Graduation Songs

Graduation day — time to turn the page and start a new chapter, but you need the right tunes to keep the beat while you're putting the past in the tail-lights. Feeling snarky but sincere? Green Day dials back the punkiness for an acoustic adios with a sly smirk on "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)." For a more openhearted goodbye, gather your classmates for a group-hug to the soft, sympathetic strains of Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You." But before you make a clean getaway, the honey-toned harmonies of Boyz II Men's bittersweet R&B balladry remind you "It's so Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday." Start a post-grad party in Next Steps.

If life begins after graduation day, these tracks will get you thinking about the brave new world you're about to explore. Make the most of the moment with the insistent dance-rock revelry of Jesus Jones' celebratory smash "Right Here Right Now." Make your list of all the things "You Gotta Be" to make it out there, with Des'ree's funky U.K. pop-soul hip-shaker. No matter how far you go, though, the sound of Rod Stewart's patented sandpaper croon on the big, bold power ballad "Forever Young" lets you know that the youthful spirit of those school days will always be part of you. Listen in on the sound of freedom in Deep Cuts.

Let that big world out there wait for just a little while: every graduate has got some downtime coming, so celebrate your scholastic unshackling with some freedom rockers. No one ever said it better for stressed-out students than Alice Cooper on his "so long, suckers" rock 'n' roll anthem "School's Out." Let that newfound liberty flow through you while the Rolling Stones' soulful declaration of independence "I'm Free" gets you pumped up for the future. Put that future on hold for the summer, though, so you can "Soak Up the Sun" with the laid-back, good-time pop perfection of Sheryl Crow.

You've come a long way, baby, so you should enjoy the fruits of your labour as you bid goodbye to the past and keep an eager eye towards tomorrow. Graduation day marks a major milestone, but it also makes for a great reason to party. With everyone from Kanye West to Kool & The Gang on hand for the celebration, you're guaranteed to have yourself a grade-A graduation bash. So after you pick up the sheepskin and toss that tassel to the other side of the mortarboard, don't forget to make an after-school stop right here for a valedictory mix of raucous rock, candy-coated pop, and shack-shaking soul that's sure to send you off in style.