FM Reception question, please

Ryanmhl is right on the mark. I have found identical results with a whip antenna and with the $15 Radio Shack omnidirectional antenna mounted in an attic - why pay more for a whip. A tuner with dual antenna inputs is the way to go; try using both a directional and nondirectional unit in the attic or on the roof. It may take a weekend of work, but there is no substitute for setting up a real antenna. If you think whip antennas to be useful indoors, try parking you car in the garage and checking the reception.

Please forgive what is surely a naive question: Why can I get decent FM reception with my $30 boombox or with my cheap car stereo, but nothing with a $400 (or more) FM tuner unless I spend even more money on a stinkin' antenna?

Can someone explain this to me? Thanks!

I also have an FM antenna in my attic. All stations are north, so I don't need a rotor.

Cpdunn99,
The answer to your question is that a boombox and car radio both have a "whip" style antenna.
IMO a whip style antenna works very well. Better than a dipole.
Cheers

Fact is, by replacing my MD Silver Ribbon (indoors) with a Fanfare whip on the peak of my roof (outdoors, I increased the signal strength reading on my Accuphase T-101 tuner from 2 to 5 (pegged the meter).
There is nothing theoretical about this. It really happened.
Now, that said, I must also tell you that I listen exclusively to a 16 watt community radio station whose broadcast antenna is visible from my whip at a distance of about 5 miles.
This is a great little station by the way. You can check it out at www.kafmradio.org on the web. It's wildly eclectic so if it isn't your thing when you tune in, try again later.
I'm in the Mountain time zone in the USA.
Now, thanks to the internet, that 16 watts can be heard around the world. Isn't that incredible?