Top 20+ Driving Songs for Your Next Road Trip

Shout out to Pop Transmission readers Barcelona1 and Brian S. for suggesting this best-of list. It’s a fun and thought-provoking topic. Driving songs are wide open for individual interpretation, more so than best live albums. While there are numerous great live albums to choose from, it’s likely that most lists contain similar top picks, i.e., Live at Leeds and Live at Fillmore East. But driving songs? First, what kind of driving experience are we talking about? Many of us, myself included, first think of the wide-open road trip. For me, that’s cruising the coast highways in California on surf trips, particularly in my youthful care-free days of high school and college. But what about the opposite of that – the work commute or stop and go traffic in the urban jungle? Different vibe means different music. Road trips generally bring to mind freedom, fun, and adventure with friends or family. Solitary, soul-searching drives call for different tunes.

We also need to ask ourselves what makes a driving song. Does it have to be specifically about driving a car on the road? I didn’t want every song on my list to include the word “highway.” While some songs undeniably capture the highway high, some are more abstract where driving may be a metaphor for life’s journey. Some songs may have nothing to do with driving, but just sound right while on the road. Lots of possibilities depending on one’s life experiences. My list is influenced by memories of surfing the California coast and growing up in Los Angeles. I’m excited to hear some of yours. Here’s my top 20 (with a few ties):

20. “Cars” by Gary Numan/”I Can’t Drive 55″ by Sammy Hagar: Numan and Hagar never thought these would be their most popular songs. Numan’s monotonous vocals tell the story of a road rage incident. His car of choice is a locked-door sanctuary. “Here in my car, I feel safest of all.” Hagar’s screaming mantra is a protest against the federal maximum speed limit of the mid-’70s and ’80s that we all griped about and mostly ignored. Hagar’s car is a Ferrari as highlighted in the music video.

19. “Hit the Road” by Future Islands: The closing song from one of my favorite recent albums (Future Islands: As Long as You Are Review). An escape song to hit the coast playing old cassette tapes. The synths and Samuel Herring’s baritone come together for a beautiful chorus.

18. “Runnin’ with the Devil” by Van Halen: The song begins with car horns then unleashes the Van Halen thunderous rhythm section and Eddie’s guitar wizardry. From their 1978 debut album the song captures the freedom of a young touring rock band.

17. “Midnight Rider” by The Allman Brothers: This 1969 song got more recognized as the years went by; Gregg Allman’s solo take and cover versions were more popular initially. The band jams with Duane on acoustic, Jai on congas, Betts on guitar, and Gregg on the organ. But the vocals bring it home…”Well, I’ve got to run to keep from hiding, And I’m bound to keep on ridin’, But I’m not gonna let ’em catch me, no, not gonna let ’em catch the midnight rider.”

16. “Running on Empty” by Jackson Browne: Written by Browne as he drove to the studio every day recording The Pretender album. His piano and David Lindley’s steel guitar spark the song’s flavor of the road: “Looking out at the road rushing under my wheels, Looking at the years gone by like so many summer fields.” The line, “in ’65, I was 17 and running up the 101,” is me if you substitute ’74 for ’65.

15. “Los Angeles” by X: Not a love song to L.A, in fact, on the contrary, “she had to leave Los Angeles.” This one suits me when I’m in downtown L.A. traffic inching toward a concert or sporting event. It’s a rousing kiss-off to L.A., for those of us who will always be connected to the city.

14. “Drive That Fast” by Kitchens of Distinction: One of my favorite songs of the ’90s. “I would never want to drive that fast, Unless you’re ready, willing, happy, take me.” The walls of guitar punctuated with emotional vocals; warm, yet a little threatening. The Strange Free World album is a lost pearl of the era.

13. “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaak: This 1989 song was given a big boost in 1990 when David Lynch made it a memorable part of Wild at Heart. The lovers on the run road movie, starring Nicholas Cage as Sailor and Laura Dern as Lula, is one of my all-time favorites. The opening wail of guitar and aching vocals simmer along in a haunting journey, perfect for a David Lynch film. The movie scene is pitch black with Sailor and Lula’s face lit in the front seat as they race down the highway, accompanied at one point by the Wicked Witch, of course.

12. “The Golden Age” by Beck: “Put your hands on the wheel, Let the golden age begin, Let the window down, Feel the moonlight on your skin, Let the desert wind, Cool your aching head.” This CD kept me company on my long, late drives to Palm Springs. The album, Sea Change, is remarkable. Beck brings out gorgeous harmonies and lush strings in a haze of heartbreak and isolation.

11. “I Don’t Live Here Anymore” by The War on Drugs: I’ve highlighted this song before (I Don’t Live Here Anymore: The War on Drugs Brings Pure Bliss With New Album). Not a driving song per se, but I first heard it going down the highway and it remains one of my favorite songs of recent times. The Americana vocals, enhanced guitar, and background singing by Lucius hit the spot for me while driving.

