Back when I lived in upstate NY (fingerlakes/Rochester area), there was a decent alternative radio station that's nothing like anything I've found anywhere else in the country. It's public, too, so it's not full of stupid ads and talk talk talk (although they do have local community service/night-club ads). They also turn the waves over to some of the high school radio clubs during after-school hours, so you actually get to hear good music put into rotation that's not pop-Britney-Spears stuff.
Since nobody's paying them to play their music (like other stations), they play whatever they like, which usually equates to Indie, and the listeners vote what comes into and what goes out of rotation. There are a bunch of colleges around to offer these listening-audience play-list opinions too. And since the weather is so friggin' depressing, angsty alternative is popular.
It used to be a tiny little station without much coverage, but they upgraded their antenna a few years ago, so you could get them all the way from Syracuse to Buffalo.
They also have a web-cast if anyone wants to listen to them (for ideas) while sitting at your desk.
http://wber.monroe.edu/site/html/index.php
--Janis