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Great Sounding AC Stations

> > > Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA
> >
> > Being here in the Boston area, this station wouldn't make
> my
> > top 50 of good sounding AC stations. They
> > also do not have a voiceover guy for the station.
>
> Is that a requirement to being a good AC station...? ...a
> "Voiceover guy"?
>
> I think the fact that they *don't* have one of these
> omnipresent out of town hired out voices.....is a PLUS!
>
> Why does a station with live jocks need some recorded
> Voiceover guy for?
>
> The jocks can/do sell the stations images.
>
> "Voiceover guys" are for small stations with bad jocks,
> voices and inconsistant imaging. A Voiceover guy helps them
> retain some semblance of being a unified station when you
> are in deluth, Tulsa, or some small town....because you
> can't afford the talent and staff.

Probably 99% of the stations in the US have voiceguys, including all the biggies.

I can't think of one, other than Magic Boston.
 
I've got to go with Chicago's WLIT 93.9 and Nashville's Mix 92.9 WJXA.
 
This topic is an interesting read. My favourite AC station is 97.1 Wash FM, well programmed music and an excellent sound (not too soft, not too heavy). It's good to hear an AC station that sounds good with every segue between songs... there are too many out there which are put together poorly, and it's accepted by whoever is programming them. Other honourable mentions; *106.7 Lite FM (New York) for obvious reasons;*Kool 105.5 (West Palm Beach)... seems to click with the community;*98.1 CHFI in Toronto... minimal but effective imaging; excellent personalities; unique mix of music.
 
Voice Over guys are OK with me...only problem I have is when the V/O Guy talks 12 times an hour and Live Jocks only talk 3 times an hour.....Can You Say "OVERKILL".
 
WMGS-Wlikes-Barre
WLTW-New York
Minneapolis

and my fav

WROZ-Lancaster-Harrisburg, PA
 
Ken said:
What are your opinions on great sounding AC stations?

<b>Here is my list:</b>
K 104.7 - Charlotte, NC
Lite 100.5 - Hartford, CT
101.9 Lite FM - Baltimore, MD
97.1 WASH FM - Washington, DC
WALK 97.5 - Long Island, NY
Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA
Sunny 96.9 - Charleston, SC
Star 102 - Kansas City, MS
Star 99.9 - Bridgeport, CT (sounds good for this type of AC station)

I know their are someother good ones but I will let you guys say them.
Click to expand...

How nice it is to the station I work for part-time at the top of the list, many thanks! I'm not sure that we are always worthy. The talk is very restricted and I'd like to see some new liners and alot less of the produced sweepers but that's just my opinion! The music mix is good, a little bit of everything and nothing that turns me off personally. Very '70's based... a little too much in my opinion. I worked for a soft A/C in the '90's and there are alot of good songs from that period we don't play.

We must be doing something right, our main competition was a soft A/C, they sound more and more like our station every day!

I would also add Lite 101.5 (WLYF) Miami to the list as someone else later did. A very fine station and has been for years.
 
jlehmann said:
> Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA

Being here in the Boston area, this station wouldn't make my top 50 of good sounding AC stations. They've been using many of the same tired Thompson jingles for over ten years. They also do not have a voiceover guy for the station. The liner that you'll hear most frequently is the midday girl, just saying "Magic 106.7" with some slight effects in the background.

The biggest thing that bothers me about them is their custom edits of songs. There are many songs where they'll just chop pieces out of songs. Some that come to mind are Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, Journey - Faithfully, Aerosmith - Don't Want To Miss A Thing, and REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You.

This station is on where I work, and they really do seem to play the same songs every day.
Click to expand...
I do know that feeling about Magic. It's not my favorite AC station either. And I can think of some more songs like that:
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
Journey - Lights
The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
And their playlist is actually pretty limited. There are a lot of current AC songs that do really well that they don't play:
Faith Hill - Like We Never Loved At All
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
They hardly played ANY of Hall & Oates' newer music
But I think the reason why they don't use voiceover guys is because, they actually do something that's very unique for an AC station. Sometimes during commercial breaks, they will play part of a song that's coming up, and the artist will actually do the voiceover themselves. For example, they would say "Hi, this is Christina Aguilera, and more Continuous Soft Rock is just one minute away on Magic 106.7." They have done this for almost every artist they play, even some of the 1-hit wonders, like Benny Mardones. They have yet to do Bruce Springsteen, and Kelly Clarkson. And also, at 3:20 every day, they have a segment called "Magic Backstage" where they will interview an artist. But the reason why Magic doesn't play a lot of new songs is, they don't really go by what's popular on the AC chart. Even though it IS an AC station, I think they mostly go by what's popular on the CHR/Pop chart. I mean, they play "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue. When I first heard that on there, for a minute I thought I was listening to Kiss 108, and then I looked at my radio, and it WAS on 106.7, and I was like, "WHAT????" Another song I've heard on there that I don't think belongs is "Over and Over" by Nelly f/Tim McGraw.

