AOL Radio Blog

Listeners to AOL Radio may notice that there is now a time-out feature on AOL Radio, where the player will go into Sleep Mode if a user is inactive (that is, if you do not click on anything on the player) for more than 60 minutes.

Since royalties must be paid on every song we play, this feature will ensure someone is actually listening to the music being played.

You will first get a message asking if you are still listening and if no action is taken, the player will then go into Sleep Mode. Once the player goes into sleep mode, the station will pause and you can pick up where you left off simply by hitting the 'Play' button again.

You can prevent the AOL Radio player from going into sleep mode simply by moving the mouse over the player once in a while or by performing an action, such as changing the volume, skipping a song or changing stations.

We appreciate your understanding and hope you continue to make AOL Radio a part of your day. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to send us feedback.

As the year comes to a close, all of us at AOL Radio would like to share our favorite albums of 2009. We have compiled (more specifically each listed) our favorite album picks released this year -- as you can see vary immensely -- ranging from mainstream pop and indie rock to African roots, concertos, blues rock, melodic death metal and even R&B soul. But most importantly, these are the albums that inspired us -- some even made us want to dance! They filled the airwaves, dug under our skin, and left us with a mixture of emotions: devotion, angst, romance, regret and even hope. Check out our best 2009 album picks after the jump, and then tell us your top picks in the comments!

For those of you who listen to AOL Radio on Winamp, check it out: Our friends at Winamp have launched a brand-new Media Player -- Winamp 5.57 -- that's sure to please music lovers and technology enthusiasts alike.

Along with providing a free way to play music from your favorite artists, the newest version, which is compatible with Windows 7, offers one-click access to tour listings, tickets, music downloads and lyrics. Winamp also launched an online music store, where you can browse their massive database and purchase songs and full albums for your own library.

While Winamp already allows you to customize your Media Player with a variety of skins, plug-ins and visualizations, Winamp 5.57 includes a new type of add-on called online services. Online services are web apps that let third-party developers build additional features and services online, which are available for download in the Winamp Add-Ons Gallery.

Winamp 5.57 also includes native video support for H.264 encoded video and boasts a wide variety of other audio and video formats. The Winamp Orgler plug-in is still available for use in the new version, letting users track, chart, and share their listening history.

Winamp 5.57 is simple to use, yet offers countless useful and fun features. Get the new version here!

Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish holiday that occurs this year from December 11 to December 19, has a radio station dedicated specifically for the commemoration. Listen to Hanukkah Radio by clicking the link below, and hear traditional and non-traditional Hanukkah music during the Jewish Festival of Lights.

Children's music band The Imagination Movers are on tour, and it's turning out to be one of the hottest concert tickets parents are buying for their kids this Fall. With three CDs on the Disney record label and a popular Disney television series under their belt, the band is now entertaining kids everywhere with 'Live from the Idea Warehouse Concert Tour 2009.' The concert tour runs through mid-December. To get concert tickets and hear the Imagination Movers on AOL Radio, check out the links below.

To celebrate the release of Slayer's new album 'World Painted Blood' -- dropping next week on Nov. 3 -- we're counting down the 10 Best Slayer Songs released to-date. The below tracks, depicting satanic lyrics, tremolo picking, and double bass runs, were picked by AOL Radio listeners -- as they were the highest rated Slayer songs on AOL Radio's All Slayer station.

10) 'Black Magic'

The song is played regularly in concert and is from the album 'Show No Mercy,' which generated massive controversy for its satanic themes of 666 and an inverted cross in the album artwork. 'Show No Mercy' was the band's debut album, which was self-financed from lead singer Tom Araya's savings as well as money Kerry King borrowed from his father.

Get ready: Guitar Hero 5 is landing in stores September 1, with new features including all songs unlocked from the start. Considering there's a colossal song list--85 to be exact--we've created this handy guide of the 10 Best Guitar Hero 5 Songs as rated by AOL Radio listeners. After you've played the game, tell us what your favorite Guitar Hero 5 song is in the comments!

10) Muse: 'Plug in Baby'

Did you know? The song reached No. 11 on the UK charts and has been featured on every live Muse album release.