Off the Charts: Songs for Running You Can’t Find on the Top 40
Some songs you won't find on the pop charts, but they can still move you. Here are a few off-beat options for your next playlist.
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The Top 40’s great virtue—musically and culturally—is that it provides a set of common touchstones. Whether you love or hate a given hit, you’re at least aware of it. Big hits provide a cultural shorthand for what’s going on in the world right now. At the same time, the familiarity also prevents most hits from lingering long on a workout playlist.
So, if your playlist if feeling old, we’ve compiled 10 brisk to freshen it up. Starting with the overlooked hits by well-known acts, you’ve got club tunes from The Prodigy and The Chainsmokers alongside college radio favorites from Death Cab for Cutie and Bastille. There’s a smashing selection of riffs from White Reaper, Oxford rock from Foals, and a Ruen Brothers track that sounds like Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder fronting Kings of Leon.
Single out your favorites or take the mix wholesale for a clean slate. It doesn’t matter which approach gets you moving, only that you move.
Death Cab for Cutie – The Ghosts of Beverly Drive – 155 BPM
Flagship – Life Underwater – 156 BPM
Bastille – The Currents – 155 BPM
Ruen Brothers – Aces – 140 BPM
Freedom Fry – Zombie Love – 148 BPM
Foals – What Went Down – 147 BPM
Metric – Breathing Underwater – 143 BPM
White Reaper – Judy French – 145 BPM
The Chainsmokers & 5 Seconds of Summer – Who Do You Love – 140 BPM
To find more workout songs, check out the database at Run Hundred. Browse by genre, tempo, and era to find the music that best fits with your workout routine.