Essential NYC Subway Playlist: Help Create Commuting Soundtrack

NEW YORK — Headphones can be a haven from the daily indignities that come with riding the New York City subway. The right song can get you motivated for a big meeting, soothe the pain of another delay or just shut out the noise when it's "showtime."

With earbuds dangling from so many straphangers' heads, Patch wants to know: What's your subway soundtrack?

We want to create the quintessential playlist for the city's beleaguered but beloved behemoth of an underground rail system, a set of tracks that could give non-New Yorkers a sense of what it's like to ride the rails each day with all manner of sights, sounds, smells and personalities.

But it can't be created without help from riders themselves. What songs capture the frustration of encountering a re-routed train or an unrepentant manspreader? What are your favorite songs for the ride to work, or for the ride home? What songs do you play when a particularly rough commute makes you want to move to Texas? Which ones remind you why you'll actually never leave?

Tell us your ideal subway tunes in the form below by Thursday, Aug. 23, and we'll consider each one for our playlist. You can also leave a note explaining your submission for possible inclusion in a follow-up story. Feel free to submit as many songs as you like.

New York City Patch staffers put together our own subway soundtrack to get your wheels turning. Take a listen below, or on Spotify.

(Lead image: An ad for iPod mini music players is seen in 2004 at the Spring Street subway station in New York City. Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)