Spring Break

Whether you're in the middle of packing your bags for Bermuda or simply trying to remember that one long weekend in Cancun last year, we've got the songs that'll get you screaming "Spring break!" in no time. The lazy beats of "I Love College" are a perfect match for Asher Roth's tribute to house parties that go on 'til the break of dawn; Flo Rida's club-clobbering "Right Round" single brings Dead or Alive's totally-'80s anthem back to life; and comin' straight outta Nova Scotia, Classified turns the national anthem on its head with "Oh…Canada," offering a celebration of national pride that name-checks Wayne Gretsky, Gordon Lightfoot and Mike Myers. We'll drink to that! Now that your problems at work or school are disappearing in true spring- break style, our Next Steps keep the feel-good cuts coming.

Would spring break really live up to its name without an easy, breezy appearance from Bob Marley? Of course not; that's why we slipped a funky reggae party favourite like "Three Little Birds" into the same playlist as a country-fried Mötley Crüe cover (Carrie Underwood's lighter-lifting rendition of "Home Sweet Home"), the hip-stirring dance-rock of Franz Ferdinand's "No You Girls," and Kardinal Offishall's stellar hook-up with Akon and Colby O'Donis, "Beautiful." Michael Jackson's Billie Jean will separate the smooth movers among your crew from the stumblin' groovers, and Pitbull will turn the temperature tropical — whatever your location — with "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)." Quite a few Top 40-toppers make their way into our Deep Cuts as well, alongside spring break standards that have been around for decades.

Thanks to early frat party hits like the rap-rock-defining "Fight for Your Right," the Beastie Boys will forever be remembered as spring break's patron saints — as socially conscious MCs who also know how to have a seriously good time. The rest of our Deep Cuts have a similar reputation on the beach and in the club, including some time tested party starters as "Get Ur Freak On," "What's Your Fantasy," "Boombastic," and "All Star." Edmonton's pop rockin' Stereos "Turn It Up" and keep it movin' 'til you're ready to drop, and for the moments that require more of a laid-back, about-to-hit-a-hammock feel, we've included one of the greatest sunset jams of all time, "Red Red Wine."

Look, you don't want to worry about anything when it comes to spring break plans. And while the all-inclusive package you snagged for a sun-baked trip to Jamaica does include a generous amount of food and frozen drinks, it's not gonna fill your iPod with a pre-approved party playlist. That's our job. And we take it seriously, as proven by our genre-skimming Spring Break Essentials collection of hip-hop (T.I., Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, Flo Rida), rock (Kings of Leon, the Killers), pop (Katy Perry, Britney Spears, the Pussycat Dolls), R&B (Rihanna, Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx), country (Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood), and reggae/Dancehall (Sean Paul, Bob Marley, Shaggy). Even if you're not heading somewhere tropical this year, listening is like downing a steady diet of coconut-flavoured cocktails. With umbrellas!