Songs For Summer Rides

It doesn’t take long—30, 40 minutes?—after you finally get your first car to realize a universal sonic truth: some music just sounds better when you’re behind the wheel. Doesn’t matter if you’re boasting a fancypants sound system in your Rolls or rattling factory speakers and a generic CD player in your used 1989 Honda Accord. Certain songs will still make you want to take the scenic route to school in the morning, or the long way home from the mall.

Summer is particularly well suited to rolling the windows down and sharing your musical tastes with everyone around you at a red light. Sure, the other drivers may look annoyed, but trust me, they’re just trying to make out the lyrics to your favorite scream-o anthem. Do them a favor and turn it up.

You need a go-to soundtrack for your summer drives and summer rides, whether it’s for a weeklong road trip with friends, or a quick fast food run at 1 a.m. We here at SparkNotes think these songs sound particularly good in a moving vehicle:

"Gone For Good"
The Shins
The lap steel guitar lends an easy-breezy country lilt to one of The Shins best songs. Meanwhile, lyrics like "untie me, I've said no vows," "go back to your hometown," and "I gotta leave here, my girl/get on with my lonely life," give the song forward momentum. Sure it's melancholy, but what did you expect? It's The Shins.

"Back In Black"
AC/DC
When in doubt, go classic rock. If "Slow Ride" by Foghat is too "on-the-nose" for you, crank up "Back In Black," which will alert the drivers around you (and perhaps your fellow passengers) that you are, in fact, badass—Honda Accord or not.

"Never Let Me Down Again"
Depeche Mode
"I'm taking a ride with my best friend/I hope he never let's me down again." Too good. Disclaimer: The opening riff of this vintage electro-pop hit sort of begs you to go faster, faster, faster. Keep it under the speed limit, and go louder, louder, louder instead.

"The Great Escape"
We Are Scientists
Scorching guitars, rolling drums, bass super-high in the mix—the perfect trifecta for a good driving song.

"Finer Feelings"
Spoon
This groove-conscious band is pretty reliable for good driving music—"I Turn My Camera On," "That's The Way We Get By," "Sister Jack"—and the chorus here is bright and winning and infectious, just like summer.

What's your driving soundtrack? Which songs do you sing as loud as you can?