grillingIt's the first official day of summer. Schools have shut, or are soon shutting, mosquitoes have hatched, and the list of things we must do before it gets cold again starts to wrap itself around our beings like a whiny kid with sunburn. There's the beach trip, the river tubing, the lemonade stand, the outdoor concerts, and the backyard barbecues. For some reason, most of the year's super fun events can turn themselves into a to-do list of agonizing stress. Here's where I come in.

I won't be able to flip your burgers or wipe the ketchup off Junior's hands before he gets his paws on your iPad, but I can help with the playlist. Fret no more about a crowd-pleasing collaboration of great tunes, I've got you covered with these 20 must-play summer songs.

  1. "Islands in the Stream" -- Kenny Roggers & Dolly Parton
  2. "Faith" -- George Michael
  3. "Come See About Me" -- The Supremes
  4. "Holiday" -- Weezer
  5. "Beautiful Sorta" -- Ryan Adams
  6. "No Diggity" -- BLACKstreet
  7. "I Only Wanna Be with You" -- Hootie & the Blowfish
  8. "Sister Christain" -- Night Ranger
  9. "Unbelievable" -- EMF
  10. "Please Mr. Postman" -- The Marvelettes
  11. "Heart of Gold" -- Neil Young
  12. "Valerie" -- Amy Winehouse
  13. "That'll Be the Day" -- Buddy Holly
  14. "Hey Ya" -- Outkast
  15. "Jump" -- Van Halen
  16. "Party in the USA" -- Miley Cyrus
  17. "No Woman No Cry" -- Bob Marley
  18. "Hungry Like a Wolf" -- Duran Duran
  19. "All Night Long" -- Lionel Richie
  20. "Somebody That I Used to Know" -- Goyte

Queue up these jams and get the party started right. Happy summer!

What's your favorite song to play in the summer?

 

Photo via Stephen Cummings/Flickr