Here are 10 songs that’ll always make you roll your windows down, move ya a** to the middle of the dance floor or smile reluctantly through your tears and the spoonful of ice cream in your mouth. GET YOUR ILLEGAL DOWNLOAD METHOD OF CHOICE READY, just in case any of these aren’t already in your Top 25 Most Played.
1. “Yeah!” by Usher
Scene: You are 10 years old at a 5th grade “dance.” You’re wearing a jean skirt and what is almost certainly a graphic tee. Everyone is standing around eating cookies because you are 10 and no one can dance, much less dance with each other, much less interact with the boy in your class who was kind of cute until he had lice. No worries, children. Your friendly neighborhood DJ is about to blow your mind with a (heavily edited) version of “Yeah!” Cue dancing in a circle with your girlfriends. Scene: You are 21 years old at a bar with your friends, trying your darndest not to get pulled onto the dance floor. Against your wishes, Usher speaks to you, Lil’ Jon backs him up and you are gettin’ it on the dance floor like it has never been gotten before. WHAT? OKAYYYYYYY!
2. “Semi-Charmed Life” by Third-Eye Blind
The best part about this song is that in middle school, when choosing songs to put on a “FOR DA CAR” playlist intended to please your mother by minimizing explicatives and sexual innuendo, you actually chose this ~Ode to Drugs~. In retrospect, “crystal meth” probably should have been edited out in the “clean” version. Regardless, Third-Eye is still rocking out, and you should probably make plans to see them on New Year’s in D.C. Congrats, TEB, you escaped the ‘90s trap of one-hit wonders, and it only took a couple hundred kilos of cocaine to get there.
3. “Ride Wit Me” by Nelly
I don’t even feel the need to defend this one, but I’d like to call attention to the fact that Nelly is now 40 years old, which makes us ancient, and, in turn, makes this song a classic. Let’s all take a moment to mourn the loss of Nelly’s youth. R.I.P. Steri-Strip Nelly.
4. “I Want It That Way” by Backstreet Boys
Does anything get karaoke fans riled up like a rendition of one of the Backstreet Boys’ greatest hits? No, nothing does. Other suitable choices include: “Everybody” (BACKSTREET IS BACK, ALRIGHT?), and “Quit Playin’ Games With My Heart.” Loud and proud, ladies. Loud and proud.
5. “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus
When Miley climbed on top of that ice cream truck to do her thing back in 2010, I bet she didn’t know it would come to be the least risqué move of her career. Regardless, heads turned and an American anthem was born. Appropriate settings for this song include Fourth of July parties, presidential inaugurations and, of course, planes en route to LAX. One question for you though, Miley: which Jay-Z song were you referencing?
6. “Bed Rock” by Young Money
I’m fighting the urge to just use this space for a play-by-play of the “Bed Rock” music video. So I’ll just summarize by saying: If you and your friends have bunch of tattoos, a water gun and access to some weird animal statues, you can reproduce this vid at your next house party. Highly recommend, folks. Besides the fact that this is when Nicki assumed her rightful throne as Queen of Young Money (sorry Drake), this song is undeniably a crowd favorite due to the Fred Flintstone reference. We could all use a little more Stone-Age word-play. Now if somebody could please kick Gudda Gudda out of Young Money and let me live my life…
7. “Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down” by Fall Out Boy
Show me a woman who didn’t have a middle school emo phase and I’ll show you a liar. Pete Wentz was hot once and mosh pits were fun. I made it out unscathed and with only a few #misunderstood posters in my room. Here’s to you, Fall Out Boy. Keep getting 12-year-olds through the perils of life. Just don’t go Panic! At the Disco on me.
8. “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line
If you like to day drink, you like Florida Georgia Line. Spring break and tailgates aren’t the same without a drunken rendition of Cruise. Don’t tell me you don’t like country music — this is pop and we all know it. And when you didn’t think it could get any better, Nelly hopped on this. Looks like “Country Grammar” is finally paying off. Thank you, FGL, for this ~summatime jam~ of a lifetime. I GOT MY WINDOWS DOWN AND MY RADIO UP!
9. “Lollipop (Remix)” by Lil’ Wayne
Just when you thought “Laffy Taffy” was going to be the best candy-themed hip-hop song of your youth, Lil’ Wayne came out to play and he brought the autotune with him. Opinions about Weezy run rampant, I’m aware, but if you can’t sing every word of the “Lollipop” chorus (I mean, there are only, like, 10) you were never a teenager. Caught ya! We were all teens, as much as I regret it. YOLO.
10. “What’s My Age Again?” by Blink 182
Well, Blink, looks like I’m gonna find out if people like me when I’m 23 soon enough. (Did anyone even like me before? Probably not). Until then, I’ll keep on jammin’ and mourning the disappearance of pay phones.
Don’t act like you haven’t run screaming to the dance floor at the first sound of at least one of these modern classics, collegiettes. Tell us your favorites below!