20 songs that say summer is on the way

This song (and music video) is the best of the best when it comes to cheesy pop that we hated to love. LFO released "Summer Girls" on June 29, 1999, the heart of summer.

Don't overthink it: listen to Devin, Rich and Brad rap about Chinese food, Abercrombie and Fitch and girls that stop by for the summer.

Just one example of the magic produced with Justin Timberlake and Timbaland come together. This coming in 2006, "Summer Love" accomplishes both goals every song sets to achieve when aiming to become a summer anthem: mentioning the word summer (in lyrics that suggest JT wants this love to extend past the summer months) and possessing a beat that possesses whoever listens to it.

Oh, the early 2000s in pop-punk rock.

In October 2003, the men of blink-182 (Travis Barker, Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus) unleashed "Feeling This."

The chorus screams, "Fate fell short this time/Your smile fades in the summer/Place your hand in mine/I'll leave when I wanna". Melancholy summer jam perfection.

Keith Urban's "Long Hot Summer" doesn't need much explanation. The music video is set on a beach. Released in June 2011, Urban sings about fantasizing about the perfect summer adventures with the right person.

It doesn't hurt that Urban kind of looks like summer, too.

You can't have a fun summer playlist without at least one or two retro throwbacks.

"Cruel Summer" makes us wish we could frolic around New York City on the hottest days with nothing but the change in our pockets while everyone else has left town (but still having the time of our lives because we're with our friends). Hamptons envy never goes out of style. 

With the official music video garnering over 460 million views on YouTube, it's apparent that many people use Bruno Mars's 2012 "Locked Out of Heaven" as the soundtrack for something. Why not summer?

Bruno is always there for us when we need a summer anthem of our choosing. Examples of other candidates include "Uptown Funk," "24K Magic," "Billionaire," and more recently, "That's What I Like."

One of the original Gaga tracks, "Just Dance" embodies everything Gaga and everything summer. Released in April 2008, just in time for summer.

As of late, Frank Ocean has gifted us potential 2017 summer anthems... but that's for a different slideshow. Going back to July 2011 and Ocean's album nostalgia, ULTRA, we find banger "Novacane."

"Novacane" is actually about, um, having sex on drugs, but its beat and lyrics leave room for interpretation (as with most if not all of Ocean's songs). Summer can be a sort of drug, too, right?

Released in July 1989, this song is so Beastie Boys.

What does summer make people want to do? Shake their rump.

Greatest of all time. Period.

Prince gifted the world "Let's Go Crazy" in September 1984. The song unsurprisingly hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and still can be heard at parties everywhere.

Maybe "chillin' by the fire while we eating fondue" isn't a traditional summer activity, but when Justin Bieber released "Boyfriend," the lead single off of his sophomore album Believein Spring 2012, it went on to dominate that summer's soundtrack everywhere. For good reason.

More recently, last summer, Bieber dominated summer playlists with "Sorry" and "Cold Water"; both are good choices in their own right.

The more obvious choice for all-time summer song from Katy Perry is probably "California Gurls," but "Teenage Dream" also gets the job done and deserves its due in summer anthem lore. Summer is kind of romanticized the same way teenage love is, anyway.

Guilty pleasure song for sure. The number of times I heard "Stacy's Mom" while at the pool growing up is innumerable, and it remains a classic guilty pleasure of its era, having dropped in the summer of 2003.

Skateboard P is such a blessing, especially when it comes to summer bangers.

As a member of The Neptunes still, Pharrell teamed up with Snoop Dogg for "Drop It Like It's Hot" in 2004. It became Snoop's first (and only) Billboard No. 1 hit, and its minimalist beat (with that intro!) became an instant classic.

Summer is, quite literally, a sweet escape. This bubbly Gwen Stefani smash has a place in your summer playlist, along with "Hollaback Girl."

Another throwback, but you can't have summer without Will "Fresh Prince" Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff easing you into fun of block parties, barbecues and just chilling out with everyone around you, young and old. 

What is more cliche than girls talking about wanting to be single for the summer?

What's more legendary than Beyonce's "Single Ladies?"

Released in May 2014, just in time for summer, and posthumously in Michael Jackson's case, "Love Never Felt So Good" has every element of a feel-good song.

The nostalgic touches of Michael Jackson layered with Justin Timberlake and themed around love.

Appropriately described by a contributor on Genius as "a 'ringtone rap' of the pre-ringtone days,' "California Love" is immortal. I dare you to put this song on and not do at least one of the following: feel so much better, hit replay or fantasize about all things sunny.

"California Love" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1996.

Classic summer song, as stated in the title. Kenny Chesney is known for his beach tones in country music, and he optimized that when making a song dedicated to summer.