It’s summer, and that means it is windows-down-hanging-with-friends-at-sonic-summer-hours weather. So naturally, we let the folky, slow songs of fall and winter go by the wayside and opt for tunes that have you tapping your fingers on the steering wheel. Here is a list of songs, some old and some new, guaranteed to have you belting along:
1. Love on Top by Beyoncé
It’s only natural that our queen and savior is at the top of the list.
2. Super Bass by Nicki Minaj
The song that DOMINATED the summer of 2011 — yes, you are allowed to be shocked at the fact that that was five years ago.
3. California Gurls by Katy Perry
The song that introduced whipped cream-shooting bras via a confectionary-filled, iconic music video.
4. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.) by Katy Perry
So nice, had to list another KP song twice.
5. Follow Me by Uncle Kracker
For some reason, everyone knows the words to this song, so let the singing in unison roll.
6. No Sleep Tonight by The Faders
You know you know this song—whether its from She’s the Man or Veronica Mars, it fair dominated the middle 2000s.
7. Blue by Marina and the Diamonds
Wait until the beat gets rolling, trust.
8. Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
Cue The Hills playing and Lauren Conrad’s always perfect beachy waves. Or, maybe the equally as perfect hair of Blake Lively in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
9. Saturday in the Park by Chicago
Acceptable for year round playing, not just Saturdays in the park when you think it’s the Fourth of July.
10. Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond
If you know none of the words save for the chorus, you still swing your arm at the “bah-bah-bah.”
11. Dancing Queen by ABBA
But lets be real, really any song on the Mamma Mia! soundtrack.
12. I Wanna Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston
This song needs no introduction—a true anthem.
13. Stop by the Spice Girls
Surprised I didn’t pick Wannabe? That’s a good one too, don’t get me wrong, but I might I just say this song was played twice during the cinematic classic, Spice World.
14. Feel the Love by Rudimental
This song lead me through the summer before I started college, and to this day the nostalgia is real whenever it pops up on shuffle. Did it take over all of Europe when it first came out? Yes. Should it have taken the United States in the same way? You betcha.
15. Take it Easy by Eagles
Best listened to on blast with the windows down.
16. Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
See instructions for song above.
17. Hey Jude by The Beatles
Again, best played on blast but in a public setting (like downtown) so everyone who hears it will have it stuck in their heads for the rest of the day.
18. Believe by Cher
Last but NEVER least, the song that I have belted with friends, my dad and my grandma — a song for the ages.