Please recommend me a decent radio station!

[TB445]

I'm in my early 50s and just can't find anything I want to listen to. Radio 4 seems depressing (tho really it's just I can't cope with news/current affairs any more!) radio 1 and 2 dont do it for me, radio 6 I find a bit too out there....I just don't know what to listen to any more. I used to be fairly broad minded in terms of musical tastes, having had all manner of phases, from rock to heavy metal to folk to blues to indy to dance to classical, to the stuff my teenagers listen to. Maybe thats my problem, I don't have a genre! I know there are all manner of radio stations out there that I could access with my Alexa, but I just don't know what or where to start. Can anyone inspire me by sharing what stations work for them?? Thanks!

Magic is nice on a Friday night, all the old club tunes from the 90s. Simon mayo has a drivetime with Matt on greatest hits radio which is like the old radio 2 show, confessions and everything, which is great. I also love cerys matthews and Sean Keaveny. Other times I listen to radio 3, especially at breakfast and late at night because it's short interesting pieces of music, although I like the concerts too especially the operas from eg The Met, and Composer Of The Week can be enlightening, plus Private Passions - again, on radio 3 - is fabulous. It's like desert island discs but even better. Really!

So yeah basically I don't have a station now, I flit about. I think a lot of people our age do. It's more stimulating really.

Absolute radio. I listen to 90s, 00s and country most of the time n

I am mid 50s. Opera & Country are the only music genres I can't stomach.

BBC World Service for news & analysis. It's great to get the global perspectives.

R5Live is better than R4 for chat or news analysis, imho, than R4. Sport & traffic I can tolerate inbetween.

R3 can be better for culture than R4 often, too.

I like the fact that R6 is often "weird". That it puts me out of my comfort zone. ditto BBC Asian.

Try local BBC radio. For instance, Radio Norfolk on a Friday night has local Indie bands on. Obviously they cover local stories nobody else would, too.

In general, I hate music-station DJs prattling on. Paul O'Grady or Lisa Tarbuck can do one. FFS, I want good music not hyperactive natter. However, there's a pair of presenters on R6 who do whirlwind biographical summaries of artists inbetween songs, this is cool, I always learn something from them.

Classic FM is good.

Just to hear different tones & gossip about other places, try the regional radio stations, like BBC Gaelic or Northern Ireland. I can sometimes get a bit of Dutch radio -- I like listening to rhythms of other languages.

Heart 80s in the car.

Great for a spot of carpool karaoke 😬 and impromptu hang banging.

I still listen to Radio 1 most of the time. I still find them the best for breadth of music and for the emerging artists.

Will go to Absolute 90’s sometimes, and 6 Music as well but I am a 90’s indie kid.

Find some podcasts and audio books and ration news to once a day. Your mood will improve and you'll feel better for it.

Oh god yes agreed; I never listen to the news now! Radio 3 is really good for that. When they broadcast a concert or an opera you can go for hours without even hearing a headline. Other times it's mercifully brief. It's like a lovely wee bubble where all anyone cares about is music.

Fun Kids Radio! No news, no adverts, the chatty bits are usually quick and quite funny and the music is pure singalong bangers 😂

I leave it on even when the kids aren’t in the car sometimes. I get so sick of people drivelling on and on, blatantly filling time, with the other stations. They do history and other fact bits as well which are interesting, and the Christmas panto serial was genuinely hilarious.

Radio x

Radio gold

LBC! I'm obsessed!!

Boom

Magic Soul is great!

I like Absolute Radio and Absolute 90's radio in particular

I listen to many previously mentioned. One I don't think we've had upthread is Union Jack Radio (classic British Rock).

Try BBC World service, radio 5, radio 3?