Best Road Trip Songs: Tunes to Keep You Going

Want to get more out of your next road trip? Burn some CDs with the best road trip songs that mention driving, the open road, a lover you left behind, and so on. Or, load up your iPod with these sorts of tunes.

Here's an even better idea: if you're driving a newer car with a USB port, get a flash drive and fill it with your favorite songs. Then bring it with you on your next road trip, and you'll never run out of music. We like these SanDisk flash drives from Amazon. 

Our Specific Thoughts on Best Road Trip Songs

Here are a few ideas you may not come across on other websites:

• "Been Too Long on the Road" and "Truckin'" by Bread. "Been Too Long" is a haunting tune that will make you feel really lonely.
  
  
• "Take It Easy" by Eagles may be the most obvious choice and perhaps the best driving song ever. But there's also "Life in the Fast Lane," "Already Gone," and "Seven Bridges Road." I think I would especially like listening to "Already Gone" if I were moving away from a place I didn't particularly enjoy living.
  
  
• "Drive In Drive Out" by Dave Matthews Band. Matthews is probably a good source of road trip songs, period. It's not that he often sings about driving; it's just something about his sound.
  
  
• "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" by The Proclaimers. But it's probably cheating to list this among best road trip songs because the singer clearly states he would walk 500 miles, not drive.
  
  
• "I Am the City" by ABBA (at least, when you're approaching a city after a long drive through a rural area). ABBA is generally good towards the end of any long drive, when you're already deliriously tired and in need of something peppy.
  
  
• Slow it down a bit with "Faithfully" by Journey. And then listen to the rest of the album to get pumped up.
  
  
• "Carolina Blues" by Blues Traveler (actually, just listen to the whole album because it's called "Straight On Till Morning").
  
  
• "Cool the Engines" by Boston. And Boston is another good group for when you're feeling a little aggressive out there on the road.
  
  
• "Silver Thunderbird" by Marc Cohn. It's about his memories of his dad and his dad's car.
  
  
• "Sweet Hitch-Hiker" and "Up Around the Bend" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

I've probably omitted some of the best road trip songs--and I'm eager to hear about them. Let me know about your favorite road trip songs in the Facebook comments box below.