You know what I miss? Listening to the radio.Ive always loved background music, which helps me focus. But modern music-streaming services can be distracting.Yes, I enjoy having instant access to millions of songs with services like Spotify. But I find myself constantly fiddlingsearching for the next song, hitting the forward button, and choosing new playlists.Radio stations are a great alternative. You just hit the play button, and someone else makes the decisions.Now, of course, Spotify and other such services offer radio-station-like options of their own. But theres always that next track button tempting you to skip around. Plus, these options still dont have that human touch.Thats why I was so excited to find this classic-seeming radio gemwith a decidedly modern twist.Unearth all sorts of incredible tech treasures with my free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. An eye-opening new discovery in your inbox every Wednesday!So long, Spotifyhello, Radio Garden Meet Radio Garden, a free website with apps available for Android and iPhone. It marries a Google-Earth-style globe interface with streaming-radio audio.With that one-two punch, Radio Garden helps you find and listen to radio stations from all over the world. A few quick clicks is all it takes to zoom into any city and start listening to its local stations. You can also browse and search for individual stations if theres something specific youre looking to find.Its a powerful Spotify alternative, and the exact experience you have will depend in large part on the specific station or stations you pick. For instance, many stations are terrestrial radio stations, which means theyll have ads. But you can find quite a few curated radio stations that are ad-free, too.Popping down to Miami, I found Chilltraxa popular online-only channel thats ad-free, independently owned and operated, and staffed by actual humans who are passionate about the music theyre playing.Moving from there to San Francisco, I discovered SomaFMs classic Groove Salad stationalso free from any and all commercials. I was listening to that ambient station 20 years ago, so it was a nice surprise to see that its still up and running and available now here.Those are great for focused work, but theres so much you can explore within Radio Gardens virtual walls. You could:Find a random city far away from you and listen to its regular radio stations for a bit of local flavor.Browse stations by genre and find something that fits your taste or current mood to play in the background.Create a list of your favorite stations to come back to.Or just listen to your own citys local radio stations right on the Radio Garden website or app.Listen on the goRadio Garden is available on any device youre usingon the web, for a computer, or via its official Android or iPhone apps on mobile.The service itself is completely free. It does insert a few visual ads, but it doesnt add in any audio advertising or other stream interruptions. (You can remove those visual ads with a $25-a-year premium subscription, if you want.)Radio Garden doesnt collect much personal data, either. It doesnt even require an account or any sort of sign-in.Speaking of free, keep the tech treasures flowing with my Cool Tools newsletter. Youll get a single new off-the-beaten-path gem like this in your inbox every Wednesday!