Finally station playlists curated by intelligent music connoisseurs & enthusiasts! Hallelujah, I've found music heaven in the DMV!! Head & shoulders above all rock (indie) & pop stations I've heard in over a decade with only the best new pop & rock + classic hits + deep cuts. I confirm and echo all the 4&5 star reviews. [Takoma Park's tiny WOWD LP @94.3 is the only comparable station, but if you're outside its 1 mile broadcast radius you'll have to stream from their website]. read more

I drive three hours to New Jersey and three hours back just about every other weekend. When I get tired of listening to the mix CDs I made in college and my iPod doesn't contain anything of interest because I use it on the Metro so often, I grudgingly turn to the radio. I say "grudgingly" because the airwaves are full of crap. Every few months I press the FM button, and I want to bang my head against the steering wheel. Who wants to hear Rihanna and T-Pain every FIVE MINUTES? Really? You think Lady Gaga holds up to 30 listens in a day? Aughhhh. One magical evening, somewhere between Philly and Baltimore, my radio scan hit a 5-second patch of Neko Case. I quickly dialed back the station numbers, and there it was, 103.1 in all its unspoiled glory. I stayed glued to the frequency, sure this one song was a fluke. But then they played Talking Heads! And then Kaiser Chiefs! And then Bird & the Bee! A DJ came on the line and said they were taking requests. I punched the numbers in my phone. A man answered, and I babbled at him about how much I appreciated the lack of musical suckage his station was providing. He thanked me, and played my request ("Can You Tell" by Ra Ra Riot) 15 minutes later. I think I'm in love. read more

it began in bethesda in 1961 at 102.3 on the dial playing pop and jazz, then a few years later a man named Jacob Einstein became general manager and in 1969 took a gamble on station that had no audience on the concept of free form radio, meaning the djs could play whatever they felt and were not compelled to follow a play list. the early seventies came and local dj legends Cerphe, Weasel, Bob Here, and Damien Einstein came aboard and brought their own style of music with them. needless to say it was the only station in the area where you could here yes, frank zappa, emmylou harris, the ramones, root boy slim, the diversions, and roxy music all one the same station. in 1983 Damien Einstein took the call letters WHFS to annapolis after the station had been sold. most of the staff followed his to 99.1 and continued their free form ways. and it was at that station where i heard run dmc do walk this way with aerosmith. no other station in the area would touch that song (until it became a huge mtv hit), but HFS was the first to put it out on the airwaves. then there were the hilarious political satire skits from the daily feed long before there was a Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert. then alternative became popular and then things went corporate. Damien Einstein had to sue to keep his job and then a few years later decided to chuck it all away and start a station of his own - WRNR 103.1 fm in annapolis. now HFS is a latin station when some clear channel corporate suit decided there were too many rock stations in the market and flipped it around without even a hint of a change. the only thing that comes close to the old WHFS is 103.1. it doesn't always compare to the station i used to love, but it does it's very best and it's the only station around that has people who put music first and marketing in the background. there is a hint of a playlist with some newer songs getting more airtime than most, but where else are you going to hear the new pornographers, bob dylan, danny gatton, fugazi and drvie by truckers all on one station? the only problem is that reception is weak in the dc metro area. if you are on the east side of the city the signal is not so bad. if you are on the west side, you are going to need some help. if you are in viginia - forget about it. read more

Undoubtedly the coolest radio station in all of the DC Metro area. Real DJ's who actually know and love music and who actually CHOOSE what they want to play, as opposed to the self-important "radio personalities" who sit behind a digital playback machine and blather incessantly about the most inane subject matter their puny brains can muster (Elliot in the Morning comes to mind). The mix is progressive rock with a good balance of new and old music with a definite slant to non-mainstream. If you like Radiohead, Elvis Costello, the Grateful Dead, Janes Addiction, The Shins, The Raconteurs, Beck, Neil Young and the like, then you will LOVE this station. Cool giveaways at this station, too. Listen to Alex and Robb in the Morning for their daily Sound Connection contest. Concert tickets, CDs, DVDs galore. Trust me on this one, nothing else even comes close. read more

