Best FM Radio Personality
Les Aaron
Reader's Choice: Thom West
Les Aaron is the cockroach of the St. Louis airwaves. The native of Brighton, England, has survived (and even thrived) on local radio stations for more than fifteen years now, weathering endless format changes at his various employers. One suspects that what drives the affable announcer whose high-tea-proper accent remains firmly intact is his enthusiasm for sharing exciting new music with listeners. Aaron's one-hour New Music Sunday show on the Point (105.7 FM) is consistently the most diverse, unexpected and plain-old good 60 minutes of radio in town. Thanks to Aaron's discerning ear, unsigned bands, local artists, neo-punk rockers, indie-kids and synthpop geeks all coexist peacefully it's like a really great mix CD from a friend. This same sense of adventure informs Aaron's other show, a late-Wednesday/early-Thursday show called The Lovemix that airs on KDHX (88.1 FM). The two-hour, DJ-mixed show is billed as "the best in house, trance, breakbeats and other electronica," and it's just that: a nonstop dance party that could include a Pet Shop Boys remix of the Killers, or a mellow Feist cut.