Creating the Ultimate Road Trip Playlist

In the coming Memorial Day weekend, I’ll be taking a road trip up to the Apostle Islands with my fiancé to d0 some camping and kayaking on Lake Superior. This is just over a 4 hour drive from my home in Minneapolis, so as I am planning my trip, it has me thinking about my road trip playlist creation process.

Everyone’s music tastes are different, but I believe that every great road trip playlist should have a solid structure and hit some main points. Below is the outline I use–hopefully you can use it to help you design your own. Spotify is my favorite–and the most popular–streaming service to use, and it’s easy to download songs to your phone so you can use it offline.

1. Keep it simple and start with your favorites

Grab those songs that you simply cannot do without, whether that be the classics or new pop hits.

2. Consider the seasons

Had this been a trip in the middle of winter I am sure I wouldn’t be listening to a song about beer, bikinis, trucks and dirt roads. But summer is here and I love summer country music! Being from the rural Minnesota and going to college in a farm community makes my inner ‘country hick’ start to scream. So tis the season to bring out the Chase Rice, Sam Hunt, Luke Bryan and the rest of the gang.

3. Add an entire album

A long road trip is a great time to actually sit and listen to an entire album. The artist released the album as a whole so we the listener should take some time and appreciate that; you will likely find it very rewarding.

4. Don’t forget where you are

…..for example: when driving though Minnesota, it is probably a good idea to play some Prince.

5. Consider your passengers

Now personally I am not a fan of Beyoncé’s music, but I know my fiancé just got back from a Beyoncé concert and that is all she has been listening to this week. I’ll have to stomach a few songs just so I can keep the aux cord plugged into my playlist. Advice: Play the long game and bite the bullet for a few minutes because it going to be a long ride.

6. Carpool karaoke

Let’s be real: I am pretty sure that when the stereo is turned all the way up, I sound just like Adele. Weird, right? Everyone sounds great in the car with the stereo up so now is the time to embrace the isolation and sing to One Direction or Justin Bieber with no shame.

Now that you have your playlist set to go you can keep your eyes on the road and worry about other things–like how fast over the speed limit you can go before the cops notice. Safe and fun travels!