Rarely will you come across a genre of music as universally likable as Brazilian Bossa Nova. With its swaying, soothing rhythms and easygoing vocal lilts, it's the kind of music that instantly evokes sunshine, sundresses, and summertime. And few genres are as emblematic of an entire nation and culture as Bossa is of Brazil. So much of Brazil's breathing melting pot of races, cultures and ethnicities is indelibly linked to music and dance. Bossa, like a glacier that gradually picks up sediment as it inches forward through time, has likewise picked up bits and pieces of nearly every one of the country's myriad and diverse cultural traditions. And the result, as you can hear, is sublime--and its effects irrepressibly ubiquitous. Whether it's in that extra kick in a homemade Capirinha, or in that intangible aesthetic with which its soccer stars dance around the field, Brazilians always seem to do everything with an added flair. One could argue, too, that the root of all this, the foundation and fountain from which this intriguingly rich culture sprang, is indeed its music. Among the many genres you'll find across the mountains and beaches of this expansive country, none is as adored or admired as Bossa. And for good reason.

Here are the top five Bossa Nova stations available in the SHOUTcast Radio Directory. To listen to these stations and more, find them in the Bossa Nova genre.

This quirky little station plays Bossa, sure, but the Bossa that show up at its doorstep is dressed in decidedly different clothes. Think of it as Bossa's grandchildren, all grown up and electric and starting to rebel a bit, but inescapably rooted in their family's tradition.

Jay-Z made a surprise guest appearance at U2's much anticipated Berlin concert last night, rapping over the band's classic "Sunday Bloody Sunday."Read more about this, and the rest of the day's global music happenings, below...

The Playstation Portable, or PSP, has allowed people all over the world to game wherever, and whenever they want, making interminable car rides or morning subway commutes infinitely more enjoyable. PSP users, though, can not only play their favorite games at the mere click of a thumb, they can, with the help of a wireless connection, access the entire SHOUTCast Radio Directory, as well. Users only need to insert a special Memory Stick Duo into the PSP system (with the exception of the PSP Go, which comes with built-in memory) and choose to add an Internet Radio Player I and voilà. A special icon will appear on the interface to launch the player, and within seconds you'll be browsing through the complete Radio Directory. Each time you select one of the 50 genres available, a popular radio station listed under that genre will automatically start playing. It's the perfect way to personalize your PSP, and to give yourself an extra kick of motivational music to fan your gaming flames. So choose your station, settle in, and game the night away to the best tunes SHOUTCast has to offer.

You can find more information about the Internet Radio feature for the PSP here.

Progressive rock (or prog rock, informally), is one of those genres that's especially hard to pigeonhole. Yeah, it's recognizable by a few general trends or patterns-long expansive songs, unconventional song structures, extensive experimentation with distortion and feedback effects. But overall, it could encompass a pretty wide array of diverse bands and styles-which is exactly the point; the further away a group could get from the norm, the more forward-looking and "progressive" a group was, the more they belonged under the prog rock umbrella. Some of the music from this 1970s-era movement might not seem all that progressive to contemporary listeners, given the way technology has exponentially advanced in recent years and the way that electronic "experimentation" is now ubiquitous, and, ironically, a new norm. But considering the 1960s era from which the movement sprang, during which bands like the Doors and the Beatles were only just beginning to branch away and diverge from conventional musical formats, the progressive rock artists were in fact taking a pretty major leap with a lot of the stuff they threw at listeners.

And a great place to re-live this era of discovery, when music sounded, looked, and tasted totally new, is at Stellar Attraction, the self-proclaimed "Progressive Rock Heaven. And a great place to re-live this era of discovery, when music sounded, looked, and tasted totally new, is at Stellar Radio, the self-proclaimed "Progressive Rock Heaven." Pink Floyd, Yes, and Genesis are all great, sure. But what really sets Stellar Radio apart is the more peripheral and unknown music they play, each with their own distinct twist on what they considered to be progressive. From a music historical perspective, too, it's interesting to see what parts of these trends or experimental twists were later retained, 30+ years after most of these artists introduced them-and, conversely, what ideas never really caught on, or simply have yet to be explored further in mainstream music production. Perhaps the best thing, though, is that it's the kinda music to which you can listen both actively-trying to pick out what jazzy or African or bizarre futuristic motif a given artist throws in-or passively (Pink Floyd, anyone?). And it works in either scenario. So if you're up for it, if the dial on the radio isn't even coming close to blowing your mind, then switch over to Stellar Attraction. A word of caution, though. Your neural network might get completely rewired. Ours did.

You can find Stellar Attraction in the Progresive Rock genre of the SHOUTcast Radio Directory.

We listened to Stellar Attraction on an especially regressive Thursday afternoon and here's a Polaroid of the musical landscapes we traversed:

No Doubt is taking the makers of the video game "Band Hero" to court, claiming that the game uses their likeness under terms not specified in their agreement. Read more about this story, and teh rest of the day's headlines below...

Though some kids today might think of classical music as more punishment than pleasure, it's one of those rare genres that continues to draw huge audiences in every corner of the globe, even centuries after it was first popularized. You may not hear Brahms blasting out of car stereos or Bach blaring out of dorm rooms, but if it weren't for those two and a select handful of other composers, popular Western music wouldn't be what it is today. And the fact that the genre still has such a devoted and far-reaching listenership speaks especially to its weirdly effective ability to wordlessly rouse profound emotion within all of us. So whether you're in the mood for a thunderous Beethoven symphony to power you through rush hour traffic, or a delicate Chopin nocturne before going to bed, the immense canon of classical music stands is there as your own comprehensive catalogue of human experience--full of songs, movements, or even brief measures that can fit any given moment perfectly. And if you wanna leaf through your own experiential calendar, there's no better place to start than with the radio.

Here are the top five Classical stations available in the SHOUTcast Radio Directory. To listen to these stations and more, find them in the Classical genre.

Proving that classical music isn't confined to concert halls and polite audiences, this classical guitar channel oozes with sensual and spicy flamenco, while giving equal weight to calmer, more linear Spanish guitar styles.