Chicago’s Best Pop Music Radio Stations

Check out our list of the best pop radio stations in Chicago. From top 40 hits to the latest and greatest, these stations have it all!

WBMX 104.3

WBMX 104.3 is the best pop music radio station in Chicago. They play all the latest hits and have great DJs that keep you entertained. The station is also very active in the community, hosting events and giving back. If you’re looking for a great pop music radio station in Chicago, look no further than WBMX 104.3.

Location

WBMX 104.3 is a Top 40/Contemporary Hit Radio music station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, United States. The station serves the Chicago metropolitan area and is owned by Entercom. WBMX’s studios are in the Piper’s Alley complex in the Near North Side neighborhood of Chicago, and its transmitter is atop John Hancock Center.

History

WBBM-FM (96.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It airs a contemporary hit radio music format and is owned by Entercom. The station’s studios and offices are in the Loop district of downtown Chicago.

The transmitter is atop the Willis Tower in the Chicago Loop. WBBM-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 17,500 watts (17.5 kW). It broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. Its HD-2 subchannel airs an urban contemporary format branded as “104.3 Jams.”

The station first went on the air on October 30, 1948, as WIND-FM, airing a beautiful music format. The call sign was changed to WBBM-FM on December 1, 1953. The following year, it was bought by CBS Radio and its city of license was moved from Gary, Indiana to Chicago.

In 1957, the Beautiful Music format ended and WBBM-FM joined its AM sister station as an affiliate of the NBC Radio Network, airing mostly blocks of national news and information programs. One program aired on both WBBM AM & FM was Monitor — a weekend magazine show that ran for several decades until it was cancelled in 1995. In 1968, Hi Fi Stereo 108 switched to rock music and became WXRT 93.1 FM (“XRT”).

In 1971 at midnight on September 5, after stunting with various odd sounds for several days as “Identity Crisis 104,” WBBM-FM became WCFS “Chicago’s Fresh Air” at 105.9 MHz with a beautiful music format similar to that heard on WNIB from 1967 until 1995 and still heard today on WYCC Classical Music TV channel 20 (now available only via cable TV). In 1976 at 5 p.m., after stunting for about two weeks with audio clips introducing personalities who would be Heard On The New Sounds of 104″, WCFS switched to Album Oriented Rock (“AOR”), using the slogan “Chicago’s New Rock Revolution.” With its rock music identity firmly established by 1979, WCFS changed its call letters to WEXM and began identifying solely by its frequency (“95X”).

Format

Contemporary Hit Radio, often referred to as CHR is a radio format that is common among Commercial stations today. WBMX 104.3 plays Pop music hits from artists like Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and Taylor Swift. In addition to being one of Chicago’s most popular Pop radio stations, WBMX is also known for being the home of The Breakfast Club. The Breakfast Club is a syndicated morning show that originates from New York City and features Charlamagne Tha God, DJ Envy, and Angela Yee.

WKQX 102.1

WKQX 102.1 is one of Chicago’s best pop music radio stations. They play a mix of music from the 80s, 90s, and 2000s, as well as some hits from today. They have something for everyone. You can listen to them online or on the radio.

Location

WKQX (102.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Entercom and airs an alternative rock radio format branded as “Q102.1”. The station’s studios and offices are on the 8th floor of 200 East Randolph Drive in the Lakeshore East neighborhood of downtown Chicago.

WKQX has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,100 watts (3.1 kilowatts). The transmitter is atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive in the Loop neighborhood. WKQX broadcasts using HD Radio technology and has two digital subchannels. On 102.1-HD2 is “Alt 92-7”, an alternative rock service which had been carried on full-power FM station WLUP-HD2 at 97.9 MHz until it was discontinued in late 2019; that station continues to be heard only on translator W273DA at 102.5 MHz. On 102.1-HD3 is “The Loop”, which simulcasts the full-time classic rock format of co-owned AM 1000 WCFL

History

WKQX (102.1 FM) is a radio station in Chicago, Illinois. The station airs a pop music format and is owned by Entercom. The station’s studios are located in the Radiomart Building on North Michigan Avenue in the Magnificent Mile district of Chicago, while its transmitter is atop the John Hancock Center.

