In no particular order.

1. "All Time Lows", Hellogoodbye. I love Hellogoodbye. They are just so very bouncy and happy and mellow and optimistic and I can't think of a single thing I don't like about their music.

2. "Johnny, Are you Queer?", Josie Cotton. You would think that a GLBT activist like myself would shy away from a title like that, but it's actually a very amusing song, with a Cyndi-Lauper-meets-Rocky-Horror vibe. (In fact, I think I discovered this song on my "Rocky Horror" Pandora channel.)

3. "Hello Seattle", Owl City. Okay, I love Seattle, and I think this song perfectly portrays the friendly, somewhat laid back feeling I get from that city, as well as the ocean that borders it. (Yes, the music sounds like the ocean. Listen to it and you'll see what I mean.)

4. "Lollipop", MIKA. I actually like "Big Girls" a little better than this song, but there's nothing like a bouncy, ridiculous song for upping the mood. Plus, the music video is like taking mushrooms and then eating your way through a truckload of cotton candy. (Not that I know what that's like.)

5. "We Are not Alone", Karla DeVito. I bought the Breakfast Club soundtrack specifically for this song.

6. "I'm a Cuckoo", Belle & Sebastian. The song is obviously about a breakup, but with B&S's buoyant instrumentals backing up the regretful lyrics, you can't help but smile anyway.

7. "Down at the Twist & Shout", Mary Chapin Carpenter. MCC is basically the only country artist I regularly enjoy, probably because I grew up on her music. This song - and it has to be the newer "Party Doll" version - summarizes everything I love about folk dancing.

8. "I Melt With You", Sugarcult. Occasionally, a cover version will come around that is possibly even more amazing than the original. This is one of them.

9. "Living Room", Tegan and Sara. The rest of their songs are different in style from this one, and I like them as well, but there's something about the chords in this one that, when paired with a random bit of slide guitar, transports me to a forest in autumn (one of my "happy places").

10. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)", The Proclaimers. Is there anyone in the world who does not love this song?

11. "Son of Man", Phil Collins. I love the Tarzan soundtrack; I think it's one of the best Disney soundtracks ever made. This one got a lot of play around the time of my high school graduation a couple of years ago.

12. "Time Warp", Rocky Horror. BECAUSE IT IS THE TIME WARP. I hear it, and I think of dancing around crazy-like with my best friends at the beginning of a long and productive evening of immaturity.

13. "Jump, Jive & Wail", Bill Valenziano. I love swing music so much, and for me this is the epitome of great swing.

14. "Tunak Tunak Tan", Daler Mehndi. Nothing like a great upbeat Indian (Pakistani?) song with a ridiculous music video and dance camp associations.

15. "Thriller", Michael Jackson. Am I a Jackson fan, or do I just sympathize with zombies? You decide.