Category: Playlists

Lake John, Jackson County, Walden, Colorado. Courtesy Clear Vistas Photography.

Every week, I track airplay on 16 Colorado community and public radio stations. What gets played on terrestrial radio, however, doesn’t necessarily reflect what attracts listeners on streaming platforms. These two TOP 10 lists illustrate the difference—and help explain why the charts have so little overlap.

Part of that difference lies in how they’re compiled. COLORADO 2026 is a song-based playlist, while the HOT SPINS REPORT combines the airplay received by all tracks from a release—whether it’s a single, EP or album.

COLORADO 2026 is also limited to 100 songs from 100 Colorado artists and bands. Whenever I add new music, I remove an equal number of songs to keep that one-artist, one-song format intact. As a result, each artist has only one title contributing to the playlist.

The HOT SPINS REPORT casts a much wider net. I’m currently tracking 280 releases that have received airplay on reporting stations this year. In any given month, more than 100 releases may be aired across the stations surveyed. An album may also generate spins from several different tracks, reflecting sustained support for the entire release rather than the popularity of one song.

The musical differences are just as revealing. Streaming listeners are responding strongly to nationally established Colorado artists and electronic, pop and alternative acts such as OneRepublic, ILLENIUM, Said the Sky, CloZee, TX2 and The Fray. Colorado’s community and public stations lean more heavily toward roots-oriented music—Americana, bluegrass, folk, jam and independent rock.

Here are the current TOP 10 lists for each.

TOP 10 — COLORADO 2026 (Spotify | YouTube)

1. Gregory Alan Isakov — Fade Into You
2. OneRepublic — Hearing Voices
3. Said the Sky and Parson James — Heavenly
4. ILLENIUM — With Your Love feat. Ryan Tedder
5. The Fray — Songs I’d Rather Not Sing
6. Clay Street Unit — Drive
7. TX2 — Pickup Truck
8. CloZee and Dirtwire — Ankaa
9. Nathaniel Rateliff — Tommy’s Song
10. Manic Focus — River Road

TOP 10 HOT SPINS 2026

1. Big Richard Band – Pet LP
2. Emily Scott Robinson – Appalachia LP
3. The Tammy Shine – Ok Shine Ok LP
4. Jesus Christ Taxi Driver – Taxi the Rich LP
5. Lettuce – Cook LP
6. Yonder Mountain String Band – Good As True LP
7. Jobi Riccio – Face the Feeling LP
8. Clay Street Unit – Sin & Squalor LP
9. Andy Frasco & the U.N. – Growing Pains Deluxe LP
10. Velvet Daydream – Smoke & Mirrors LP

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING

The Monday Morning Music Meeting happens courtesy of Starr’s Guitars in Cedaredge, serving the western slope music community since 1998.

Every year I debut approximately two hundred new current-year releases. Every week I have to make decisions about what to keep to play again and what to archive. This is where you come in.

Should I KEEP IT or CUT IT?

Results enter into determining which cuts stay in the library and which cuts might eventually make it to the annual Colorado Playlist Fan & Listener Poll and the “some of the best of the year” show.

Your SUPPORT is ESSENTIAL, AND GENUINELY APPRECIATED.

This show has been my passion for 20 years. Over the years it has been mostly self-funded, with some financial help from  Starr’s Guitars and a few others here and there. It was enough to cover the cost of operations, but nothing more. Since retiring from full time work, the cost of the show has had a significant impact on my income.

The Colorado Playlist  is the only program showcasing Colorado music statewide, broadcast by 12 stations covering 30 FM/LPFM frequencies. I make this show available at NO COST to community radio stations in our state. I’d like to keep it going for another couple of years.

