Sirius Satellite Radio

While Sirius and XM have joined up to form XM Sirius Satellite Radio, Sirius (like XM) will continue on as a unique service. Sirius lacks XM's live concerts, but its roster of music channels is no less impressive, and the service offers a rotation of music channels dedicated to specific artists from various genres. For sports fans, the major attraction is exclusive coverage of NFL football games. Among its celebrity hosts, Sirius offers two channels dedicated to Howard Stern, plus there's a host of other talk, news, weather and politics channels. An online streaming version is available; it's free to radio subscribers, but the best sound quality requires an additional fee (*est. $2.99 per month) or an online-only subscription (*est. $13 per month). XM (*est. $13 per month) is the other satellite radio choice. It lacks the NFL and Howard Stern, but has its own strong lineup of sports (Major League Baseball and NHL) and celebrity hosts (Oprah Winfrey).

The Wall Street Journal's older but still valid look at both Sirius and XM satellite is the best comparative review. A panel of five WSJ employees renders opinions. Consumer Reports' look at satellite radio is more current, but doesn't rate the services or make any specific recommendation.