The best internet radios, according to Hacker News commenters
9 internet radios were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and October 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 6 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
On Hacker News, the most recommended internet radio that earns the badge is SomaFM: 28 people recommended it and 1 criticized it between November 2025 and October 2026. Next is KEXP (17 recommend, 0 criticize), most often for “Discovery of new music”.
Top picks
The three most recommended internet radios with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsMixed feelingsCriticizes One comment
Long-running station with loyal listeners
“I've been supporting SomaFM for more than 20 years now, and am so grateful for it”
Comment from 2 Dec 2025 in “How Brian Eno Created Ambient 1: Music for Airports (2019)” Free, listener-supported internet radio with human-curated channels for music and focus, which people have followed for about twenty years.
Discovery of new music
“KEXP in particular is a great way to discover new music that you might not normally listen to.”
Comment from 25 Jan 2026 in “First, Make Me Care” Listener-supported Seattle radio station that people recommend for discovering new music through varied shows and live sessions.
Listen to stations worldwide
“it gave me tingles to think that in Lagos at that same moment, some bus driver was surely listening to the same music”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “It's a shame what's happened to radio” People recommend it for browsing and listening to live radio stations around the world on a spinning globe, free in the browser.
All 9 internet radios, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Mixed counts the people with mixed feelings, who count toward neither side. Approval share is recommenders out of recommenders and critics; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 12, in which someone recommended it. Had for is the median time people say they have had or used it, shown when 10 or more said.
| Rank | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SomaFM | 28 | 0 | 1 | 97% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 2 | KEXP | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| 3 | Radio Garden | 14 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Tied 4 | Radio Paradise | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Tied 4 | NTS Radio | 12 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
| 6 | BBC Radio 4 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 85% | 4 | — | Approved |
| Tied 7 | FIP radio | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 7 | Music for Programming | 7 | 0 | 1 | 88% | 2 | — | — |
| 9 | Chiptune Radio | 5 | 0 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment between November 2025 and October 2026. Someone who praises the same internet radio in five threads counts once, in the column of their latest opinion.
A internet radio earns the badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.
Counts come from Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How it works