Fountains Of Wayne

Talk about good things happening to those who wait. While Fountains of Wayne formed in 1996, they didn't score their first Top 20 U.K. hit until "Stacy's Mom" in 2004. Since then the band has unlocked two discs of fan favorites and unreleased songs (Out-of-State Plates) and sparked 2007's Traffic and Weather with a shimmering disco-pop single ("Someone to Love"). To fill in the blanks of the above, see our Next Steps.

So, Fountains of Wayne really have been around for more than a decade? Indeed, and some of their best songs happened at the starting line, too, including the punky-sharp "Joe Rey" from their 1996 self-titled debut album and the seize-the-sun-and-sand belter "It Must Be Summer" from 1999's Utopia Parkway. Not to be outdone are such recent reasons to clap your hands and scream "yeah!" as "'92 Subaru".

Ever wonder who wrote the Oscar®-nominated, miniskirt-swinging theme song to the Tom Hanks film That Thing You Do!? None other than Adam Schlesinger, the bassist/backing vocalist foil to Fountains of Wayne frontman Chris Collingwood. The former college buddies reunited a decade after finals to form F.O.W. and bring the beloved power pop vibe of bands like Big Star back to the charts. Basically, you can rest easy while hitting random on this entire playlist if you're looking for songs to a) sing in the shower or b) blast on a road trip with the top down and nothing but clear skies ahead.