a soundtrack for america's underbelly

if you were to take a road trip this summer (and you really should because it's time to bring back that 80's middle class version of travel. screw airplanes. see your country the old fashioned way... by burning some good ole 'american' fuel as your tires thwap the pavement in their ever-rhythmic way... open the windows, turn up the radio, and gaze ahead to the open road and countless days in front of you filled with the good stuff of america's underbelly - 24 hour trucker stops, gas station gift stores, billboards, toll booths, diners with 2am all-you-can-eat buffets, no-tell motels, drive-in movies, small town bakeries filling their towns' version of main street with the smell of freshly made pie dough...) anyway, i digress. where was i? oh yes... if you were to take a road trip this summer, summer of 06, what would be the top 3 albums you would shuffle on your ipod?

we embark thursday morning on our trip. post your opinion and help me invest in some new music for our jaunt to the east coast.

here, are a few of my favorite "if-this-steering-wheel's-a-rockin..." road trip artists to get you started. this list is non-conclusive, innaccurate, and probably a lie:
mat kearney
the fray
sheryl crow (tuesday night music club only, not any of her happy toothpaste commercial pop sh*t)
jamiroquai
grayshot
kenna
imogen heap
soulive
owsley
wilco
bruce cockburn (no, it's not pronounced how it's spelled. come on, when you order thai, do you really order the 'fuck it noodles'? no. you order the phuket noodles. don't ask me why.)
black eyed peas
wheat
the white stripes
prince
east mountain south

now come on. give me three...