Hello, WYTZ95, Jeremy, Sal, and all the rest. Long-time no see. Good conversation all-around and I agree with many of the points already mentioned.

That Hot 97 Classic station is one my favorite go-to stations whenever I listen to online radio. From the music to the presentation, it is well-polished. I also listen to its "American Dance Traxx Flashbacks" on Mixcloud, hosted by "Big T of Kearney, NJ" and showcasing how Hot 97 sounded during a week between 1986 and 1993. That show is actually based on a real syndicated Rhythmic/Dance Top 40 countdown show called "American Dance Traxx", which lasted from 1987 to 1993. It should be noted that B96 actually aired "American Dance Traxx" on the weekend during the final years of the show's run (1991-1993).

The Beat Chicago is also one of my favorites when it comes to my online radio fixes. They've changed things up recently. It used to be mainly classic R&B of the 60s to the early 2k during the weeekday. Now you have a random format, ranging from classic 60s/70s/80s hits, all 80s hits, or all 70s hits. On the weekend, it's the same as it always was with the classic dance hits heard on Killer Bee-era B96, both Energy 88.7 and 92.7, CyberRadio, and the real WBMX from the 80s. Regardless of what format is being presented, the station is well-run and each format has a large playlist of songs.

I usually go to OnlineRadioBox to listen to additional online stations although more recently I put in all the URL streams on the VCL Media Player and listen to them there. Some of the stations on OnlineRadoibox display the song currently playing. I listen primarily to online radio stations and the only Chicago FM stations I occasionally tune in to nowadays are, believe it or not, 97.1 the Drive and MeTV FM. I could tune in to V103 or Lite FM 93.9 if I wanted to but iHeart stations are not available on OnlineRadioBox and I'm too lazy to go to iHeart's site to listen. WLS-FM is available but I rarely listen to that station for the reason WYTZ95 mentioned earlier with the classic rock-heavy playlist and lack of dance/urban classic hits. Also, that station always loads with a commercial! This also happened with some of the other stations' streams on OnlineRadioBox, such as Q101, whenever I try to listen.

I never tune in to B96 (since modern pop is pop music of this era is straight-up awful) as I scrolled through the various radio stations on OnlineRadioBox but I notice them playing Eminem's "Without Me" which kinda shocked me as that song is over 20 years old (21 to be exact). The youngest portion of the 18-36 demographic that pop music stations crave weren't even alive when that song originally came out! I clicked to see what the station was playing in the past 24 hours to see the amount of older tracks that were played. I already know Jeremy already mentioned it in regard to B96 increasing the amount of gold titles/throwbacks. In comparison, I read a B96 songsheet from a 1995 Billboard article which featured the 1979 disco classic "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor and that song was younger that that point (16 in 1995) than Eminem's song is today. It was quite common for the Killer Bee-Party Radio-era B96 play some 80s gold titles and 70s disco gold. The oldest song I've noticed on present-day B96's playlist is Notorious BIG's "Hypnotize" from 1997.

While I haven't listen to B96 in over 2 decades, part of me is still sad to see B96 go if the enviable does happen should the station merge with 104.3 Jams. I grew up with many of songs 104.3 Jams played on the radio, whether it was on B96 or WGCI yet my main grip with them is their very light playlist of 200-300 songs. Also, is 104.3 Classic Rhythmic or Classic Urban? B96 during their golden years of the 1990s was classified as a rhythmic station by the music trade magazines like Billboard and Radio & Records. Listening to 104.3 Jams, you would think B96 only played hip hop and R&B during their glory years of the 1990s and avoided all the house/Euro/techno/freestyle hits of that era as dance music was the main ingredient in B96's success in that decade and many people having fond memories of the Killer Bee/Party Radio era. You mean to tell me the likes of George Lamond, Lil Suzy, TKA, Cover Girls, Cynthia, Techontronic, Snap, Culture Beat, Ce Ce Peniston, Crystal Waters, Inner City, Fast Eddie, Real McCoy, Daft Punk, and so on can't fit in 104.3's playlist. I get that dance audiences and urban audiences are different yet classic-era B96 somehow made it work playing the dance artists alongside 2pac, Bone Thugs N Harmony, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, TLC, Brandy, Mary J Blige, Blackstreet, Coolio, Da Brat, LL Cool J, etc. as well as the pop of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Prince, Madonna, Boyz II Men, Paula Abdul, etc. Even Celine Dion was commonly played on B96 during that time.

Why can't these retro/throwback-themed stations thrown in some lost hits, deep cuts, or forgotten tracks from popular artists of the time instead of recycling the same 200-300 songs over and over? You'd think Blackstreet was a one-hit wonder with "No Diggity" as they had other hit songs that were played on both urban and rhythmic radio in the mid-to-late 1990s. Mariah Carey had multiple hit songs yet all they seem to play is "We Belong Together". With Mariah superfan Eric Bradley, who was apart of B96's golden years and currently programs modern-day B and 104.3 Jams, running the station alongside Todd C, you'd think that station would have a ton of other Mariah songs. Also, where's Janet Jackson on 104.3's playlist? She was a staple on both rhythmic and urban radio back in the day multiple hits yet Jamz doesn't play ANY of her big hits? SHM.

At least for old school Killer-Bee fans like myself, there's Dance Beat Radio (a fan tribute station to classic-era B96, which also features custom sweepers by the legendary Mitch Craig), Original Hot 97 NY on Live365, The Beat Chicago during the weekend and 181.FM's 90s dance station if you want to hear classic dance or rhythmic hits.