Cocktails at Sunset

The cares of the day are sinking away with the sun, and the evening stretches out before you like a road to relaxation. All you need now is a lubricating beverage, a friend or 40, and Cocktails at Sunset, our smooth-set party-starter carefully blended to achieve a perfect level of sonic intoxication. Let the Buena Vista Social Club get your merry meeting off to a sultry start with the Cuban beats of “Chan Chan,” then hand it over to the cool modern fusion of Koop’s “Waltz for Koop,” Bob Marley’s old-school reggae cooler “Is This Love,” and the mellow flavor of Owl City’s “Vanilla Twilight.”

Another? By all means — help yourself in Next Steps.

Shaken? Stirred? Yes, please! When it comes to Cocktails at Sunset, we’re only to happy to indulge — especially when Quincy Jones makes with the yeah-baby swing of “Soul Bossa Nova,” and Morcheeba’s polished “Thumbnails” keeps its fingers on the pulse of the party. Van Hunt is standing by to count off some slow-jam “Seconds of Pleasure,” but the enduring sounds of eternal jazz masters John Coltrane & Miles Davis ensure that your too-cool happening lasts ’til “’Round Midnight,” and beyond.

Keep the tunes flowing in Deep Cuts.

The sunset has come and gone, but your party is still going strong. Never fear, Deep Cuts is here with tunes to toast to all night long. Feed hungry ears with Willie Bobo’s Latin-flavored “Fried Neckbones and Some Homefries,” and let new-school lounge lizards Pink Martini mix up a classic with a twist on “Sympathique.” Tenor Saw satisfies the movers and groovers with the Dancehall beats of “Ring the Alarm,” while Clifford Brown & Max Roach launch a haunting “Laura (With Strings),” and the Twilight Singers take charge of ambience control with the low-lit strains of “Twilight.”

Welcome to the iTunes Institute of Musical Mixology, where today’s hot topic is Cocktails at Sunset, our long, cool drink of a soundtrack to sophisticated end-of-day refreshment. Let us begin by raising a glass to bossa nova godfathers Antonio Carlos Jobim & Stan Getz and the intoxicating tones of “The Girl from Ipanema,” before feeding the flow with everything from Dave Brubeck & Paul Desmond’s retro sparkler “Stardust,” to India.Arie’s smooth and tawny tonic “Brown Skin,” to the ethereal electronic waves of Thievery Corporation’s “Sweet Tides (feat. LouLou).” Whether you’re keeping it intimate with the soul-soaked tones of Alicia Keys and “Fallin’,” or leading the conga line to the tune of Röyksopp and “Happy Up Here,” we’re standing by to make sure you never run dry.