AOR's initial popularity in the 1970s signaled the arrival of 1960s counterculture tastes into the American popular music mainstream. But far from embracing the progressive politics, lifestyle, and artistry that gave counterculture music its relevance, AOR programmers capitalized on the increasing popularity of progressive radio incubating in the antiwar, Woodstock-era FM underground by appropriating its unique characteristics. AOR programming consultants replaced the DJ-programmer with a system of cue cards and playlists, turned thematic sets into music "sweeps" designed for Arbitron's ratings methodology, and handed FM station owners a homogeneous and more manageable format. AOR radio, by stripping rock and roll of its rhythm and blues heritage and rejecting its subversive possibilities, significantly contributed to branding rock as a marketable commodity. It also helped move most radio listeners from AM to FM by the end of the 1970s. Although the AOR format prospered at the expense of the radio radicals who inspired it, some went on to run AOR stations or form broadcast consultancies, while others remained reactionary by joining in less mainstream forms of radio, typically non commercial in nature.

     The AOR playlist is composed of selected tracks from rock albums, chosen to attract a target audience. Radio stations utilizing the AOR format skew their playlists to position the station competitively. For example, AOR stations targeting an older audience may include rock from the late 1960s and early 1970s; lighter rock tracks often attract more women; and emphasis on contemporary albums may appeal to a cosmopolitan audience. Such refinements of the AOR format have led to Classic Rock, Soft Rock, and some Alter­ native formats. Other Alternative formats have developed as antithetical to AOR.