Live Radio in the USA and Canada: News, Talk and Music

North America has one of the biggest radio scenes anywhere. Almost every town has its own station, and the choice is wide: news and talk, sports, country, hip-hop, pop, classic rock, Christian radio and a lot more. All of that is now a tap away on your phone or laptop, without a car radio.

This guide shows how to find your way around.

Start with your country

Open the USA page or the Canada page. Both list live stations you can play straight away. Press play on one, and keep browsing: the music carries on while you look at other pages.

Pick by what you want to hear

Most people do not want "American radio" in general. They want something specific:

• News and talk: the news page and talk radio are good for staying close to what is happening. Sports stations carry commentary and call-in shows.
• Music: try country, hip-hop, rock, pop or 80s and 90s. Each page lists live stations that play that style around the clock.
• Faith: Christian radio has worship music, gospel and sermons.
• Jazz and classical: jazz and classical are popular for work and for the evening.

If you live in the US or Canada but your family comes from somewhere else

A large part of the population speaks another language at home. For Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, Spanish and others, a good place to start is the language or music page, for example Punjabi, Arabic or Latin. Many stations from the old country can be played from North America.

Why a station can behave differently from another country

Some stations only allow listeners who are in their own country, usually because of music or sports rights. If one will not play, try another from the same page. You will almost always find several that work anywhere.

Good habits for long listening

• Use Wi-Fi for long sessions. A radio stream uses a modest amount of data, but it adds up on a limited mobile plan.
• Make an account if you want to save favourites. It is free and takes a minute.
• On a phone, allow your browser to run in the background so the audio does not stop when the screen locks. This help guide explains how.

Do you miss a particular station?

Radio changes. Stations rebrand, move to a new address or go off the air. If you cannot find a station you love, send us its name and we will look for it.

If you are new here, the quickest route is the full list of all stations by country and type. Pick something, press play and see where it takes you.