While radio has the virtue of being free, there are some not-so-hidden costs to consider — odious ads, dithering drive-time DJ's, and repetitive playlists, to name a few. But there are alternatives to commercial radio.

NPR: An oasis of intelligent — and some say left-leaning — life in the overwhelmingly mindless radio universe, National Public Radio offers an eclectic, commercial-free mix of news, information, and cultural programming. The more than 680 NPR member stations nationwide set their own schedules, but the morning and evening commute hours tend to feature the popular in-depth news programs Morning Edition and All Things Considered, as well as the Peabody Award-winning interview program Fresh Air. To locate the station nearest you and get its current program schedule, go to www.npr.org and use the station-locator tool in the upper left-hand corner.

Satellite Radio: An idea that is, literally, just getting off the ground, satellite radio practically guarantees that you will find something worth listening to on your car radio — with few, if any, commercials. There are currently two nationwide satellite radio services, Sirius and XM, each offering 100 channels of music, news, sports, talk, and other programming. XM's channels include The Loft (singer-songwriters), Fred (New Wave classics), U-Pop (international hits), Laugh USA, and USA Today. Sirius presents Broadway's Best, Planet Jazz, Symphony Hall, and World Radio Network. All Sirius channels, and many of XM's, are commercial-free.

To link up with either service, you'll need a digital radio or radio adapter and a special antenna, all of which can be purchased at electronics retailers or from the satellite companies; a basic setup costs $200 to $300. Many car manufacturers will be offering XM or Sirius as an option in their 2003 models. Service subscribers pay an activation fee of $10 to $15 and a monthly fee of $10 for XM, or an activation fee of $15 and a monthly fee of $13 for Sirius. For more information, go to www.xmradio.com or www.siriusradio.com.

From Desktop to Dashboard

With the Otis audio player and its cassette adapter, you can download audiobooks from the Web and listen to them in your car. The adapter also lets you connect an MP3 or portable CD player to your car's tape deck.

Drive-Time Rhyme

The Caedmon Poetry Collection (Cassettes, $20; CDs, $30; 3 1/2 hours, www.amazon.com) features a veritable Who's Who of 20th-century poetry, with e.e. cummings, T.S. Eliot, Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, Dylan Thomas, William Butler Yeats, and many others reciting some of their best-known verses.