However, one AC station that really sounds good is Lite Rock 105 from Providence. It's much more like a soft AC station, and they play much more variety. And it's one of the few AC stations out there to still have a local love songs show. An even better one than that, probably my favorite AC station of all is 99.9 WQRC from Cape Cod. I wish I could get it where I live. There really isn't much that they don't play. When I've been down in that area, I heard songs that I hadn't heard in AGES. I mean, when was the last time you heard "Somebody's Cryin'" by Chris Isaak, "Love Sneakin' Up On You" by Bonnie Raitt, or "Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen? I have to say WQRC is the best sounding AC station in this region.
 
TheTiger said:
> > What are your opinions on great sounding AC stations?
> >
> > Here is my list:
> > K 104.7 - Charlotte, NC
> > Lite 100.5 - Hartford, CT
> > 101.9 Lite FM - Baltimore, MD
> > 97.1 WASH FM - Washington, DC
> > WALK 97.5 - Long Island, NY
> > Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA
> > Sunny 96.9 - Charleston, SC
> > Star 102 - Kansas City, MS
> > Star 99.9 - Bridgeport, CT (sounds good for this type of
> AC
> > station)
> >
> > I know their are someother good ones but I will let you
> guys
> > say them.
> >
> I absolutely agree with your choices of Charlotte's K-104.7
> as well as 101.9 in Baltimore.
>
> However, I have to say that WLTW 106.7 in New York is
> consistently number one for a reason. Less talk, not too
> many commercials, overall entertaining personalities, and a
> good mix of music (for me). But if I had to choose a number
> one favorite, it would be Charlotte's K. Great jingles, a
> good variety of current hits with the hits of the 60's, 70's
> and 80's. They don't sound like the typical "Lite-FM" as in
> New York. The personalities talk over the music, and it
> just sounds good overall.
>
> Any others?
>

Well, living in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market, I got to say that Entercom's AC station "EZ-103", which signed on two years ago plays artists that many such stations today do not focus on. They have great jingles, hits of the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. Their jingles that are currently using is the KOST L.A. package from JAM Productions. The other AC player, Magic 93 plays classic rock and stuff you normally hear on the CHR stations. It even included Smashmouth in their playlist. Too bad it is played through the P.A. systems in some stores I visit. Like when I visit a Big Lots-type store, they pipe in Magic 93 all the time. I also hear it when we were having dinner in a Chinese restaurant across from the former Wal-Mart(now Kohl's).

I was disappointed when one CC-owned AC station Sunny 99.1 from Houston TX changed their entire imaging to make it sound upbeat. The last time I listen to them, they had softer jingles. Today when I took a listen, I noticed they switched from the previous Groove Addicts package to which I believed is a customized jingle package from TM Century. That station became unlistenable for me because they keep playing those loud jingles between songs almost all the time. I do not like the package and I hope that someday, Sunny make up their mind and go for a ReelWorld package or a package that is used on EZ-103. Listening to Sunny's new package is like listening to a hot AC or an Oldies station.

Finally, KYXY 96.5 from San Diego is the best AC station around. I wish CBS Radio could stream it because they play artists that are normally not heard on any other AC stations in my region. They sometimes sound like the "classic" Lite-FM in NYC, but they throw in Hoobastank, Madonna, and Avril Lavinge mixing with regular AC artists.

There are other good ones that I can listen via online streaming, however when I go out of town, I can give one of them a listen.
Click to expand...

If you like KYXY check out my personal favorite - KGBY Y92.5 although I consider that more of a bright AC. Not really hot AC yet not soft and not rhythmic. At www.y92.com.
 
ssetta said:
jlehmann said:
> Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA

Being here in the Boston area, this station wouldn't make my top 50 of good sounding AC stations. They've been using many of the same tired Thompson jingles for over ten years. They also do not have a voiceover guy for the station. The liner that you'll hear most frequently is the midday girl, just saying "Magic 106.7" with some slight effects in the background.

The biggest thing that bothers me about them is their custom edits of songs. There are many songs where they'll just chop pieces out of songs. Some that come to mind are Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, Journey - Faithfully, Aerosmith - Don't Want To Miss A Thing, and REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You.