One of the best rock radio stations going! The music is a real mix and is NOT a standard short play list. The DJ's are all terrific, know their music and bring the listeners fresh music, lives interviews, live impromptu on air performances from top acts touring through the area. If you love music, this is the place to listen to music, get information about the music, the artists and what's happening! read more

Music selection and variety is good, when they actually play music. I find that there are way too many commercials and talk for my patience. My biggest beef is that the analog FM signal is WEAK, yet they refuse to allow you to stream on a wifi radio by not disclosing a web addy for the stream. Sorry, but I am not going to tie myself to a computer when I listen to music. But that's ok, because there are other broadcast options out of Towson MD that come in great thoughout the Annapolis area (and they have Weasel!) I want to support my hometown radio station, but feel they are shooting themselves in the foot by not supporting wifi radio to extend their audience. 2/10 edit- Greg's suggestions seem to work for web radio enthusiasts, as does radio time.....so WRNR is back in regular rotation with WTMD 89.7fm, WXPN, and KCRW read more

If you miss good radio, its still available on a lil' Annapolis radio station. Just like you remember from your 20s or teens. They play what they want. And the djs are intelligent. I like waking up to Alex and Rob. I enjoy their banter and Rob's traffic reports. Plus he makes me feel like I am learning something new everyday about the environment. I really feel like I am a local listening to this station that located on Main street, Annapolis. They will play anything and every thing to U2, Madeleine Peyroux, Elvis Costello, The Shins, Sinead O'Connor, John Haitt, Coldplay, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, Radiohead, Nirvana, Gavin Rossdale, Whitestripes, The Strokes to Duffy. You get the picture. Not a boring radio station. So if I am not listening to my i-pod, its WRNR 103.1. read more

Arguably the best radio station in the country that isn't public or college-run. They're involved locally, they often try new music (but not as much as they used to, sadly) and it's got character. DJs know their stuff too. read more

I love this station! If only the station came in clearer/stronger signal in the DC/Baltimore area. Closest thing to my beloved WHFS of the 80's/90's. Wide variety that keeps me listening, and I love hearing some of my favorite DJ's from HFS on WRNR! read more

In the beginning this was the only progressive radio station in town and many people migrated to it. The DJ's had a free hand in music selection. The legacy DJs - Carrie, Rob, Alex, Bob still posses that ability, but these weekend jocks act like they graduated from the Columbia School of Broadcasting. Come on do I really need to be teased about the next song? Do I need to be told about the origins of a song, or the performers history? People who follow music know its history. We're not babes in the woods. We left "Classic Rock" when the song made AT40. Let's get back to more rock, less kid jock. BTW look out for WTMD, its gaining on you read more

first off--the jocks are not really choosing the music. a group of corporate cynics(some of whom have air shifts) make all the calls. this station is completely programmed. what they do to present the illusion of being rad is they toss in a deeper cut or an obscure artist on occasion---- it is an entirely calculated move. lap it up if you want but you should listen to wfmu out of jersey city for what real, honest radio sounds like. read more

A fantastic radio station - music of all types - always something new, mixed with something old - it never ceases to entertain, amuse, educate... The DJs are hilarious and probably among the most well-informed in the business, the format is great, RNR just can't be beat. My iPod sits idly by because there is always something good playing on RNR, no need to listen to the iPod! read more

Fabulous radio station! My only complaint has been that I don't live closer to the signal and so couldn't listen to it often, until now. I just want to give a huge thank you to Greg C. in VA for his (filtered) review on how to stream this station live!!! read more

While in the last few years, WRNR has "grown up" some, with more and more mainstream advertising, greater signal strength, and seemingly a little more rotational focus, this is still a great, great radio station. While it lacks the totally unpredictable college radio feel (for that, try 89.7 WTMD), this station try's to resist "format." You can still often hear artists that you have not heard before. I like their local community focus as well. Like other yelpers, for those of us who recall the original 99.1 WHFS out of DC, this is familiar ground- even some familiar faces. If anything could be improved, I would recommend a return to the first couple of WRNR years, when the DJs played tracks deeper into the albums we know and sometimes the into albums we did not know, but soon wanted to. read more