45 Road Trip Songs for Every Mile, from Classic Rock to Country

What is the best road trip song?

"Life Is a Highway" by Tom Cochrane and "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson are the classic road trip songs. "Born to Run" by Bruce Springsteen and "Take It Easy" by the Eagles are the rock favorites, and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen is the car singalong everyone knows.

Classic rock road trip songs

1. "Born to Run", Bruce Springsteen: the great American driving song.
2. "Take It Easy", Eagles: laid-back highway rock.
3. "Born to Be Wild", Steppenwolf: the biker anthem.
4. "Radar Love", Golden Earring: built for a fast night drive.
5. "Ramblin' Man", The Allman Brothers Band: southern rock on the move.
6. "Midnight Rider", The Allman Brothers Band: a restless classic.
7. "Highway Star", Deep Purple: pure speed.
8. "Slow Ride", Foghat: a long, loose groove.
9. "Running on Empty", Jackson Browne: life on the road.
10. "Free Fallin'", Tom Petty: a California driving classic.
11. "Ventura Highway", America: sunny and easy.
12. "Truckin'", Grateful Dead: the long strange trip.

Country road trip songs

13. "On the Road Again", Willie Nelson: the road song everyone knows.
14. "Take Me Home, Country Roads", John Denver: the ultimate car singalong.
15. "I've Been Everywhere", Johnny Cash: a rapid-fire list of places.
16. "King of the Road", Roger Miller: a cheerful drifter.
17. "Wagon Wheel", Darius Rucker: a hitchhiking singalong.
18. "Cruise", Florida Georgia Line: windows-down country pop.
19. "Wide Open Spaces", The Chicks: leaving home for the open road.
20. "Sweet Home Alabama", Lynyrd Skynyrd: a Southern singalong.

Road trip singalongs

21. "Bohemian Rhapsody", Queen: the car singalong made famous by Wayne's World.
22. "Don't Stop Believin'", Journey: everyone knows every word.
23. "Africa", Toto: the chorus the whole car shouts.
24. "Mr. Brightside", The Killers: a high-energy favorite.
25. "Home", Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: a happy group song.
26. "Send Me On My Way", Rusted Root: joyful and rolling.
27. "Fast Car", Tracy Chapman: a quieter singalong for the late hours.
28. "Graceland", Paul Simon: a road trip to Memphis in song.

Driving songs

29. "Route 66", Nat King Cole Trio: the original highway song.
30. "Drive My Car", The Beatles: a playful classic.
31. "Little Red Corvette", Prince: his 80s breakthrough.
32. "Shut Up and Drive", Rihanna: pop with the windows down.
33. "Road Trippin'", Red Hot Chili Peppers: an acoustic coastal drive.
34. "Ride Wit Me", Nelly: the hip-hop cruising favorite.

For more, see our full list of songs about cars.

Modern road trip songs

35. "Shotgun", George Ezra: a sunny song about hitting the road.
36. "Life Is a Highway", Tom Cochrane: the 1991 hit, later covered by Rascal Flatts for Cars.
37. "Riptide", Vance Joy: an upbeat ukulele favorite.
38. "Electric Feel", MGMT: a groove for the open highway.
39. "Good as Hell", Lizzo: a confidence boost for the passenger seat.
40. "Levitating", Dua Lipa: disco-pop that keeps everyone awake.

Family road trip songs for kids

41. "Holiday Road", Lindsey Buckingham: from National Lampoon's Vacation.
42. "Hakuna Matata", from The Lion King: carefree fun for the back seat.
43. "Old Town Road", Lil Nas X: kids know it word for word.
44. "You've Got a Friend in Me", from Toy Story: for the youngest passengers.
45. "Happy", Pharrell Williams: a mood lifter for hour five.

How to plan a road trip playlist

• Departure: big singalongs to start the trip, like "Life Is a Highway" and "Don't Stop Believin'".
• Long highway stretches: classic rock and country with steady grooves, like "Take It Easy" and "Ventura Highway".
• Night driving: "Radar Love", "Fast Car" and "Running on Empty".
• The last hour: save the favorites for when everyone is tired.

Let every passenger add five songs, download the playlist before you lose signal and keep the volume low enough to hear the navigation at tricky exits.

Playlist picks for a trip with friends

A friends' trip needs loud, shared favorites: "Mr. Brightside", "Africa", "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Bohemian Rhapsody", plus one embarrassing pick from each person's teenage years. For more, see our songs about friends.

Songs for staying alert on a night drive

Late-night driving calls for steady, energetic songs rather than slow ballads: "Radar Love", "Highway Star", "Levitating" and "Electric Feel" keep the driver alert. If you feel drowsy, pull over and rest; no playlist replaces sleep.

Driving songs for a couple

For a honeymoon drive or a weekend away, mix "Take It Easy", "Shotgun", "Wagon Wheel" and "Ventura Highway" with your own love songs. Many couples come home with one song that will always mean that trip, and play it again on every anniversary.

Summer and coastal road trips

For a beach drive, add "Road Trippin'", "Riptide" and the songs on our lists of songs about summer and songs about the ocean. For flights and trips abroad, see our songs about travel.

A song about your adventures together

Every couple and every family has a road trip story: the wrong turn, the diner in the middle of nowhere, the song you played ten times. A personalized song can turn those memories into music, a fun anniversary, birthday or graduation gift for your favorite travel partner.

How to create a personalized song

1. Choose a style from 14 genres: rock, country, pop, folk and more.
2. Add their name.
3. Share three road trip memories.
4. Review the lyrics and edit or regenerate them for free before any music is made.
5. Listen to 4 free 45-second previews and choose your favorite.

The full 3 to 4 minute song costs $24.99, or $29.99 for Premium with four full versions and editable lyrics. You get the MP3, a gift page and the lyrics as a PDF.

Put your favorite trip into a song: create a song and hear four previews for free.