50 Best Rock Songs About Traveling

Best Rock Tracks for Road Trips and Wanderlust

There’s a strange kind of pulse that hits when the engine turns over and the road hums beneath the tires. It’s not freedom exactly, not escape either, but something stretched thin between the two. You’re running on gas station coffee and impulse, chasing a direction that might change by the next exit. Then a song hits through the static, and the trip starts to feel like something bigger than motion. These tracks tap into that restless headspace, where the skyline keeps shifting and time feels both fast and slow at once.

No one really glides through a long drive like the movies pretend. It’s bad directions, cracked speakers, someone sleeping through the good parts. But every so often, a riff cuts through the monotony and gives the miles a pulse. Maybe it’s Springsteen thundering over the highway, or The Killers pulling you toward a horizon that doesn’t end. Some tracks aren’t literally tied to travel, yet the feeling in them—the urgency, the longing, the drift—fits the miles like they were made for it. They blur the line between the road and what you’re running from.

These are the songs that make the blur outside the window feel alive. The ones that turn late-night drives into memories before they’re over. You’ll find a mix of pop, rock, country, and R&B songs in here too, all wired to that same pull to keep moving. Here are the best rock songs for traveling playlists that catch that in-between feeling and make the ride last a little longer.

1. 'Born to Be Wild' by Steppenwolf

2. 'Life is a Highway' by Tom Cochrane

3. 'Sweet Home Alabama' by Lynyrd Skynyrd

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

5. 'Born to Run' by Bruce Springsteen

6. 'Highway to Hell' by AC/DC

7. 'Take It Easy' by Eagles

8. 'Radar Love' by Golden Earring

9. 'Wherever I May Roam' by Metallica

10. 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac

11. 'Running on Empty' by Jackson Browne

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

13. 'The Passenger' by Iggy Pop

14. 'I Am the Highway' by Audioslave

15. 'Road to Nowhere' by Talking Heads

16. 'The Chain' by Fleetwood Mac

17. 'Heading Out to the Highway' by Judas Priest

18. 'Truckin'' by Grateful Dead

19. 'Ramblin' Man' by The Allman Brothers Band

20. 'Magic Carpet Ride' by Steppenwolf

21. 'Slow Ride' by Foghat

22. 'Ventura Highway' by America

23. 'Holiday Road' by Lindsey Buckingham

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

25. 'Highway Star' by Deep Purple

26. 'Drive My Car' by The Beatles

27. 'Roll Me Away' by Bob Seger

28. 'On the Road Again' by Canned Heat

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

30. 'Free Ride' by The Edgar Winter Group

31. 'Paradise City' by Guns N' Roses

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

33. 'Ramble On' by Led Zeppelin

34. 'Back on the Road Again' by REO Speedwagon

35. 'Going Up the Country' by Canned Heat

36. 'Route 66' by The Rolling Stones

37. 'Up Around the Bend' by Creedence Clearwater Revival

38. 'Midnight Rider' by The Allman Brothers Band

39. 'Panama' by Van Halen

40. 'California Dreamin'' by The Mamas & the Papas

41. 'A Horse with No Name' by America

42. 'Going to California' by Led Zeppelin

43. 'Travelin' Man' by Bob Seger

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

45. 'Hotel California' by Eagles

46. 'Californication' by Red Hot Chili Peppers

47. 'End of the Line' by Traveling Wilburys

48. 'Road Runner' by The Modern Lovers

49. 'Walk of Life' by Dire Straits

50. 'I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)' by The Proclaimers