Maybe you’re down on the whole XM/Sirius merger or don’t care too much about what the heck HD Radio is. It’ll be 2009 soon, and you’re ready to turn your ears over to the Internet like everything else.

Plus you’re pretty stoked at having thousands of stations at your fingertips at no cost.

If you don’t want to shell out for a standalone Internet radio player, which it looks like you’ll be seeing more and more of, turn on your PC and crank up RadioBeta.

This cool little website brings the world, literally, of Internet radio to your PC—no charge, just as long as you can use Real Player, Windows Media Player or the Firefox plug-in (for Mac).

You can search the site to find stations by geography or genre, or do a quick search for a radio name or frequency. There are also tags for searching U.S. cities’ stations that brings up a giant list from Aberdeen to Youngstown.

Since those station searches can get out of hand in a hurry, and since you might find a Russian station you like just as easily as one from your home town, there’s a My Dashboard function that lets you set up your favorites to show up on whatever browser you’re on. You’ll have to register for this service, but it’s quick and painless. And if your favorite station is somehow not listed yet, you can add it.

Via: Red Ferret

Arlen Schweiger - Editor of Electronic House Magazine

Arlen writes about home technology installations and product news and reviews for electronichouse.com and Electronic House magazine.