Please make donations via Venmo at  chrisk-2  (preferred) or use the form below (they take a cut). Thank you, sincerely – chrisk
__________________

Freddi Henchi Band – Celebration (f. Larry Wilkens) – Freddi Henchi Band (1981)
Zephyr – I Must Be Dreaming – Heartbeat (1981)
(N) Volores – The Fortune Teller – Shores of Scorpio (2026)

Sugar Nova – Touch Me, I’m Going to Scream, Pt. II – Halogen (2023)
The Delta Sonics – Just Playin’ (excerpt)
Finn O’Sullivan – Alice (radio edit) – The Tape (2026)
The Subdudes – Street Symphony – Street Symphony (2007)
The String Cheese Incident – Let’s Go Outside – Song In My Head (2014)
Randy Miles – Dandelion – Chaos & Commotion (2026)
Spicy Pickles – Pass the Peas (excerpt)
Amy Martin – Bones (2026)
Gregory Alan Isakov – The Fall – Appaloosa Bones (2023)
Sour Magic – Silver Sands (2025)
Keith Oxman, Jeff Jenkins, Todd Reid, Mark Simon – Christine – This One’s For Joey (2022)

Starwood – One Time Band – Home Brew (1975)
Airborne – Feel Like Lovin’ – Airborne (1979)
(N) MTN LION – You Can Leave But It’s Going to Cost You – Stealth (2026)

Hunter James and the Titanic – Stranger Touch – IV (2025)
Boa & the Constrictors – Red Top (excerpt)
West of Fennario – Great Evade (2026)
YaSi – Guilty (2021)
Andy Frasco & the U.N. – You Do You (2023)
Ryan Dart – If Love Don’t Break You – If Love Don’t Break You (2026)
Sunsquabi – Dexter’s Day (excerpt)
Dianne Reeves – Hesitation – Star Child (2026)
Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Love Don’t – The Future (2022)
Speak the Future – Duplicity (2026)

THIS WEEK ON YOUTUBE

HOT SPINS WEEK ENDING AUGUST 9, 2026

STATIONS TRACKED: KAFM (Grand Junction), KBUT (Crested Butte), KDNK (Carbondale), KDUR (Durango), KFFR (Winter Park), KLZR (Westcliff), KOTO (Telluride), KRFC (Fort Collins), KRZA (Alamosa), KSJD (Cortez), KSUT (Ignacio), KUVO (Denver), KVCU (Boulder), KVNF (Paonia), 105.5 The Colorado Sound (Greeley), Indie1023 (Denver)

Spins tracked on Spinitron (except 102.3 and 105.5), designed to benefit community and college radio, and offering search functions to track airplay on over 300 stations around the country.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 + 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
(R) 1. THE CROOKED RUGS – The Crooked Rugs LP
(R) 2. JOBI RICCIO – Face the Feeling LP
(D) 3. DEAD PIONEERS – Wagon Burner LP
(R) 4. FANCY BITS – Fancy Bits EP
(R) 5. GRAVEYARD CHOIR – The Wake LP
(D) 6. LATINSOUL, ATAK ONE, 4OURFIVE – Legends SP
(R) 7. LAUREN FRIHAUF – The Thread SP
(D) 7. NEON THE BISHOP – From This Height / Long Way Down SP
(R) 8. CHANTIL DUKART – Chantil Dukart & the Dukes of Art LP
(6) 8. CLAY STREET UNIT – Sin & Squalor LP

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. TRULY APPRECIATED.

HAPPY 150th COLORADO!

Hoping you had a wonderful weekend celebrating the 150th Anniversary of our wonderful state. I hosted the 18th Annual Dacono Music & Spirits Festival, where ten of our state’s top distilleries competed for one of three trophies highlighting best bottle, best cocktail and best spirit + five premier Colorado bands to go with our nationally touring out of state headliner.

Thanks to the city of Dacono for having me around all these years.

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING

The Monday Morning Music Meeting happens courtesy of Starr’s Guitars in Cedaredge, serving the western slope music community since 1998.

Every year I debut approximately two hundred new current-year releases. Every week I have to make decisions about what to keep to play again and what to archive. This is where you come in.

Should I KEEP IT or CUT IT?

Results enter into determining which cuts stay in the library and which cuts might eventually make it to the annual Colorado Playlist Fan & Listener Poll and the “some of the best of the year” show.

Your SUPPORT is ESSENTIAL, AND GENUINELY APPRECIATED.

This show has been my passion for 20 years. Over the years it has been mostly self-funded, with some financial help from  Starr’s Guitars and a few others here and there. It was enough to cover the cost of operations, but nothing more. Since retiring from full time work, the cost of the show has had a significant impact on my income.

