The 2000s were one of the most exciting decades for pop music since it got its name. It wasn’t just that hip-hop helped shift the mainstream, or that producers started reaching into the worlds of indie and underground music for inspiration. It’s that the best pop felt as concerned with being clever and adventurous as it did with being fun—a balance that led to an embarrassment of great, party-oriented summer tracks that still resonate today. Our editors switch things up here now and then, so if you hear something you like, add it to your library.