No one likes skipping through old CDs and Pandora ads while they're flying down the interstate at 80 mph. In fact that's a terrible idea. So here I've thrown together a few of my favorite albums from the past decade designed for fostering an awesome inner-state while you are on the road.

1. Radiohead - In Rainbows

I could write an article that is just about Radiohead's best songs. Honestly, this is one of the only bands that has albums produced with the quality that I could listen through each album without hitting skip. The haunting sound of Thom Yorke's voice in songs like "Nude" combined with transcendent loops and strange noises are what i praise this band for. "15 Step" is an astounding sound rhythmically while the guitar delicately lands on your ears. Each song is engaging and entrancing in it's own way and keeps the heart beating. I love the sound of this album and it's ability to make me twitch. There are also songs like "All I Need" that offer a more laid back, soft sound. Listening to Radiohead reliably makes you feel like a "Subterranean Homesick Alien".

2. The Dodos - Visiter

If I were going to pick one album to start the trip it would probably be this one. Every song feels just as full of light and heat as the album artwork. With upbeat finger-picking, majestic use of percussion and all-over high energy, this windy-feeling album is replete with good feels. I have this constant feeling of building energy or running when i hear songs like "Fools" and used to love longboarding to this album. Shouting and stomping all throughout this album, it seems to be all about movement and sound as nothing is stated or slowly rhythmically, with lyricism stated so poetically and beautifully. Songs like "The Season" bring me back to the place where time began and fill it with light, volume, and sound.

3. MGMT - Congratulations

MGMT is galactic. First let's just look at this trippy album cover. It's a fricken wolf engulfing the time-slurring something surfing underneath. This is an album that doesn't break down walls, but creeps between them and provides the insulation that keeps a soul warm. Songs like "Siberian Breaks" bring you into a soft trance and keeps you there, bouncing back and forth between a tidal drum-beat and electronic beeping and pulses. Some songs are really full of energy where others are more sedating like "Lady Dada's Nightmare". All of them are 'in the zone' songs. These guys are really great at providing songs reliably that bring you to this mystical floating palace of the clouds that desired to surf into the sea.

4. Black Keys - Brothers

The album that really put The Black Keys on the map was Brothers. Many are familiar with the breakout song "Tighten Up", but this is an album that doesn't stop rotating groovy, dirty, low and filling depth of sound. The vocalist has such a rich sound, next to timeless riffs and grooves that keep the funk rolling.The album starts off with "Everlasting Light", crying out to bring love into orbit and is a personal favorite. Having trouble getting over an ex? Or maybe you already did? "Next Girl" spins next and will affirm that incredible feeling of just being over 'it'. The two-man band has so many gems in here, like "The Only One", a song of utter devotion. Then there are songs like "Ten Cent Pistol" and "Sinister Kid" that are literally like the his and her epitome of "I am a bad ass, don't mess with me". I love this album because it could have been written yesterday or 40 years ago. There are so many feels in this album you might end up feeling really punk, really empowered or like lovesick and stuff. People love feeling all lovesick and stuff. But it's funky.

5. Tv on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain
Strange tempos and incredible loops start this album out right. TVOTR is probably my favorite band strictly because of house authentically different each one of their songs are. Each song carries a new song and new message. Universal messages are the best kind because you can listen to them a thousand times and get a different meaning each time. This band is so lyrically inclined and injects all these random samples no one else uses so well together. Songs like "Hours" are truly legendary, with a steady beat, howling falsetto and powerful lyrics it is one of my favorite 'first songs' to show people who haven't heard them before. "Province" follows with those same hypnotic howls and heartbeat-drumbeats that pervade through the rest of the song that brings you into this great space closer to the afterlife. "A Method" is another song with a creative use of claps, howls and slaps on fine china that i love to show people first. Harmonies and soft, haunting whispers echo through this music. I feel so much heart behind the beats of this band. Symbolism and PERFECT POETRY are what make this album one of the greatest of all time and the journey this album will take you on is truly rewarding. Such a powerful album for anyone who seeks to peer into the deep ethers of soul.



I hope you enjoy my suggestions! Drive safely!