It's been a long time since the public got bored of traditional terrestrial radios. In the era of globalization, who wants to be limited to local radio stations?! That is why internet radios debuted as an incredible substitute! Now we can truly be global citizens by listening to online radio stations from all over the world! Here are nine of the best internet radios we could find with attractive features.
Grace Digital GDI-IRDT200 Hi-Fi Internet Radio Tuner is the best pick for us since it offers over 16,000 radio stations, 35,000 podcasts and 20,000 subscription streams. Besides, the backlit radio display, five alarm settings and iOS app make it a great choice.
Grace Digital Wi-Fi Music Player (GDI-IRC6000) is affordable and can play over 17,000 radio stations! Its 3.5 inches colorful LCD display, crisp volume, remote control app and seven alarms provide great value for the price.
Sangean WFR-28 has the mixture of digital offerings and analog view. It looks very simplistic compared to other stylish internet radios and has such display that does not incorporate a splash of vivid colors. However, its functionalities are of a much higher level and can compete strongly with any contemporary product.
Tune in to more than 16,000 radio stations worldwide sitting in the comfort of your balcony! This range includes popular channels like BBC, CNN, CBS, FOX News, NPR and more!
Besides, you can also listen to your local radio stations with the help of RDS or Radio Data System waveband. Over 35,000 podcasts will also be at your disposal if you are looking for more variety.
If you want to listen to a particular radio station but can’t remember all its details, look for it through the search option. You can search with broad parameters like country and genre. There can be 10 pre-set stations of which 5 are allocated for iRadio and the other 5 for FM. For crisp and clear FM reception, this device has a built-in external telescopic antenna.
In addition to being a radio, it can also stream your favorite music anywhere you want. Play the music files of your computer, iPod, MP3 player, CD player or Spotify channels on it with the auxiliary input. To play and share the music, your computer or server must have DLNA, UPnP and Windows Certifications. There is a Line Out jack to connect your headphones.
Download its app called iSangean for iOS devices or Android smartphones to use them as a remote control. The app will also show you information about the currently playing song.
Wake up to your favorite tunes with the dual alarms for setting two separate times. It will be a gentle introduction to the morning since the alarm has HWS or Humane Wake System. So instead of an abrupt loud noise, you will be woken up to a gradual rise in volume.
All radios in the C. Crane CCRadio line are mainly known for strong AM reception. This classic retro-looking internet radio also bears that quality along with some other useful features.
It can evaluate the AM signals so strongly because it has the company’s patented technology named Twin-Coil Ferrite antenna. Whenever you select a station, this antenna evaluates the signal for a while to grab the best possible signal and then locks it in! This technology has kept the CCRadio line on top for more than 10 years!
FM reception is also pretty strong on this device. Since it is an enhanced version, you can tune the audio to sound like a real human voice! Or you can adjust it for a better musical performance.
There is a weather band and a 2-meter Ham band. With the weather band, you will always be aware of all the NOAA alerts issued by the government. The Ham band is for emergencies like natural disasters. All the lifesaving information broadcasted can reach you through this band.
For clock, calendar and channel information, there is a display on the front with full backlight. You can switch it off or adjust the brightness among three levels. There are five memory buttons on top with preset stations per band. So you can access them even faster! It has three jacks for stereo headphone, line-input and line-output. It can run on AC power cord or 4 D batteries.
This is another model of the Grace Digital internet radios which excels as an FM tuner. It looks very bulky and weighs pretty high at almost six pounds. It does have portability potential but due to this weight, it will be pretty hard to carry around.
It is mainly a high-class FM tuner and audio streaming device. With this, you can listen to more than 16,000 radio stations from all over the world as well as your own locality.
Tune into BBC, CNN, CBS, Fox News, KROQ and other popular channels to find the latest updates!
Besides, there will also be over 35,000 podcasts and 20,000 on-demand subscription streams! You can also have a number of personal Pandora radio stations for free! It is like a dream coming true for all music-lovers packed inside a box!
