While SomaFM has been around for a while, I never gave it a serious listen until this week, and I must say I’m now hooked, especially on the Secret Agent station. The majority of SomaFM’s stations contain ambient music with little to no lyrics, which makes them perfect for working on the computer, since lyrics tend to disrupt my train of thought.
SomaFM’s default streaming method is through .VLS files, which work seamlessly with VLC, which is my default media player. They have options for other media players on their home page if you want to use something else. I personally like the .VLS files because I can just save the file to my computer and double-click it when I feel like listening.
Because SomaFM is commercial-free and requires no registration, paid or otherwise, they depend solely on user donations. Visit their Support page for information on various one-time and recurring donations. Considering satellite radio runs $8–16/month and isn’t always commercial-free, SomaFM can be a great bargain.