The Colorado Playlist  is the only program showcasing Colorado music statewide, broadcast by 12 stations covering 30 FM/LPFM frequencies. I make this show available at NO COST to community radio stations in our state. I’d like to keep it going for another couple of years.

Please make donations via Venmo at  chrisk-2  (preferred) or use the form below (they take a cut). Thank you, sincerely – chrisk
__________________

Otis Taylor – Naggin’ Woman Blues – When Negroes Walked the Earth (1997)
Otis Taylor – Twelve String Mile – Fantasizing About Being Black (2017)
(N) Clay Street Unit, Lindsay Lou – Choctaw County – Sin & Squalor (2026)

A.J. Fullerton – Passing Time – Magnetic Light (2025)
Big Head Todd and The Monsters – Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl) (2020)
Dotsero – Latin Sandwiches (excerpt
Lauren Frihauf – The Thread (2026)
Katie Herzig – Summer – Walk Through Walls (2014)
Rob Drabkin – Little Steps (radio edit) (2013)
Chantil Dukart & the Dukes of Art – The Best Thing – S/T (2026)
Sunsquabi – Pangolin (excerpt)
(N) The Fray – A Light That Waits – A Light that Waits (2026)

King Cardinal – Runaway (2022)
Leftover Salmon – Let’s Party About It – Let’s Party About It (2025)
Steve Kovalcheck – Fast Eddie – Buckshot Blues (2026)

The Apples in Stereo – Tidal Wave – Fun Trick Noisemaker (1995)
The Apples In Stereo – Told You Once – Travellers In Space And Time (2010)
(D) Latin Soul, Atak One, 4ourFive – Legends (2026)

Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats – Call Me (Whatever You Like) – South of Here (2024)
Tennis – High Road – Young & Old (2013)
Ben Parrish – Crankbait (excerpt)
Fancy Bits – No Drama – Fancy Bits EP (2026)
Heavy Diamond Ring – Already Gone – The Brightest Light EP (2021)
Flobots – The Circle In The Square – The Circle In The Square (2012)
Graveyard Choir – Stone – The Wake (2025)
Justin Lansing – Ghost Town (excerpt)
(D) Dead Pioneers, The Interrupters – Never Alone – Wagon Burner (2026)

Five Iron Frenzy – It Was a Dark & Stormy Night – Engine of a Million Plots (2013)
Big Gigantic – Free Spirits – Fluorescence (2025)
Spencer Zweifel – Here’s the Situation – The Life or Death Situation (2024)

THIS WEEK ON YOUTUBE

HOT SPINS WEEK ENDING AUGUST 2, 2026

STATIONS TRACKED: KAFM (Grand Junction), KBUT (Crested Butte), KDNK (Carbondale), KDUR (Durango), KFFR (Winter Park), KLZR (Westcliff), KOTO (Telluride), KRFC (Fort Collins), KRZA (Alamosa), KSJD (Cortez), KSUT (Ignacio), KUVO (Denver), KVCU (Boulder), KVNF (Paonia), 105.5 The Colorado Sound (Greeley), Indie1023 (Denver)

Spins tracked on Spinitron (except 102.3 and 105.5), designed to benefit community and college radio, and offering search functions to track airplay on over 300 stations around the country.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 + 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
(D) 1. THE ANDES – Unwind LP
(D) 2. GASOLINE LOLLIPOPS – Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning SP
(R) 3. 2MX2 – Si Se Puede LP
(R) 3. INSIDE THE MIND – Who I Am SP
(3) 3. LILY NOVA – Pure Intentions / Flashlight SP
(R) 3. YONDER MOUNTAIN STRING BAND – Good As True LP
(D) 4. DAWN CLEMENT – Dear Ms. Dearie LP
(D) 5. KAMIKAZE PROM NIGHT – Holy Diamond Blue LP
(2) 5. NINA de FREITAS – Madness Everlasting SP
(R) 6. CLAY STREET UNIT – Sin and Squalor LP

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. TRULY APPRECIATED!

MONDAY MORNING MUSIC MEETING

The Monday Morning Music Meeting happens courtesy of Starr’s Guitars in Cedaredge, serving the western slope music community since 1998.