This station is on where I work, and they really do seem to play the same songs every day.
Click to expand...
I do know that feeling about Magic. It's not my favorite AC station either. And I can think of some more songs like that:
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
Journey - Lights
The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
And their playlist is actually pretty limited. There are a lot of current AC songs that do really well that they don't play:
Faith Hill - Like We Never Loved At All
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
They hardly played ANY of Hall & Oates' newer music
But I think the reason why they don't use voiceover guys is because, they actually do something that's very unique for an AC station. Sometimes during commercial breaks, they will play part of a song that's coming up, and the artist will actually do the voiceover themselves. For example, they would say "Hi, this is Christina Aguilera, and more Continuous Soft Rock is just one minute away on Magic 106.7." They have done this for almost every artist they play, even some of the 1-hit wonders, like Benny Mardones. They have yet to do Bruce Springsteen, and Kelly Clarkson. And also, at 3:20 every day, they have a segment called "Magic Backstage" where they will interview an artist. But the reason why Magic doesn't play a lot of new songs is, they don't really go by what's popular on the AC chart. Even though it IS an AC station, I think they mostly go by what's popular on the CHR/Pop chart. I mean, they play "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue. When I first heard that on there, for a minute I thought I was listening to Kiss 108, and then I looked at my radio, and it WAS on 106.7, and I was like, "WHAT????" Another song I've heard on there that I don't think belongs is "Over and Over" by Nelly f/Tim McGraw.

However, one AC station that really sounds good is Lite Rock 105 from Providence. It's much more like a soft AC station, and they play much more variety. And it's one of the few AC stations out there to still have a local love songs show. An even better one than that, probably my favorite AC station of all is 99.9 WQRC from Cape Cod. I wish I could get it where I live. There really isn't much that they don't play. When I've been down in that area, I heard songs that I hadn't heard in AGES. I mean, when was the last time you heard "Somebody's Cryin'" by Chris Isaak, "Love Sneakin' Up On You" by Bonnie Raitt, or "Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen? I have to say WQRC is the best sounding AC station in this region.
Click to expand...
Jeffrey said:
> Well, living in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market, I got to
> say that Entercom's AC station "EZ-103", which signed on two
> years ago plays artists that many such stations today do not
> focus on. They have great jingles, hits of the 60's, 70's,
> 80's, and 90's. Their jingles that are currently using is
> the KOST L.A. package from JAM Productions. The other AC
> player, Magic 93 plays classic rock and stuff you normally
> hear on the CHR stations. It even included Smashmouth in
> their playlist. Too bad it is played through the P.A.
> systems in some stores I visit. Like when I visit a Big
> Lots-type store, they pipe in Magic 93 all the time. I also
> hear it when we were having dinner in a Chinese restaurant
> across from the former Wal-Mart(now Kohl's).


> Finally, KYXY 96.5 from San Diego is the best AC station
> around. I wish CBS Radio could stream it because they play
> artists that are normally not heard on any other AC stations
> in my region. They sometimes sound like the "classic"
> Lite-FM in NYC, but they throw in Hoobastank, Madonna, and
> Avril Lavinge mixing with regular AC artists.
>

In Atlanta, there is no traditional run-of-the-mill AC. The two Atlanta AC's, Cox's B98.5FM (WSB-FM) and Clear Channel's 94.9 Lite FM (WLTM) are very weirdly programmed. I like B98.5's mix, but it needs more currents and more depth. However, I wish they were better (a lot). For those from out of town, I will give you a look (It is very unusual here).

Lite only plays recurrents overnights (no currents, with the exception of Kelly Clarkson's "Breakaway"), and B98.5 (like Cox sister Star 99.9 Bridgeport) does thorough research before a song makes it on the playlist. Only 6 currents made it to B98.5's playlist last year (3 of those Kelly Clarkson songs). Both stations do all-Christmas during the holidays.

B98.5's mix of 300 songs (yes, only about 300, rotated only once a year. This is the Cox standard) is heavy right now with Kelly Clarkson, but also is beating the death out of Rob Thomas' "Lonely No More", DHT's "Listen to Your Heart", Maroon 5. The station plays the most current 9 newest adds at least four times a day. (The oldest of the 9 that gets the very heavy rotation is 2003's Christian crossover "I Can Only Imagine" form MercyMe. It has been in heavy rotation for three years now.) As for older songs, they play Avril Lavigne's "Complicated", Smash Mouth, and some reggae ("Angel" from Shaggy/Rayvon).

94.9 Lite is oldies-heavy right now, since it picked up the slack when sister Clear Channel oldies station "Cool 105.7" died (then resurected via 94.9's HD2 signal). Disco, Beatles, and anything that can fit under an AC and oldies banner at the same time is played. Lite is home to Delilah in Atlanta.