In addition to all these options, you can also play the music files stored on your computer, NAS, 4GB SD card or 2TB external USB drive. This tuner will let you access Sirius Premium services with a direct subscription. Needless to say, such a huge amount of data comes at a price. That is why this is one of the most expensive and best internet radios in the market.
Connect this device to your home stereo with standard RCA. It also has two digital out connections of Toslink or Coax for the loudest and clearest audio quality. Since it is an internet radio, there are provisions for Wifi and Ethernet connection to broadband routers.
A fully-featured remote control will be provided with this radio where you can save up to 100 presets in the “my stuff” folder. But for further convenience, you can remotely control the device from just your smartphone! There is a free Grace remote control app available for iPhone and iTouch devices to do so. All information will be readable from its LCD display with large fonts and backlight option.
For all you tech-savvy people who are always hunting the most technologically advanced products, this is definitely the best internet radio on the market. The Zettaly Avy internet radio comes with built-in Android 6.0 OS. It is among the very few Android-operated internet radios which offer a pure Google user experience.
It looks very sleek and stylish in a tablet-shaped structure. Moreover, the black and white color combination makes it look like a classy slim boombox. There is a large 7-inch screen on the front with a colorful intuitive touch interface. Here you can access all the usual Google Play apps.
Apart from access to worldwide internet radio stations, tune into the individual radio apps like iHeartradio. Stream music from Pandora, Spotify and similar apps, or play the music locally stored! You will have an abundance of storage with 8GB internal space and an optional expansion up to 32GB TF card! To keep it going, there will be a 1GB RAM and 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor underneath.
You can also watch videos directly from social media platforms like Facebook and Youtube. Their icons will show up here and you can customize their positions if you want. If you want, you can even cast those videos to the actual TV using Chromecast or HDMI for full HD quality.
The sound quality on this device is pretty powerful with 10-watt wireless speakers. Connect them with Wifi 802.11 or Bluetooth 4.0. With its proprietary Hi-Fi sound chamber and waveguide, it was pretty obvious this device will have one of the finest audio qualities. Keep playing music for up to 7 hours on a single charge to keep the party going!
In short, this rechargeable device is a combination of high-fidelity speakers, android tablet and internet radio. It offers all their functionalities in a single appliance and is easy to carry around being only 2.2 pounds.
Like all other Grace Digital internet radios, this one too comes with a wide range of music source. You will have more than 17,000 radio stations and on-demand contacts to choose from. They can include your local favorites to the most popular ones like BBC, CNN, CBS and more. If that is not enough, take advantage of the 20,000 on-demand streams and 35,000 podcasts.
Besides, there will be free access to Pandora and you can play your personal radio stations there. Listen to the additional music services like iHeartRadio, Live 365, DAR.fm, Rhapsody, SiriusXM and more. Both free and paid services are included here.
It has a built-in 802.11n wireless transceiver which can connect to any compatible router within five minutes or less. If there are some unique songs in your collection already, play those files from your computer, Mac or NAS. This radio costs pretty high mainly due to offering such a huge support for audio content.
With each of these, you will get an innovative remote control in the style of a credit card! It has dedicated buttons of thumbs up and thumbs down for Pandora. You can also control the device with your iPhone, iTouch, iPad or Android smartphones by downloading the free app!
Wake up to your favorite music with the fully programmable alarms. There are five of them, just in case you manage to sleep through the first four. You can also choose the classic buzzer sound if that’s your preference. If you don't find your favorite station on the list, add it’s URL on their website and it will be loaded into your my stuff folder.
Search for particular stations from the Grace Digital website and select the ones to save on your device. You can have maximum 100 stations saved into the favorites folder and 10 preset ones.
Almost all kinds of digital audio formats are supported here like WMA, AAC, WAV, MP3 and more at any bitrate from 16 kbps to 320 kbps. All of them will sound amazing through the rear ported stereo speakers. On the contrary, listen to the melodious songs privately with the headset jack in front.
