98 Rock "Big Announcement"

[MsMusicRadio]

They play different music.

I'd prefer a Max Roach drum solo

 

[scottsvb5]

As someone who never really listened to AOR, what is the diff between AOR, Alternative (Like WSUN) , and Classic Rock on The Bone? They all sound alike to me.

AOR was born when programmers began picking and choosing certain cuts from the existing popular Freeform/Progressive Rock style where the disc jockey would play whole album sides or extended cuts. Early 70s bands include The Band, Santana, Grateful Dead, Butterfield Blues Band. Staple bands for AOR include Pink Floyd, Van Halen, Kiss, and Rush.
In the '80s, AOR began to splinter into Alternative Rock which included sub-genres as College Rock, Punk, Grunge, and an assortment of indie label bands. Representative bands are U2, The Clash, Depeche Mode, and Red Hot Chili Peppers).
The 90's gave us Active Rock which was a Top 40 approach to rock with a tight playlist playing only the most mainstream songs.
As money became a bigger factor in the radio equation the tighter the playlist became.

Yeah John is pretty much right on with this. Active Rock though seperated from the Alternative/Modernrock during the early 2000's ( I could be off a few years) by using more of a Hard Rock approach as it started to regrow without the glam image of the Hairbands from the 80s-early 90s. There are 3 kinds of Rock formats today but all really innertwine with each other. Modern Rock is more of a sound from the 90s post grunge/alternative..bands such as Killers,Weezer,sublime..most nerdy looking bands. Active Rock is more of a Harder sound/Heavy Metal.. bands like Shinedown,Disturbed,Metallica bands that image more of a hardrock side. Finally Mainstreet Rock.. usually a 80s format that plays the Best New Active Rock (top 10-20) with 80s Rock/Metal early 90s Grunge. Bands from Disturbed,Shinedown,Green Day to Motley Crue,Skid Row,Ratt to Nirvana,Peal Jam.