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What's the perfect road trip playlist?

Robin Hilton

Before summer disappears, we share our favorite songs for your long and winding drives, plus a list of ground rules (does the driver always have final say?), and a breakdown of what works best when.

NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Lars Gotrich join host Robin Hilton.

Featured artists and songs:

1. Eric Burdon and War: "Spill the Wine," from Eric Burdon Declares "War"

2. Stromae: "Santé," from Multitude

3. Broadway Cast: "Alexander Hamilton," from Hamilton

4. Joe Iconis / Broadway Cast: "Michael in the Bathroom," from Be More Chill 

5. Abiotic: "Vermosapien," from Symbiosis 

6. Wipers: "Mystery," from Is This Real? 

7. Steely Dan: "My Old School," from Countdown to Ecstasy 

8. Tunde Olaniran: "Namesake," from Transgressor 

9. Shania Twain: "Man, I Feel Like a Woman!" from Come On Over 

10. Pat Travers: "Amgwanna Kick Booty," from Black Pearl 

11. Anthrax & Public Enemy: "Bring The Noise," from Attack of the Killer B's 

12. Unwed Sailor: "Monster Collecting," from Cruel Entertainment 

13. The Allman Brothers Band: "Midnight Rider," from Idlewild South and "Southbound," from Brothers And Sisters 

14. Lakestreet Dive: "You Go Down Smooth," from Bad Self Portraits 

15. Black Sabbath: "Turn Up The Night," from Mob Rules 

16. Simple Minds: "Don't You (Forget About Me)," from The Breakfast Club

All Songs Considered 25th anniversary segment: Our No. 1 songs from 2024

Weekly reset: Summer roadtrip while listening to the radio

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

Copyright 2025 NPR

Corrected: August 12, 2025 at 11:08 AM EDT
A previous version of this episode's song list misidentified the Broadway play Be More Chill as Bill More Chill.
Robin Hilton
Robin Hilton is the Senior Podcast Producer for NPR Music. He also hosts the New Music Friday episodes of All Songs Considered.
Lars Gotrich
Listen to the Viking's Choice playlist; subscribe to the newsletter.
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist and guest host on All Songs Considered. Thompson also co-hosts the daily NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created with NPR's Linda Holmes in 2010. 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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