1. "Crazy In Love" by Beyoncé and Jay Z
Listen, "Lemonade" is great and everything, but 13 years ago there was one Beyoncé song that got EVERYONE at a house party to step away from the keg and start dancing, and it was this one.
2. "Hey Ya!" by Outkast
Like ending up stuck with a 9 a.m. class in your first semester of freshman year, "Hey Ya!" was unavoidable. You'd hear it over the loudspeakers at the game on Saturday morning, then again at the bar Saturday night.
3. "In Da Club" by 50 Cent
Hey, remember when literally everyone had this song as the ringtone on their Motorola Razr? True story. But of course they did, because this song was a JAM and a must-play at any party.
4. "Hot In Herre" by Nelly
It's the song that spawned a thousand acoustic covers. In fact, you might have been dancing to this song inside at the house party, then gone outside to find that one dude who always played guitar at parties playing an acoustic cover on the back porch. College.
5. "Hollaback Girl" by Gwen Stefani
Remember when Gwen Stefani was in No Doubt but then she wasn't anymore and this song came out and we were all like, "I don't know what happened to Gwen Stefani but dammit I can't stop listening to this song," but then you couldn't stop yelling "THIS SHIT IS BANANAS" at every party? Same.
6. "Lean Back" by Terror Squad feat. Fat Joe and Remy
Here's the thing about songs with their own dances: The best ones don't even require you to see the music video or anything. You listen to "Lean Back" and you instinctively know what they're telling you to do. You can practically still taste the jello shots anytime you hear this one.
7. "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child
Before Beyoncé was Beyoncé, there was Destiny's Child...even though everybody pretty much already knew that Beyoncé was going to be Beyoncé. And you knew that as soon as finals were over, you were going to dance your own booty off to this song.
8. "Yeah!" by Usher feat. Lil' Jon and Ludacris
This song was so big that it landed Lil' Jon in his own sketch on Chappelle's Show, which ended up being another time capsule of the era. You can be damn sure you'd hear this at least once while you were pre-gaming for a night out.
9. "What's Your Fantasy" by Ludacris feat. Shawnna
This song came out in 2000, so if you went to college in the aughts, this may have actually been more of a high school, or even middle school song for you. But it had staying power and was still a major party song later in the decade, when you realized how inappropriate it was that you were listening to it in eighth grade.
10. "Get The Party Started" by P!nk
I mean, it has the word "party" in it, of course you were going to party to this song. Pink had plenty of other hits in the '00s, but this one holds a special place in your heart.
11. "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve feat. Gwen Stefani
This was a good one to finally make out with that guy from your discussion group to.
12. "My Love" by Justin Timberlake feat. T.I.
If you try to tell me that you didn't try to emulate Justin's moves from this music video when you were drunk at a party at least once, you are ONE HUNDRED PERCENT LYING.
13. "99 Problems" by Jay Z
This was really the best song to jam out at a party to after you finally broke up with your high school S.O. freshman year. Like, who were you guys kidding, trying to stay together when you went to different colleges?
14. "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" by Daft Punk
Honestly, few songs helped you power through when you started thinking, "I have class tomorrow, I should probably head home," like this one did. Daft Punk told you to "work it harder" and you did by staying out late and then slamming some Red Bull later when you started studying at 4 a.m.
15. "Drop It Like It's Hot" by Snoop Dogg feat. Pharrell
It's pretty much a guarantee that you tailgated before a Saturday morning football game with this song playing. It may have been early on a weekend, but you dropped it. You dropped it like it was hot.
16. "London Bridge" by Fergie
First Fergie was just chillin' with the Black Eyed Peas, then all of a sudden she was singing about her "lady lumps" and London Bridges and other euphemisms for various parts of human anatomy. It was a strange time, but that didn't stop you from running to the dance floor every time you heard that opening "OH SHIT."
17. "I Kissed A Girl" by Katy Perry
It's a song about experimentally kissing someone of the same sex. This song was made for college.
18. "I Gotta Feeling" by Black Eyed Peas
The pre-gaming song to end all pre-gaming songs, "I Gotta Feeling" was unavoidable for at least a couple of years. You'd blast it every time you went out until you got sick of it, but then after a few months you'd come back around on it again.
19. "Ignition (Remix)" by R. Kelly
Now I don't usually do this but uh, this is pretty much the greatest song of all time. Forget the '00s, you can crank this song today and be completely unable to resist the urge to sing along with the "toot-toots" and "beep-beeps."
Music Week is a week of content that celebrates the awesome classic jams, artists, and music videos you grew up with — as well as future classics. Take a step back in time and check out more great music content here.
