The 4 Best Tabletop Radios of 2025 | Reviews by Wirecutter

Feb 24, 2025

By Kathryn Rath and Nena Farrell

What makes a great tabletop radio? Sure, sound quality and reception are important, but our research has found that radio owners and shoppers primarily want something stylish that will look great in their home.

With that in mind, we’ve chosen recommendations that cover a variety of tabletop radio styles—from retro designs to colorful, portable options to more modern stereo radios—and they’ve all passed our reception and sound tests, too.

We surveyed radio owners and shoppers and learned that the number-one feature they want is a visually pleasing design.

From our survey, we learned that most shoppers want an AM-radio tuner more than they want built-in Bluetooth support.

A good tabletop radio should be as pleasing to touch as it is to look at, with ergonomic dials and easy-to-use controls.

Sound quality isn’t a huge concern for most radio shoppers, but we still kept it in mind when making our picks.

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The WR-15 combines an eye-catching retro design with reliable performance, solid build quality, and superb value. Its taller, vertical form distinguishes it visually from many competitors.

The Sangean WR-15 has been one of our favorite radios since 2017. It’s perfect for anyone who wants an old-school look paired with easy analog tuning, great sound, and solid reception, all tucked into a vertical cabinet suitable for both shelves and countertops.

It is stylish and has great reception. The design is reminiscent of retro radios but remains clean and easy to navigate, and the radio is available in three finishes: walnut, black leatherette, and silver piano (shown above). The semicircle tuning dial is easy to read, the centrally located tuning knob has a smooth feel, and the green LED light above the dial lets you know when you’ve locked on to a station’s strongest signal.

When we used the WR-15’s internal FM antenna, it picked up 21 of the 45 FM radio stations available in the Albany, New York, area at the time of our testing. (For reference, the best performance we saw was a total of 30 stations. See How we picked and tested for more details on our testing process.) And it delivered clearer signals with louder sound and less static than we got from many other radios.

It also picked up all but one AM station, tuning in a total of 12 stations out of the region’s 13. Only the Sangean WR-11SE picked up more AM channels, but the WR-15’s signal held stronger. It locked on to popular FM and AM radio stations with ease, and the green LED light was especially helpful to confirm when we had the strongest signal. An optional external FM antenna is also included.

It has better sound quality than the average tabletop radio. The WR-15 delivered rich, monophonic sound, with surprisingly robust bass for its size, plus a neutral midrange. It also produced minimal noise in the high frequencies—a bonus, since some of the other radios we tested tended to get quite hissy or to start distorting at higher volumes.

It offers an auxiliary analog audio input if you want to connect another audio source via a 3.5 mm cable, as well as a line output to send audio to devices such as computer speakers, amplifiers, or any soundbar or wireless speaker that has an analog line input. A front-panel knob lets you easily switch between FM radio, AM radio, and the auxiliary source.

Where you put the Sangean WR-15 affects the sound quality. The speaker achieves its rich bass via the use of a tuned port on the back of the cabinet. When we placed the radio too close to a wall—within 2 or 3 inches—the bass became boomy, especially when we listened to talk radio. So be aware of this if you plan to place it on a kitchen counter or bookshelf.

It doesn’t have premium features. This radio lacks functions like Bluetooth, digital tuning, and the ability to program specific stations as presets. If you want those features, check out our other picks below.

This sleek-looking tabletop radio outputs good sound quality, and it has great AM, FM, and HD Radio reception—but all of its bells and whistles come at a higher cost.

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The Sangean HDR-18 sounded great, got near-perfect FM reception, and picked up the most HD Radio stations during our testing. Although its price tag is steep, this tabletop radio includes a lot of nice extras, such as a remote, an aux input, and a headphone jack. Using its many features was a breeze, and its attractive aesthetic makes placement easy.

It had the best performance of our picks. Of the 25 HD Radio stations available in our most recent testing location, the HDR-18 picked up 10. (For comparison, the Sangean HDR-15X found eight, and the View Quest Monty found four.) To search for stations, you can use the seek buttons on the radio or remote, or you can use the manual tuning knob. The front-panel LCD notes when the radio has found an HD station by flashing the HD Radio logo, and the logo turns solid once the station is locked in. You can access multicast programs if the HD call sign has a plus.

