The Best Streaming Site on the Web
Written Jul. 17, 2006 by Larry Rosin in Internet Radio with 2 Comments
Leave it to a radio-research guy.
Since we conceived of this blog, I have spent a ton of time trying out all of the various streaming sites available on the Web. While there are many good ones, I'm ready to proclaim my choice for best overall streaming site: http://www.accuradio.com.
Kurt Hanson, a long-time radio researcher (Strategic Radio Research) conceived and runs the site. While not perfect (what is?) Kurt's site comes as close to running my list of desired features as any I've yet found:
1) When you click on a channel, you get your own stream. You don't just plug into an ongoing stream
2) One can skip forward any number of times you want. Don't like a song? Just skip.
3) Significant customization features -- one can eliminate all the artists or albums you want from your stream and it will listen to you.
4) The player has all the information you might want -- title, artist, album, composer( ! ), label, year, cd album art, the ability to buy the album.
5) One can pause the song in midstream and come back to it later.
It works rather seamlessly, and one can move from channel to channel easily.
Kurt has also incorporated many other terrific ideas. Go to the home page, and one finds that he is promoting channels that aren't easily found on one's over-the-air radio -- like Broadway, 60s Oldies, Pop Standards, Brit Pop. He also has created an extensive Chinese music sub-site, which seems extremely clever to me.
The site is ad-supported, although one doesn't hear too many spots. If one could make any negative comment about accuradio.com, it would be that there is an awful lot of visual advertising bombardment on the pages...but if that's what it takes to build such a good streaming site, it's a small price to pay.
Reader Comments
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I can only seem to get 32k streams on accuradio... if this is correct, I don't know how you would consider this site the 'best streaming site on the net'. No audiophile is going to want to listen to a 32k stream. 128k please... at least!
AccuRadio seems to use the Windows Media 9 codec on most of its channels, as do several other webcasters, and while they might not satisfy an audiophile, the music sounds JUST FINE on computer speakers! (Try it!)