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First let me say internet radio is so vast, that listening/ finding good stations is always a work in progress, at least for me it is. Check here often, as I will be adding stations as I discover those which appeal to me. Remember, Music is the main goal, radio is just the means of finding it. Don’t get too caught up in the search.

The Streamfinder.com link is provided for you at the bottom of this page.

Last.fm

This was my first introduction to internet “radio”a couple of years ago, and I love its’ ease of use. Most appealing is there is radio for almost any genre or artist you enter, and they seem to be pretty good at matching their styles. The site was originally U.K. owned, then was purchased by CBS interactive in 2007, which probably helped contribute to its’ large variety of music.

Last.fm is great for finding new/unfamiliar artists in particular. Half the fun is just exploring the site. There is a “social network” aspect to the site, meaning playlists can be shared among members. After joining, the site creates a “listener profile” of the music you listen to on your computer, other internet radio stations/and or its’ own site by means of “Scrobbler” technology, and is stored on your profile page.

What I really dig about the site is you can CHOOSE a particular artist/track and listen to it in its’ entirety up to 3 times, after which you only hear a preview.

Selecting music from the toolbar gives a page with categories on the left, and the artists most most popular to the right, along with pictures, musical style and whether they’re on tour. I selected jazz, which follows the same page set up, but instead gives artists to which they are similar, since I already picked jazz.

Under the jazz heading at the top of the page are subheading for further breakdown i.e. piano, swing, sax, fusion, funk, smooth jazz. These can also be selected to drill down your results.

The radio button shows an artist/genre play box, which results in slideshow video for each artist played.

The events button will let members know based on your profile info, what concerts are coming to your town. Great site, check it out.

Accuradio.com

I just recently started listening here. I think this is one of the most visually pleasing sites out there. Categories are presented with representative artist photos and a brief description of what you can expect to hear. You can click these or anywhere you see an audio icon and are taken directly to the player.

Here this site truly shines. The Accuradio player provides probably some of the most complete artist meta data online, including title, artist, album, composer, label, and year of recording. It contains the last 3 tracks played and links for purchase from amazon.com, player controls and track time elapsed. Clicking on the Amazon link provides additional artist info. This is all on the “Now Playing” tab. “Artists” is the second tab and tells who you can expect to hear, and the last is the” Channel” tab for other stations of interest from their music library.

Their main menu consists of two “tile bars” with various headings and categories. There’s also an artist search that’s in “beta” right now for choosing specific artists. Hopefully this will improve in the future. I searched for “billy cobham” and found no results, yet, they are great source for jazz fusion from the 70’s forward, of which he is a mainstay.

Speaking of jazz, here is a partial station subchannel list, WOW!

Looking for a particular flavor of Jazz? A complete list of all our subchannels is listed below.
A Great Day in Harlem - Music from throughout the careers of the jazz greats who showed up that historic morning in 1958 for the famous “Great Day in Harlem” photo.
Avant Garde - Jazz outside the box. Everything from Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane’s early experiments with free jazz to modern sounds from Ken Vandermark and William Parker.
Big Band - The glorious sounds of large jazz ensembles from every era. Basie, Ellington, Stan Kenton, Thad Jones, Maria Schneider, and plenty more.
Brazilian Jazz - The best in Brazilian jazz, from Brazilian masters and younger purveyors of the style from all over the world
Broadway Jazz - Songs by Porter, Gershwin, Sondheim and more — all as performed by jazz artists.
Chicago Jazz Fest 2009 - Playing music by the many wonderful artists, both local and national, who will be performing at this year’s festival September 4-6.
Composers: Bird and Diz - Compositions by the forefathers of Bop: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie
Composers: Duke Ellington - Duke Ellington and his longtime collaborator Billy Strayhorn wrote some of the most memorable jazz compositions of all time. Hear their timeless songs performed by artists from every era.
Composers: Thelonious Monk - Music composed by the enigmatic, challenging, and revolutionary Thelonius Monk
Covering All the Bassists - Bassists step out of the shadows! Hear great jazz bassists fronting bands, taking solos and laying down jaw-dropping grooves. Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Jaco Pastorius and more.
Cutting Edge - Experimental jazz from the last two decades infused with innovative new ideas. Not Avant-Garde and definitely not Straight-Ahead. Brad Mehldau, The Bad Plus, Jason Moran and much more.
Decade: Pre-1940 - Take a tour of the earliest days of jazz, with Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and much more.
Decade: The 40s - The decade when swing was king, that is, until it was dethroned by the unstoppable force of bebop
Decade: The 50s - Considered by many to be jazz’s finest hour. Hear the glorious sounds of bebop, hard bop, cool jazz, and the beginnings of post-bop.
Decade: The 60s - A time of extreme change and innovation… post-bop, free jazz, early fusion and absolutely everything in between.
Decade: The 70s - The decade when present-day jazz legends got their start. Fusion was king, but bebop legends were still making noise…
Decade: The 80s - Nothing but jazz from the `80s, from fusion to neo-bop.
Decade: The 90s - Exciting new voices and elder statesmen in their later years.
Emerging Voices - The future of jazz! Hear undiscovered young talent alongside recent success stories from the under-40 crowd.

PLUS,they’ve got some of the best playlists I’ve found for 80’s & 90’s r & b. I love this stuff. A lot of songs from that time I recognize, but don’t know the artist. Here’s a hint, click on the “more” tile from the main menu, and select 30 new channels.

Hint #2: Artists you like here, plug into the search/radio on Last.fm, yeeaahh!