1. [1993] Whoomp! (There it is) - Tag Team. Finding my brother's jock jams CD when I was in junior high was fate. I also have a memory of listening to this with my older sister Emily who literally knows just about every word. One of the funnier moments of my life. I used to have the "Whoomp! Shakalaka Shakalaka Shakalaka" as my ringtone back in the day.

2. [1994] Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Elton John. In junior high me and my friends would constantly taunt our other friends who would develop crushes on each other by singing this song to them, usually at moments when it would be particularly embarrassing.

3. [1995] Turn the Beat Around - Gloria Estefan. In 6th grade music class we had to learn this song all together. The music teacher was pertinent about us harmonizing to it {as 6th graders, we collectively sucked at singing}. Besides that, this kid Alex who was in my class, who had some sort of intellectual disability, LOVED this song. I have always remembered how happy he would get whenever the song was played. Seeing his happiness made me not care that we all sucked at singing together, but helped me realize that there were more important things in life than being a successful 6th grade choir.

4. [1996] It's all Coming Back to me Now - Celine Dion. In 7th or 8th grade (I can't remember which), me, my sister Kelsie, and my best friend made and filmed ourselves a music video to this song. It was choreographed and everything. Me & Maddy basically broke our necks trying to do intense somersaults, but let's be honest, one of the best memories ever.

5. [1997] I believe I can Fly - R. Kelly. Space Jam. Need I say more?

6. [1998] Truly, Madly, Deeply - Savage Garden. This was the first CD I ever had as a child and I LOVED it. Savage Garden was my jam. I still might have the CD. It blew my mind when I figured out it was two guys singing, and not a guy and a girl. I found that out probably last year.

7. [1999] ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears. Probably the 2nd CD I got as a child. Me & my friends would sit and lip sync to this song all the time. We weren't completely under the impression then that the lyrics were horrible for 6-year-olds to be jamming out to.
8. [2000] Absolutely (Story of a Girl) - Nine Days. This genre of music, specifically this song, hardcore reminds me of my childhood summers. My brother used to go on drives and I would tag along--this was almost always one of the songs in his line up of tunes. I grew to love this kind of music through him and still listen to this song and others like it.

9. [2001] No More (Baby I'm a Do Right) - 3LW. They used to play this music video all the time on TV. Me & my sisters would make fun of the girl's lisp incessantly and sing the song all the time, except at age 8, my siblings taught me to say "No More Baby I'm a Douche Bag", obviously I'd walk around singing that having no idea what it meant. One time I was at the mall with my mom trying something on in the dressing room. I chose then to sing the alternate lyrics. Let's just say once my mom heard what I said, I never sang it like that again.

10. [2002] The Middle - Jimmy Eat World. I have loved this song from day one. I have memories of jamming out to this song with my friends throughout the years. I got really obsessed with it during one point in my life and it became my personal anthem for that time. I even went through the trouble of creating my own acoustic version of it that I one day will probably sing to one of my future daughters if they are ever feeling inadequate. At that point, my children will probably make fun of me, but hey it's the thought that counts, right?

11. [2003] In Da Club - 50 Cent. I can thank my siblings for this song too, and for the fact that I horribly know most of the lyrics to the song. Awful song, but I feel like I still find myself singing it to people given the proper circumstances {for example, when it's their birthday...}

12. [2004] Hey Ya! - Outkast. I always loved this song but I never understood what it was about until THIS YEAR. One of the best memories surrounding this song was watching my friend sing/rap to it at a guitar and choir concert I was in, in the 9th grade. This has come to be one of my all time favorite songs because it is seriously INGENIOUS. Look more into it, and you may be surprised as to what you find out.

13. [2005] Hollaback Girl - Gwen Stefani. I remember specifically listening to this for the first time with my older sister Emily in her Nissan Altima. Special shout out to Gwen Stefani for spelling out the word "Bananas". thanks to her song, I never mess up the spelling.

14. [2006] Crazy - Gnarls Barkley. I thought this was borderline the COOLEST song in junior high. Me & my best friends at the time would always jam out to this no matter what we were doing. This includes sending each other the lyrics through instant messenger and trying to sound like Gnarls Barkley himself because we thought it was that cool.

15. [2007] Irreplaceable - Beyonce. This year of music is not great. I had a hard time choosing ANY of the songs. But without fail, anytime ANYONE says "to the left", this song is sung. This has been happening ever since I have been in 9th grade.

16. [2008] Forever - Chris Brown. Memories=learning a dance to this song in Mia's basement at 4 AM. Jim+Pam Wedding. Some seriously happy feelings associated with this song.

17. [2009] My Life Would Suck Without You - Kelly Clarkson. This is pretty much my mom's ALL TIME FAVORITE SONG. I kid you not. All of us kids got so sick of it because of how obsessed she was with it. She even knew just where the drum solo was and would jam out along with it. Now it's kind of a standing joke in my family. I'm giggling right now just thinking about it.

18. [2010] Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars. Barf. Seriously, barf. Me, as well as every girl in the world, grew to love this song right when it came out. Unfortunately, I have had too many ex boyfriend's who said this song was about me that it became a parody in my life. Hence, the lovely music video me and my friends made in high school. {check that sexiness out here} 

19. [2011] Pumped up Kicks - Foster the People. This was THE SONG freshman year at college. Me and all my crowd back then listened to this song nonstop. It will always be a song that brings back that nostalgic feeling of freshman year.

20. [2012] Call me Maybe - Carly Rae Jepsen. Sadly, this will probably be one of the most remembered songs of our generation. Me & my roommates partied too hard to this song over our spring break, and while some of us initially hated it at the first, it grew on us to the point that we couldn't help but enjoy it.

This was so much fun to go through & reminisce. Sad to see how much music has gone downhill over the years, though. This is my soundtrack, according to the top 100 charts, but not necessarily the songs I would choose that have been the most influential in my life--that'll come later. I dare you to take some time to reminisce and discover the answer to this question: What is the soundtrack to YOUR life?

-Meg