The 10 72FM Mixes, and What Is Actually In Them

Updated 10 September 2026

The 72FM Mixes are ten themed views over the same public directory the rest of the site uses. They are free — every one of them, no account, no payment — and they are not channels 72FM produces. 72FM broadcasts nothing. Each mix runs a live search of the Radio Browser directory for a handful of tags, keeps the stations that are actually on air, and ranks them by how many people have voted for them.

That means two things worth knowing before you use them. The line-up changes: a station that re-tags itself drops out, a new one appears, and the mix on Tuesday is not identical to the mix on Friday. And the quality varies the way public radio varies — these are real broadcasters, not a playlist somebody assembled.

What Premium buys is not these. It lifts the one-hour daily listening limit and adds your own playlists, unlimited favourites, every sleep-timer length and your last 100 plays. The mixes are free either way.

The ten

72FM Chill

Searches for chillout, lounge, ambient and relax. The broadest of the ten, and the one most likely to give you something usable on the first click. Good for: having something on without deciding what.

72FM Deep Focus

Searches for ambient and classical. Instrumental by construction rather than by intent — there is no lyric filter, so the occasional vocal turns up. Good for: working through a long stretch.

72FM Sunset House

Searches for house, deep house and dance. The most consistent of the ten in tone, because house stations tag themselves accurately. Good for: the early evening.

72FM Jazz Club

Searches for jazz, smooth jazz and blues. Ranges from serious jazz broadcasters to hotel-lobby smooth jazz, which are tagged the same way. Good for: late evening, and for finding stations you would not have gone looking for.

72FM Lounge

Searches for lounge, easy listening and smooth jazz. Overlaps with the Jazz Club deliberately; the difference is emphasis, not a separate pool.

72FM World Music

Searches for world, world music and ethnic — a tag broadcasters apply loosely, so this is the least predictable of the ten and the most interesting for it. Good for: hearing something you have no reference point for.

72FM Late Night R&B

Searches for rnb, soul and r&b. Skews towards classic soul, because that is what tends to be tagged that way.

72FM Classical Mornings

Searches for classical, baroque and opera. Several of the stations here are national public broadcasters, which is why the audio quality tends to be better than the directory average.

72FM Indie Picks

Searches for indie, alternative and indie rock. "Picks" is a hangover from an older name — nobody picks these; the directory does.

72FM Lo-Fi Beats

Searches for lo-fi, lofi and chillhop. The tag is well-used and the stations are mostly 24/7 streams, so this one is reliable.

If a mix looks thin

It happens. Tags are written by the broadcasters themselves, so a category can empty out when a few stations re-label. Browse by genre to go straight at a tag, or try radio by local time instead — picking an hour of the day rather than a style turns up things a genre filter never will.

What Premium actually changes

One hour of listening a day is free, on every station, with no account. £29 for the year — a single payment, no auto-renew, nothing stored, nothing to cancel — lifts that limit and adds playlists, unlimited favourites, every sleep-timer length and your last 100 plays. The full comparison is on the Premium page.