10. “Our Lips are Sealed” by the Go-Go’s/”Roam” by the B-52s: Two songs that ring of summer and bring a smile to your face, “Can you hear them, They talk about us, Telling lies, Well, that’s no surprise.” In the video, the Go-Go’s are cruisin’ L.A. in a 1960 Buick. They stop at a lingerie shop and then unload into a fountain at the corner of Wilshire Blvd and Santa Monica Blvd, near where I grew up. (If you’re interested in what the Go-Go’s have been up to lately, click here Updated Post – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2021 Inductees Spotlight: The Go-Go’s). “Roam if you want to, Roam around the world, Roam if you want to, Without anything but the love we feel.” The ladies of the B-52s, Kate Pierson and Cindy Wilson, come together in what has to be one of the feel-good songs of all time. These two songs will raise the mood of any road trip.

9. “Take it Easy” by The Eagles: The first song on their first album became a signature for the band with its banjo, electric guitar, and 4-part harmonies. And the iconic lines…”Well I’m running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load, Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy, Well I’m standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, And such a fine sight to see, It’s a girl, my Lord, in a flatbed Ford, Slowin’ down to take a look at me.”

8. “Roadrunner” by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers: A classic about speeding down the highway late at night with the radio on. “Roadrunner, roadrunner, Going faster miles an hour, I don’t feel so bad now, got the radio on, like the roadrunner.” A sing-along tribute to Massachusetts Route 128. The single was first released in 1972 but didn’t become well known until the long-delayed self-titled album came out in 1976. The Modern Lovers included Jerry Harrison and David Robinson, who later became integral band members of Talking Heads and The Cars, respectively.

7. “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens: A beautiful song about youthful idealism on a road trip from Chicago to New York City. “I drove to New York in a van, with my friend, We slept in parking lots, I don’t mind, I don’t mind.” The horns and strings frame the plaintive vocals into a lush, sweeping adventure.

6. “L.A. Woman” by The Doors: Robby Krieger’s intro guitar effect anticipates a road trip into L.A. “L.A. Woman, Sunday afternoon, Drive through your suburbs, Drivin’ down your freeways, Midnight alleys roam, Into your blues, yeah.” The title is a metaphor personifying L.A. as a woman, “Are you a lucky little lady in the city of light, Or just another lost angel, city of night.”

5. “Beautiful Day” by U2: When my brother picked me up at the hotel to drive me to get married, I said, “put this on and crank it.” The first song off U2’s 2000 album All That You Can’t Leave Behind proceeded to engulf us in the short drive to the venue. It’s euphoria courtesy of the vintage guitar from the Edge and Bono’s uplifting vocals. While the opening, “The heart is a bloom” made it perfect for my special day, the song can lift one’s spirits in many a driving experience.

4. “Surfin’ U.S.A.”/”California Girls” by the Beach Boys: It’s tough to top these songs for going to the beach, particularly in California when you’re driving to the surf spots enshrined in “Surfin’ U.S.A.” “Del Mar, Ventura County Line, Santa Cruz and Trestle, all over Manhattan and down Doheny Way, Haggerties and Swami’s, San Onofre and Sunset, Redondo Beach L.A., all over La Jolla.” Interesting fact: Chuck Berry gets partial songwriting credit, because the song is a re-write of Berry’s “Sweet Little Sixteen.” “California Girls” shows the Beach Boys moving away from surfing and hot rods to a more mature sound. Pet Sounds would follow the next year. The orchestral prelude, complicated chord structure, and layered vocals make for an unforgettable song: “I wish they all could be California Girls.”

3. “Radar Love” by Golden Earring: It’s remarkable that in 1965 an unknown band from the Netherlands composed a song that would live forever. It’s written from a truck driver’s perspective and the psychic connection – “radar love” – he thinks he has with his girlfriend. At first, I didn’t think it would end up so high on my list, but it’s chugging bass, unmistakable riffs, and catchy chorus make it undeniably one of the best driving songs ever. Still. And the lyrics are the clincher: “I’ve been drivin’ all night, My hands wet on the wheel, The radio’s playin’ some forgotten song, The road has got me hypnotized.”

2. “Ventura Highway” by America: This was the first song that came to my mind for driving songs. My friends and I loved these guys in the early 70s, particularly the first few albums. They turned sweet and sappy and have not stood the test of time to me. But the 1970s have a strong pull. I’m in my ’66 Mustang with surf boards on top driving the Pacific Coast Highway from Santa Monica to Ventura County Line. That is the Ventura Highway. It’s a hopeful song with strumming acoustics and nice harmonies: “Ventura Highway, where the days are longer, The nights are stronger than moonshine.”

1. “Runnin’ Down a Dream” by Tom Petty: “It was a beautiful day, the sun beat down, I had the radio on, I was drivin’.” There’s certainly something that registers with many of us about driving on the highway with the radio on. Few such songs can rival this rockin’ classic from Tom Petty’s first solo album, Full Moon Fever, in 1989. The tenacious riffs and raging guitar solo enriched by Petty’s mournful vocals are immediately irresistible. I remember being in the back of a van with co-workers going to a company retreat driving through a forest. This song came on and from the back of the van in unison, “turn it up!” No one said a word for the next 4:23.