The top 10 Grand Theft Auto radio stations

Any half-fan of Rockstar Games’ most popular franchise will tell you that radio stations are an integral part of the Grand Theft Auto experience. Since the original GTA was released in 1997, Rockstar has recorded dozens of stations crammed with superb licensed music, which don’t so much enhance gameplay as bring it to life. They’ve been in foreign languages, been hosted by world famous musicians and even catapulted real life DJ Lazlow to stardom through appearances on every GTA game since GTA III.  As an avid GTA fan myself, in this post I list my ten favourite GTA radio stations of all time.

10. Double Clef FM (GTA III)

I sometimes wonder why Rockstar never added an operatic radio station to a game after GTA III and GTA Liberty City Stories, especially when Double Clef FM works so well. Hosted by Liberty Tree columnist Morgan Merryweather, Double Clef pokes fun at the pretentions of classical opera in its short 20 minutes of music and commercials. They may have never made another, but in Double Clef FM Rockstar created an absolute gem.

9. Channel X (GTA V)

It’s remarkable that Rockstar never made a station devoted completely to punk before the recent GTA V, the genre’s violent and rebellious nature fits right into the games the company builds. Hosted by legendary singer Keith Morris, who worked with many of the bands featured on the track list, Channel X includes classics by Black Flag and Circle Jerks, making for a superb playlist for the (albeit virtual) long and winding road.

8.  Chatterbox FM (GTA III)

Chatterbox was the first GTA radio station to be hosted by DJ Lazlow, who became an iconic figure in the GTA universe and appeared in every game in the series since.  Lazlow, who co-wrote the station’s script, presents a witty and sarcastic hour of talk as he interviews pacifist martial artist Reed Tucker and “cheap pimp” Fernando Martinez (a character who has also made an appearance in every game since GTA III).

7. West Coast Classics (GTA V)

Taking its cues from San Andreas’s brilliant Radio Lost Santos, West Coast Classics features an excellent, expletive-ridden set of 80s and 90s hip hop tracks. Hosted by the bizarrely named DH Pooh, the station makes a great backdrop for GTA V’s scenes of gang violence (also inspired by San Andreas) with songs from such legendary artists as 2Pac, Snoop Dogg and Ice Cube.

6.  Flashback FM (GTA III)

Gosh, there’s a bit of a pattern developing here! Even so, Flashback FM is well worthy of its position here, being possibly the best 80’s pop station in the game’s history. Hosted by the brilliant Toni, the station’s use of songs from the Scarface soundtrack really shows the developer’s influences. Uses of She’s On Fire and I’m Hot Tonight are particularly effective.

5.  Radio X (GTA San Andreas)

Simply as a set of songs, Radio X presents possibly my favourite radio station in GTA history. As an alternative rock and heavy metal station, Radio X features superb tracks from world-famous bands including Depeche Mode, Guns N’ Roses and Rage Against the Machine (the use of Killing in the Name being surely one of the best musical decisions in gaming history). There’s excellent talk to be heard here too, with the station being hosted by escaped mental patient Sage. For me, only Nirvana is missing from this musical classic.

4. Radio Los Santos (GTA San Andreas)

Often cited as San Andreas’s best radio station, the gangsta rap and hip hop provided by Radio Lost Santos was the main inspiration for West Coast Classics and the modern incarnation of the station heard in GTA V. As the favourite station of the iconic Grove Street gang, Radio Los Santos provided much of the soundtrack for the Balla Vs Grove Street violence seen in the game. Packed with brilliant songs from rappers including 2Pac and Dr Dre, it remains a firm fan favourite.

3. VCPR (GTA Vice City)

I’m surprised that I’ve managed to go this long without listing a station from GTA Vice City, which surely has the best soundtrack of any GTA game. VCPR is, without a doubt, the best talk station ever recorded for a GTA game; it’s brilliantly entertaining, utterly hilarious and regularly bizarre. Hosted by the wonderful Maurice Chavez (who made it onto my list of favourite GTA characters), VCPR satirises everything from religious fundamentalism to protective parenting to public radio in its Pressing Issues program. Maurice meets some great characters along the way too, including the quite insane Pastor Richards.

2. K-Rose (GTA San Andreas)

The surprise favourite of GTA San Andreas, this country station hosted by the murderous Mary-Beth Maybell was a hit with players worldwide. Mary, who is believed to have killed all of her six previous husbands, intersperses a brilliant playlist including The Desert Rose Band and Mickey Gilley with frequently hilarious dialogue. But K-Rose (and San Andreas itself) is best remembered for George Strait’s All My Ex’s Live in Texas, a song that became synonymous with Rockstar’s games achieved iconic status among GTA players.

1.   V-Rock (GTA Vice City)

The second station to be hosted by DJ Lazlow, V-Rock provides one of the best GTA playlists featuring heavy; thrash and glam metal, and is also hilarious in its dialogue. Made all the more amusing by the fact that Lazlow knows essentially nothing about metal music, V-Rock became an iconic station and soundtracked much of my GTA Vice City playthrough.  Packed with metal classics from Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Judas Priest, Slayer, Ozzy Osbourne, Quiet  Riot and even GTA’s fiction rockers Love Fist, the station was an instant hit with gamers. Rockstar clearly loved it too, creating the V-Rock Hotel in San Andreas and referencing the station regularly after Vice City.

As ever, be sure to comment if you agree with (or despise) my choices!