Every year I debut approximately two hundred new current-year releases. Every week I have to make decisions about what to keep to play again and what to archive. This is where you come in.

Should I KEEP IT or CUT IT?

Results enter into determining which cuts stay in the library and which cuts might eventually make it to the annual Colorado Playlist Fan & Listener Poll and the “some of the best of the year” show.

Your SUPPORT is ESSENTIAL, AND GENUINELY APPRECIATED.

This show has been my passion for 20 years. Over the years it has been mostly self-funded, with some financial help from  Starr’s Guitars and a few others here and there. It was enough to cover the cost of operations, but nothing more. Since retiring from full time work, the cost of the show has had a significant impact on my income.

The Colorado Playlist  is the only program showcasing Colorado music statewide, broadcast by 12 stations covering 30 FM/LPFM frequencies. I make this show available at NO COST to community radio stations in our state. I’d like to keep it going for another couple of years.

Please make donations via Venmo at  chrisk-2  (preferred) or use the form below (they take a cut). Thank you, sincerely – chrisk
__________________

Judy Roderick – Country Girl Blues – Women Blue (1965)
60,000,000 Buffalo – Cocaine Shuffle – Nevada Jukebox (1972)
(D) Dawn Clement – I’m Hip – Dear Ms. Dearie (2026)

LatinSoul, Joshua Trinidad – Mama Pacha (2025)
Trevor Hall – If I Was A Warrior – The Fruitful Darkness (2018)
LVNDR.SOUND – Nightfall (excerpt)
2mx2 – El Valle – Si Se Puede (2026)
The Motet – The Truth – Totem (2016)
Michael Trent – The Winner – The Winner (2010)
Yonder Mountain String Band – Blind – Good As True (2026)
EVANOFF – STARE MESTO (excerpt)
(D) Kamikaze Prom Night – Breeze & Brine – Holy Diamond Blue (2026)

The Crooked Rugs – Chasin’ the Wind – Hear & Now (2024)
The Grocery Story – You Don’t Knock (f. Erik Lunde) – Situation on Isle #3 (2025)
(D) Shuga T, Eddie Roberts – Carousel – Matriarch (2026)

Buffalo Springfield – Kind Woman (1968)
Poco – What A Day (1969)
(D) The Andes – Unwind – Keep It Together (2026)

Rob Drabkin – My Train is Coming – City Lights & Country Sides (2025)
Big Dopes – Moon Car (2024)
Poudre Valley Playboys – Shooting for the Stars (excerpt)
Chella & the Charm – December – Happy Hour EP (2025)
Wildermiss – Carry Your Heart – Lost With You EP (2017)
Big Head Todd and the Monsters – Hey Delila – Black Beehive (2014)
Inside the Mind – Who I Am (2026)
Sunsquabi – Fisher Cat (excerpt)
(D) Gasoline Lollipops – Last Thing I Needed, First Thing This Morning (2026)

Ambar Lucid – Get Lost In the Music (2021)
Andy Frasco & The U.N. – Try Not to Die (2025)
Keith Oxman – (I’ve Got) Beginners Luck – East of the Village (2017)

THIS WEEK ON YOUTUBE

HOT SPINS WEEK ENDING JULY 26, 2016

STATIONS TRACKED: KAFM (Grand Junction), KBUT (Crested Butte), KDNK (Carbondale), KDUR (Durango), KFFR (Winter Park), KLZR (Westcliff), KOTO (Telluride), KRFC (Fort Collins), KRZA (Alamosa), KSJD (Cortez), KSUT (Ignacio), KUVO (Denver), KVCU (Boulder), KVNF (Paonia), 105.5 The Colorado Sound (Greeley), Indie1023 (Denver)

Spins tracked on Spinitron (except 102.3 and 105.5), designed to benefit community and college radio, and offering search functions to track airplay on over 300 stations around the country.

𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 + 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐀𝐃𝐎 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
(R) 1. Volores – Shores of Scorpio LP
(2) 2. Nina de Freitas – Madness Everlasting SP
(D) 3. The Hip Snacks – Out On A Limb LP
(2) 3. LILY NOVA – Pure Intentions / Flashlight SP
(R) 3. Road Pony – Roll the Dice SP
(D) 3. Stylie – Cruisin‘ SP

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!