SomaFM
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 9 internet radios
Free, listener-supported internet radio with human-curated channels for music and focus, which people have followed for about twenty years.
28 people recommended SomaFM in Hacker News comments and 1 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 27 comments.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 28
- mixed feelings
- 0
- warn against or regret it
- 1
The record
Recommended in 9 of 12 months
In 16 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
Why it carries the badge
- 28 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 28 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 9 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
- Recommended in 16 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- The biggest thread supplies 21% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 26 of the 31 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is 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)” “Love SomaFM. One of the first places that played my music about 20 years ago!”
Comment from 23 Jun 2026 in “Somafm Radio Terminal Player” “Yeah soma.fm is very good. I hear it for like 20 years now on off.”
Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Hacker Public Radio” - Comment from 6 May 2026 in “The Boring Internet”
- Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “TinyIce: Single-binary Icecast2-compatible server (auto-HTTPS, multi-tenant)”
- Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming”
- Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Hacker Public Radio”
- Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming”
Good for discovering new music
“When something gets me interested, I look up the artist, and I keep discovering lots of new names, independent labels, etc.”
Comment from 28 May 2026 in “YouTube to automatically label AI-generated videos” “I like SOMA's Underground 80s, but I also want to hear new artists in the same vein.”
Comment from 26 Jan 2026 in “First, Make Me Care” “I appreciate SomaFM's impact on my appreciation for electronic music”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Playa Phone” - Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Anna's Archive Loses .Org Domain After Surprise Suspension”
- Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming”
Good for coding and focus
“My other favorites, especially for coding, are SomaFM (Groove Salad or DEFCON substations”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “How Spotify Made Me Self Host” “Got it to play uninterrupted with mobile locked, such a great feeling”
Comment from 31 Jul 2026 in “Hacker Public Radio” “most lyric-free (as to reduce the potential for flow interruption”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Music for Programming” - Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “The lost joy of music piracy”
Free, listener-supported, human-curated
“They're entirely listener supported and the music they play is - to my knowledge - entirely human curated.”
Comment from 16 Jul 2026 in “The lost joy of music piracy” “SomaFM is streaming music on 46 channels and it is all free”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Amazon paid music subscription will soon include ads and lose downloads” “Good reminder to send Rusty Hodge my annual $20”
Comment from 30 Jul 2026 in “Hacker Public Radio”
Other internet radios people recommend
The four most recommended other internet radios, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SomaFMThis page | 28 | 0 | 1 | 97% | 9 | — | Approved |
| KEXP | 17 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Radio Garden | 14 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Radio Paradise | 12 | 0 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| NTS Radio | 12 | 2 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | Approved |
Also compared with BBC Radio 4.
What people said
26 of the 31 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I listen to a lot of SomaFM”
“This makes up for a lot of negatives in the world.”
“I appreciate SomaFM's impact on my appreciation for electronic music”
“Got it to play uninterrupted with mobile locked, such a great feeling”
“Good reminder to send Rusty Hodge my annual $20”
“Yeah soma.fm is very good. I hear it for like 20 years now on off.”
“SomaFM is an utter institution.”
“Definitely I love some SomaFM stations!”
“They're entirely listener supported and the music they play is - to my knowledge - entirely human curated.”
“At home I often listen to more ambient music, mostly from SomaFM.”
“I now listen to Pandora or Soma FM instead.”
“Love SomaFM. One of the first places that played my music about 20 years ago!”
“SomaFM is streaming music on 46 channels and it is all free”
“When something gets me interested, I look up the artist, and I keep discovering lots of new names, independent labels, etc.”
“the best bit about this is the reminder that SomaFM still exists”
“a great variety of well-vetted choons in multople genres”
“Could not love SomaFM more!”
“most lyric-free (as to reduce the potential for flow interruption”
“I used to work to SomaFM all the time.”
“Mega fan, proud SomaFM mug owner from Australia”
“you're quite right about Soma (and probably other streaming radio”
“I like SOMA's Underground 80s, but I also want to hear new artists in the same vein.”
“My other favorites, especially for coding, are SomaFM (Groove Salad or DEFCON substations”
“Soma.fm and KEXP are both great for discovering new music.”
“lately for me it's mostly chirpradio.org and somafm”
“I've been supporting SomaFM for more than 20 years now, and am so grateful for it”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.