All the information will be available on the 4-line large LCD display. It has a backlight which has 30 micro adjustments and 3 settings - active, inactive and standby. There is built-in battery backup and a real-time clock to tell you accurate timings.
The Logitech Squeezebox offers a unique way to manipulate the radio experience for customers. Instead of offering them a number of channels to choose from, its makers decided to give us an entire network! It is named SqueezeNetwork based on the product line. With this, you can gain direct access to an organized collection of internet stations and music services. You can sign up here for free and start using it from your Squeezebox radio.
It is very easy to set up since all you have to do is turn on the power. Then the device will find your wifi network on its own. You can also plug in an Ethernet cable or listen to it privately with the headphone jack. To enjoy music of your own collection from any room, connect it to your iPod or MP3 player with the built-in jack and the provided cord.
In terms of looks, it is pretty bulky in structure and is based on the classic radio pattern. Although, the matte black finish on the front brings in a fusion of contemporary and old-school designs. For the shiny back, you can get two color variations - red and black. No matter what color, there will be six preset buttons available to fix your favorite radio stations.
The sound quality on this device is praiseworthy since it has built-in premium speakers. Its support for high-resolution encoding can capture the intricate sound details and bring the music to life! To make it even better, there are integrated high-definition tweeter and long-throw subwoofer making each tune clean and crisp.
Take advantage of all the features easily with the vivid color screen and turning control dial. The screen has an intuitive menu for you to browse. It also shows the album art and dims automatically when the surrounding light goes out. You can set different alarms for all seven days of the week, along with a unique radio station!
If you have found the perfect song to share with friends, you can do that immediately with this radio! Connect it to your Facebook account to recommend your favorite tracks, view the homepage, go to friends’ timeline and more! You can even set your Facebook photos or its news feed as your screensaver!
The Kelement internet radio is pretty much just that - an internet radio. It offers no services of FM and AM reception. So buy this if you want to solely listen to streaming music and online radio stations. The best part of it is its slim and sleek design. It is much thinner than most other contemporaries and thus makes a great option for a portable internet radio.
Though it does not offer AM/FM stations, it can still introduce you to more than 18,000 internet radio stations. There are a number of preloaded apps too on it based on these stations, along with streaming services like Pandora and SiriusXM. Bring in some favorites of your personal collection with its 8GB flash storage.
All you have to do is connect it to wifi and let the wireless speakers play! One of its qualities that enhances its portability is its built-in rechargeable battery. A 4000mAh Lithium battery comes with it and lets you enjoy the music for several hours.
Find all the required information from its 4.3-inch touchscreen with clean user interface. The colorful menu icons are displayed here and are easy to navigate. This radio also has alarm clock options and can provide you weather information of your locality.
Our Best Pick
Grace Digital GDI-IRDT200 Hi-Fi Internet Radio Tuner is the best pick for us since it offers over 16,000 radio stations, 35,000 podcasts and 20,000 subscription streams. Besides, the backlit radio display, five alarm settings and iOS app make it a great choice.
Our Budget Pick
Grace Digital Wi-Fi Music Player (GDI-IRC6000) is affordable and can play over 17,000 radio stations! Its 3.5 inches colorful LCD display, crisp volume, remote control app and seven alarms provide great value for the price.
Quick Comparison Between The Best Internet Radios
[table id=93 /]2. Sangean WFR-28 Internet Radio
Sangean WFR-28 has the mixture of digital offerings and analog view. It looks very simplistic compared to other stylish internet radios and has such display that does not incorporate a splash of vivid colors. However, its functionalities are of a much higher level and can compete strongly with any contemporary product.
Tune in to more than 16,000 radio stations worldwide sitting in the comfort of your balcony! This range includes popular channels like BBC, CNN, CBS, FOX News, NPR and more!
Besides, you can also listen to your local radio stations with the help of RDS or Radio Data System waveband. Over 35,000 podcasts will also be at your disposal if you are looking for more variety.