Both stations are heavy on voicetracking. When Dr. Charles McPhee's "Dream Doctor" went bust on B98.5 a couple of years ago, Cox replaced it with a voicetrack from 21 year station vet Kelly McCoy (who does afternoon drivetime live). While they are voicetracked evenings, they are live overnights after 12 midnight with 19 year station vet Larry "Nighttrain" Lane. On the otherhand, Lite voicetracks after 12 Noon DURING THE WORK DAY with Val Lorenzo (a.k.a. Randi West) from Raleigh, and JT from Birmingham.

The most unusual are the morning shows, both of them very similar in nature. Both of them are two-man acts with oldies backgrounds, one of the men in each is the class clown comedian, and the other is the quiet lead guy. Kelly Stevens and Alpha Trivette do mornings at B98.5, and have been with the station since 1998., Randy Cook and Spiff Carter do Lite's morning show, and came from Cool when it died. You would have to listen to understand.

Ratingswise, Lite FM is currently ahead 12+, however B98.5 has only a slight lead in the key demo (25-54).

What we need in Atlanta is for either AC to shape up, or someone else come in and do AC.

I apologize for the long post, but for a major market (Atlanta is now #10), we are in serious need of some help.
Click to expand...

Sounds like Atlanta, GA is the next spot to hit for the rhythmic AC format. Think that would do well there?
 
ssetta said:
jlehmann said:
> Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA

Being here in the Boston area, this station wouldn't make my top 50 of good sounding AC stations. They've been using many of the same tired Thompson jingles for over ten years. They also do not have a voiceover guy for the station. The liner that you'll hear most frequently is the midday girl, just saying "Magic 106.7" with some slight effects in the background.

The biggest thing that bothers me about them is their custom edits of songs. There are many songs where they'll just chop pieces out of songs. Some that come to mind are Christina Aguilera - Beautiful, Journey - Faithfully, Aerosmith - Don't Want To Miss A Thing, and REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You.

This station is on where I work, and they really do seem to play the same songs every day.
Click to expand...
I do know that feeling about Magic. It's not my favorite AC station either. And I can think of some more songs like that:
Jackson Browne - Running On Empty
Journey - Lights
The Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
And their playlist is actually pretty limited. There are a lot of current AC songs that do really well that they don't play:
Faith Hill - Like We Never Loved At All
Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
They hardly played ANY of Hall & Oates' newer music
But I think the reason why they don't use voiceover guys is because, they actually do something that's very unique for an AC station. Sometimes during commercial breaks, they will play part of a song that's coming up, and the artist will actually do the voiceover themselves. For example, they would say "Hi, this is Christina Aguilera, and more Continuous Soft Rock is just one minute away on Magic 106.7." They have done this for almost every artist they play, even some of the 1-hit wonders, like Benny Mardones. They have yet to do Bruce Springsteen, and Kelly Clarkson. And also, at 3:20 every day, they have a segment called "Magic Backstage" where they will interview an artist. But the reason why Magic doesn't play a lot of new songs is, they don't really go by what's popular on the AC chart. Even though it IS an AC station, I think they mostly go by what's popular on the CHR/Pop chart. I mean, they play "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" by Kylie Minogue. When I first heard that on there, for a minute I thought I was listening to Kiss 108, and then I looked at my radio, and it WAS on 106.7, and I was like, "WHAT????" Another song I've heard on there that I don't think belongs is "Over and Over" by Nelly f/Tim McGraw.

However, one AC station that really sounds good is Lite Rock 105 from Providence. It's much more like a soft AC station, and they play much more variety. And it's one of the few AC stations out there to still have a local love songs show. An even better one than that, probably my favorite AC station of all is 99.9 WQRC from Cape Cod. I wish I could get it where I live. There really isn't much that they don't play. When I've been down in that area, I heard songs that I hadn't heard in AGES. I mean, when was the last time you heard "Somebody's Cryin'" by Chris Isaak, "Love Sneakin' Up On You" by Bonnie Raitt, or "Human Touch" by Bruce Springsteen? I have to say WQRC is the best sounding AC station in this region.
Click to expand...

