Music is something that defines the way that my summer goes, having specific songs or playlists for really specific events is what makes my summer go so well. This summer, my taste varied from a bit of yacht rock, rap, and even a little bit of country. Here’s a few of my favorites that really made my summer perfect.

Slide by Calvin Harris (feat. Frank Ocean & Migos)

For years, this has been my song of the summer, it’s reminiscent of biking around with my friends for countless hours until our parents called us home. Since then, times have changed, no longer am I riding my bike with my friends, I’m driving around all day with my best friend, and we still bump this song like the day it came out. 

Location by Playboi Carti 

If I said that this song sounded better in the daytime over the night time, I would be lying. Location was the song that would be blasting while my cousins and I were speeding on the highway as the sun set. This is one of the songs that I’ve wanted to see live for so long. 

Our Song by Taylor Swift 

I’m not exactly a huge fan of Taylor Swift, but I find myself enjoying some of her older songs, one of them being Our Song. This song was actually playing all the time when I decided to take the roof off my Jeep for the first time, it gave me such a warm summery feeling through my whole body.

Houston Old Head by A$AP Rocky

On the trip over to Colorado for softball, I chose to listen to multiple albums, one of them being LIVE.LOVE.A$AP. Before this, I hadn’t listened to the entire album, and this was one of the songs that stuck out to me. I really enjoy the way that old Rocky sounds. Throughout my whole trip in Colorado, I was listening to this song at least once a day. 

Talkin’ Tennessee by Morgan Wallen

I love this song, while hanging out in my teammate’s hotel room, this song was a must, and never a skip. I was introduced to this song at the beginning of summer, and by the end, I had almost all of the words embedded into my head forever. 

Sundress by A$AP Rocky

I can’t really remember where I heard this song first, but from whenever that time was to now, I’ve been addicted. Sundress in my opinion, is the perfect song to stick your head out the window too. Which is sort of oddly specific, but in my head, everything about this song is perfect, and especially perfect for summer. 

Prom by SZA

Listening to Ctrl by SZA for the first time was a turning point in my life, and since then I’ve probably relistened to it about a million times. Prom is one of the many hits on this album and to this day I love hearing it come on. The highlight of my summer with this song was finally hearing it live at Lollapalooza, it was honestly an out of body experience.

Right Down the Line by Gerry Rafferty 

If I wasn’t playing softball, I would be busy tanning and getting acai bowls. This song is exactly what I was listening to the whole time, it has the perfect amount of cheery and summery vibes perfect for either occasion. 

Saturn by SZA

I can recall when this song first came out, it was springtime and I had just recently got my license. After practice every day when I was driving my teammates home, this was a song that had to be played. About a week or so after it came out, we had already known all the lyrics and you could hear us blasting this song from a mile away.

7 Summers by Morgan Wallen

My friend originally introduced me to this song, and I like to believe that this was one of the first country songs that I actually listened to and liked. I feel that this is the perfect country song for the summer, it’s basically in the name. 

Favorite Song by Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino

Chance the Rapper’s album Acid Rap includes so many of my favorite songs. Favorite Song lives up to its name and has become one of my top listened to songs for the summer. I remember hearing this for the first time when I was really young and ever since then it sort of stuck with me. 

WUSYANAME by Tyler, the Creator

The Call Me If You Get Lost tour was the first concert that I will admit I shed a tear. I absolutely love Tyler’s music and it was so cool to see it. WUSYANAME stood out to me the most because at the concert, he sang the song while on a boat, and I just think that it sets the tone for a chill, laid back summer atmosphere. 

The Tide is High by Blondie 

This is 100% my beach day song. For the first month of summer, I was outside at the beach almost every day, and whether this song was playing in my car or on my speaker while tanning on the coast of the beach, it was always playing at one point or another.

Honorable Mention – Dreams, Fairytales, Fantasies by A$AP Ferg, Brent Faiyaz and Salaam Remi

I wish that I could have said that this was my song of the summer, but I fear that recently, it’s a song that has been playing all year round for me, although it has been played excessively during the summertime.

Summer is my favorite time of the year, and this summer did not disappoint for many reasons, and one of them was because of the music that I had played throughout all of it. Without these songs, my summer wouldn’t be the same.