A search engine for Internet radio

By Candace Lombardi – October 4, 2007 12:07 PM PDT

(Credit: iheard.com)

I love listening to any kind of radio--terrestrial, satellite or Internet--while going about my daily Internet pleasures.

But I have no patience and little time to search for cool new stations. I end up relying on the typical standbys and random recommendations from friends or colleagues.

Enter Iheard.

Fusa Capital launched a new search engine on Tuesday that brings the thousands of Internet radio stations out there to one Web site.

The engine includes both Internet-only stations, as well as simulcasts offered by AM and FM radio stations online.

Unlike Radio-Locator, which started from "MIT's List of Radio Stations on the Internet", you're not taken to the Web site of the station your search results return. Instead, the station is streamed from right within Iheard's Web site. Users are given a choice of supported streaming formats depending on the station that includes RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, Winamp and iTunes.

Stations can be browsed or searched by language, country, genre or most popular. The site attempts to include Internet radio across the globe, not just in the U.S. The stations are also rated, which is nice if you're looking for a great bebop station but don't know which of the many choices to try first.

I found a great "Bongo Flava" station from Tanzania called "Bongo Radio" and "RaDioTEENTAAL," an Indian music station broadcast from Paris. I'm sure I would have been able to find these on my own, but I probably would not have taken the time to look without the convenience of having it brought to me from one place.