5Rihanna - Shut Up and Drive
Just about every car ride needs a pop tune sing-along. Say what you will, but nothing gets a cramped car full of irritable friends more jazzed up and ready to have fun than a high energy pop track, and given the car-based theme running through this list, Rihanna's Shut Up And Drive is the perfect choice. Sure, the song is a little too apt when you're actually driving, but that just adds to the fun. Folks in the passenger side/backseat can also use this tune to abruptly end a bad story being told by the driver. She or he will definitely get the point once the chorus hits.
4Life in the Fast Lane - Eagles
Most of the more famous Eagles tracks are pretty ideal for road-tripping, since a majority tend to be pretty upbeat and easy to sing along to. Nothing out of the Eagles canon is as apt for long car rides than Life In The Fast Lane, as the title spells out for you. Get on the highway, slam the gas pedal, blare "Life In The Fast Lane," and feel like a true speed demon. Just be sure to make better life choices than the couple in the song.
3Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
Knowing all of the words to a song is nearly essential when you're singing along in a car, this isn't karaoke with the words streaming in front of your face, after all. Road trip rock-outs get much better when everyone in the car knows the words, of course, and Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody happens to be one of the very few songs in musical history most people know the words to, or at least most of them, despite the songs verbose nature. Anyone in your car who doesn't know at least 70% of the lyrics should be kicked out immediately, or given an immediate crash-course in Queen, because you shouldn't go through life being unable to gleefully yell "Mama Mia" and not be referring to the musical. Added bonus: you can re-enact the car ride sing-along scene from Wayne's World.
2Franz Ferdinand - Ulysses
Everyone knows the story of Ulysses (aka Odysseus, as the Greeks originally called him) or at least they should. If ancient myth isn't your game, all you need to know is that Ulysses, following the Trojan war, went on an epic journey (or odyssey, if you will) that lasted a whole decade. Your road trip journey probably won't last as long, or involve a cyclops, queens, or witches, but with Franz Ferdinand's Ulysses, you can invoke the essence of epic adventure with a very upbeat track that is perfect for cruising in the sunshine.
1Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead or Alive
A veritable Jovi-anthem, Dead Or Alive accomplishes the secret goal of everyone has when they take a road trip: to feel like a cowboy (or girl) riding through the lands like a badass. You may not carry a six-string on your back, but you're definitely riding on a steel horse (your car) which is all the justification you really need to put yourself in Jovi's cowboy boots. Dead Or Alive's fairly simple chorus also makes it really easy for folks who don't know the tune to rock out, a key element of any track you're going to play in a car full of people with varied musical interests.