Great Songs For Your Next Road Trip

By Stephen Thompson,

Marissa Lorusso, Candice Kortkamp, Mike Katzif, Jessica Reedy

Published July 7, 2025 at 9:23 AM EDT

A man drives a vintage automobile down a highway June 27, 2007 in Colorado.

If you're thinking about taking a road trip, you're going to need some road trip music. You might need a pick-me-up, a distraction, or something for when you need a break from podcasts. But if you're headed out on the road, we're here to help with three songs to blast on your next road trip.

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Stephen Thompson

Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)

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Marissa Lorusso

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Candice Kortkamp

Mike Katzif

Jessica Reedy

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