Memorial Day weekend is the cultural start of summer, and easily one of the busiest travel weekends of the year.

In our collective rush to get started on summer, it seems we can’t help but get in each other’s way a bit.

So, since you will most likely find yourself stuck somewhere (in the car, waiting on a ferry) for a while anyway, consider packing these albums to ease the agony. Some of it’s mood music for the open road, some of it sweeter fare to soothe the savage beast within, and hopefully both will help avoid all but the most justified instances of road rage.

Now, roll down the window, slip on your shades, and crank it to 11.

1 “Celebration Rock” by Japandroids (2012)

Think of them as Bruce Springsteen meets Journey, “inspired by muscular, masculine riff factories like Thin Lizzy and AC/DC” (www.Spin.com). They dwell on the Boss’ favorite themes — but they do so with Steve Perry-esque ebullience.

This, the second studio album by the Canadian rock duo was named one of “The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far” in August 2014 by Pitchfork Media, who described it as “the most beautiful, life-affirming rock record of the decade.” It showed up on numerous critics year-end best-of lists, and deserves a prominent spot in your road trip rotation.

“The House that Heaven Built,” the album’s much-loved big single, is worth the cost alone. Rolling Stone named it the 24th best song of 2012.

In the words of critic Brandon Stosuy: “At first, Japandroids reminded me of music and a sensibility from my youthful wanderings: basement shows, photocopied zines, couches you only saw once. But seeing that sing-along made me think about how punk spirit, however you define it, is something that can’t be relegated to the past. There will always be rock kids who go to a show wanting to be saved. In 2012, this was their anthem.”

It’s all in there in the title: “Celebration Rock.”

So start the party, people.

2 “Greatest Hits” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (1993)

Gone without warning and far too soon, Thomas Earl “Tom” Petty is, for my money, the greatest American singer/songwriter of the 20th century.

In fact, not only is the guy one of the greatest songwriters of all time, his work borders on being some of the greatest flash fiction of all time — incredibly succinct short stories with broad appeal and maddeningly specific details making them feel utterly unique and somehow universal all at once.

Raymond Carver, eat your heart out.

Including his solo work, albums with the Heartbreakers, and his short tenure as part of the supergroup the Traveling Wilburys, Petty sold more than 80 million records worldwide between 1976 and 2017 — and all the best, most iconic tunes are on this (12x platinum) greatest hits album.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were the first real concert I ever saw (Pittsburgh, 2006) and I was fortunate enough to see them live again recently, when the 40th anniversary tour came to Seattle.

One thing in particular that struck me back in ’06, and which did again here in 2017, is the diversity of the man’s fan base. At the Seattle show, I sat in front of a middle-aged Latino-looking guy, there by himself, who screamed and squealed like a teenage girl at a One Direction concert. He talked loudly to anybody who would listen about how much he loved Tom Petty and how he’d never had the chance to see him live before. It was nothing short of a pilgrimage for this guy.

There were teenagers — there alone, there with their families. There were older folks, too, and a whole swath of my fellow late 20s/early 30-ites. There were stoners and there were drunks, and many more clear-headed rock lovers, too. Some danced. Some didn’t. But everybody cheered.

That’s what I love most about the man: He was the people’s rock star. He was never unnecessarily political. It was never more about him than it was about the music. He just rocked. For 40 years, he rocked in an undeniably awesome, wholly American way.

This one’s guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.

3 “Grace Love and the True Loves” (2015)

The self-titled first album from the Seattle-based soul act is a marvel, somehow both innovative and nostalgic.

From bandinseattle.com: “In a modern musical landscape where we can argue about what the term Soul Music really means today, when you just close your eyes and listen to Grace Love & the True Loves, what Soul music ‘IS’ suddenly becomes crystal clear … and when you open your eyes, you’ll see that SOUL MUSIC is happening in Seattle right now … They are the vanguards of an active scene that will KNOCK you out.”

That’s for sure: KEXP, Seattle Music News and What’s Up! Magazine have all been singing praise for these soul music revivalists, a hard-working eight-piece led by Love herself and gifted guitarist Jimmy James.

Through heavy shades of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Etta James and Aretha Franklin, Grace Love and the True Loves have emerged as a shining beacon in Seattle’s surprisingly soulful soul music scene.

4 “Harvest” by Neil Young (1972)

Nothing better pairs with the blurring American landscape passing by outside your window than Neil Young, and perhaps nothing better encapsulates everything good about the man’s nearly 60-year career than his chart-topping, best-selling fourth album (although, to be fair, the case for “Rust Never Sleeps,” with Crazy Horse, could be made).

Nevertheless, “Harvest” topped the Billboard 200 album chart for two weeks, and spawned two hit singles, “Old Man,” which peaked at No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100, and “Heart of Gold,” which reached No. 1.

It was the best-selling album of 1972 in the United States.

Though not beloved by critics upon release, even Rolling Stone (who called it a disappointing retread of Young’s earlier works) eventually came around, choosing it in 2003 as the 78th greatest album of all time. In 1996, 2000 and 2005, Chart polled readers to determine the 50 greatest Canadian albums of all time, and “Harvest” placed second in all three polls.

5 Anything by George Carlin

Get ready to pull over, it’s not safe to drive while laughing this hard.

A true pop culture prophet, so much of what George Carlin was saying all along has only come (even more so) to pass since his passing in 2008. He is widely regarded as one of the most important stand-up comics ever, a reputation that only grows each year that our world comes to reflect all the man’s greatest grievances more and more.

From his concise and observant critiques of the modern American lexicon to thoughts on our culture’s excesses and inconsistencies, from politics to entertainment to bodily functions, Carlin’s wise wisecracks continue to loom over the ever-expanding art form that is standup.

In 2008, he was posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and, in 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him second (behind only Richard Pryor) on its list of the 50 best stand-up comics of all time.

“A Place for My Stuff” (1981) and “Carlin on Campus” (1984) are both undeniable classics, but I recommend 1992’s “Jammin’ in New York” or “Complaints and Grievances” (2001) for the road.

Then again, “Back in Town” (1996) and 2006’s “Life Is Worth Losing” are practically required material to survive in today’s America, so maybe plan a long trip and pack them all?

You won’t be sorry.

6 “Paul’s Boutique” by the Beastie Boys (1989)

Sometimes called the “Sgt. Pepper of hip-hop,” the unholy trinity’s second album did not do nearly as well as their debut and, reportedly, Capitol eventually stopped promoting it. However, (from Wikipedia) “its popularity grew and it has since been recognized as a breakthrough achievement. Highly varied lyrically and sonically, ‘Paul’s Boutique’ secured the Beastie Boys’ place as critical favorites in the hip-hop genre.”

Eventually certified double platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America, in 2003, the album was ranked number 156 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Love or hate the Beastie Boys, this album is a definitive achievement, more than worth a revisit.

Viewed from the cultural landscape of 2018, it is both charmingly old school — safe, even — and simultaneously so authentic and unique so as to not exactly sound like anything that came later, and invoke nothing more than itself.

Honorable mentions:

“Rubber Soul” by the Beatles (1965)

“Elsie” by the Horrible Crowes (2011)

“Rumors” by Fleetwood Mac (1977)

“Exile on Main Street” by the Rolling Stones (1972)

“The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle” (1973) by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band

“Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time” (2014) by Patton Oswalt

The “Dazed and Confused” soundtrack (1993)