As teenagers, our mind is a constant whirlwind of what to do and how to entertain ourselves. One thing that always seems to be the solution to this frequent problem is music. If you have not already noticed, most of the time you are hanging out with your usual clan, chances are you guys will be listening to the new “hot jam” or a legendary classic.

Though many of us find music as an ordinary enjoyment, I feel that we don’t have a variety to listen to. For most people, their music source is normally the radio. As for the radio, there are more ‘cons’ than ‘pros’ when you listen to it.

When there is a rare occasion in which I listen to the radio, I notice that in a 30 minute time range I will have listened to the same, annoying pop song at least twice, if not more. I know that these radio stations have more music than they play. I just wish that they’d play a different song every once in a while

I’m sure that many teenagers today share the same complaints about the radio as I do, but for anyone who has lost all hope in music, there is a light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel. Because there is a solution to every problem, there is a quite simple (and not to mention amazing) alternative to the usual radio many of us are forced to listen to: Internet radio.

The concept of Internet radio is basically the same as the regular ‘ole radio but with a lot more variety. Instead of having just one genre from a selection of about 10 local radio stations, you have thousands. The best part is, you are the ultimate decision-maker for what type of music the station will play.

With Internet radio, you are able to input your favorite artist, songs and even albums into the search box and be rewarded with a radio station that fits your specific liking. 

For example, one of my favorite artists to listen to is Deadmau5, which is considered to be in the dub step genre. If you haven’t already noticed, there is not one single local radio station that would even consider playing someone like Deadmau5, so this is where Internet radio comes in. All I have to do is type in their name, and then, boom, I have a radio station to fulfill my every need. 

At the moment, there are only a few Internet radio stations that have become popular: Pandora and iHeart radio. Pandora is a great source for the majority, but I personally prefer iHeart radio.

iHeart radio allows you to not only listen to your favorite songs according to your specific style, but it also allows you to be able to explore way more than you could ever imagine.

This is possible by a knob incorporated in the website that gives you the option to choose whether you want to discover less popular artist or more well-known artist. I happen to love this feature in iHeart radio because I have discovered so many new talented artists that I didn’t even knew existed.

The choice whether to stick with the old fashioned radio or upgrade to the new and improved Internet based radio is up to you. Just remember, if you don’t try it, you have no idea what you will be missing!