You probably know this already...but even after it's mixed, you'll need to send the .WAV off to be mastered before you get anywhere near a polished sound. Don't try to master yourself, unless you are experimenting and learning about mastering. Decent mastering is cheap these days...I use
www.idealmastering.co.uk for all my work. I send them my WAV and it comes back to me 2 days later sounding bootiful.
Basically, if you want a commercial sounding record it all depends what gear you use and how you (or your engineer) know how to use said gear.
"Radio ready" varies from artist to artist. These days even something done in Logic and a basic home set-up is often acceptable...(Scissor Sisters, Ting Tings etc etc) but I beleive their work is mastered in serious commercial studios to give it that shine
