I have about an hour drive to work. Most days, I listen to podcast the way there and the way home, sometimes I listen to them while I’m at work. The other day I had somewhat of a marathon podcast listening day. I listened to them on my way to work, and several during the day and started listening to them on my way home. There was one small problem, I didn’t charge my MP3 player the night before so on my way home the battery died. Once that happened, I then turned on the radio and started listening to music. As I was listening to the radio, I realized that I listen to more podcast than I do the radio. Then I started thinking about the podcast that I do listen to, and why I like listening to them.

Many of them I listen to because I’m just interested in the topic, and my interest in that topic makes that podcast interesting to me. But there are some podcast that are just generally entertaining, so entertaining that I think I would listen even if it was a topic that I didn’t really care for. My thoughts wandered then I ended up thinking about which podcast do I like the most. I asked myself this question…

If I can only subscribe to 5 podcast’s which 5 would I choose?

That is a pretty tough question. I thought about all of the podcast that I have on my list, and started thinking about which ones I can do without if I had too, which ones are the most satisfying to listen to if I was limited to just 5. It was a hard choice but I did finally narrowed it down to 5. Of coarse they are all taken from my current listening list, and if you are curious to what they are, here is my OPML file with my list.

5. TWIT (This Week In Tech)

The very first Podcast I have ever tried out was "The return of the ScreenSavers", which is now TWIT. I was a big fan of "The Screensavers" when it was on the now defunct TechTV cable station. When the television show disappeared, I was really missing that dose of tech goodness. I really like the show because it covers a wide range of topics in the tech world, and ussually there are a lot of varied and interesting personalities on the show. Sometimes Leo Laport can get annoying with the Windows bashing but I think he has a good mix of "Techie-ness" and ‘Regular guy" that makes him well worth the listen. He is also really good at lining up some very interesting cast members when some of the regulars are missing. John C Dvorak was one of those guys that I didn’t like much back in the TechTv days, but he has become one of my favorite cast members on the show.

4. The Movie Blog Uncut

This is a somewhat new edition to my list of Podcast that I picked up from the Podcast Awards a few months ago. It quickly became one he podcast I look forward to more than others every week. If the title doesn’t give it away, it is a podcast based on Movie reviews and news items.The cast is very funny and the overall show is just a fun and informative show. Sometimes you run across Podcast that you can see being a mainstream media production and I can see the Movie blog being a show that you would find on the radio or XM/Sirus. The bad thing about this show is the last episode of the podcast was just released due to the head guy taking on another blogging gig. It will be missed, but hopefully the guys over at the Movie Blog Uncut will do something similar in their new publication.

3. Smodcast

This Podcast is the random topic podcast from the director Kevin smith and producer Scott Mosier of Clerks fame. If you’ve ever seen Kevin Smith talk, outside of directing, you’d know that he love to talk and is a somewhat humorous person. Smodcast is a very funny and interesting Podcast giving you the best of that Kevin Smith banter. From what Ive seen Scott Mosier has been pretty quiet, but he lets loose on the podcast showing you a side of him that is seldom seen in the movies he produce. The thing about Kevin smith that I like is how he seems like someone you could actually know, not "mr Hollywood" or anything like that. If you decide to check out Smodcast, be warned, the language and topics can be very R rated. This one isn’t for the kiddies.

2. The 1up Yours Podcast

For those that never heard of the 1up show, this is a console gaming podcast from the guys over at 1up.com. I like gaming so that alone makes this podcast interesting to me. The reason its number 2 isn’t just because of the topic of the show, The show is just generally entertaining. Just about every cast member of the show has the humor and personality that keeps me looking forward to the show every week. I really think these guys could take any topic and make it fun to listen too. Other than the pure humor and fun, they manage to squeeze in a good amount of information and perspective on console gaming. the show sometimes run at over an hour, sometimes 2 but it is always fun and entertaining regardless how long it is. There is some adult conversation as far as profanity, I would give it a light R rating. But if you like to be entertained and want to hear about the latest console news, the 1up show is something worth checking out.

1. The Totally Rad Show

I talked about this show a while ago when it first debut and I have been listening/watching the show every since. The Totally Rad Show is basically a 3 topic show, Movies, Video games, and Comics. And as I hinted, it is released in video and Audio formats. The production of this show is top notch, with funny skits and all. I think this could easily be a show on television, as it has a Tv-like feel. I’m not sure how well the show is doing as far as veiwership but if you are into podcast and haven’t checked this one out yet, you owe it to yourself to give it a shot.

I know what you’re thinking…Wheres Diggnation? Wheres DLTV? Wheres Buzz Out Loud? Well even though I really like those shows, They didn’t make it to my top 5.