WKQX broadcasts in HD Radio. The HD-2 subchannel airs an alternative rock format branded as “alt 102.1”, which is also simulcast on translator W275BJ (102.9 FM).

Format

WKQX (102.1 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Entercom and airs a pop music format.

The station’s studios are located in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, while its transmitter is atop the John Hancock Center.

WKQX broadcasts in HD Radio.HD2 is an alt rock format branded as “Alt Gamut”.

History
The station began broadcasting in October 1948 as WJJD-FM, simulcasting the call letters and programming of its AM sister station 1160 WJJD. It was originally powered at 25,000 watts but was reduced to 18,000 watts in the 1950s. The station was sold in 1957 and became WBBM-FM, airing a beautiful music format as an adjunct to its news/talk sister station 780 WBBM (AM). By the end of the decade,WBBM-FM had increased its power back to 25,000 watts and changed its call letters to WBBM-FM2; it ran a middle of the road music format while retaining its beautiful music on HD Radio until 1978 when both stations switched to a country music format and changed their call letters to WWGN (“Wonderful World of Country Music”). The AM/FM combo quickly ascended to the top of the Arbitron ratings in Chicago.

WXRT 93.1

WXRT 93.1 is one of the most popular pop music radio stations in Chicago. They play a mix of pop, rock, and alternative music. They are known for their “Local Anesthetic” show which features music from local artists.

Location

WXRT 93.1 is a commercial radio station in Chicago, Illinois. It is owned by Entercom and broadcasts an adult album alternative format. The station’s studios are located in IL and its transmitter is located atop the Willis Tower in Chicago’s Loop district.

The station first went on the air in October 1972 as WXRT-FM, an easy listening music station. In June 1975, the station adopted a progressive rock format and became known as “The X.” In July 1979, the station was sold to Schwartzenburg communications and became known as WLUP-FM. In September 1982, the station adopted an all-news format and was known as “Newsradio 780.” In July 1983, the station returned to a progressive rock format and was known as “The Loop.” The station has been owned by Entercom since 2017.

History

WXRT (93.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Entercom and broadcasts a classic hits radio format, focusing on music from the 1960s and 1970s with some 1980s songs. The studios and offices are on West Washington Street in the Chicago Loop.

The transmitter atop Willis Tower. WXRT has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 18,000 watts through a directional antenna. The main lobe of its radiation pattern sweeps from the northwest to southeast. To avoid interfering with other stations on 93.1 MHz in nearby markets, it slightly reduces power at night in the direction of Milwaukee and Lansing, Michigan. It uses an HD Radio signal but does not carry any digital subchannels.

WXRT first went on the air on October 29, 1972 as an album-oriented rock (AOR) station known as “XRT.” It was one of the very first AOR stations in the country and featured progressive rock deejays such as Larry Miller, Lin Brehmer (now at sister station WBMX 104.3), John Records Landecker, Richard Steele (now at Sirius XM Radio) and Terri Hemmert who is still with the station today after 45 years.

Format

WXRT (93.1 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois. The station is owned by Entercom and airs a AAA (Adult Album Alternative) radio format. The studios and offices are on the fourth floor of 230 N. Michigan Avenue in the Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago.

The transmitter is atop the Willis Tower on South Wacker Drive, in the Chicago Loop. WXRT has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 20,000 watts, the maximum for non-grandfathered FM stations in the U.S. But because it uses an antenna sixty-seven feet in height above average terrain (HAAT), its signal comes in strongly at night over a wide area. During daytime hours, it uses a directional antenna to protect other stations on 93.1 MHz from interference, particularly WCKG 105.9 MHz in Elmhurst, Illinois and WVBE 960 kHz in Lynchburg, Virginia which are both daytime only stations that increase their power at night.