Best Radio Station For Music '97

Best Radio Station For Music

KFMA 92.1-FM

READERS' PICK: In the past three years since management moved her over from sister-station KLPX, deejay-turned-program manager Suzie Dunn has steered KFMA to the top of the dial on dismal Tucson radio. With its talented, rough-and-tumble crew, the scrappy alternarock station has succeeded where others like the now-defunct Edge have failed, consistently bringing the best of mainstream and as much new rock as the powers that be will allow. With that lovable quasi-professional quirkiness that only a shoestring budget can ensure, these guys have brought local rock-radio up to par with syndicated shows like Loveline and Johnny Rotten's Another Rotten Day; and live interviews with everyone from local disgruntled teens to that fawning Fiona Apple fiasco that was, nonetheless, sorta cute. In promoting the local scene and keeping pace with what the big city kids are doing, KFMA bridges the gap between the eclectic charisma of community radio and the broad-based appeal of mainstream music.

READERS' POLL RUNNER-UP: KXCI, 91.3-FM

A REAL SCREAM: Really, must we all proceed forward through time? Don't some people still call you "the space cowboy?" Re-live those sultry, '70s days over and over on KHIT, 107.5-FM: Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac.... Hell, aren't we all just yesterday's news?

A REAL SCREAM: It's late at night and you're driving home from your Flagstaff weekend. When you hit Marana, you switch the radio dial to 104.1-FM KKHG ("The Hog") and hear weird organ music playing over a thumping drum beat. It's bizarre. It sounds sort of mystical. You expected to hear some song by the likes of Neil Young, Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones; but you, the longtime "Hog" listener, suspend doubt. You keep listening, fully expecting the late-night deejay to break in and announce that the station has changed its format to whatever kind of format it is that plays maniacal organ music. But just wait. In a few minutes, you hear a comfortingly familiar guitar riff over the bizarro keyboards, and you breathe easier. The road ahead is no longer dark, and the speed limit is still 75 mph. All is right on the planet Earth. You just tuned into The Hog in the middle of 17 glorious minutes of Iron Butterfly's "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." The gratuitous drum and organ solos wash over you as you make your way home.

1998 Winner: KFMA--92.1 FM
1996 Winner: KFMA--92.1 FM
1995 Winner: KXCI--91.3 FM