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Road trips can be a lot of fun but those long drives can also get pretty boring without something to keep you entertained. Creating road trip playlists is an old tradition which goes all the way back to cassette tapes. Now your music is likely stored on your phone or some other type of device, but some of us still use CDs as well.

Whether your road trip is two hours or two days, the right playlist can get you in the vacation mood and make your travels all the more enjoyable. A great playlist is more than just a collection of random songs. Songs can be tied together by a basic theme and variety is key. Check out some of the following tips for making the ultimate road trip playlist.

  • Consider Your Destination – There are plenty of songs about nearly every major city and state in the U.S. For example, if you’re going to California you could find hundreds of songs to add to your playlist. This means you can even double down and play songs about California by CA artists like “California Girls” by the Beach Boys or “Estimated Prophet” by the Grateful Dead. If you’re headed to a music festival, add some songs by some of the lesser known bands you’ll have the chance to see and some classic performance from previous versions of the festival.
  • Consider Your Audience – If you’re driving by yourself you can listen to whatever you want, but otherwise, you should consider who will be riding with you. If your friends like the same music you do there’s no problem, but if you’re riding with parents or older relatives you might want to modify it a bit.
  • Consider Technology – If you’re renting a car or driving someone else’s, be sure you know what type of technology you’ll have including Bluetooth or a CD player. You could end up spending hours making the perfect playlist only to find that you can’t listen to it at all.
  • Two people in a car