50 Best Rock Songs About Road Trips

Best Rock Tracks for Hitting the Open Road

There’s something strange that happens when the miles start stacking up and the world slips into that endless blur outside the window. It’s not pure freedom, not total escape, but something hanging right in the middle. The kind of space where you lose track of what time it is and start thinking in playlists instead of hours. A good road song doesn’t need to spell out destinations. It sits in the noise of wind and engine, in the hum that fills the silence when conversation runs out. Some of these tracks came from late-night drives that never planned to end, some from people who probably never left town. Either way, they carry that pull of motion that keeps you awake long after you should’ve stopped.

Rock songs have always known how to move like that—guitars stretching wide, drums kicking at the edge of the highway. There’s a rawness that fits the way the road works on you, a mix of calm and restlessness that feels too human to fake. Even tracks that were never written for the drive somehow fit when the volume’s high and the sky starts turning that early-morning gray. It’s why people throw in pop, rock, country, and R&B songs together when they’re trying to find the right mix. The blend keeps things uneven, unpredictable, alive.

Not every drive feels like freedom. Some are messy, stuck in the heat, too long between gas stations. Others hit a weird sweet spot where boredom flips into peace and the same song on repeat feels like a ritual. The songs that live there don’t need to talk about cars or highways to make sense. They match the rhythm of asphalt and passing lights anyway. These are the tracks that carry that restless hum better than silence ever could. Here are the best rock songs for road trips.

1. 'Born to Be Wild' by Steppenwolf

2. 'Highway Star' by Deep Purple

3. 'Radar Love' by Golden Earring

4. 'Runnin' Down a Dream' by Tom Petty

5. 'Life Is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane

6. 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC

7. 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen

8. 'I Can't Drive 55' by Sammy Hagar

9. 'Roadhouse Blues' by The Doors

10. 'Take It Easy' by Eagles

11. 'Rockin' Down the Highway' by The Doobie Brothers

12. 'Running on Empty' by Jackson Browne

13. 'Truckin'' by Grateful Dead

14. 'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop

15. 'Road Trippin'' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

16. 'Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

17. 'Roll On Down the Highway' by Bachman-Turner Overdrive

18. 'La Grange' by ZZ Top

19. 'Everyday Is a Winding Road' by Sheryl Crow

20. 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac

21. 'Route 66' by Chuck Berry

22. 'Ventura Highway' by America

23. 'Drive My Car' by The Beatles

24. 'Life in the Fast Lane' by Eagles

25. 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads

26. 'Kickstart My Heart' by Mötley Crüe

27. 'Going Mobile' by The Who

28. 'Slow Ride' by Foghat

29. 'I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide' by ZZ Top

30. 'Rocky Mountain Way' by Joe Walsh

31. 'Midnight Rider' by The Allman Brothers Band

32. 'Roll Me Away' by Bob Seger

33. 'Interstate Love Song' by Stone Temple Pilots

34. 'The Long and Winding Road' by The Beatles

35. 'No Particular Place to Go' by Chuck Berry

36. 'On the Road Again' by Canned Heat

37. 'L.A. Woman' by The Doors

38. 'Ridin' the Storm Out' by REO Speedwagon

39. 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

40. 'White Wedding' by Billy Idol

41. 'Where the Streets Have No Name' by U2

42. 'Panama' by Van Halen

43. 'Going Up the Country' by Canned Heat

44. 'Here I Go Again' by Whitesnake

45. 'Ramble On' by Led Zeppelin

46. 'King of the Road' by Roger Miller

47. 'Gimme All Your Lovin'' by ZZ Top

48. 'Driver's Seat' by Sniff 'n' the Tears

49. 'Roadrunner' by The Modern Lovers

50. 'Take the Money and Run' by Steve Miller Band