Sirius Satellite Radio Review

Two years ago I bought a Sirius Satellite Radio subscription and receiver for my boyfriend for Christmas.  He spends over two hours in the car each day and I thought he'd appreciate the variety of channels during his commute.  I was flipping through the channels in his car one day and stumbled across Radio Margaritaville--the Jimmy Buffett channel.  As a huge Parrothead, I was sold.  A whole channel devoted to Buffett-esque music? I had to have a receiver for myself! I got one a couple of months later for my birthday and have been a huge fan of this service ever since. 

Sirius Satellite Radio is very different from traditional terrestrial radio.  Some of it is commercial-free, there are 130 channels of various programming, and it is a national broadcast so you can drive cross-country if you like and still hear the same channels.  Of course, this all comes at a price: $12.95 per month to be specific.  You also can buy a year subscription at a time for $142.45 or for the lifetime of your receiver for $499.99.  If you have multiple accounts, you will get a discounted rate on the additional subscriptions ($6.99 per month instead of $12.95). 

Sirius has dozens of music channels that include pop, rock, country, jazz, hip hop, classical, standards, Christian, Latin, etc.  There are artist-specific channels for The Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Buffett, Eminem, etc.  I like the decade-specific channels (80s, 90s) and the ones focused on certain types of music (80s hair bands, 90s alternative, etc.)  Aside from the music, there are channels for news, weather, sports (NFL, NBA, Nascar), and other entertainment like Howard Stern, Blue Collar Comedy, Martha Stewart, etc.   

I have to admit that 99% of the time my Sirius Satellite Radio is tuned to channel 31 which is Radio Margaritaville: the Jimmy Buffett channel.  I love it because it is a nice mix of Buffett songs, reggae and other tropical music, and other favorites like Willie Nelson, Jerry Jeff Walker, etc.  On the rare occasions that I need a change (or, more likely, my boyfriend insists that I switch it to someone else), I listen to Lithium 24 the 90's alternative channel or The Big 80's.  We also occasionally listen to Blue Collar Comedy, Hair Nation, and the Bruce Springsteen channel.

My one complaint about this service is the way that it cuts out for up to two hours at a time during certain times of day.  It must have something to do with the satellites because the Sirius will completely black out at exactly the same time of day.  It's annoying but I've learned to expect and deal with it.

I am a huge fan of Sirius Satellite Radio and would recommend it to anyone who spends a lot of time listening to the radio.  I used to think I was completely satisfied with terrestrial radio... and then my eyes were opened when I flipped through the Sirius offerings.  I've tried listening to the regular radio in my car and I just can't do it anymore.  I can't stand all of the commercials and incessant interruptions by the DJs.  We've had several guests comment on how great the playlists are and at least one has gone out and purchased a Sirius Satellite Radio receiver of her own so she could enjoy the music in her own home.  It's that good!