The issue about AM being low quality is a bit misleading... In Europe the audio bandwidth of AM is almost the same as FM, especially with the BBC stations. And

The issue about AM being low quality is a bit misleading... In Europe the audio bandwidth of AM is almost the same as FM, especially with the BBC stations. And likewise in Australia, the gov ABC stations still transmit high quality audio on AM BC. The problem is that most cheap radios were designed for the USA market, where most AM channels broadcast talk shows, and so their receivers are fitted with narrow IF filters. The proof of this of course is to listen to any decent radio which has a narrow/wide switch. Back in the day, the hobbyist magazines would often publish designs for HiFi AM receivers. And many of the modern SDR receivers have a selection of IF filters which can sound quite amazing on AM. There are even a few stations still transmitting Stereo AM, and most of those sound as good as FM on a decent receiver.