Radio: Satellite? Regular? Relevant?

I use the radio in my car all through the week, as I spend a great deal of time in it all week. I live about 30-45 min. from Baker and about a hour (in the other direction) from my job. So, sometimes I feel like I live in my car. I listen to the radio and my CDs as I drive to and from work, home, and school. Half of my music listening time is taken up by the regular old free radio. So, yes, I think radio is still relevant, at least for me.

I have heard about HD and satellite radio, but have never really wanted to upgrade to either because it wold cost me money. HD is the most attractive option, since you only buy a radio receiver to enhance the quality of sound you get, basically, through HD stations. To me, satellite radio is like Cable TV: It sounds better when you don't have it than when you do. As a kid, I used to wish we had cable, and think about all the cool shows and channels you could only get on cable. Then, once we got cable, the novelty wore off in a few weeks, and I even started saying "there's noting to watch" again, even though we had about 70 channels. Also, remember how when cable was the new trendy technology, it was advertised as "commercial-free TV"? How long will satellite radio be commercial-free? As the technology grows more and more popular, advertisers will want to be in on it, and the radio providers will want to capitalize on the huge profits from advertising dollars.

So, do I really want to have the option of hearing Howard Stern on satellite radio? Not really. For me, the regular radio stations work well. I have about 10 different ones programmed into my car stereo system, with about 2 AM channels that I use rarely. That's enough for me.