18 must-have songs for your road trip playlist this summer

• Due to the coronavirus pandemic, summer travel will look different this year, as more people will forego planes and trains for road trips.
• As any experienced road-tripper will tell you, picking the music is one of the most important parts.
• Insider picked 18 songs that are perfect for any adventure, from "Drive My Car" by The Beatles to "Ride Wit Me" by Nelly.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

As summer approaches, it normally would mean that summer vacations are also on the horizon. This year, however, due to COVID-19, social distancing, and self-isolating, it seems like road-tripping will be the way to go for many people.

Crafting a road trip playlist is something of an art form, and can really make or break the hours (or days) spent inside your car. We've created a playlist of 16 songs that are all about driving, traveling, the open road, and adventure — and two that are just mandatory road trip songs.

Keep scrolling to see the 18 best songs for your next road trip.

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Some songs demand to be blasted right at the beginning of a road trip — AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" is one of them.

Listen to the song here.

On the other hand, some songs need to be listened to while staring out of a rainy car window, like "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson.

Listen to the song here.

No song is more enthusiastic about a long drive than Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again."

Listen to the song here.

No road trip playlist is complete without the Nat King Cole Trio's ode to the most famous highway in the US: "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66."

Listen to the song here.

Either Tom Cochrane's original version, or the cover by Rascal Flatts, of "Life Is a Highway" is a must-have —maybe both!

Listen to the original version here and listen to the Rascal Flatts version here.

"Little Red Corvette" by Prince will make you feel cool, no matter what car you're driving.

Listen to the song here.

The Beatles had no shortage of songs about traveling, driving, and cars. "Day Tripper" is one of the two best ones.

Listen to the song here.

"Drive My Car" is the other.

Listen to the song here.

From one British boy band to another ... "Ready to Run" by One Direction also deserves a spot for all the millennials and Gen-Z kids getting dragged along on the trip.

Listen to the song here.

"Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant will make you feel like you're flying down the highway.

Listen to the song here.

So will Matthew Wilder's '80s bop, "Break My Stride."

Listen to the song here.

One of the most famous odes to getting the heck out of Dodge is Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run."

Listen to the song here.

The opening saxophone riff to "Run Away With Me" by Carly Rae Jepsen will have you already planning your next road trip, just to listen to this song with the windows down again.

Listen to the song here.

Nelly's iconic hit "Ride Wit Me" was made for cruising.

Listen to the song here.

Even if you're in a minivan, "Born to Be Wild" by Steppenwolf will make you feel like you're riding down the highway on a motorcycle, like in "Easy Rider."

Listen to the song here.

Rihanna telling you to "Shut Up and Drive" will motivate you to power through those last 50 miles like no other song.

Listen to the song here.

While Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" isn't technically about driving, a road trip, or traveling, no road trip playlist is complete without it. It demands to be listened to on the highway at full volume.

Listen to the song here.

The same goes for The Killers' "Mr. Brightside." It's appropriate in all situations, including a road trip.

Listen to the song here.

• Read more:
• 17 stunning roads in the US you should drive before you die
• 10 ways road trips have changed over the years — and they're all for the better
• 22 vintage photos show Americans embarking on cross-country road trips in the 1960s
• It took me 96 hours to ride an Amtrak train from coast to coast. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.