In the March 2005 issue of Smart Money magazine (not online at the time of this post - but sure to piss off Sirius folks regardless) features a head-to-head comparison of satellite radio music channels, signal strength, and sound quality.

And XM Satellite Radio was named the winner.

When talking about XM, they said that "hardcore music buffs will likely do better with XM ... Whether it's classic jazz, progressive talk, gospel, reggae, or old-school hip hop, XM has a dedicated channel programmed by a real fanatic." In the article, music critics consistently chose XM over the other satellite radio provider. The reasoning, they say, is the XM music director "lets his channel programmers play what they want [because] they're the experts in their area"

When talking about Sirius, they were a little more harsh saying Sirius was "more like an FM station with all the commercials sucked out." And that Sirius "also takes a mainstream approach with its on-air personalities - a quarter of whom are moonlighting from their regular jobs at FM stations."