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best alt rock stations of all time

S

Saladressing

I wasn't into music during the new wave days of ROQ of the 80s, the 91X sound of the 80s, etc. so i can't include stations from that era such as Modern Rock 104.1 KJJO/Minneapolis in my list, but what are your favorite alt. rock stations of all time?

Here are my fave alt. rockers of the last 20 years:

1) REV 105/Minneapolis
2) The original Spy/Oklahoma City
3) Indie 103.1/Los Angeles
4) FM 94/9 San Diego
 
I'll throw in a couple more stations from my area.

WXEG/Dayton and WGBD/Lafayette, IN

In their heyday, both stations did a really good job balancing softer alternative like Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLaughlin along with the harder stuff like Metallica, Alice in Chains, etc.

WXEG has since become an alternative rock/active rock hybrid much like their sister station in Indianapolis and WGBD has been classic rock as WSHP since 2001.
 
92.1 WOFM, On the Border radio, circa 1987-1990. Licensed out of Moyock NC (hence, the Border) and serving south Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, etc.). At the time, it belted loose a whopping 3KW from a transmitter located about 15+ Mi south of downtown Norfolk and even further from Va Beach.

Format was all of what you would think of as "Alternative Before Seattle" (English Beat, Hoodoo Gurus, Public Image Ltd) but also included any other "known" act with a new album that wasn't getting attention from the bigger, more aggressively commercial stations (e.g., Jimmy Buffett) and a lot of edgier new stuff (album cuts from Nine Inch Nails the minute it came out, MC900ft Jesus w DJ Zero). It was very broad, and very thoughtfully mixed, but you LOOKED at the radio when a song ended just to make sure you were ready for what came out next.

Sara Trexler (afternoons) went on to eventually program a big Alternative station in Austin for some years.
 
CFNY in Toronto was extremely good in the mid-1980s. It's been a pretty good station since the 1970s although they've recently thrown some Active recurrents in their mix.

WFNX in Boston is going strong, but probably hit its peak in the early 90s. They just did a flashback weekend with many of their old DJs including two from KROQ.

WHFS was legendary from the 1970s thru to the 1990s.

WLIR (1980s), WDRE (1990s), and many more....

XFM in London, UK is a good listen.
 
KJET Seattle, WA

AM "1600" (their actual dial position was 1590) It was Seattle's only commercial alternative rock station through most of the '80s. Automated and voicetracked with a crude IGM Instacart (which often got out of sync with the music tapes, making the announcers back announce a song that came up two or three songs LATER in the playlist!)

Even with it's scrappy format execution and AM dial position, the station became legendary in Puget Sound and was well respected by British and European alternative rock bands, many of whom got their first American radio airplay on KJET.

There were many KJET tribute sites set up by long time fans of the station, YEARS after the station left the air. Many of them have fallen by the wayside, but here's a good article with a link to a KJET tribute station:

http://10thingszine.blogspot.com/2007/07/kjet.html

Google "KJET 1600" or "KJET Seattle" and you'll find LOTS of people who still wax fondly of this station......
 
I heard a couple of great-sounding stations while visiting two markets for conventions in the 90s. One was in Seattle - "The End" maybe? Another was in Kansas City, but I can't remember the calls. Jeff Hunt, Roanoke VA
 
BrotherBrian said:
I heard a couple of great-sounding stations while visiting two markets for conventions in the 90s. One was in Seattle - "The End" maybe? Another was in Kansas City, but I can't remember the calls. Jeff Hunt, Roanoke VA
Click to expand...

Seattle was most likely The End (KNDD 107.7) They had pretty much no direct competition until well over a decade later. KJET left the air in 1988.
 
The best alt rock station I ever heard was the first one - WPIX-FM in 1978-80 ("The New 102", "From Elvis To Elvis"). At the height of the rock format's metastization into classic rock and faceless corporate currents (the echoes of which eventually infected post-1992 alternative) WPIX-FM said "a good rock record is one you can dance to." Out went reliance on British dinosaurs, in came The Clash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Props aren't tossed out to Joe From Chicago and Meg Griffin on a regular basis for doing what they did there, and that's a pity.
 
My faves in no particular order:

KREV/WREV/KCFE (Rev105) Minneapolis
KWOD 106.5 Sacramento
Live 105 San Francisco
91X San Diego
KJQ Salt Lake City
KROQ (pre corporate CBS takeover)
KWSS Scottsdale
WFNX Boston
and most recently...KUKQ Phoenix went live last week online
 
Radio 104.5 Philadelphia, Radio 94.7 Sacramento, WFNX Boston and the former Radio 92.3/The End in Cleveland. For more active leaning (workout music): 89x Detroit Q101 Chicago and 102.9 the Buzz Nashville before it morphed into complete active rock.
 
KROQ - Los Angeles
Live 105 - San Francisco
91X - San Diego
94.5 The Edge - Dallas
Q101 - Chicago
KUKQ and early KEDJ - Phoenix
107.7 KNNC - Austin
 
My choices are already on the list- WHFS DC/Annapolis Free Form era thru post-grunge era. WDRE Jenkinstown/Philly then Y100 after the DRE crew came aboard. Luckily HFS is back,again,on 97.5 LPFM in Baltimore. Y100 is now Y-Not Radio online only.
 
WHFS in Washington was easily one of the best Alternative stations around until its demise with some of the most diverse music I've ever heard on commercial radio. I also think 96 Wave in Charleston had a great run. Even 99X in Atlanta was good in its time, until it began to fall in line with the more generic Alt stations before it went away.

Out of today's exisiting stations, I'd say Radio 104.5 is my personal "best".
 
I only know of 97X from Rain Mans hilarious bit. I do listen to Radio 1045 but they play it way too safe and have a small library of music.
 
Really liking KPNT in St. Louis. They play the new alternative rock with a focus on some of the heavier alt music to keep it interesting.
 
This is my list:

United States

KPNT St. Louis, MO
KNDD Seattle, WA
WBRU Providence, RI
WBTZ Plattsburgh, NY
WFNX Boston, MA (Internet Station)
WKKL West Barnstable, MA
WRXP New York City, NY (Internet Station)
WRFF Philadelphia, PA


Canada

CFEX Calgary, AB
CKHY Halifax, NS

United Kingdom

XFM London 104.9
 
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