What were the radio stations of your youth that helped you on your music/audio journey?

WTSR, Trenton State Radio. They had a great Reggae night where I discovered tons of bands I, to this day, never would know.

WFMU 101.1 Freeform radio from Upsala College, NJ
WNEW 102.7 Scott Muni and company in NYC, Progressive Rock
WBAI     99.5 Pacifica Radio in NYC
WRVR  106.7 Jazz radio in NYC until 1980
WNCN  104.3 Classical Music format until 1980 
WCVF     600 carrier current AM radio at SUC Fredonia, NY

Radio in NYC was really lively and interesting in my youth, from around 1969 until about 1979 or so…and then it just died. It became lifeless and soulless as the “professional” radio programmers took over. There are a few good stations today, WNYC, WQXR, and WBGO, but the rest are unlistenable.

Boston stations - 
WMEX - AM in the 60's - top 40 hits
WBCN - FM after that for rock  - Peter Wolf (early DJ)
Charles Laquidara - legendary

Back in the mid to late 70's there was a radio station in Columbus Ohio called Stereo Rock 92. Their competitor was QFM 96 that still thrives today. Rock 92 had something called "Midnight And Other Beast". Every Friday night at midnight they would critique a complete album. Remember,, back in those days there was an explosion of new rock artist and mainstays releasing album after album rapid fire.. So at midnight they would explain the album in detail, introduce all the members and what high lights we should listen for during the first half of the album. After side one was played the disc jockey would do the same thing for side 2. No commercials, just music... really cool. 

Away at school in the 4th grade in the mountains of Virginia from 1957-1961, we had limited radio reception.  I had a cream-colored Zenith radio that was about 8" high and 12" wide and about 3-4 inches wide. I looked at a bunch of pics of old Zenith radios and did not see one that looked like it.  

Anyway, since my grades were good, I was able to do study hall in the dorms, and used to listen at very low volume to WOWO, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, which was the only station back then that came in clearly for any length of time.

Later, back home near Williamsburg, we had WGH radio, which was for teens at night with a great disc jockey named Roger Clark.  This was in the early 1960's--the birth of great music. Then I went to college and we had WCHL.

I know it is a terrible thing today, but back then WCHL used to sign-off with an a capella version of Dixie performed by the glee club that was the best version of the song I have ever heard.  It was truly mesmerizing.

I contacted them a few years ago--WCHL is still there--but of course they had no idea what I was talking about and of course all copies of that version were long gone.  Sad, but times change, I guess...