Recently I was astonished to overhear a stranger boasting to his friend, "Why would I listen to the radio?

I am the best DJ I know!" Having spoken to many others on this subject, I know this gentleman is far from alone in thinking along these lines and for that I feel rather sorry. Not that I don't necessarily trust his impeccable taste and discerning music selections, but to simply rule out another's recommendation or endorsement seems a little blinkered and sad.

With the endless possibilities for music discovery opened up via the internet, not to mention print media, television, live concerts and the good old wireless, there has never been a better time to easily access diverse, high-quality music across genres. Yet has the mind of the music listener really opened any further? Are the options really any better than before? It's hard to say.

Nostalgia, and those rose-tinted spectacles we all own, play a large role. People often complain and imply things just aren't as good as they used to be. Retro music magazines, documentaries, festival headliners, back catalogue reissues and even download sales are all proof that the past and so-called 'heritage' acts are still very much big business.

Obviously, conventional tastes are very much catered for. You can't move for Taylor Swift, Katy Perry or Sam Smith on terrestrial media or online. But what about people with a slightly more inquisitive mind? In amongst the myriad cookery programmes, chat shows, soap operas and football coverage; I believe arts and culture could and should be valued higher by mainstream media outlets... but also by the general public.

I do feel there's some hypocrisy at play too. Everyone talks about the value of new music and its cultural importance, but are they actually investing their own time, energy and money into it? There are now some really outstanding blogs, podcasts and webzines today, most of which are ignored or go unnoticed. Maybe the internet's problem is there is excessive choice and, much to the chagrin of the chap in my opening paragraph, we do actually need respected curators and guides from time to time.

That great selector in the sky, John Peel is sorely missed by a dedicated few like myself, but would he still have an audience today? And if so, then why? I think so, because his aim was true. He loved a wide range of outstanding music and he played it - a simple formula. His legacy for down-to-earth, inclusive, eclectic broadcasting is certainly alive and well, but nowadays you have to go looking for it.

Unsurprisingly, I am still a radio fan and I feel it has a major role to play in the future of music discovery. It's the purest of all media in many ways. Audio directly channelled to the brain via the eardrums, with little or no other distractions. It is constantly adapting and innovating as well with on-demand, non-linear options available alongside occasional visualised, filmed elements to enhance programmes.

By and large commercial and daytime radio ignores the new, the underground and anything vaguely challenging. So it is up to specialist, evening radio to provide the alternative and most of that is delivered in this country by the BBC. Despite being the envy of the rest of the world, it is often sneered at and demonised by members of the right and left wing, those of both a conservative and nationalist persuasion. Increasingly it serves to be a whipping boy for everyone, which is disappointing.

Regardless of that, and my own obvious connection to the organisation, I believe the BBC still provides a genuinely cutting-edge service for all strands of contemporary and classic music. One of its great flagships today is 6Music - a station almost shut down a few years ago, that has seen its listening figures rise steadily since. To me it's part of the true essence of the organisation.

6Music is like entertaining, specialist late-night radio but broadcast 24 hours a day. It's the home of a wide-ranging music policy and knowledgeable, passionate, matter-of-fact presenters, with limited playlist or repetition. It's the country's most popular digital station now and a bonafide national treasure in my opinion. The spirit of John Peel is most definitely alive and kicking on its airwaves. And can you imagine how popular it might be if it were on FM as well?

Although streaming is said to be the future, with Spotify going from strength to strength, Tidal and Apple Music recently launching; it is interesting to see that specially curated playlists are at the heart of Apple's Beats 1 streaming service. Trusted people who like music, choosing a selection of tunes in a row doesn't look particularly new or radical to me. Isn't this just like good old-fashioned radio? But now on a global scale, connected to a specific brand of computers?

Call me old-fashioned, but I do still want to hear someone else's music choices. I still want to hear their opinions and their reasoning. I don't claim to know it all now, nor will I ever. And I may not even be the best DJ I know either! The difference between somewhere like 6Music and a basic streaming service, is that good radio serves as a filtration system with between-song information, humour and personal anecdote thrown into the mix. Can an algorithm do that yet? It's only a matter of time I suppose.

In the meantime, long live specialist radio and long live BBC 6Music...

Vic Galloway presents on BBC Radio Scotland at 9 - 11pm Mondays. Tomorrow night and all the following week, he is on BBC 6Music from 7 - 9pm.