The Ultimate Yacht Rock Playlist For Summer

This Yacht Rock Playlist is my favorite thing to listen to all summer long. It’s full of soft-rock songs that make you feel like you should be sailing or sipping a mai tai while watching seagulls dive-bombing someone’s french fries on a beach.

A soft rock playlist to make your ears happy

This Yacht Rock Playlist features all the hits that make it feel like the perfect sailing playlist…even if you’re just sailing into summer.

Liking yacht rock wasn’t a choice. My dad would play Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers. A lot. I remember being stuck on family vacations, with the tapes playing, and wish I could throw them out the window.

Related: 10 Hour Summer Playlist for Sunsets at The Beach

But, as you get older, your tastes change, and I found myself getting really happy when a song of this variety is played. 

Yacht Rock is a vibe. And for me, it is directly tied to warm summer evenings. And we’re now torturing our own kids on family road trips. 

This is my tribute to Yacht Rock on SiriusXM. My kids HATE this yacht rock radio playlist. But mom rights mean I get to play it in the car whenever I want because it makes my heart so happy.

The kids forced me to listen to the Kidz Bop station when they were little so they can sit through some sexy little sunset tunes now.

So this yacht rock playlist lives on. I created it on Spotify so I could listen to my favorite tunes no matter where I am. You haven’t lived until you’ve listened to these essentials on a boat surrounded by water.

Yacht Rock Songs Playlist

This song list features some of the key songs of this smoothed-out, easy-listening pop rock. You can’t help but imagine yourself sailing on the water while these songs play.

Most of these songs sound like they could have been theme songs to hit sitcoms in the 80s. 

Having my Yacht Rock Radio Playlist on Spotify means that you can enjoy all of these good vibes without having to have Sirius XM.

If you only want to listen to one song to get the feel of what yacht rock is, listen to Somebody’s Baby by Jackson Browne. It’s got the horns, it’s got the salty air vibes, it has the melodies.

Then play one more – Brandy by Looking Glass. That’s my jam. The rest are all ear candy.

The yacht rock playlist includes over 30 songs to rock the boat. Here is just a sample of what I thik are the best yacht rock songs. (Or scroll up see the full song list).

• Drift Away | Dobie Gray
• You Make Loving Fun | Fleetwood Mac
• Afternoon Delight | Starland Vocal Band
• Lowdown | Boz Scaggs
• What a Fool Believes | Doobie Brothers
• So Into You | Atlanta Rhythm Section
• Yah-Mo Be There | James Ingram
• Sailing | Christopher Cross
• Peg | Steely Dan
• This is It|  Kenny Loggins
• Summer Breeze | Seals and Crofts
• Brandy (You’re a Fine Girl) | Looking Glass
• Somebody’s Baby | Jackson Browne

I also included two modern-day songs that have the same vibes. I have a tiny playlist of those types of songs going that I add to as I hear something new that makes my heart long for palm trees and a wine spritzer. 

• You Never Knew | Haim
• Moon Crystal | M83

Where to listen to Yacht Rock

Toss on a Captain’s hat and click here to be taken to Spotify where you can follow this playlist for later —-> Yacht Rock Playlist on Spotify

Spotify also has their own yacht rock playlists you can listen to if you need even more yacht rock.

What Channel is Yacht Rock on Sirius 2024

So the most amazing thing happened to me. Well, not just to me but all Sirius XM subscribers. Yacht Rock Radio on Sirius is amazing. And it continues to be on Channel 311.

It used to be a temporary channel and I was always sad when it sailed away at the end of summer. But now I think it’s back for good!

So if you have Sirius, you can skip this playlist and just listen to their channel instead! (Although I still think my playlist is pretty darn good).

What is Yacht Rock?

If you don’t know what Yacht Rock is, that’s ok. I’m sure you’ve heard it. You just had no idea that the song you were hearing was part of a magical musical genre that makes you feel like summer is streaming right into your earholes. 

The best yacht rock songs are from people like Steely Dan! Michael McDonald! Christopher Cross! And a bunch of people you’ve never heard of. Many of the most popular songs are one-hit wonders. 

The music instantly transports you to the 70’s and 80’s, on a yacht out in the harbor, with a wine spritzer in your hand. It’s easy listening. It’s jazzy. It’s brilliant. It’s pure soft rock gold.

If there is one word that I can use to really get the point of yacht rock across it would be “unwind”. This is the music you play when you just want to relax with friends and sip something cold. It’s musical Xanax.

And if you wear this shirt you’ll be able to easily connect with other like-minded, vacation-dreaming people.

More music playlists on Spotify

• This Friendsgiving Playlist works any time of year. It’s great background music for having friends over.
• My collection of Halloween Vibes is not themed Halloween music, but dark and moody indie that will make you feel like you should hang out in a graveyard.
• Memorial Day should be fun and this playlist will get you and your BBQ moving.
• Rosé and Rap are a match made in heaven and this music pairs perfectly.
• Sometimes I want my music to sound like the 80’s but not be from the 80’s.
• I listen to this 90’s playlist when I want to relive my high school days.
• This Playlist to Play While Cleaning the House is peppy and keeps to the task at hand.

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