Long hours and open stretches of uninspiring scenery can make a long-haul drive feel even more monotonous. Throw in bad weather, and you may find it hard to keep yourself entertained during those interstate treks.
Whether you’re a seasoned vet or new to the road, you always need a solid playlist to keep you focused and happy. If you’re looking for a way to break up the humdrum of driving long hours and spending days away from home, check out these awesome playlists and tips for creating your own.
Playlists for the Open Road
Sure, you have some favorite albums or a few songs that get you pumped up, but every once in a while, it’s nice just to listen and not have to think. For the times when you want to enjoy good music, but not flip through different tracks check out these websites with pre-made playlists.
- Pandora: This free site lets you type in a song or artist that you like and then continuously recommends other songs or artists that may fit your tastes. You can also browse specific genres or stations to keep the good music flowing.
- Spotify: You can listen from your computer or by downloading an app. With the free version, you can access thousands of playlists or browse various artists. You can also pay $9.99 a month for a premium subscription and skip through ads and songs you don’t like. Both the free and paid service give you weekly recommendations and playlists created based on your tastes.
- 8tracks: This website is only made up of playlists. Search a genre, an artist, or even a theme and discover playlists that other people have created.
- YouTube: Find albums, new songs, or playlists from other users by typing in something as simple as “trucker playlists.” You can even save individual songs or playlists by liking videos, and after you have a good amount archived, you can shuffle them for your next trip!
If you spend a little time looking through the above options, you’ll find a few playlists that meet your needs. But what if you’ve already spent years uploading your own albums to your device or to the cloud? Or, what if you want to create your own playlists?
If you take this approach, there are just a few things to keep in mind. You’ll want to narrow down your playlist to reflect your top two genres. This is the base for building a great playlist and will make things much easier on you. Once you decide on the genres, whether it’s classic rock, indie or country, choose 15-20 of your favorite songs from each genre. Additionally, it’s important to pick your device before heading out on the road. Do you prefer to burn a CD, or maybe download the playlists to your phone? Either way, keep in mind that you will likely hit patches of no cell service along the way, and you don’t want to be bored!
Other Options
A lot of alone time on the road can be perfect for learning new things. If you find that you need a break from music, you should give podcasts a chance. Here are some of our favorite choices for interesting podcasts.
- Serial
- 30 for 30
- How I Built This
- S-Town
- Listen Notes is a great podcast search engine that can be helpful if you’re not sure what you’re looking for. Play around and check out the different categories until you find an episode or series that looks interesting.
We hope these recommendations will be helpful keeping you entertained on the road! If you’re looking for more resources exclusively for truck drivers check out FreeFreightSearch.com. We have hundreds of blog posts and access to the world’s largest FREE load board!