If you want to listen to a particular radio station but can’t remember all its details, look for it through the search option. You can search with broad parameters like country and genre. There can be 10 pre-set stations of which 5 are allocated for iRadio and the other 5 for FM. For crisp and clear FM reception, this device has a built-in external telescopic antenna.
In addition to being a radio, it can also stream your favorite music anywhere you want. Play the music files of your computer, iPod, MP3 player, CD player or Spotify channels on it with the auxiliary input. To play and share the music, your computer or server must have DLNA, UPnP and Windows Certifications. There is a Line Out jack to connect your headphones.
Download its app called iSangean for iOS devices or Android smartphones to use them as a remote control. The app will also show you information about the currently playing song.
Wake up to your favorite tunes with the dual alarms for setting two separate times. It will be a gentle introduction to the morning since the alarm has HWS or Humane Wake System. So instead of an abrupt loud noise, you will be woken up to a gradual rise in volume.
PROS
CONS
4. C. Crane CCRadio-2E Enhanced
All radios in the C. Crane CCRadio line are mainly known for strong AM reception. This classic retro-looking internet radio also bears that quality along with some other useful features.
It can evaluate the AM signals so strongly because it has the company’s patented technology named Twin-Coil Ferrite antenna. Whenever you select a station, this antenna evaluates the signal for a while to grab the best possible signal and then locks it in! This technology has kept the CCRadio line on top for more than 10 years!
FM reception is also pretty strong on this device. Since it is an enhanced version, you can tune the audio to sound like a real human voice! Or you can adjust it for a better musical performance.
There is a weather band and a 2-meter Ham band. With the weather band, you will always be aware of all the NOAA alerts issued by the government. The Ham band is for emergencies like natural disasters. All the lifesaving information broadcasted can reach you through this band.
For clock, calendar and channel information, there is a display on the front with full backlight. You can switch it off or adjust the brightness among three levels. There are five memory buttons on top with preset stations per band. So you can access them even faster! It has three jacks for stereo headphone, line-input and line-output. It can run on AC power cord or 4 D batteries.
PROS
CONS
5. Grace Digital GDI-IRDT200 Hi-Fi Internet Radio Tuner
This is another model of the Grace Digital internet radios which excels as an FM tuner. It looks very bulky and weighs pretty high at almost six pounds. It does have portability potential but due to this weight, it will be pretty hard to carry around.
It is mainly a high-class FM tuner and audio streaming device. With this, you can listen to more than 16,000 radio stations from all over the world as well as your own locality.
Tune into BBC, CNN, CBS, Fox News, KROQ and other popular channels to find the latest updates!
Besides, there will also be over 35,000 podcasts and 20,000 on-demand subscription streams! You can also have a number of personal Pandora radio stations for free! It is like a dream coming true for all music-lovers packed inside a box!
In addition to all these options, you can also play the music files stored on your computer, NAS, 4GB SD card or 2TB external USB drive. This tuner will let you access Sirius Premium services with a direct subscription. Needless to say, such a huge amount of data comes at a price. That is why this is one of the most expensive and best internet radios in the market.
Connect this device to your home stereo with standard RCA. It also has two digital out connections of Toslink or Coax for the loudest and clearest audio quality. Since it is an internet radio, there are provisions for Wifi and Ethernet connection to broadband routers.
A fully-featured remote control will be provided with this radio where you can save up to 100 presets in the “my stuff” folder. But for further convenience, you can remotely control the device from just your smartphone! There is a free Grace remote control app available for iPhone and iTouch devices to do so. All information will be readable from its LCD display with large fonts and backlight option.
PROS
CONS
6. Zettaly Avy WiFi Internet Radio
For all you tech-savvy people who are always hunting the most technologically advanced products, this is definitely the best internet radio on the market. The Zettaly Avy internet radio comes with built-in Android 6.0 OS. It is among the very few Android-operated internet radios which offer a pure Google user experience.
