XM Radio

[Chefzhat]

I got XM Radio for Christmas. Wow - what a huge selection of stuff to listen too!

Does anyone here have this? What do you listen too? I've been hooked on the Comedy USA channel, but there are zillions of others. I have 30 pre-sets to program . . . put me to work!!

Debie

[merley]

Welcome to the world of XM.
I like Hear Music (75) the music of starbucks.
The Loft (50) Artist Confidential is always good
The Joint reagae when I need to get motivated

Top Tracks (46)
Cnn when I feel I need to be connected to what is happening in the world
Decades are good if you are in the mood to relive the seventies. My kids hate when I sing along to all the 70's songs.
These are just off the top of my head.

I guess that you already know that with your subscription you also get XM on your computer. Channel 1 is you ID number to use onlilne.

Once you stop hearing the commercials that are usually on the radio you can never go back to regular XM.
Enjoy

[cminmd]

I have XM and I like these following stations
On my A preset I have my favorites like
Air America 167 - I like Al Franken 12-3pm, NPR with Bob Edward in drive time, Flight 26 and the 47 Music, Oprah and Friends on 156 for Dr Oz and Jean Chatzski, XM Comedy 150 and DC traffic on 210-ish

My B preset has more music-
Deep Tracts on 40 with Tom Petty's show, Lucy and Ethel 47 and 54 which are more alternative, The Loft on 50 for Artist Confidential, some Classical on Vox.

My C preset is set up with stuff for my family when we are on road trips together so it has some sports, the two Music of the Decades channels 80s and 90s on 8 and 9 Radio Disney for when the kids are with us and not watching movies and CNN, and 165 Talk Radio Experts because my husband loves Bob Costas and I like the Group Room cancer dialog on Sundays. (that might make more sense if I add that I am a nurse!:D )

You have the right idea to get in the habit of multi chanel listening right away. I think I wasted my first year listening to about three stations because I never got around to learning where things are and when they are on. You do have to look at the lineup on the computer and see what interests you, because I have shows I love on chanels that I dont particularly care for. Good luck.

[Curiosity Hears]

We love XM radio! I find I mostly listen to Cafe 45, Deep Tracks 40, Bluesville 74, sometimes The Loft 50, and sometimes (especially if the girls are around) In Flight 26 as it is a good compromise and it tends to keep the kids in the kitchen with me a little bit more.

[Meganator]

I listen to it on my computer more than anywhere else, and there some stations that aren't available online (mostly news/sports/talk, but some of the music stations also). I listen to 70s, 80s, X Country, The Heart, The Blend, Flight 26, XM Cafe, Top Tracks, Big Tracks, The Loft - probably Flight 26 and The Loft are the ones I listen to most. I loved the Christmas music stations!

[colleency]

I just gave up my XM, but what I liked to listen to was the radio for women channel (56?). There's a show on in the mornings called Satellite Sisters that I really enjoyed. I didn't like their evening drive time show, Broad Minded, because it was a little to coarse for me.

I also liked old time radio, the 40's station, and Frank Sinatra and Friends.

[Love to Run]

I listen on my computer at work and, as someone already mentioned, there are fewer channels available. First thing in the morning I listen to Bob Edwards. Then throughout the day I switch between Oprah and Watercolors (contemporary jazz) depending on whether background music is more soothing or I want to listen to a talk show.

Absolutely love it in the car on long road trips because we travel in the southwest and Rockies where there are fewer commercial stations and I get tired of the same old CD's.

Carole

[funnybone]

We have XM on Directv, and do listen from time to time. We have Sirius in DH's car and I listen to it on the computer. I prefer to listen to my iPod in the car when travelling distances as the regular radio is really bad. Since I don't work, I don't bother with a secondary subscription for my car since I'm hardly travelling long distances.

[BucknellAlum]

My experience is a little different. I found at first that it was so neat to hear 70's music if I wanted, or Frank Sinatra, or the Loft, etc. But then I felt it was too narrow-casted. I wish there were some way to tell it to "mix" several of the channels. (I don't want to listen to 70s music non-stop for an hour, but a mix of 70s/90s/folk, etc would be okay).

