I was born in the 1950s, and from a very early age just loved radio. Proper radio.
I remember one set of grandparents having a big wooden cabinet radio (with turntable) that probably sounded fantastic. They loved Sing Something Simple, Semprini, Two Way Family Favourites…
The other grandparents had a tabletop machine, one with a dial with all those station names on, like Hilversum and Droitwich. I don’t remember them ever having it on.
My first radio was a Japanese red (cracked) plastic device given to me by my uncle. Medium wave only, of course. I loved that.
I bought my first ‘proper’ radio from my friend’s Dad’s shop. It was a Philips, with a leather case, long and medium wave, something like this but not red:
It had an earpiece in the base.