Travel enough, drive enough, explore enough and you will want a top notch music road trip mix. Music that coincides with a feeling of freedom. Music that puts you in another place. Music that makes you “one with the road” as the miles pass by. Song lyrics that ring forever true. Of course in today’s digital world it is easier than ever to put together a mix, with listeners having access to practically every song ever made. With access to so much music some would even say that the very notion of a mix is outdated. With them, I disagree. There is still something about a unique set of songs, with a certain mood, songs that just feel right for you the driver, a playlist with a beginning and end, songs meant for driving the back roads of the country.

Over the years I’ve made several such road trip mixes for my national park and Catskills trips, and listened to them all during one 27 hour, cross country drive to Texas. These mixes have often taken months, if not years, to put together. I was not content with any catchy song, any playlist. There was no rush to complete each mix. I wanted music with a certain mood, often with lyrics highlighting travel and being on the road. The music, each song, had to “fit” together, although defining what made music “fit” was nearly impossible. The order of the songs was critical, each song to flow from the previous, and in to the next. Below are a couple of my favorite mixes that have accompanied me on more trips that I can remember. Enjoy!

Ultimate Road Trip #1

Turn the Page – Bob Seger

Roll Me Away – Bob Seger

Kamera – Wilco

Not Home Anymore – Whiskeytown

Punkrocker – Teddybears

Road Trippin – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Saving the Best for Last – Marc Cohn

City of New Orleans – Willie Nelson

White Crosses – Omar and the Howlers

Waymore’s Blues – J.J. Cale

Me and You and a Dog Named Boo – Lobo

Lake Shore Drive – Aliotta Haynes Jeremiah

Wagon Wheel – Old Crow Medicine Show

The Only Road – Scott Miller and the Commonwealth

Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard

American Remains – Highwaymen

Ultimate Road Trip # 2

Lucky Break – The Bottle Rockets

The Road Goes on Forever – Robert Earl Keen

Highwayman – Highwaymen

People Are Crazy – Billy Currington

Walking in Memphis – Marc Cohn

Everything is Beautiful (In It’s Own Way) – Willie Nelson & Dolly Parton

On the Road Again – Bill Staines

One Prairie Outpost – Carbon Leaf

Everett Reuss – Dana and Susan Robinson

Fast Car – Tracy Chapman

The Rain Came Down – Steve Earle

Montana Time – David Walburn

This Land Is Your Land – Woody and Arlo Guthrie

The Pilgrim, Chapter 33 – Kris Kristofferson

I Taught Myself How to Grow Old – Ryan Adams

Moving it Down the Line – Bill Staines

If I Needed You – Townes Van Zandt

Looking For a Way Out – Uncle Tupelo

The Weary Kind – Ryan Bingham

Windfall – Son Volt

Ultimate Road Trip #3

Southside of Heaven – Ryan Bingham

Everett Reuss – Dave Alvin

L.A. Freeway – Guy Clark

Follow the Sun – Xavier Rudd

Alone – Trampled by Turtles

Cross by the Highway – The Bottle Rockets

Among the Leaves – Sun Kill Moon

Me and Bobby McGee – Kris Kristofferson

Copenhagen – Lucinda Williams

When the Well Runs Dry – Drive-by Truckers

The Persecution and Restoration of Dean Moriarty (On the Road) – Aztec Two-Step

America – Neil Diamond

Convoy – C.W. McCall

Silver Stallion – The Highwaymen

Wanderin’ – Justin Townes Earle

Clyde – Waylon Jennings

Feeling Good Again – Robert Earl Keen

Let It Ride – Ryan Adams & The Cardinals