Forget record producers, concert promoters and music critics. For artists trying to get some buzz in the local alternative rock scene, two San Diego natives may be the most important people to impress.

Al Guerra and Tim Pyles, hosts of the local music shows on 91X and FM 94/9 respectively, both offer San Diego-area musicians a chance to be heard by thousands of listeners.

They have plenty in common: They've worked for each other's radio stations and they share a passion for music and musicians. But they're competitors, and each has developed his own style.

Guerra, a 37-year-old native of East County and longtime local music guru, hosts the "Loudspeaker" show from 6-8 p.m. Sundays on 91X. He got his start at North County's long-defunct Rock 102 when he landed a temporary job in the promotions department while taking summer off from work as an elementary schoolteacher in El Cajon. Soon, he became the host of a local music show and gave up his dream of being a high school teacher.

After Rock 102, Guerra bounced around the dial, doing stints at Rock 105.3, FM 94/9 and 91X and working in the music industry on the side. (He's now married with two kids and living in Alpine.)

Getting music onto "Loudspeaker" isn't easy, but it may be less of a stretch than making it big in San Diego. "Everybody says that the hardest place to break in is in your hometown," Guerra said. Some people "perceive local to mean, 'Oh, they're just some garage band.' "

Even so, there are plenty of local-band-done-good stories. According to Guerra, top alternative bands that got early exposure on his shows include Sprung Monkey (which he once managed), Switchfoot and Rocket From the Crypt.

When it comes to choosing which artists make it onto the air, Guerra is partial to established bands that have managed to work their way up out of the garage and onto the stage. If a musician is simply recording some CDs, he may pass them by.

"The band should be doing things," he said. "You can tell the bands that are actually working."

Over at FM 94/9, Pyles may be a bit more freewheeling than Guerra. A drum-playing native of La Jolla, he started by hosting a local music show at 91X and ended up working for its archrival, hosting "The Local 94/9" from 8-10 p.m. Sundays.

"I am really inclined to play something that is a demo, that's just kids recording it in a garage," Pyles said. "The technology is available for these kids now, and a lot of kids can become their own producers."

Pyles also likes to play music that you wouldn't expect to hear on an alternative rock station, like rap, hip-hop and electronic music.

"My tastes are really diverse. I'm a huge fan of anything that's commercial and successful to something that would never be heard on the radio," said Pyles, who lives in San Diego. (Pyle declined to comment on his age, although he does admit that he got married to his girlfriend four years ago after 17 years together.)

Pyles likes to hear from bands that make an effort to get to know him at music venues and follow up by sending him their songs. But these days, bands can also make it onto the local airwaves by clicking a few buttons and heading to the New Big Thing on the Internet -- MySpace.com.

The Web site, a huge hit among teenagers and 20somethings, allows users to store personal information -- along with music and videos -- for other people to explore. It's helped make it easier than ever before for musicians to let listeners sample their music without leaving the house.

MySpace.com is so big that it's spawned Guerra's "Xspace," show, which airs on 91X each Monday from midnight to 2 a.m. and spotlights music from the Web site.

"It's just a piece of the pie," Guerra said. "It's a good marketing tool for bands. If they can't afford a Web site, it's all they need."

Guerra trolls through MySpace.com looking for high-quality songs regardless of where the artists are from. If the artists let him play their songs, they end up on the show.

When he started doing radio 15 years ago, Guerra would splice audiotape with a razor blade. Now he pulls songs off the Internet. "Still," he said, "it comes down to this: A good song is a good song. There's no technology that's ever going to change that."

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Quickie: According to news reports, the Sirius satellite radio network agreed to pay $2 million to the CBS network in a dispute over radio personality Howard Stern. CBS alleged that Stern ran off with tapes of his old shows and improperly hyped his move to satellite radio during his final days as an employee of CBS.

CBS 1, Egomaniac, 0.

Randy Dotinga's contract disputes always end up in Small Claims Court. E-mail him at NCTimesRadio@aol.com.