Internet radio apps are a dime a dozen on mobile platforms like Android and iOS, but dedicated radio apps for Linux can be hard to find if you don’t know where to look. In this article we will examine the possible Internet radio options for Linux users.
Dedicated Internet Radio Apps
1. Gradio
Gradio is a new radio app that allows you to search for public radio stations on your Linux desktop. The app is built with the GTK toolkit, meaning it should work well on GTK-based desktops like GNOME, Unity, Cinnamon and more. Searching for stations is really easy – all you need to do is click the “Discover” tab and browse the featured stations or search for a specific one by typing the station name or keywords in the search box provided. Installation instructions for Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch Linux and openSUSE can be found on the project’s github repository.
2. Radio Tray
Radio Tray is an old-time favourite for listening to online radio on Linux, and it’s still one of the best ones available. It is a minimalistic app that sits in the system tray of your desktop and does not consume your system resources excessively. It can play most media formats (using gstreamer libraries) and allows you to listen to radio stations under a number of different categories. It integrates well with the Ubuntu desktop and is distributed under the GPL General Public License. To install radio Tray in Ubuntu 16.04 you can search for radiotray in the Software Center or use the following command in the terminal: For Fedora 23/24:
Music Apps that support Internet radio
3. Lollypop
Lollypop is a fully-featured music player made for GNOME that also allows you to listen to Internet radio stations and Podcasts via TuneIn, one of the major Internet radio services. Lollypop features a wonderful search filter that allows you to search for radio stations by category such as Music, Sports, Talk or even Podcasts. You can also search for radio stations by language or location or add your own custom streams if you’re so inclined. Installation instructions for Ubuntu/Debian-based distros, Fedora, Arch Linux and openSUSE can be found on the project’s website.
4. Rhythmbox
If you use Ubuntu or Fedora, the chances that you’ve come across Rhythmbox are very high, as it come pre-installed on both these Linux distros and some other ones that use GNOME as their flagship desktop environment. While Rhythmbox is primarily a music player, it also gives you the option of listening to online radio and podcasts. To add a new radio station, you need to to hunt for the URL of the radio station you want to listen to and add it manually to Rhythmbox. There are plugins that you can install to make searching for radio stations easier, but overall its online radio capabilities are limited compared to the other apps on this list. What is your favourite way to listen to radio stations on Linux? Let us know in the comments section below. Image credit: presets
