The Infinite Dial

Throughout our search for the Ten Best Radio Markets For Listeners, we've been looking for a combination of the following: Breadth of available choices; the quality of those choices; and sense of place: radio stations that convey a sense of the market and couldn't exist anywhere else.

In that last regard, it has always been hard to touch New Orleans. Population shifts and the passage of time helped homogenize the music that endured, even in markets with rich musical heritages, like Detroit or Boston. New Orleans was a place where the local hits never disappeared and (with the help of a thriving rap scene) new ones continued to be made, often played by market veterans who were hard for outsiders to parse.

We're in no way trying to overstate where a loss of radio's distinct identity would have ranked in the hierarchy of the post-Katrina tragedies. But radio and music are very much part of the culture that New Orleans gives the world and it would have been very easy for lose that. Urban radio could have been devastated (and was not unscathed); much of the radio could have easily ended up being outsourced to Baton Rouge. So the endurance of this market's localism alone is not what places it in the top 5, but it is certainly remarkable nonetheless.

Since 2005, the public face of New Orleans radio to the outside world has been two stations: Entercom's WWL, which became the dramatic proof of radio's ongoing indispensibility, and has since extended its brand on to FM and a second AM station, which is positioned as "WWL On Demand"; The other is "Jazz and Heritage" community outlet WWOZ, which recently contributed 7,000 hours of programming to the Library of Congress.

Well-executed more mainstream outlets like Entercom's AC WLMG (Magic 101.9) and Clear Channel's Country WNOE get less outside attention. The latter is a very contemporary Country outlet competing with an even newer-leaning KKND, recently relaunched from its Country/Rock hybrid as "New Country First." Entercom's WEZB (B97) is a one of the country's most musically aggressive and most distinctive Top 40s.

CC's Urban WQUE (Q93) maintains a strong local flavor musically and is one of a handful of stations that can rightfully share credit for the ascent of Southern rap. Q93 and Urban AC sister WYLD-FM control the top two slots in the market, something that couldn't be taken for granted post-Katrina. Citadel's KMEZ has evolved from R&B Oldies to Urban AC in the past few years, but you continue to hear music there and on WYLD-FM that one wouldn't hear elsewhere.

Among the more distinctive stops on the dial: Oldies WTIX-FM, replicating the sound of the market's AM Top 40 powerhouse of the '60s/'70s, suburban Cajun/Swamp Pop outlet KLRZ, recently launched black N/T outlet WBOK with market veteran C.J. Morgan in mornings, Top 40/Dance/Rhythmic AC hybrid WDVW (Diva 92.3)--mainstreamed, but not entirely, since its launch as Citadel's version of NYC's female-lifestyle Blink 102.7 several years ago, and WRBH, the non-commercial "Reading Radio for the Blind" station.

What's missing here? There aren't physically as many radio stations as you'll find in some of the other markets we're spotlighting. There aren't many local morning shows--the market veterans are still there, but in other dayparts--although a few of the syndicated shows like Rod Ryan and Walton & Johnson have previous ties to the market. It's probably also time for a Spanish-language FM (the market is divvied between several AMs).

And the countdown so far:

10 - Louisville
9 - Salt Lake City
8 - Austin, Texas
7 - Washington
6 - Los Angeles
5 - New Orleans