In our most recent round of tests, this radio also beat out all of our other picks in FM reception, picking up 30 of the 45 available FM channels when using the attached telescopic antenna. The internal AM antenna managed to find 13 out of 15 AM stations. The lower-priced HDR-15X found the same amount of AM stations and produced less static on that band, but overall the WR-15 sounded better.

One of the biggest highlights of the HDR-18 is its sound quality. We left the radio on 89.1 WMHT, a classical station, for a day to enjoy the full sound of an orchestra playing throughout a 700 square feet of living space. Voices and instruments had greater warmth, depth, and clarity on this model than through other radios we tested. Although the sound still had that grainy radio-signal edge, we could clearly hear the plucking of a harp during Bach’s “Vom Himmel hoch,” and sibilants weren’t as harsh on talk-radio programs. If the sound isn’t quite to your liking, though, you can slightly adjust the EQ through the bass and treble controls.

The HDR-18 is easy to use and includes all the bells and whistles. We hardly had to consult the owner manual while setting up and using this tabletop radio. You can do a lot via the included remote, and the radio itself has tuning and volume knobs, as well as buttons to store station presets and choose between frequency bands. The digital display is easy to read, and you can adjust the brightness and contrast to fit the room.

A small switch on the back toggles between the radio’s internal antenna and external telescopic antenna, but the radio also includes terminals to attach an external AM or F-type FM antenna, should you want to use your own. Since the speaker produces decent sound in comparison with most radios, you may want to try out the auxiliary audio input to play music from an outside source. The HDR-18 even has a record output if you want to record content or incorporate the radio into your current hi-fi system.

The HDR-18 is not battery-powered, but it comes with a standard 12-volt adapter with a power cord measuring 6 feet long. Right now it’s available in only one style, with a silver face and a walnut cabinet. It measures about 4.5 by 9.5 by 7.25 inches (HWD); if you want something smaller that accesses HD Radio stations, we recommend the HDR-15X.

It’s more expensive than we’d like. While the HDR-18 includes a lot of great features and is not as expensive as the WR-50P, the price tag is steep compared with the cost of the WR-15. If HD Radio is a priority and you’re willing to take a step down in sound and build quality, the Sangean HDR-15X is a decent option for a fraction of the cost.

There’s no Bluetooth compatibility, and the sleep function may be frustrating for some. For all of its modernity, the HDR-18 surprisingly lacks Bluetooth support. It does have sleep and snooze features, but the front-panel buttons that control the alarm are tiny. Groggily attempting to silence an early morning alarm with a button the size of a screwhead may not be everyone’s ideal way to start the day.

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With fun colors and the option to run it on batteries, this radio is easy to try out anywhere in your home without making a big investment.

The super-affordable Studebaker SB2000 is a good choice for anyone who wants to try out radio listening without making a big investment or who wants a more portable, battery-powered radio to move around the house.

The sound quality is just okay—but this radio did surprisingly well in our channel-tuning tests. The Studebaker SB2000 scored as well as some Sangean models in its FM-radio performance in the Albany, New York, area, but we heard more static on stations that were farther away. Although it didn’t pick up a ton of AM channels—only five out of the 13 available—it landed in the middle of our testing results, beating even more expensive radios the Tivoli One BT in previous testing.

Though the sound quality lost some bass compared with what we heard from the rest of our picks, it wasn’t bad for the price, and music was still enjoyable to listen to on a strong channel. The speaker’s volume capabilities were lower than those of the other radios we tested, and we found ourselves turning it up to at least the middle of its volume dial even for casual listening. But the highest volume settings were loud enough to fill a 10-by-12-foot room.

The SB2000 has an auxiliary audio input for you to connect another audio source, but it lacks the line output and headphone jack you’ll find on some of our other picks.

The SB2000 is more portable and stylish than some of our other picks. It has a handle at the top and a small telescoping antenna attached, and you can use either battery power or the built-in power cord, which tucks into the battery case.