I just discovered 99.9 WQRC last week or so. They are now streaming online at www.wqrc.com and you are right, they do sound good!
 
icycool7227 said:
TheTiger said:
> > What are your opinions on great sounding AC stations?
> >
> > Here is my list:
> > K 104.7 - Charlotte, NC
> > Lite 100.5 - Hartford, CT
> > 101.9 Lite FM - Baltimore, MD
> > 97.1 WASH FM - Washington, DC
> > WALK 97.5 - Long Island, NY
> > Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA
> > Sunny 96.9 - Charleston, SC
> > Star 102 - Kansas City, MS
> > Star 99.9 - Bridgeport, CT (sounds good for this type of
> AC
> > station)
> >
> > I know their are someother good ones but I will let you
> guys
> > say them.
> >
> I absolutely agree with your choices of Charlotte's K-104.7
> as well as 101.9 in Baltimore.
>
> However, I have to say that WLTW 106.7 in New York is
> consistently number one for a reason. Less talk, not too
> many commercials, overall entertaining personalities, and a
> good mix of music (for me). But if I had to choose a number
> one favorite, it would be Charlotte's K. Great jingles, a
> good variety of current hits with the hits of the 60's, 70's
> and 80's. They don't sound like the typical "Lite-FM" as in
> New York. The personalities talk over the music, and it
> just sounds good overall.
>
> Any others?
>

Well, living in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton market, I got to say that Entercom's AC station "EZ-103", which signed on two years ago plays artists that many such stations today do not focus on. They have great jingles, hits of the 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's. Their jingles that are currently using is the KOST L.A. package from JAM Productions. The other AC player, Magic 93 plays classic rock and stuff you normally hear on the CHR stations. It even included Smashmouth in their playlist. Too bad it is played through the P.A. systems in some stores I visit. Like when I visit a Big Lots-type store, they pipe in Magic 93 all the time. I also hear it when we were having dinner in a Chinese restaurant across from the former Wal-Mart(now Kohl's).

I was disappointed when one CC-owned AC station Sunny 99.1 from Houston TX changed their entire imaging to make it sound upbeat. The last time I listen to them, they had softer jingles. Today when I took a listen, I noticed they switched from the previous Groove Addicts package to which I believed is a customized jingle package from TM Century. That station became unlistenable for me because they keep playing those loud jingles between songs almost all the time. I do not like the package and I hope that someday, Sunny make up their mind and go for a ReelWorld package or a package that is used on EZ-103. Listening to Sunny's new package is like listening to a hot AC or an Oldies station.

Finally, KYXY 96.5 from San Diego is the best AC station around. I wish CBS Radio could stream it because they play artists that are normally not heard on any other AC stations in my region. They sometimes sound like the "classic" Lite-FM in NYC, but they throw in Hoobastank, Madonna, and Avril Lavinge mixing with regular AC artists.

There are other good ones that I can listen via online streaming, however when I go out of town, I can give one of them a listen.
Click to expand...

If you like KYXY check out my personal favorite - KGBY Y92.5 although I consider that more of a bright AC. Not really hot AC yet not soft and not rhythmic. At www.y92.com.
Click to expand...

Icy cool, if you like the bright AC sound then listen to WROZ-Lancaster (101 The Rose) they play stuff like Eagle Eye Cherry and then play one song later Elton John. They have a great mix of both AC songs and Hot AC songs. Their new songs tend to follow their AC charying songs but they do play some cool stuff like Matchbox Twenty's "Push" and Lifehouse-Hanging By A Moment.

they are at www.roseradio.com and then click on the listen live button on the top right side.
 
In my area we have a Great sounding AC station- Sunny 95 WSNY Columbus.
Programmed very well. And the announcer lineup is perfect for this format.They also have an online stream that has great sound quality.
 
I havnt really been into AC music but I have been recently. My uncles band LAREAU, who hes the lead singer of ,was #2 in adds this week at R&R Major AC Mediabase for the week of 5/18/07. Thanks for the lists of good ACD stations you guys provided. Now I can check them out and listen to some good AC music!
 
Kevin said:
> > > Magic 106.7 - Boston, MA
> > They
> > also do not have a voiceover guy for the station.
>
> Is that a requirement to being a good AC station...? ...a
> "Voiceover guy"?
>
> I think the fact that they *don't* have one of these
> omnipresent out of town hired out voices.....is a PLUS!
>
> Why does a station with live jocks need some recorded
> Voiceover guy for?
>
> The jocks can/do sell the stations images.
>
> "Voiceover guys" are for small stations with bad jocks,
> voices and inconsistant imaging. A Voiceover guy helps them
> retain some semblance of being a unified station when you
> are in deluth, Tulsa, or some small town....because you
> can't afford the talent and staff.

Probably 99% of the stations in the US have voiceguys, including all the biggies.

I can't think of one, other than Magic Boston.
Click to expand...

And Magic is hugely sucessful.

Proving you don't need one.
 
In Pensacola, there's WYCL 107.3 FM. "MY 107.3" is like K in Charlotte. A Great Station! Love it!
 
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