The Mix: The Sound Of Your American Dream

A few weeks ago, we asked you what your American Dream sounds like.

You told us: The sound of your "American Dream" is steeped in music that's distinctly and historically American, from blues and gospel to classic rock and protest music, to punk and hip-hop. It sounds hopeful, cynical, urgent and exuberant, often in the same song. You suggested songs that are about not getting what you want and persevering anyway. These are songs about understanding your own life through the struggles of others, anthems about your frustrations and fears, and lyrics that speak truth to power. This is music that clings to a vision for a brighter future.

In the playlist on this page, you'll also find links to essays by writers, like Miles Marshall Lewis and Hua Hsu, whom we asked to describe the sound of their American dream.

We'll continue to add songs to this mix in order to create a diverse and personal soundtrack of your stories and experiences. If it doesn't yet sound like your idea of the "American Dream," let us know in the comments which songs you'd choose.

If you are viewing this on a mobile device, download the NPR Music app to enjoy this mix in the Radio section.

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Songs In This Mix:

Aaron Copland, "Fanfare for the Common Man"

Aaron Copland, "Appalachian Spring"

Alice Cooper, "I'm Eighteen"

America, "A Horse With No Name"

America, "Ventura Highway"

An American Tail, "Somewhere Out There (Mouse Version)"

Anais Mitchell, "Young Man in America"

Animal Collective, "My Girls"

Arcade Fire, "We Used To Wait"

Aretha Franklin & The Eurythmics, "Sisters Are Doin' It For Themselves"

Arlo Guthrie, "City of New Orleans"

The Association, "Windy"

The Avett Brothers, "Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise"

The Avett Brothers, "Salvation Song"

Bad Brains, "Pay to Cum"

The Band, "The Weight"

The Beach Boys, "California Girls"

The Beach Boys, "Wouldn't It Be Nice"

Beastie Boys, "Fight for Your Right"

Bee Gees, "Stayin' Alive"

Ben Sollee, Bury Me With My Car"

Bill Callahan, "America"

Billie Holiday, "God Bless the Child"

Billy Joel, "Allentown"

Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters, "Don't Fence Me In"

Black Flag, "Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie"

Black Star, "Respiration" - Teju Cole: "My American Dream Sounds Like Black Star"

Bob Dylan, "Country Pie"

Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall"

Bob Dylan, "Like a Rolling Stone"

Bob Dylan & Johnny Cash, "Girl From the North Country"

Bob Seger, "Old Time Rock N Roll"

Bob Seger, "Roll Me Away"

Bonnie Tyler, "Total Eclipse of the Heart"

Brad Paisley, "Welcome to the Future"

Brad Sucks, "You're Not Going Anywhere"

Bruce Springsteen, "American Land"

Bruce Springsteen, "Born in the U.S.A."

Bruce Springsteen, "Born to Run" - Ann Powers: "Springsteen's American Dream, Beautiful And Bleak"

Bruce Springsteen, "Darkness on the Edge of Town"

Bruce Springsteen, "My Hometown"

Bruce Springsteen, "The River"

Bruce Springsteen, "We Take Care of Our Own"

Buffalo Springfield, "For What It's Worth"

Buffalo Tom, "Taillights Fade"

The Byrds, "Wasn't Born to Follow"

Cake, "Rock 'N' Roll Lifestyle"

Charles Ives, "Three Places In New England"

The Chi-Lites, "Have You Seen Her"

Chicago, "Saturday in the Park"

Chuck Berry, "Roll Over Beethoven"

Chuck Berry, "Route 66"

The Clash, "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A."

The Clash, "Train In Vain"

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Born on the Bayou"

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Lodi"

Creedence Clearwater Revival, "Proud Mary"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, "American Dream"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,"Find The Cost of Freedom"

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young,"Woodstock"

Crosby, Stills & Nash, "Our House"

David Bowie, "Young Americans"

Dawes, "A Little Bit of Everything"

Dead Kennedys, "Holiday in Cambodia"

Dinah Washington, "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes"

Dire Straits, "Walk of Life"

Dixie Chicks, "Not Ready To Make Nice"

Dixie Chicks, "Wide Open Spaces"

Don McLean, "American Pie"

Duke Ellington, "Money Jungle"

The Eagles, "Hotel California"

