price: Free]Radio FM is another more classic radio option. It contains 10,000 radio stations across multiple countries and gives you a selection of music or talk radio. It is very much like a radio directory rather than something like Pandora so that means if you need to search by genre or something like that you won’t be able to. It’s free to use so that’s a big plus.
A directory of radio stations.
PROS
- Over 10,000 FM and AM stations available.
- Stations for multiple countries.
- Music and talk radio available.
- It's free!CONS
- The interface is easy to use but not much of a looker.
- No customized radio. Stations only.
- Some stations are unavailable for various reasons such as country restrictions. They're still listed but you can't use them.7.0
Overall if you need something simple then Radio FM may be for you.
Rdio
[Price: Free]Rdio is another option that is much like Pandora. It has 20 million songs available and you can either listen to pre-made stations or create your own using your favorite artist or genre. It also includes features like offline syncing, social integration, and giving you access to your listening history so you don’t have to remember what songs you just listening to.
PROS
- 20 million songs is about 20 times more than Pandora.
- Create your own stations or listen to pre-made ones.
- Listening history makes it easy to remember the songs you liked.
- Offline syncing is useful if you're about to lose connection.CONS
- The app has a history with bugs so be on the look out.
- No FM or AM radio stations.
- No talk radio.
It’s free to try with a $9.99 subscription if you choose to use it. Use the button below to get started.
SKY.FM Internet Radio
[Price: Free]SKY.FM is another interesting case because it only has 60 radio stations. However, each station is individually managed by a person who is reportedly an expert in the genre itself. That means that each station is not only manually maintained by someone but it is maintained by someone who actually likes the music they’re putting on the radio waves. That means no talk radio and the channel selection is very slim so don’t go into it thinking you have another Pandora here.
What it does, it does well. It just doesn't do all that much.
PROS
- Each station is manually managed which is way better than randomly picked by computer algorithms.
- Despite having only 60 channels, there is a fairly diverse set of genres to enjoy including music from other countries.
- It's a very simple, no-nonsense application.CONS
- It only has 60 channels.
- No talk radio.
- No AM or FM stations.6.0
It’s not the most diverse music radio application but what it does have is pretty awesome.
TuneIn Radio
[Price: Free]TuneIn Radio is one of the most popular apps on this list. It focuses more on talk radio, podcasts, and things like that rather than music so if you’re looking for a substitute for pretty much all of AM radio then this is it. It does contain real radio stations as well which is a bonus for those of you who want your FM radio.
It can do music but it's way better at talk radio.
PROS
- Over 100,000 channels, stations, and podcasts.
- Simple, clean interface.
- Free to use!
- New content pops up rather frequently.
- FM and AM radio stations.CONS
- It has a lot of music stations but it doesn't feel like it's made for that.
- If you don't like talk radio, you probably won't like this.
- Developers
like to do this thing where the app is great, then they update it and
it's terrible, then they update it and it's great again.7.5
If you like music, it can do that but it’s real talent is talk radio.
XiiaLive – Internet Radio
[Price: Free]Last on our list is a lesser known option called XiiaLive Internet Radio. It sports a 4.5 rating in the Google Play Store and despite having a lot of downloads, it’s an application that few people actually talk about. It features 50,000 stations that range from music to talk. It’s powered by SHOUTcast and those of you who are new to the internet may not remember what that is. XiiaLive also includes some music player style features like an equalizer.
A diamond in the rough.
PROS
- Over 50,000 radio stations.
- Music and talk radio available.
- A lot of external features like an equalizer, adding your own URL for podcasts, and more.
- Can double as a standalone music player for your music. Two birds one stone!CONS
- No AM or FM radio stations.
- Some features (like rewind) only work for some stations.
- Developed by Nullsoft who developed Winamp. We all know what happened to Winamp.7.0
Not a lot of people talk about this and we don’t know why.
Wrap up
There are a bunch of awesome radio selections out there so if we missed a great radio Android app then let us know in the comments below!Show
I don't understand how the review can say it is only geared to talk radio. Some of the radio stations can only stream in low quality such as 32k, especially the talk stations. Adding speaker accessories such as JBL or high quality headphones dramatically improves the frequency range that music provides.
Whether one is homesick and wants to hear hometown stations, or one is a hobbyist using Tune-In as valuable resource or just simply wishing to hear a different culture, AM and FM radio stations offer more depth and history than internet radio ever could.
Todd in Minneapolis
Source: http://www.androidauthority.com/9-best-radio-android-apps-393884/