We especially like the variety of bright colors that Studebaker offers: The SB2000 comes in black, teal, and red, and the similar SB2002 comes in the same colors plus pink, so either radio is a fun choice for kids or for anyone who loves color.

Running the radio on battery power requires four C batteries. This can get costly if you don’t invest in rechargeable batteries. Some tabletop radios, like the Crosley Milton, feature an internal battery that’s rechargeable, but we don’t recommend any of them as picks.

This radio’s build quality was the poorest among the models in our tests. Our SB2000 review sample is starting to show its wear after just a couple of years, and the metallic-painted plastic dials both look and feel cheap.

The volume dial, in particular, is small and cone shaped, which makes getting an ideal grip difficult; we had to hold the radio down with our other hand to get a good enough grip to change the volume or station.

If you’re looking for genuine stereo sound, digital radio tuning, and Bluetooth connectivity, the WR-50P is probably more your speed. But it costs a lot more than our other picks.

The two-piece Sangean WR-50P system perfect if you want higher-quality stereo sound and all the latest features, plus easy tuning and solid reception.

The WR-50P is utterly packed with features. It includes everything necessary to justify its high price tag, including Bluetooth connectivity (with NFC pairing), digital tuning (but not HD Radio), 10 station presets on the face of the receiver and 18 via the included IR remote control, dual alarms, and snooze and sleep features.

Although the built-in telescoping antenna is the only option for FM reception, the WR-50P’s FM performance ranked among the best overall in our tests; the system also includes a connection for you to attach your own external AM antenna. It picked up a total of 27 FM channels, earning second place among our picks in that regard, and received 12 AM channels.

The radio features tone controls to adjust the treble and bass, but sadly no balance controls—so you’ll have to achieve parity of level output between the two speaker cabinets the old-fashioned way, by repositioning them.

Its dual-speaker design allows for true stereo sound. Not only that, but it also allows for wide stereo sound, depending on how far you spread the two speakers apart. The included cable allows for roughly 6 feet of channel separation.

This makes the WR-50P a great choice if you count yourself among the rare breed of tabletop radio shoppers who are primarily interested in music performance—it won’t do much for talk shows, but it will make your favorite music sound fuller and more dynamic, with a better sense of space, than our other picks. It even has a subwoofer line output for you to attach an optional subwoofer for more bass.

The WR-50P has a more digital and utilitarian look, with an LCD screen and a brushed-aluminum faceplate. It also has a series of (small) buttons and even comes with a remote. Though it has a tuning dial, overall it provides much less of an analog experience than our other picks do; anyone who prefers pressing a button or typing in the exact channel might prefer this radio’s controls over those of our other picks.

The WR-50P is large, especially when you’re using both the primary speaker and its companion unit. The two speakers are the same size, measuring 8.25 by 5.25 by 7 inches (HWD), and you can place them only up to 6 feet apart with the connector cord, so it’s harder to casually add this system to a place in your home compared with our other picks. And you might want more room so that you can fully extend the long, telescoping antenna attached to the back, a factor that further limits your placement options.

It’s pricier than other models we recommend. The WR-50P retails for $230 for both the radio and the additional speaker. Sangean’s WR-50 is also available as a single cabinet without the SP-40 companion speaker, taking about $85 off the price—but if you think you might have any interest in upgrading to the full stereo experience at any point in the future, we recommend that you go ahead and buy the complete system now.

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If you want an old-school clock radio that supports HD Radio: The Sangean HDR-15X is reminiscent of the blaring alarm boxes that woke the masses before smartphones—its only styling drawback is that it’s missing the nostalgic wood paneling that had a chokehold on the electronic aesthetics of the time. The HDR-15X utilizes push buttons on the top for digital tuning to select AM, FM, and HD Radio channels. It performed almost as well as the pricier HDR-18 in FM and HD reception testing, and it was slightly better at holding AM signals. It picked up eight out of 25 HD Radio stations, 27 out of 45 FM stations, and nine out of 13 AM stations.

