Grand Theft Auto V has been among us for a decade. Here we have an incredible piece of media that works because it succeeds on many different levels, but a part that doesn’t always receive the proper amount of praise is its extensive licensed soundtrack. The game launched with an exceptional list of tracks and continued to add to that over the years, resulting in hundreds of excellent songs across multiple stations and several music genres.

Whether the songs were featured in the trailers, played during missions, or simply became a new earworm while cruising around the city, there are a number of tracks that have almost become synonymous with GTA and its experience. Whether the player is out for a casual drive, handling their businesses, or prepping for dangerous criminal activities, there’s a plethora of audial entertainment to choose from. But these tracks bring the vibes.
 

Stevie Wonder—“Skeletons”

Stevie Wonder is an excellent performer with numerous solid hits to his name. Those songs have often made their way into public spaces, invading various avenues of pop culture, but “Skeletons” looks to have been a nearly perfect fit for the Grand Theft Auto series. The title and lyrics refer to skeletons in the closet, those dark and dirty secrets that could harm everyone involved if they ever got out. One life has already been claimed, but not everyone on the team is aware their old partner is dead, and that’s a fact that could set this powder keg ablaze. The song sounds like a warning that Wonder is trying to scream at us.

The second trailer for GTA V intertwines the Grammy-nominated track perfectly with scenes of our three protagonists, offering small glimpses that give us an idea of who they are. As the song picks up, so does the action and the promise of not just an exciting spectacle, but a thick web of lies as well. It fits the circumstances, especially on missions where Michael is still hiding facts from his supposed best friend, Trevor. Their new fragile alliance is set to crumble as soon as the skeleton rears its head.
 

Jane Child—“Don’t Wanna Fall In Love”  

Not everything on the radio is there to pump the player up; sometimes we need to stay grounded and realize what mood our character is in. We spend a lot of time as Michael in the early hours of GTA V, and his family life is an absolute disaster, especially the catastrophe of a marriage he shares with Amanda. “Don’t Wanna Fall In Love” may sound a bit like pop music at first, but this isn’t an uplifting song about feelings. Rather, it’s a brutal depiction of love gone horribly wrong.

The lyrics say it quite well, equating this particular emotion to a knife and following it up by emphasizing: “You make the knife feel good.” That kind of love bites. Hearing this in the car fresh after interactions that show how messed up this couple has become hits quite hard. It’s what our character needs to hear, and, as players, it’s something different. The song is the second single from Jane Child’s debut 1990 album, but it feels like it was written for Michael and Amanda. Every time it comes on while driving near Chumash, it makes us wonder if those two crazy kids are okay.
 

Queen—“Radio Ga Ga”

It’s hard to go wrong with Queen, so hearing a tune of theirs in a trailer was no surprise, but the particular song may have thrown some viewers. “Radio Ga Ga,” released in 1984, is about how the radio airways were being forsaken for music videos at the time. This theme works perfectly with the archetype for Michael, a protagonist who is retired, battling a midlife crisis, and misses doing what he’s good at: crime.
 

The trailer sees him explaining how miserable he is to his therapist, the dullness of his current life, and that nothing is going well. The doctor attempts to explain something everyone but he can see: “You’re plainly addicted to chaos.” We see the action building with the song, but soon it goes off the rails and the chorus is more like a chaotic choir signifying how out of control everything is about to be. On the other hand, it can also just be a fun pop-rock song to bop along to in the car, but there’s something exciting about that track playing during a police chase, feeling like the eye of a violent storm as Freddie Mercury serenades everyone.
 

Dr. Dre—“Still D.R.E”

There are a few tracks by the good doctor to choose from in this game, which is not a huge surprise seeing as he eventually made his way into the world of GTA through a Grand Theft Auto Online update called The Contract. “Still D.R.E.” makes the final cut because of its slick repetitious piano strikes, sharp lyrics written by Jay-Z, and the attitude it presents. The emphasis and tone of Dre’s words almost sound like a motivational speech for the city of Los Santos, a constant mantra of how to live and handle business.

If anyone, “Still D.R.E.” feels like it could be a song to represent Trevor, someone who has been in the game almost as long as Michael and never went into hiding or stopped his bad-boy ways. He had nearly been forgotten, but he was still committing crimes and causing trouble in his own way, unchanged from the old days and capable of controlling the streets once again. It’s an excellent song for any situation, and now it fits snugly into the franchise’s lore, not just its tone.
 

Survivor—“Burning Heart”

A little classic rock never hurt anybody, especially when it evokes one of cinema’s great heroes and offers copious amounts of raw motivation. “Burning Heart” was written by Survivor for the film Rocky IV, an anthem that sings the praises of the boxing legend’s Herculean struggles as well as the bigger picture of constant conflicts between East and West. This is a song that feels epic no matter where it plays. It’s like a training montage scene shot directly into the veins, a roaring song that was a hit all around the world.

“Burning Heart” wasn’t added to GTA V until the enhanced edition, but its presence was felt immediately. Whether it comes on while events are bleakest in the story or during a drug run out in Blaine County, trapped in a server full of other bloodthirsty players, this track leaves everyone pumped. Survivor’s fiery refrain is about having heart and the desire to overcome the toughest challenges.
 

Eddie Murphy—“Party All the Time”

The Diamond Casino & Resort update was considered one of the best content drops for GTA Online by many players, and the trailer that heralded its arrival was incredibly slick. After watching that, it was clear the hype was legit, as scenes of a new heist, missions, and tons of adventure were put over “Party All the Time.” The pop song was a perfect antithesis to the oncoming action of the footage, and while the lyrics may not have synced up like some others, the talk of diamonds and riches fueled our greed. Not to mention how the synth-laden hook gets toes tapping and keeps the tune stuck in our heads.
 

Most know Eddie Murphy as an actor and comedian, but he managed to put a small stake in the world of music as well. This 1985 smash wasn’t received too well by critics, but fans loved it. And the fact that we are talking about it decades later shows there was something to that single. The interesting thing is that the song was created with the help of Rick James, but it only came about through a bet with Richard Pryor, which makes it even more appropriate for representing a casino-themed update.
 

Jay Rock—“Hood Gone Love It”

In Franklin’s trailer, we hear a soulful opening, something calm and relaxing, just before someone is hit hard with the butt of a gun. Business has picked up, and the rest of what we’re shown is about one man’s struggle to make his way out of his current situation, get rich, and not die trying. Mix that with Lamar’s humor, several shots of the strip club, a hefty serving of violence, and a song that tells us exactly what is going on: This is what the hood loves, and perhaps we should like it too.

Jay Rock’s “Hood Gone Love It” helps this trailer stand out above the rest. For many players, it didn’t simply talk about Franklin’s journey—“good kid, mad city”—but came to epitomize the entire game. The song feels like Los Santos, especially with Kendrick Lamar’s verse, as if the backyards Jay Rock grew up in were right down the street. This is an excellent cruising song, especially when we want to go a little fast and run a light or two, but the bass rings no truer than in the old neighborhood.