The folks at Tucson's National Public Radio station—now part of an entity called Arizona Public Media—have made sure that all of us in Southern Arizona stay in the news loop, with NPR programs like Fresh Air, Talk of the Nation, Morning Edition and All Things Considered; Public Radio International programs like The World, This American Life and Studio 360; and its own locally produced program, Arizona Spotlight. There's no reason to ever change the station, really; during the few hours of the day that KUAZ isn't broadening your horizons with compelling programs that make things like economics interesting (go, Marketplace!), they're playing excellent jazz music. Big Brother may be watching, but as long as you're listening to KUAZ, you'll be one step ahead of the guy.

Runners up:

2. KQTH FM 104.1, aka "The Truth"

1041thetruth.com

3. KXCI FM 91.3

www.kxci.org