Its sleep and snooze functions, side volume dial, and extra USB-A charging port make it perfect for a nightstand or bedside table, and you can set up to 20 channel presets for AM or FM. It also has a record output, an auxiliary audio input, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. While this is a great HD Radio option available for a fraction of our HD Radio pick’s price, it isn’t as easy and pleasant to use as the HDR-18, and we had to keep the instruction manual close by while setting up this clock radio. It has enough dynamic ability to fill a small room with sound, but the sound quality was only slightly better than that of a standard clock radio.

If you’d prefer a horizontal version of our favorite retro radio: The Sangean WR-11SE is nearly identical in reception performance and hardware to the WR-15, just in a horizontal package. The WR-11SE technically did better than the WR-15 in the number of AM and FM channels it received. However, the quality of its signal wasn’t as good, and we heard more static on this radio than we did on our pick. It includes the same LED light found on the WR-15 to let you know when you’ve locked on to a station, along with both an internal antenna and an additional external wire FM antenna.

It has the same connection options as the WR-15. The main downside to this radio is that the source dial is missing a setting for the auxiliary input. Instead, it auto-detects when you plug another source into it and turns off the radio until you physically disconnect that source’s cable. The tuning dial had more resistance going clockwise than it did moving counterclockwise, and the green-LED signaling didn’t always work when we locked on to a station. We were testing a refurbished unit, though, so that could just be an issue for the particular device we tested.

If you want a portable radio that represents a step up in build from the Studebaker SB2000: The Sony ICF-506 AM/FM radio has a simple, sleek look that embraces analog tuning while still looking modern, even with a fully plastic body. You can power it with either the detachable power cord or three AA batteries, so it’s much more convenient to portably power than the Studebaker models, which require larger, C batteries.

It performed well in our channel testing, particularly in receiving FM stations, and it provided solid sound for its size and price, though its audio was not quite as rich as the sound of the Sangean or Victrola models we recommend. The ICF-506 has a headphone output but no auxiliary audio input or line output.

If your biggest worry is having something portable for emergencies: Check out our guide to emergency weather radios.

After 36 hours of research and tests of more than a dozen emergency weather radios, we’re confident the Midland ER310 is the best choice for most people.

Kathryn Rath is an updates writer at Wirecutter covering audio, video, and smart devices for the home. She covers music streamers and smart plugs. In addition to testing and reviewing home technology, she plays rhythm guitar, has sung in several bands, and had years of classical piano training, as well as over a decade of vocal coaching.

For this guide:

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When we originally conducted research for this guide in 2017, we surveyed potential tabletop radio buyers from around the country and asked why they wanted one and which features were most important. We also asked current owners about how they used their radios and what sorts of features they would look for, should their current radio meet an untimely end.

By a large margin, most people surveyed reported a desire for a simple radio that they could tune to their favorite local public radio station and then leave set there in perpetuity. We expect that this core desire has remained unchanged.

Based on the polling responses, we quickly homed in on the list of essential features that most people are looking for in a tabletop radio.

With those parameters in mind, we sifted through product pages and retail listings, eliminating any radio that was too pricey, missing features, or saddled with terrible customer reviews. We also looked for a range of different style options, since we found that design is a big factor in shopping for a tabletop radio.

For each round of tests, we tracked how many and which channels each radio received, how clear the reception was, and whether each radio had any stability issues in holding the tuned channels. We also compared sound quality, listening to see what qualities of a song were lost through various radio speakers. For radios that had headphone jacks, we connected a pair of wired Edifier Stax Spirit S3 headphones during our listening tests; for any radio with Bluetooth abilities, we tested both the sound quality and the range of the Bluetooth signal.

Our original 2017 tests took place in Montgomery, Alabama. Tests in the spring of 2022 were conducted in Carlsbad, California, and the most recent tests were in Albany and Troy, New York These areas have a similar number of FM radio stations available, but the California testing involved much longer distances between the testing location and the radio signal.

In our latest round of tests, we had difficulty receiving clear AM reception in downtown Albany due to signal interference, receiving at most five stations (all from our top picks) and as few as none. Problems with AM reception are common in cities with dense buildings and constant construction. Factors such as weather or even the time of day can affect AM-radio reception, which is why you may notice your AM radio cut out when driving under a bridge, for example, or as it gets later in the day. Therefore, we narrowed down which radios received the best AM reception in downtown Albany and then took the final contenders one suburb over to Troy, New York, which is in range of the same 13 AM stations.