The Eagles, "The Last Resort"

Elvis Costello, "Alison"

Elvis Costello & Allen Toussaint, "The River in Reverse"

Eric B. & Rakim, "Paid in Full"

Esperanza Spalding, "Black Gold"

Everlast, "What It's Like"

Fleet Foxes, "Helplessness Blues"

Flipper, "Ha Ha Ha"

Frank Sinatra, "Chicago"

Frank Sinatra, "New York, New York"

Fugazi, "Merchandise"

fun., "We Are Young"

Funkadelic, "I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing"

Funkadelic, "One Nation Under a Groove"

The Game, "American Dream"

George Gershwin, "Rhapsody in Blue"

Gil Scott-Heron, "Winter in America"

Gipsy Kings, "Bamboleo"

Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, "American Patrol"

Grand Funk Railroad, "We're an American Band"

Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, "The Message"

Grateful Dead, "Truckin'"

Green Day, "21st Century Breakdown"

Green Day, "American Idiot"

The Guess Who, "American Woman"

Guns N' Roses, "Paradise City"

Guns N' Roses, "Welcome to the Jungle"

Hank Williams Jr., "The American Dream"

Harry Nilsson,"Love Story (You and Me)"

Hayes Carll, "Another Like You"

Horse Feathers, "Fit Against the Country"

Iggy Pop, "Down on the Street"

The Isley Brothers, "Work to Do"

Jackson 5, "I Want You Back" - Jack Hamilton, "My American Dream Sounds Like The Jackson 5"

Jackson Browne, "The Pretender"

Jackson Browne, "Take It Easy"

James McMurtry, "We Can't Make It Here"

James Taylor, "Line 'Em Up"

Janis Joplin, "Mercedes Benz"

Jay-Z, "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)"

Jay-Z & Kanye West, "New Day"

Jay-Z & Kanye West feat. Frank Ocean, "Made in America"

Jay-Z & Alicia Keys, "Empire State of Mind Pt. II"

Jimi Hendrix, "Machine Gun"

Jimi Hendrix, "Red House"

Jimi Hendrix, "Star-Spangled Banner"

Joe Walsh, "Life's Been Good"

Johnny Cash, "A Boy Named Sue"

Johnny Cash, "Walk The Line"

John Coltrane Quartet, "Alabama"

John Mellencamp, "Authority Song"

John Mellencamp, "Jack & Diane"

John Mellencamp, "Pink Houses"

John Mellencamp, "Small Town"

John Mellencamp, "Your Life Is Now"

John Prine, "The Great Compromise"

John Prine, "Spanish Pipedream"

Johnny Winter, "Still Alive and Well"

Joni Mitchell, "Free Man in Paris"

Joni Mitchell, "The Three Great Stimulants"

Journey, "Don't Stop Believin'"

Judy Garland, "Over the Rainbow"

Kermit the Frog, "Rainbow Connection"

Killer Mike, "Reagan"

Kris Kristofferson, "Sunday Morning Coming Down"

Lady Gaga, "Born This Way"

Lemonheads, "Frank Mills"

Lil Wayne, "The American Dream"

Lila Downs, "Medley: Pastures of Plenty/This Land Is Your Land/Land (Live)" -Catalina Maria Johnson: "My American Dream Sounds Like Woody Guthrie And Lila Downs"

Living Colour, "Open Letter (To a Landlord)"

Living Colour, "Which Way to America"

Los Lobos, "A Matter of Time"

Los Lobos, "One Time One Night"

Los Lobos, "Will the Wolf Survive?"

Lou Reed, "Dirty Blvd."

Lou Reed, "Walk on the Wild Side"

Louis Armstrong, "Big Butter and Egg Man"

Louis Armstrong, "When The Saints Go Marching In"

Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Sweet Home Alabama"

Madonna, "Papa Don't Preach"

Mahalia Jackson, "Move on Up a Little Higher"

Mahalia Jackson, "We Shall Overcome"

Marc Cohn, "Silver Thunderbird"

Marion Williams, "Feel Like My Time Ain't Long"

Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, "Dancing in the Street"

Marvin Gaye, "What's Going On"

MC5, "Kick Out the Jams"

McFadden & Whitehead, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now"

Meat Loaf, "Paradise By the Dashboard Light"

Meat Puppets, "Lake of Fire"

Miley Cyrus, "Party in the U.S.A."

