High Street Shopper

There's only one thing better than retail therapy . . . and that's a full-strength pop prescription from Dr. Essentials, so brace yourselves for this powerhouse pick-n'-mix featuring Alexandra Burke, who turns a shopping nightmare, "Broken Heels", into an empowering anthem — "All the the ladies tell the fellas we can do what they can do, we can do it even better in broken heels." Cascada instructs everyone to "Evacuate the Dancefloor", presumably because there's an amazing sale going on down the high street, and if you think shopping is better than sex, try and work out what's on Rihanna's mind as she gets freaky on "Rude Boy".

Get ready to flash some plastic — your loyalty bonus is the rhythm of our Next Steps.

We've got every floor in pop's department store covered in this Essentials mid-section, so tell the elevator man which button to press, and we'll make sure he delivers you into the trusty hands of our supremely rhythmic sales assistants. Chipmunk is hanging round the jewelry department with 2009's "Diamond Rings", where he tells us he's no flash in the pan — "I am forever, call me diamond man" — and while we're mulling over the notion that diamonds are forever, check out the James Bond-like strings that add a certain well-heeled glamour to "Release Me" by Agnes. Franz Ferdinand struts straight up the escalator to women's wear with "No You Girls".

Ker-ching! The cashier just rang up the only thing better than cash-back . . . our super-value Deep Cuts.

You're in the lingerie department — what sounds are filling your head? Could it be the Script's "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", which was used on the soundtrack to 2009's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and describes a man's decision to wait for his true love, no matter how long it takes, no matter what kind of pants she's wearing; or maybe Hot Chip's danceable dissection of duality, "Ready for the Floor", which makes the perfect poptronic excuse to splash out on a fancy pair of undies; or perhaps David Jordan's "Sun Goes Down", which celebrates that time of day when you're most likely to be pulling on something slinky.

There's a stand-out tune for every bag-swinging, big-spending afternoon, right here on our chart-storming high street Essentials mix, which is loaded with more style, attitude and sex appeal than the hottest catwalk. In fact, the high street will be transformed into your very own runway, because once you've loaded up on new gear it'll be impossible not to strut like a supermodel. These are the tunes you'll need in your ears as you negotiate the mini-market, storm the shopping centre, or boogie on down to your favourite boutique. You might just be window shopping, or hanging out with friends, or planning to splash some serious plastic — it doesn't matter, because this playlist of gift-wrapped melodies represents outstanding value for money. No need to wait for the sales: the soundtrack to your shopping just got an upgrade.