And one station I listened to had a LOT of commercials every so often, and I thought they bragged about being commercial free?

I do like the fact that if I am away from home I can find a station on XM instead of trying to scan thru the regular radio dial.

[Meganator]

My experience is a little different. I found at first that it was so neat to hear 70's music if I wanted, or Frank Sinatra, or the Loft, etc. But then I felt it was too narrow-casted. I wish there were some way to tell it to "mix" several of the channels. (I don't want to listen to 70s music non-stop for an hour, but a mix of 70s/90s/folk, etc would be okay).

And one station I listened to had a LOT of commercials every so often, and I thought they bragged about being commercial free?

I do like the fact that if I am away from home I can find a station on XM instead of trying to scan thru the regular radio dial.


That would be a cool feature - if they let you choose x number of stations to shuffle through. I guess you would switch to a new station in the middle of a song, though. Since I mostly listen on the computer, I like that I can see what song is playing on another station, and switch it over manually. To me, it isn't much different that switching between all the radio stations in the car (traditional radio) - I'm a constant "seeker" anyway.

I can't remember their advertising right offhand, but I think the majority of the music stations are commercial-free - at least none of the several I listen to have commercials. The commercials on traditional radio finally drove me insane and I had to switch to satellite.

[merley]

If you are listening online channel 305 is called "The Shuffle" hops all over the place.

[Grace]

DH has it in his car, and I like it when the 70's and 80's channels play the old Kasey Kasem countdowns. Those are the BEST. Songs you forgot you ever knew. :) I really, really enjoy when those are on. Especially for long trips.

Beyond that, I don't like it as much as I thought I would, because the stations play a limited selection of music (I had my own XM in my car - a portable one - but it got stolen - I didn't replace it. DH still has it built into his car).

The country stations (as an example) play just about everything I hate, and almost nothing I like. I think the record labels the musicians are signed up with have to also have an agreement with satellite radio to have their stuff played (I could be wrong about that, but I think that's the case), since there's a lot of stuff I like that never gets played on satellite. A lot of the music is obscure and B tracks, or whatever, stuff I never heard, and I don't enjoy that at all. You can't sing along to songs you never heard! :)

And I too found there to be too many commercials. I was lured in by the promise of "commercial free", and then found myself listening to commercials!! Made me mad. DH likes it though because he has found some progressive rock stations that play stuff he likes that he'd never hear on the radio.

I find myself listening mostly to regular radio. The country station here is good as is the Christian station (still plays hymns - I never found that on satellite).

[Meganator]

If you are listening online channel 305 is called "The Shuffle" hops all over the place.

Thanks! I never even notice that one all the way down at the bottom.

[Meganator]

The country stations ...A lot of the music is obscure and B tracks, or whatever, stuff I never heard, and I don't enjoy that at all. You can't sing along to songs you never heard! :)



Have you listened to America (channel 10 - classic country) and US Country (channel 17 - country hits of the 80s and 90s)? ...or maybe those are the ones that play songs you hate.
:)

[Grace]

Yes, I have channel 10, 11 and 16 preset in DH's car. Although they've added 17 now, which may be a little better, but it seems they play the same few artists over and over.

Very little Colin Raye (if any), very little Patty Loveless, not much Keith Urban, etc. It also seems like they promote new artists a lot. That's ok I guess, but I like hearing the established ones.

[cminmd]

The music stations are commercial free, but some of the shows on the talk side are regular radio shows that XM just carries, not produces. I think the two "shock jocks" are the most famous example- Amos and Andy? My husband used to listen to them when they were XM only, but now they simulcast on XM and a regular commercial station so they have commercials. He says that on his hour commute about 20 minutes of it is commercials so he stopped listening. DH used to listen to A&A when they were DC disc jockies until they were fired for having an on air "sex in strange places" contest and two participants tried to make whoopie in the National Cathedral and were caught. BIG DC scandle at the time!