Travelling by road can be both wonderful and tiresome–that’s why you need a great soundtrack to keep you singing along! Here I’ve compiled some of the best road trip songs from rock to hip hop; 1950’s through to now—there’s a little something for everyone. You can take this as one, mega, road trip playlist or use the themed sections to find exactly the kind of music you are after. Scroll to the end to get a link to my Spotify Road Trippin’ playlist with all these tunes.
Press skip, and get to your favourite selection:
Press skip and get to your favourite selection:
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Old-school road trip songs
All the classic, pre-1990’s tracks about driving, cars, trucking and travelling by road.
- Cruisin’ – Smokey Robinson
- Go Your Own Way – Fleetwood Mac
- Take the Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
- Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen
- Danger Zone – Kenny Loggins
- Born to be Wild – Steppenwolf
- I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) – The Proclaimers
- Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now – McFadden & Whitehead
- Hit the Road Jack – Ray Charles
- Truckin’ – Grateful Dead
- Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
- Here I Go Again – Whitesnake
- Where the Streets Have No Name – U2
- Ride Like the Wind – Christopher Cross
- Life is a Highway – Tom Cochrane
- Willin’ – Linda Rondstadt
- Roadhouse Blues – The Doors
- I Drove All Night – Cyndi Lauper
- Road to Nowhere – Talking Heads
- Radar Love – Golden Earring
- Is Your Mama Gonna Miss Ya? – Bryan Adams
- Keep on Truckin’ – Eddie Kendricks
- Running on Empty – Jackson Browne
1990-forward road trip songs
Post-1990, road-trip-ready tracks for passing the time and getting your groove on.
- Window Seat – Erykah Badu
- Tints – Anderson .Paak ft. Kendrick Lamar
- Ain’t it Fun – Paramore
- Old Town Road – Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus
- Shut Up and Drive – Rhianna
- Car Wash – Christina Aguilera and Missy Elliott
- On The Road – Bonfire Set
- A Thousand Miles – Vanessa Carlton
- Home – Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
- Runaway Baby – Bruno Mars
- Keep the Car Running – Arcade Fire
- One For the Road – Arctic Monkeys
- The Distance – Cake
- Road Trippin’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Slow Ride – Kenny Wayne Shepard
- Send Me on My Way – Rusted Root
- Your Turn to Drive – David Bowie
- Let Me Ride – Dr Dre
- Anywhere – Passenger
- Remember That Night? – Sara Kays
All American Road Trip Tunes
Best destination-themed road trip songs for journeys across the US.
- Californication – Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd Skynyrd
- Graceland – Paul Simon
- America – Simon and Garfunkel
- Route 66 – Chuck Berry
- Nutbush City Limits – Tina Turner
- Save Me, San Francisco – Train
- Louisiana Bayou – Dave Matthews Band
- Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton
- The Beehive State – Randy Newman
- Texas Sun – Khruangbin and Leon Bridges
- Dear Chicago – Ryan Adams
- Leaving Las Vegas – Sheryl Crow
- Empire State of Mind – Jay Z ft Alicia Keys
All Australian Road Trip Songs
Did you know Australia is approximately the same size as the 48 contiguous US States?! So when it comes to epic road trips and songs to match we can hold our own.
- Follow the Sun – Xavier Rudd
- Weather With You – Crowded House
- One Way Road – John Butler Trio
- St Kilda to Kings Cross – Paul Kelly
- Great Southern Land – Icehouse
- Drive – Shannon Noll
- Road to Gundagai – Slim Dusty
- Chained to the Wheel – The Black Sorrows
- The Car Song – Cat Empire
- Sounds of Then – Gang Gajang
- Flame Trees – Cold Chisel
- Tenterfield Saddler – Peter Allen
- I’ve Been Everywhere – Lucky Star
- Solid Rock – Goanna
- Highway to Hell – AC/DC
Car-Themed Tracks
The best road trip songs with the word “car” in the title; along with odes to specific makes and models; and stories all about cars.
- Camaro – Kings of Leon
- Paradise by the Dashboard Light – Meatloaf
- Fun, Fun, Fun – The Beach Boys
- Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car – Billy Ocean
- Black Devil Car – Jamiroquai
- Little Red Corvette – Prince
- Fast Car – Tracy Chapman
- Shelby ’68 – Kylie Minogue
- Two Dope Boyz (In a Cadillac) – OutKast
- Mercedes Benz – Janis Joplin
- Mustang Sally – Wilson Pickett
- Drive My Car – The Beatles
- Stickshifts and Seatbelts – Cake
Girls Road Trip Songs
Fiercely feminine road trip tunes, including some great artists old and new!
- Roam – The B-52s
- Every Day is a Winding Road – Sheryl Crow
- Everywhere – Fleetwood Mac
- Drive All Night – Joss Stone
- Where You Lead – Carol King
- Pink Cadillac – Natalie Cole
- I Love It – Icona Pop ft Charli XCX
Country Road Trip Songs
Best road trip songs for country music lovers.
- On The Road Again – Willie Nelson
- Take Me Home (Country Roads) – John Denver
- I’ve Been Everywhere – Johnny Cash
- King of the Road – Roger Miller
- Ramblin’ Man – Allman Brothers
- Wagon Wheel – Darius Rucker
- Days Go By – Keith Urban
- Red Dirt Road – Brooks & Dunn
- Highwayman – Highwaymen
Get this list on Spotify
If you have a favourite road trip song not listed here – drop me a line in the comments. See this post for international travel music and you will find themed playlists accompanying most of my road trip itineraries featuring artists from, and songs about each destination.
Peace, love & inspiring travel,
Madam ZoZo