It really depends more on what you're into than where you live since so many radio stations stream.
There are plenty of great radio stations out there still, but on the internet people think it's cool to pretend the stations don't exist and burrow themselves deeper into a more and more Balkanized niche echo chamber, never exploring anything outside of their comfort zone.
FMs I've listened to this week: WXRT/Chicago, KCSN/Northridge, KING-FM-HD2/Seattle, KTNN-FM/Tohatchi, K279BO/Palm Springs.
If you want to hear the same old thing over and over, by all means wallow in Spotify or whatever you loaded onto your iPod a decade ago. I do that sometimes, too. It's comforting.
However, there's a world of good and interesting music out there. You just have to make an effort beyond tapping the play button and letting a computer decide what you hear.
Of course there are some great stations to stream; there is infinite musical content online that I use to great advantage. But we're specifically talking about FM/AM broadcast and the chaff heartily outweighs the wheat in most locations.
I understand that, and all of the stations I listed are broadcast FM, so my point stands: There are plenty of great FM stations, if you bother to look for them instead of wallowing in your already-selected music.
Just because they also stream doesn't mean it's not useful to know about.
No, there are very few great radio stations, covering a small slice of the world's population. That there's a great station transmitting 3000 miles away doesn't help me.
The internet was a boon exactly because I was sick and tired of all the FM stations that I had available, with their narrow and small playlists, and it allowed me to discover whole new genres and authors (including by listening to online radio). In the mean time, FM just become even worse. The first half is essentially all I have available, do you care to choose a great one? https://radioonline.com.pt/
You shouldn't assume everyone has the same access to good things you did and must be lazy and narrow-minded.
It really depends more on what you're into than where you live since so many radio stations stream.
There are plenty of great radio stations out there still, but on the internet people think it's cool to pretend the stations don't exist and burrow themselves deeper into a more and more Balkanized niche echo chamber, never exploring anything outside of their comfort zone.
FMs I've listened to this week: WXRT/Chicago, KCSN/Northridge, KING-FM-HD2/Seattle, KTNN-FM/Tohatchi, K279BO/Palm Springs.
If you want to hear the same old thing over and over, by all means wallow in Spotify or whatever you loaded onto your iPod a decade ago. I do that sometimes, too. It's comforting.
However, there's a world of good and interesting music out there. You just have to make an effort beyond tapping the play button and letting a computer decide what you hear.