Island

Island pulls off a trick most genre-blending stations don't: it actually understands both sides. The folk here isn't just coffeehouse strumming - there's grit, from Woody Guthrie's dustbowl tales to modern indie-folk like Fleet Foxes. And the reggae sidesteps the predictable Bob Marley deep cuts for roots and dub - think Lee "Scratch" Perry's Black Ark productions or the ethereal harmonies of The Congos. The programming shifts smoothly between these worlds, sometimes within the same hour. You'll hear a Dylan protest song followed by a Steel Pulse track, and it makes sense. The station's identi…