It looks very sleek and stylish in a tablet-shaped structure. Moreover, the black and white color combination makes it look like a classy slim boombox. There is a large 7-inch screen on the front with a colorful intuitive touch interface. Here you can access all the usual Google Play apps.
Apart from access to worldwide internet radio stations, tune into the individual radio apps like iHeartradio. Stream music from Pandora, Spotify and similar apps, or play the music locally stored! You will have an abundance of storage with 8GB internal space and an optional expansion up to 32GB TF card! To keep it going, there will be a 1GB RAM and 1.3 GHz Quad-core processor underneath.
You can also watch videos directly from social media platforms like Facebook and Youtube. Their icons will show up here and you can customize their positions if you want. If you want, you can even cast those videos to the actual TV using Chromecast or HDMI for full HD quality.
The sound quality on this device is pretty powerful with 10-watt wireless speakers. Connect them with Wifi 802.11 or Bluetooth 4.0. With its proprietary Hi-Fi sound chamber and waveguide, it was pretty obvious this device will have one of the finest audio qualities. Keep playing music for up to 7 hours on a single charge to keep the party going!
In short, this rechargeable device is a combination of high-fidelity speakers, android tablet and internet radio. It offers all their functionalities in a single appliance and is easy to carry around being only 2.2 pounds.
PROS
CONS
7. Grace Digital GDI-IR2600 Wi-Fi Internet Radio
Like all other Grace Digital internet radios, this one too comes with a wide range of music source. You will have more than 17,000 radio stations and on-demand contacts to choose from. They can include your local favorites to the most popular ones like BBC, CNN, CBS and more. If that is not enough, take advantage of the 20,000 on-demand streams and 35,000 podcasts.
Besides, there will be free access to Pandora and you can play your personal radio stations there. Listen to the additional music services like iHeartRadio, Live 365, DAR.fm, Rhapsody, SiriusXM and more. Both free and paid services are included here.
It has a built-in 802.11n wireless transceiver which can connect to any compatible router within five minutes or less. If there are some unique songs in your collection already, play those files from your computer, Mac or NAS. This radio costs pretty high mainly due to offering such a huge support for audio content.
With each of these, you will get an innovative remote control in the style of a credit card! It has dedicated buttons of thumbs up and thumbs down for Pandora. You can also control the device with your iPhone, iTouch, iPad or Android smartphones by downloading the free app!
Wake up to your favorite music with the fully programmable alarms. There are five of them, just in case you manage to sleep through the first four. You can also choose the classic buzzer sound if that’s your preference. If you don't find your favorite station on the list, add it’s URL on their website and it will be loaded into your my stuff folder.
Search for particular stations from the Grace Digital website and select the ones to save on your device. You can have maximum 100 stations saved into the favorites folder and 10 preset ones.
Almost all kinds of digital audio formats are supported here like WMA, AAC, WAV, MP3 and more at any bitrate from 16 kbps to 320 kbps. All of them will sound amazing through the rear ported stereo speakers. On the contrary, listen to the melodious songs privately with the headset jack in front.
All the information will be available on the 4-line large LCD display. It has a backlight which has 30 micro adjustments and 3 settings - active, inactive and standby. There is built-in battery backup and a real-time clock to tell you accurate timings.
PROS
CONS
8. Logitech Squeezebox Radio Music Player
The Logitech Squeezebox offers a unique way to manipulate the radio experience for customers. Instead of offering them a number of channels to choose from, its makers decided to give us an entire network! It is named SqueezeNetwork based on the product line. With this, you can gain direct access to an organized collection of internet stations and music services. You can sign up here for free and start using it from your Squeezebox radio.
It is very easy to set up since all you have to do is turn on the power. Then the device will find your wifi network on its own. You can also plug in an Ethernet cable or listen to it privately with the headphone jack. To enjoy music of your own collection from any room, connect it to your iPod or MP3 player with the built-in jack and the provided cord.