The Modern Lovers, "Roadrunner"

My Morning Jacket, "Wonderful (The Way I Feel)"

Neil Diamond, "America"

Neil Young, "Rockin' in the Free World"

Neil Young, "Piece of Crap"

Neko Case, "Things That Scare Me"

Nina Simone, "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" - Salamishah Tillet: "My American Dream Sounds Like Nina Simone"

Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Notorious B.I.G., "Juicy"

Oingo Boingo, "Capitalism"

Ornette Coleman, "Lonely Woman"

Oscar Peterson, "Hymn To Freedom"

Otis Redding, "Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song)"

Ozomatli, "City of Angels"

Pat Benatar, "We Belong"

Patsy Cline, "Crazy"

Patti Smith, "My Generation (Live)"

Patti Smith, "People Have the Power"

Patty Griffin, "Long Ride Home"

Paul Robeson, "Ol' Man River"

Paul Simon, "Rewrite"

Paul Simon, "You Can Call Me Al"

Paul Young, "Every Time You Go Away" - Hua Hsu: "How Rock Ballads Brought My Father's American Dream To Life"

Pet Shop Boys, "Go West"

Pete Seeger, "If I Had a Hammer"

Piebald, "American Hearts"

Pink Floyd, "Money"

Portugal. The Man, "So American"

Prince & The Revolution, "Baby I'm a Star"

Prince, "Sign o' the Times" - Miles Marshall Lewis: "My American Dream Sounds Like Prince"

Public Enemy, "911 Is a Joke"

Quindon Tarver, "Everybody's Free (To Feel Good)"

Radiohead, "Creep"

Randy Newman, "Mr. President (Have Pity on the Working Man)"

Ray Charles, "America the Beautiful"

Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Road Trippin'"

Rhythm Control, "My House"

Richard Strauss, "Also Sprach Zarathurstra"

Richie Havens, "Freedom"

The Rolling Stones, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

Roger Miller, "King of the Road"

Ruben Blades, "Buscando America" - Robin D.G. Kelley: "My American Dream Sounds Like Rubén Blades"

Rufus Wainwright, "Going to a Town"

Rufus Wainwright, "Montauk"

Sam Cooke, "A Change Is Gonna Come"

Schoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar, "Blessed"

Simon & Garfunkel, "America"

Simon & Garfunkel, "American Tune"

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Didn't It Rain"

Sister Rosetta Tharpe, "Nobody's Fault but Mine"

Slayer, "War Zone"

Sly & The Family Stone, "Family Affair"

Sly & The Family Stone, "You Can Make It If You Try"

Soja, "True Love"

Spiritualized, "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space"

Steppenwolf, "Monster/Suicide/America"

Steve Earle, "Hillbilly Highway"

Stevie Wonder, "You Haven't Done Nothin'"

Styx, "Come Sail Away"

Sufjan Stevens, "Chicago"

Talking Heads, "(Nothing But) Flowers"

The Temptations, "My Girl"

Thelonious Monk, "'Round Midnight"

Tom Petty, "American Girl"

Tom Petty, "I Won't Back Down"

Tom Petty, "Into the Great Wide Open"

Tom Waits, "God's Away on Business"

Tom Waits, "The Heart of Saturday Night"

Tracy Chapman, "Almost"

Tracy Chapman, "Fast Car"

tUnE-yArDs, "My Country"

U2, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"

Uncle Tupelo, "No Depression"

Unsane, "Get Off My Back"

Violent Femmes, "America Is"

Warren Zevon, "Lawyers, Guns & Money"

Ween, "Freedom of '76"

West Side Story, "Somewhere"

The White Stripes, "Little Room" - dream hampton: "My American Dream Sounds Like The White Stripes"

Whitney Houston, "Tell Me No"

The Who, "Won't Get Fooled Again"

Wilco, "Ashes of American Flags"

Wilco, "Heavy Metal Drummer"

Willie Nelson, "Amazing Grace"

Women of the Calabash, "Lift Every Voice and Sing"

Woody Guthrie, "This Land Is Your Land"

Wu-Tang Clan, "C.R.E.A.M."

Yeasayer, "Red Cave"

ZZ Top, "Cheap Sunglasses"

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