It's easy to listen to Internet radio stations spanning all eras and genres—some sites are free, some premium. This Tip tells you how to get radio via Windows Media Player (WMP) and Live365.

Use Windows Media Player to listen to Internet radio

Before you use WMP to listen to the radio, we recommend that you update to the latest version (it's free): Open WMP; go to Help | Check for player updates. Install any you're offered. (The update window that opened will close automatically when the update is complete. You may have to restart.)

To access the radio with WMP, click the ‘Radio Tuner' on the left-hand side of the WMP window. You'll see three pull-down menus: ‘Featured Stations', ‘My Stations', and ‘Recently Played Stations'. Click on any menu to view its contents, and click on any radio station to view its options.

To locate other stations, click ‘Find More Stations'. Here, you can search by genre, keyword, or zip code. Enter your criteria; click ‘Search'. A list of radio stations will appear.

When you select a station, you will always see the option ‘Add to My Stations'; use this to add the station to your ‘My Stations' menu. You may also see the options ‘Visit Website' and ‘Play'. Click ‘Play' to begin listening to the radio station. (This will also open the provider's website). For some stations, you may see ‘Visit Website To Play'; in order to listen to that station, you'll have to browse its website and look for a ‘Play' or ‘Listen' link.

For your convenience, we've browsed available radio stations and found some good ones. To access these stations, browse by genre and select the appropriate entry.

• Classic Rock: KillerOldies.com
• Smooth Jazz: BostonPete.com
• Public Radio: NPR National Public Radio
• Classical: MostlyClassical.com

Use Live365 to listen to Internet radio

Live365 provides both free and premium radio services; find it at www.live365.com. In the upper right-hand corner of the home page, you'll see a ‘Username' and ‘Password' field. You don't have to register in order to use Live365, but if you want to, you can do so by clicking the ‘Sign Up' link. Registration is quick, easy, and free, and allows you to save your favorite stations.

In the center of your screen, look for 2 ‘knobs', labeled ‘Editor's Picks' and ‘My Presets'. Click either of these knobs to view their respective contents. To find a new radio station, enter a keyword (Artist, Song Title, Genre, Era, etc.) into the field labeled ‘Find Stations That Play <blank>'. You can also click the ‘Complete Genre List' link to view a list of available genres; click on one to view applicable radio stations.

To listen to a particular station, click the yellow megaphone icon next to it. The first time you listen to a radio station on Live365, you'll be asked which player you want to use. You can download Live365's player; this download is free and quick, and the player is decent. You can also choose Windows Media Player, Real Player, etc.

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Note: If a station's icon is gold, that station is available for VIP members only. You can read about VIP membership on the Live365 website. You may also find that a free station is “full”, i.e. you can't listen without a VIP membership.