In terms of looks, it is pretty bulky in structure and is based on the classic radio pattern. Although, the matte black finish on the front brings in a fusion of contemporary and old-school designs. For the shiny back, you can get two color variations - red and black. No matter what color, there will be six preset buttons available to fix your favorite radio stations.
The sound quality on this device is praiseworthy since it has built-in premium speakers. Its support for high-resolution encoding can capture the intricate sound details and bring the music to life! To make it even better, there are integrated high-definition tweeter and long-throw subwoofer making each tune clean and crisp.
Take advantage of all the features easily with the vivid color screen and turning control dial. The screen has an intuitive menu for you to browse. It also shows the album art and dims automatically when the surrounding light goes out. You can set different alarms for all seven days of the week, along with a unique radio station!
If you have found the perfect song to share with friends, you can do that immediately with this radio! Connect it to your Facebook account to recommend your favorite tracks, view the homepage, go to friends’ timeline and more! You can even set your Facebook photos or its news feed as your screensaver!
PROS
CONS
9. Kelement Wi-Fi Internet Radio
The Kelement internet radio is pretty much just that - an internet radio. It offers no services of FM and AM reception. So buy this if you want to solely listen to streaming music and online radio stations. The best part of it is its slim and sleek design. It is much thinner than most other contemporaries and thus makes a great option for a portable internet radio.
Though it does not offer AM/FM stations, it can still introduce you to more than 18,000 internet radio stations. There are a number of preloaded apps too on it based on these stations, along with streaming services like Pandora and SiriusXM. Bring in some favorites of your personal collection with its 8GB flash storage.
All you have to do is connect it to wifi and let the wireless speakers play! One of its qualities that enhances its portability is its built-in rechargeable battery. A 4000mAh Lithium battery comes with it and lets you enjoy the music for several hours.
Find all the required information from its 4.3-inch touchscreen with clean user interface. The colorful menu icons are displayed here and are easy to navigate. This radio also has alarm clock options and can provide you weather information of your locality.
PROS
CONS
Things to Consider Before Buying the Best Internet Radio
Advantages of Having an Internet Radio
Wider variety
The variety an internet radio can offer you outweigh the traditional radio by a huge margin. Both in terms of content and number of stations, you will get a thousand times more options from all around the world! You can find many stations broadcasting music of your favorite genre or you can pick up the streaming services which suit you the most. Be it pop, rock, electronic, hip-hop - anything! No matter how unique your taste in music is, an internet radio will have you covered.Convenient system
Many internet radios come with their own app or have a colorful LCD screen depicting different menu options. This creates a fun interactive system overall, where the users can be introduced to a lot more than just simple radio broadcasts. They can enjoy a video from Youtube or share the song on Facebook instantly. These radios usually have buttons too to access their favorite stations easily.Fewer commercials
Though the area of online radio is not free of advertisements, the frequency of songs playing here is much more than those of commercials. Compared to typical terrestrial radio stations, this is a much more satisfying platform for music lovers. The main reasoning behind is that, running an online radio station is less costly than the other one.Alarms
Nowadays, most of the internet radios have one or two alarms. Thus, you can wake up to your favorite station or music every day. Some of these alarms can also be programmed to play different stations or songs according to the weekday. So you are getting efficiency, productivity and continuous entertainment from the same device!Disadvantages of Having an Internet Radio
Longer time to find stations
Because of too many stations available in the palm of your hand, you might often get lost in a sea of radio stations. There are almost 16,000 to 30,000 stations available online. So finding the one you are looking for might take a long time, unless your internet radio has a search option.Crashing and buffering
In many areas, the internet can suddenly crash or the connection may not be so strong. Then the songs might stop playing or take too long to load. Thus you might have to pause your party and enjoy the silence for a while.Final Verdict
Though the internet radios are more susceptible to discontinuation of broadcasting due to dependence on wifi, their advantages are far more in number. The huge variety of shows and music is a good enough reason for any movie-lover to invest some money in it. So settle for the best internet radio you can find and enjoy an endless array of songs from anywhere!Sources: