The Ultimate Driving Music Playlist (According to Us)

I got here first! Seven years ago, in fact: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/best-driving-music.230246/

Currently in my spirited driving playlist are the following:
Nightwish - Song of Myself, Last Ride of the Day, Ghost River, Escapist
Within Temptation - Faster, Paradise
Amaranthe - Maximise
Tesla Boy - Rebecca
Kavinsky - Protovision
Moog - Smoke and Fire, Chasing Midnight
Lazerhawk - Overdrive
David Hasslehoff - True Survivor

Mind you, I've got a couple of different driving playlists for different sorts of driving, so it very much depends if I'm wanting to drive quickly or not, who I've got with me, and whether I have a destination or not.
 
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what no eurobeat!? fail!

I was debating on including that in my initial post.

I'll do you one better and do songs that weren't from Initial D. ;)

"Heart Breaker (Tym B Edit)" - Mike Hammer
"Shotgun Killer" - Love & Pride
"One More Chance" - High Frequency
"Don't Drop Me" - Ann Sinclair (Evidently this was included on the soundtrack to Sega Touring Championship, didn't know that until now)
"Fantasy" - Virginelle
"Look Me In The Eyes" - Norma Sheffield

Eurobeat makes for good running and good highway music, especially at night.
 
For trips that take 4+ hours on mostly interstates, I tend to find myself listening to a lot of music by Cake. They have what feels like great driving music.

Non-interstate driving I usually listen to the car itself.
 
My favourite musics for driving :
Gran Turismo ( of course )
Ridge Racer.
Sega GT.
Sega Rally.
Enthusia Professional Racing.
Touhou Project.
Anime Musics.

And strangely to some, but i also listen to :
James Last Albums.
Yanni At The Acropolis Live.
 
Oh God there’s so many I could choose from! For me, during the Summer drives when I could have the windows down and just jam I’d always go classic rock.

My short list:
House of the Rising Sun, The Animals
Thunder Road, The Boss
All Along the Watchtower, Hendrix
The Reaper, Blue Oyster Cult
Subdivisions, Rush (who just broke up:()
Cocaine, Clapton
Twist and shout, The Beetles

Then outside of classic rock:
Smells like teen Spirit, Nirvana
Can’t Stop, Red Hot Chili Peppers
Backseat Freestyle, Kendrick Lamar
Jesus of Suburbia, Green Day

Also, I LOVE concept albums. They’re the best for long road trips. My all time favourite road trip album is The Incredible True Story (T.I.T.S. because that album is just the TITS!:lol:) by Logic.

For anyone unfamiliar with it, it follows the story of two men who are listening to the album in the year 2065 while they’re on the search for the Planet Paradise after earth was destroyed.

My favourite reason to jam this album on the highway though is because of the cut scenes throughout the album! The two main characters are just talking with each other, but there’s the constant vibrations of the space ship in the background and with the bass turned up and windows down on the highway it really feels like you’re in the ship:lol: It’s my go to album for road trips anymore.
 
I just like to listen to songs/OST from games i like especially racing/driving games like GT and NFS or open world one's like GTA. If not then i would like to listen to whatever that got stuck on my mind at the moment.

Driving without something playing on the speaker seems a bit wrong for me.
 
Back on the rocks in a gtr

> the ultimate driving music playlist
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If to be serious, that depends on how you prefer your joyrides. Energetic rides with flooring the gas go better with something fast-paced and preferably involving a guitar; relaxing rides go better with the likes of slower-paced jazz songs.
I'd also generally recommend Masahiro Andoh's works and soundtracks of NFS games from PS1 era.

Never liked any of that until I watched initial d. One of my if not the greatest soundtracks on any series of film or tv
 
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I got here first! Seven years ago, in fact: https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/best-driving-music.230246/

Currently in my spirited driving playlist are the following:
Nightwish - Song of Myself, Last Ride of the Day, Ghost River, Escapist
Within Temptation - Faster, Paradise
Amaranthe - Maximise
Tesla Boy - Rebecca
Kavinsky - Protovision
Moog - Smoke and Fire, Chasing Midnight
Lazerhawk - Overdrive
David Hasslehoff - True Survivor

Mind you, I've got a couple of different driving playlists for different sorts of driving, so it very much depends if I'm wanting to drive quickly or not, who I've got with me, and whether I have a destination or not.

Ah! A true Survivor :) You really should look into Wolf a Raven's works. A lot of good drivers amongst their catalogue. Star Goddess is a nice cruiser. Also TimeCop 1983 is a handy artist :)

Two more songs, one for somewhere to go and another for no where to go


 
I was debating on including that in my initial post.

I'll do you one better and do songs that weren't from Initial D. ;)

"Heart Breaker (Tym B Edit)" - Mike Hammer
"Shotgun Killer" - Love & Pride
"One More Chance" - High Frequency
"Don't Drop Me" - Ann Sinclair (Evidently this was included on the soundtrack to Sega Touring Championship, didn't know that until now)
"Fantasy" - Virginelle
"Look Me In The Eyes" - Norma Sheffield

Eurobeat makes for good running and good highway music, especially at night.

haha i moved away from the older eurobeats. Maybe it's just too old sounding for me but I got to hand it to whoever selects the ones for initial d. I've been going through a bunch of the volumes and sampling each song not too many appeal to me. Final stage is the stage i most consistently listen to now. I can be at ease even when listening to it on the road, takes a bit of self control but it is possible, but when i listen to it while snowboarding..my legs are crying stop! hahah
 
I'm with Jordan on this one. Especially his love for 'I think I'm Paranoid'. Garbage has become one of my favourite bands since I was introduced to thier music in GT1. Seen them about six times in concert since. :D

You know how @glassjaw mentioned he counted on someone adding "Horse Power"? That's what I figured would be the case for a good chunk of the PS1-era GT soundtrack. :D

I had a hell of a time cutting my list down to 10. I could've easily filled it with Daft Punk alone, for example — my quick initial Spotify "qualifier" playlist had 96 songs in it!

Here are my picks, and the rationale behind each:

Junior Boys' "Work": I find a steady beat can really help me find a groove (ha!) when hunting down lap times. I first heard this years ago in a clothing store, and it prompted me to actually download Shazam to figure it out. Admittedly, it's a bit more cruisy than pedal-to-the-floor madness, but that works in longer races.

Public Service Broadcasting's "Go!": This was a very recent addition, thanks to Spotify's Discover Weekly. My original, larger list of options had a whole bunch of French electronic music — seriously, I could've submitted 10 Daft Punk songs — but I wanted to go left-field with this. It reminds me of Random Access Memories' album-closer "Contact", what with it having space exploration voice overs and all.

LCD Soundsystem's "Get Innocuous!": I wouldn't feel like myself if I didn't save a slot for my favourite band. The driving beat of Get Innocuous has stuck with me all these years. Gamers may remember it from the excellent old UK ad for Grand Theft Auto IV. Try and watch that and not want to walk around everywhere with James Murphy & Co as your backing soundtrack.

Royksopp & Robyn's "Sayit": As mentioned above, I was tempted to add Daft Punk. But this topped it. This collab from a few years back is a fantastic little EP, blending Royksopp's dark electronic scores with Robyn's pure pop goodness. It might seem a little jarring, but I love the mid-track shift; it's where things really start to pick up, like the last lap of a long race.

MIA's "Born Free": Born Free feels like it was made for a driving game intro. That drum build up erupts into a distorted sample of Suicide's "Ghost Rider", and it never slows down after that. It conjures up images of cars being driven over the edge, sliding by the camera in a quick cut every time the song is punctuated by the "woo" in the background. Just uh, don't watch the official music video.

Death From Above 1979's "You're A Woman, I'm a Machine": This album was a revelation to me in 2004. It was so unlike anything I was listening to at the time, and I loved the sheer primal energy on display. There were a lot of options from this Canadian duo's debut, but I settled on the eponymous song because of its relentless base. When they broke up shortly after this album came out, I was sad I never saw them live. Fast-forward a few years, and driving to London Ontario (blasting the album, of course). I saw them perform in a sweaty basement setting, and it seemed completely appropriate.

Deltron 3030's "Positive Contact": I (correctly) predicted the playlist would be light on hip hop. So I went with one of the greats. I think that speaks for itself.

Simian Mobile Disco's "Sleep Deprivation": This is an appropriate title when I think of how many hours I've sunk into racing games. It's backed up by a persistent, ever-growing wall of sound. I feel like every race with it playing is a mad dash for the next checkpoint, even when there aren't any!

Blood Red Shoes' "It's Getting Boring By The Sea": Edgar Wright is a genius with music in his movies. This gem from Scott Pilgrim is a straight-forward rock song with a fiery female vocalist. You can almost hear the fire in Laura-Mary Carter's voice. It feels like it'd be right at home on an updated version of GT2's soundtrack, sitting alongside another great vocalist: Shirley Manson. I figured that game's songs would be well represented here thanks to the rest of the team (and I wasn't disappointed), and listening to the whole playlist over the last week or so, they all mesh.

The Chemical Brothers' "Horse Power": Oh, come on. This entire album is fantastic, but that GT5 video? This was too easy. You know when a movie trailer nails a feeling so, so well that a song is forever tied to it? Like Where The Wild Things Are's Arcade Fire treatment, or Logan's Cash? Yeah, that, but in game form.

There were a few songs that just missed the cut, which I'll throw in here as well:

Mos Def "Quiet Dog" - Mos Def is one of the artists I've been listening to for most of my life, and the beat here works great for driving. It passed an important test: when I first played it, my girlfriend — not the biggest fan of hip hop in general — started bopping.
Laurent Garnier "The Man With the Red Face" - Does this not feel like a Gran Turismo song?!
Beastie Boys "Sabotage" - No explanation necessary really. Sure, Star Trek makes this a bit of an obvious choice, but a good tune is a good tune.
Daft Punk "Da Funk" - Honestly, if I could just do the entire Alive 2007 album, that'd be my first choice.
Kanye West "POWER" - I really wanted to put Kanye somewhere in here. But Deltron won out.
Led Zeppelin "Immigrant Song" - Joe pulled through with the Zep — "Levee" was another on my list — so this got cut based on that.
Tame Impala "Elephant" - This is about where I realized I tend to include songs with strong basslines.
Queens Of the Stone Age "Go With the Flow" - Honestly a little shocked none of the team put this on, as I was counting on that when I cut it. Still one of the absolute best IMO!
Daniel Avery "Drone Logic" - Going for something a little left-field for the electronic side.
Silversun Pickups "Cannibal" - Helped by the fact it was popular on the radio a few summers ago — when we had what seemed like a steady stream of road trips — this also feels like it could show up in GT2's playlist without feeling out of place.
 
One conclusion I can draw from this experience is that GT2 had the best driving soundtrack of all time.
Depends on GT2 soundtrack for which region you're talking about. If NTSC-J, then I wholeheartedly agree. If PAL, then I also do, as long as you throw "Illin' In Heaven" out. If NTSC-U/C, then... no. Just no.
 
Depends on GT2 soundtrack for which region you're talking about. If NTSC-J, then I wholeheartedly agree. If PAL, then I also do, as long as you throw "Illin' In Heaven" out. If NTSC-U/C, then... no. Just no.

I guess North American one. Or whatever came on this album:

Gran_Turismo_2_Original_Sound_Track.jpg


It's like a sampling the greatest hits of the 90's rolled into one album.

I've tried to listen to the Japanese version of some of the Gran Turismo soundtracks in the past and get bored by them.
 
I guess North American one. Or whatever came on this album:

Gran_Turismo_2_Original_Sound_Track.jpg


It's like a sampling the greatest hits of the 90's rolled into one album.
Yep, that's NTSC-U/C soundtrack.
The more I've tried to listen to it, the more I felt like smashing speakers with a heavy hammer. If that's what America liked listening to the most in the nineties, then... well, I'm glad I wasn't there.

I've tried to listen to the Japanese version of some of the Gran Turismo soundtracks in the past and get bored by them.
I dunno, as much as Japanese soundtrack is relatively less energetic than American one, it's much nicer to the ear.
 
There's quite a lot I'd listen to for driving.

If we're talking about what music would suit racing then for me it has to be fast paced Rock/Metal.

I have stuff from bands like

AC/DC
Aerosmith
Airbourne
Alter Bridge
The Answer
Guns N Roses
The Darkness
Linkin Park
Led Zeppelin
Metallica
The Offspring
The Hollywood Vampires
Queen
Steel Panther
Velvet Revolver
Volbeat
Alice Cooper

Those are the bands I have lots from but there's plenty of others where I have a couple/few songs from them.
 
If that's what America liked listening to the most in the nineties, then... well, I'm glad I wasn't there.
:lol:

After looking up the listing (I wasn't even aware of GT2 until after being introduced to GT6), I'll admit I was listening to some of that in the '90s.

:P
 
haha i moved away from the older eurobeats. Maybe it's just too old sounding for me but I got to hand it to whoever selects the ones for initial d. I've been going through a bunch of the volumes and sampling each song not too many appeal to me. Final stage is the stage i most consistently listen to now. I can be at ease even when listening to it on the road, takes a bit of self control but it is possible, but when i listen to it while snowboarding..my legs are crying stop! hahah

I also like some the eurobeat tracks from arcade stages games and got into some of the tracks from m.o.v.e
 
When I'm just chilling
-Jimi Hendrix
-John Lee Hooker

When I need something fast paced:
-Animals as Leaders
-Noisia
-AC/DC
-Mastodon
 
Just a few off the top of my head; apologies for duplicates.

Machinehead by Bush,
Pedal to the Metal by Kazzer,
Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna,
Radar Love by White Lion (better than Golden Earrings),
Jesus Built My Hotrod by Ministry,
 
Just a few off the top of my head; apologies for duplicates.

Machinehead by Bush,
Pedal to the Metal by Kazzer,
Shut Up and Drive by Rihanna,
Radar Love by White Lion (better than Golden Earrings),
Jesus Built My Hotrod by Ministry,
White Lions better then Golden Earring? Not sure about that... but to each it’s own!

I was already wondering so many contributions and no Radar Love - Golden Earring???
For me the absolute nr.1 driving some!
Other favorites in my current playlist:

Queen - Don’t stop me now
Queen- Bohemian Rhapsody
Long Cool Woman - the Hollies
FreeBird - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sympathy for the Devil - Rolling Stones (Neptunes)
Black Betty - RamJam
Nuthin but a G thang - Dr. Dre
Gin and Juice - Snoop Dogg
Still Dre - Dr. Dre
It was a Good Day- IceCube
Changes - 2pac
Rage against the Machine - Killing in the name of
Gimme some Lovin - The Spencer Davis Group
Sabotage- Beastie Boys
The Touch - Stan Bush
Heart of Madness - Komodo Band (Japanese)
All along the watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Slow Ride - Foghat
Immigrant Song - Led Zeppelin
Whole lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
I’m still Standing - Elton John
Tiny Dancer - Elton John
Westside - TQ
Sun is Shining - Bob Marley vs Funkstar Deluxe
Music sounds better with you - Stardust
My Friend - Groove Armada
Remember Me - Blue Boy
Rappers Delight - Sugar Hill Gang
Poison - Bell Biv Devoe
Jump around - House of Pain
OPP - Naught by Nature
Hypnotize - Notorious BIG
The Message - Nas
Bust a Move - Young MC
Luv You more - DJ Paul Elstak
Hardcore Vibes - Dune
Epic - Sandro Silva & Quintino
Little Green Bag - George Baker
Luvstruck - Southside Spinners
Fiesta - the Sunclub

To name a few!
 
Super bon bon, Super bon bon, Super bon bon, bon!

A song that makes no sense, but I can't imagine a traffic jam without it playing.

To me driving music isn't about the lyrics, but the rest of the song. The songs must make me feel like I'm swaying back and forth in the wind and/or that I'm on a roller coaster going for the ups and downs without full control. For those reasons I find many rock/metal songs don't work as they have a more rapid "all or nothing" consistency to their tempo and do not feel as dynamic as electronic and pop music does. They essentially make me feel like a separate entity from my car, rather than being one with my vehicle. My other choices:

ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme
Fancy - Slice Me Nice
Clio - Faces
Doctors Cat - Feel The Drive
Alphaville - Big In Japan
ABC - Poison Arrow
Audio Bullys - Face In A Cloud
She Wants Revenge - Out Of Control
Razed In Black - Come Back To Me
Digitalism - Forrest Gump
Ratatat - Lex
Ratatat - Wildcat
CAKE - Never There
White Town - Your Woman
The Romantics - Talking In Your Sleep
Fred Falke - 808 PM At The Beach
Mashrou' Leila - Roman
 
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