Our top picks had the best AM reception of the bunch, but if you live in a downtown area and want the best AM signal possible, each of our recommendations has a connector for an external AM antenna. If you’re curious how close you are to the radio signals you want to tune in or how many HD stations are available in your area, put your city and state into a tool like Radio Locator or the HD radio website.

Crosley Milton and Crosley Tribute: These tiny radios have an aesthetically pleasing design and multiple input options. But both rely on a USB power cord that extends only 21 inches, with no power base included, and neither performed well during our reception testing. Additionally, the Milton’s Micro-USB charging port is positioned close enough to the telescopic antenna that you have to lean the antenna out of the way while plugging in the radio. While these radios’ rechargeable batteries are more convenient than the four C batteries required for the Studebaker SB2000, our budget pick sells for less, got much better reception, and had comparable sound quality.

Hearth & Hand with Magnolia AM/FM Bluetooth: The Hearth & Hand radio’s sound quality, retro design, analog tuning, and ancillary features (Bluetooth, aux input) were decent for a brand that doesn’t specialize in audio equipment. However, this model picked up the least amount of FM channels during our most recent round of testing, and it was shaky at best with AM stations. The small, EQ tuning knob is superfluous, as it gives you only the option for +/- bass or treble—separately. To set the level back to flat, you have to make sure the knob is directly in the center.

Sangean WR-2: Although the WR-2 represents a functional upgrade over the WR-11SE—in its digital tuner, station presets, and front-panel headphone jack, just to name a few features—we prefer the WR-50P if you’re shopping for a model with a digital tuner and station presets.

Sangean WR-12: The WR-12 is simply a larger WR-11SE with stereo speakers. Two speakers packed into a cabinet that small can’t give you much sonic impact or channel separation, though, so if you’re looking for stereo, you’d be better served by the WR-50P.

Tivoli Model One: Although there’s a lot to love about the Tivoli Model One, particularly its iconic design, the Sangean radios offer better build quality and features. We also found the Model One’s imprecise radial tuning dial a bit frustrating. Tuning to 95.1 FM, a popular classic-rock station in our previous test location, required us to situate the dial between 94 and 95. Likewise, 95.5 FM, another local classic-rock station, was located at precisely 95 on this Tivoli model’s dial. The Sangean radios were more precise and cost less.

Tivoli Model One BT: We experienced the same tuning issues on the Bluetooth version of the Model One. Its indicator light was constantly flickering, highlighting its own tuning difficulties. It also performed the worst in all of our channel testing.

Victrola Willow: This radio, surprisingly, performed the best in previous rounds of FM testing, thanks to its attached external antenna. However, its tuning dial was extremely imprecise and seemed to get worse as we continued up the dial. For instance, 89.5 FM, NPR’s San Diego station, was closer to 89 on the dial, while 100.7 FM, a popular music station, landed on nearly 102.

View Quest Monty HD: The Monty’s control buttons were prone to frequent misfires, and nearly every long or short press felt like a gamble, making auto-scanning impossible. Its reception was middling, picking up only seven of the 45 FM stations clearly and four of the 25 HD Radio stations in our area. The HD Radio stations it did pick up sounded good, and its Bluetooth functioned well. But it had other quirks that were difficult to ignore: The LCD screen would display strange characters when the radio tuned in to an HD Radio station, and while it has a battery pack on the back, we couldn’t find one that would fit it.

We did not test boombox-style radios like the Sony CFD-S70, focusing on more minimalist tabletop designs. We may reconsider testing boombox radios for future updates.

This article was edited by Adrienne Maxwell and Grant Clauser.

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Kathryn Rath

I’m a writer based in New York whose coverage areas include audio and video gear such as headphones, speakers, TVs, and projectors. I also cover smart devices for the home.

Nena Farrell

Updates Writer

Nena Farrell was an updates writer covering smart speakers, wireless TV headphones, tabletop radios, and digital photo frames, among other things. She was previously an associate editor at Sunset, and is currently a writer and reviewer at Wired.

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