1. "Save Tonight," Eagle-Eye Cherry

2. "You Give Love a Bad Name," Bon Jovi

3. "Everything's Right," Matt Wertz

4. "Summer Girls," LFO

5. "Why Georgia," John Mayer

-- Cameron Austin, 14, a Roanoke County resident and Hidden Valley High School sophomore

1. "School's Out," Alice Cooper. Last day of senior year at Alleghany High School, we cranked this song on the boombox and jumped on the trampoline. It was one of the most euphoric moments of my life.

2. "Blister in the Sun," Violent Femmes.

3. "The Boys of Summer," Don Henley

4. "(The Goonies 'R') Good Enough," Cyndi Lauper. Samantha and I watched "The Goonies" so many times that summer that we knew every line.

"Rock-ee Roooaad? Huh huh."

5. "Alive Again," Trey Anastasio. The DJs at 99.1 The Sound (The Outer Banks Alternative) clearly loved this song. They played it every few hours while we lay on the beach.

-- Lindsey Nair

1. "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)," Bruce Springsteen. I like to think of those twangy little guitar fills as pop bottle rockets.

2. "Summer in the City," The Lovin' Spoonful. Sweat, grit and jackhammer drums. You can feel the heat just listening to this one.

3. "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry. This song, so redolent of sleepy summer days in the Mississippi Delta, is also one of the biggest mysteries in pop music. What the heck happened to Billie Joe? Who knows?

4. "Summertime," George Gershwin. I love how slow this song moves, like it's trying not to break a sweat in the 100 degree heat.

5. "Under the Boardwalk," The Drifters. The ultimate summer vacation music.

-- Kevin Kittredge

1. "Nightswimming," R.E.M.

2. "Summertime," Will Smith

3. "MmmBop," Hanson. Those adorable little Hanson brothers are now all grown up. But this song was everywhere -- everywhere -- the first summer I was on my own with a college internship in the big city of Charleston, W.Va.

4. "Because the Night," 10,000 Maniacs. My friends and I blared this MTV "Unplugged" CD the first summer I could drive. We were rebels, driving above the speed limit with an open sunroof on the Geo Prism.

5. "Ants Marching," Dave Matthews Band. I went to college in the West Virginia panhandle, where summer means one thing -- you watch Dave and Co. at Pittsburgh's Starlight Amphitheater. Under the stars. Atop a hill. On a blanket. Toes in the grass.

-- Erinn Hutkin

1. "Summer of '69," Bryan Adams. "Oh, when I look back now, that summer seemed to last forever..."

2. "Jack and Diane," John Cougar Mellencamp. My all-around favorite, I love singing this song at the top of my lungs with the windows down on the highway.

3. "Ocean Avenue," Yellowcard. This was popular the summer I graduated from high school. Everyone (except me) seemed to be starting relationships, hoping to cling to some part of childhood before launching into the "real world."

4. "Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson. What says summer better than a swim, a burger and a grape snow cone?

5. "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," The Proclaimers. I remember this song every time I get burned by my seat belt in the car. My cousins who were living with me one summer used to take me to the pool every day and they could not get enough of this song.

-- Jennie Tal

Zack Jackson's "Five Perfect Songs For Any Summer Gathering That Will Satisfy Any Patrygoer Regardless of Their Musical Tastes"

1. "Shook Me All Night Long," AC/DC

It's hard to argue with a song that's topped the K92 "Fun 400 Party Songs" almost every single time we've done it.

2. "D'yer Mak'er," Led Zeppelin

This song is 35 years old, but after all that time I defy you to find me a man, woman or child that can't resist a little head bob when the beginning drum beat kicks down the door.

3. "All Summer Long," Kid Rock

Normally I get mad at artists that deliberately try to create a "summer song" in an effort to get cheap and easy radio play, but it's virtually impossible to knock what has already become the Summer of 2008 anthem. Kid Rock deftly samples two classic rock gems in "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama."

4. "Blister In the Sun," Violent Femmes

I have no explanation for it, but ladies love this song. And for me, happy ladies means a happy party all around, so I'm happy to oblige.

5. "No Woman No Cry," Bob Marley

Everybody loves a little Bob Marley (maybe a little too much if you're recent "American Idol" castoff Jason Castro). Regardless, a night with good friends, a great burger and some Bob Marley coming out of the speakers is hard to beat.

-- Zack Jackson, DJ for K92 (92.3 FM)

1. "Little Red Corvette," Prince. This was my favorite song in the summer of '83, right before my senior year of high school.

2. "Hot Fun in the Summertime," Sly and the Family Stone

3. "In the Summertime," Mungo Jerry

4. "Can't Hardly Wait," The Replacements

5. "Train in Vain," The Clash

-- Ralph Berrier Jr.

1. "Boogie Shoes," KC and the Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne "KC" Casey touches on the essentials of a good summer night: visiting with your special lady, staying up late and doing it all in your new Nikes.

2. "Miss You," The Rolling Stones

My friends never call to say they are going to swing by with "some Puerto Rican girls that are just dying to meet you."

3. "Me and my Girlfriend," Tupac Shakur

This song is great for showing everyone that you just put a subwoofer in your Hyundai. Also, people don't sing about block parties enough. (Bad language.)

4. "Doin' Time," Sublime

The whole album got a lot of play the summer I was 16.

5. "Time to Pretend," MGMT

Opening lyrics: "I'm feeling rough, I'm feeling raw, in the prime of my life." (Bad language, too.)

-- Pete Dybdahl

1. "Thunder Island" Jay Ferguson

1978. Lord, the cheese! But this song, still occasionally played on oldies radio, still takes me back to burgeoning adolescence and that one girl who was just too good for me.

2. "Summersound," sElf

Little-heard tune from Beck sideman Matt Mahaffey, whose career has turned from an attempt at solo success to cartoon soundtrack and commercial jingle work. Why? Because the music business sucks. Full disclosure: I grew up with Matt's older brother and collaborater, the late Mike Mahaffey. But the song is great. Hear it yourself: www.self-centered.org/media.php?pmg

3. "So Like Candy," Elvis Costello

Bad relationship. Depressing summer. Perfect song. Go figure.

4. "Heavy Metal Drummer," Wilco

"I sincerely miss those heavy metal bands/She used to go see on the landing in the summer/She fell in love with the drummer ... "

5. "Stone in Love," Journey

Summer of 1983. Isle of Palms, S.C. A phonograph player in the rental house basement. Volume at 11. So shoot me.

-- Tad Dickens