In the streaming era, no one - and we mean no one - has any excuse to put together a half-assed party playlist. The latest pop, and dance hits always create the right kind of vibe, but there comes a point at any get-together usually after the fourth drink, tbh when you just want to hear banger after banger after banger, including a few. Think of your party playlist like a spag bol: a little bit of cheese is a fine addition, but too much can be overpowering. But on this global chartbuster from 2013 is celebrating joy for the sake of joy, so go ahead: shake what you got, turn that frown upside down and relish every delicious move you make on the dance floor. Sophie Harris It starts with someone hitting milk bottles with a spoon and some cats yowling, before the simple yet devastating bass kicks in and this jaunty anthem kicks off. We all gather together when it comes on, excitedly giving each other the eye while Robert Smith sings some feline-based stuff, before we all get to join in at the top of lungs with the 'BABADA BAB BADAB BAAAAAAA…' bit, whilst dancing how we imagine a cat would. Oh, and those inimitable vocals? The track only lasts for just over three minutes, but that really is all you, and your party, need here. Tristan Parker Just about every Sean Paul hit follows the same formula: a spare, repetitive riddim collides with that inimitable monotone, which always seems far too chill to concern itself with reaching for any tricky notes. But like Mondrian, this Kingston hit maker achieves something alchemical with his brand of pop-reggae minimalism, so much so that obeying his dancefloor exhortations seems downright compulsory. Shake that thing, you say? Only play this if you are 100 percent down with air guitar. Eddy Frankel At the forefront of the global resurgence of deep house is this endlessly catchy jack-fest from the funkiest Duke alive — London producer Duke Dumont. Oliver Keens This 2006 single found the late, great British soul singer Amy Winehouse at the peak of her talents, even as she sang about the depths of her despair. Sophie Harris Led by a dumpy, balding guy screaming about surrealist cinema, on paper this isn't the most promising floorfiller. James Manning TS Eliot wrote that April is the cruellest month. Actually, yes it is, because nothing else quite sums up the pure passion of rebellion as well as this monster from LA rap-metallers Rage. Incredibly, it even hit the Christmas Number One spot in 2007, after a social media campaign helped it overtake the effort of that year's 'X Factor' elf. And it still does. Bruce Tantum One of the truly great tunes of the past ten years was an unexpected one: the third single from the debut album by London duo. Colin St John A boisterous disco crowd, gyrating on the dancefloor of your imagination, can be heard high in the mix. Take their whoops as your cue: Marvin Gaye supplies the cool falsetto and someone can be heard rocking the cowbell, but the prime directive here is to dance. Joshua Rothkopf As party songs go, you get a lot of bang for your buck with this heavyweight 2012 hit from London crew. We advise laying down a tarpaulin before you drop this one at your next house party. Is it in their ten best songs? Not a bit, firstly because of the immense symbollic value it acquired over the years, but secondly because it is a great tune. As everyone pointed out after his death, Kurt would no doubt have hated how big it eventaully became, but this is one of the foremost examples of a song belonging to the fans rather than the artists who penned it. Tin roof, rusted what does it mean? Turn it up, shout, sing, scream, jump, flail. Oliver Keens With the passion, aggression, ennui and insouciance that can only come with being implausibly young, the Arctic Monkeys stomped into public consciousness with this short, snappy teen disco anthem — shot through with thrashing guitars and a northern twang. Somehow, it still manages to have that same impact 40 years on. Throw this one on about three quarters of the way through your bash, when you need a surefire, hands-in-the-air worldbeater. Hank Shteamer A stunningly simple and incredibly famous kick drum sequence introduces this Mancunian classic. What follows that statement of electronic intent is seven minutes of serpentine basslines and deadpan vocals. Eddy Frankel Is this the only song about masturbation on our list? We doubt it, but it definitely is the most obvious. This John Peel-championed 1978 punk classic is as simple and direct as they come. Simple chords, pounding drums and a great, lovelorn melody all combine to make one awesome, pogo-inducing wank anthem. Eddy Frankel How many former snipers from the Royal Canadian Navy can be credited with having written a banging synthpop tune? Keisza nailed it and sounded like she had a ball in the process. Gentlemen, good night; ladies, good morning. All together, now: murderer! Sophie Harris When it comes down to it, rap-rock is generally pretty whack, with a few exceptions, the jewel in the crown of which is this glorious mash-up. How wrong they were. Ever been hurt by someone you love? Course you have, so celebrate that kick in the teeth you received by throwing some seriously moody New Romantic shapes to this era-defining synthpop classic. Nope, no one does, because it was terrible and it tanked. In truth, party-friendly hip hop of this quality might never be heard again. David Fear We defy anyone to keep their toes from tapping during this 2014 mega-hit. Go on, let it funk you up. Ellie Walker-Arnott Listen to our playlist of. Few contemporary songs make us yearn for the days of the sock hop more than the single that catapulted these New York faves into the big time. On this 1979 disco-pop smash, he wants you to be loved, and he especially wants you to get funky. A single snare hit kicks it all in before a constant barrage of incessant funk guitars and deliciously sexy falsetto vocals take you on a groovy trip around the bedroom. And then the EVH über-solo kicks in... The piano line at the beginning a big shout out to Steve Reich is your cue to grab your real friends, pull them in a big sticky huddle and never, ever let them go. Small wonder it became a gay pride anthem. An incredible medium-pace groove, lush vocals and tight funk guitars all built for getting frisky at the disco. It really is never too much. Except for Luther burgers. You can probably have too much of those. Sophie Harris James Brown is a sex machine. It's impressive to say the least. But, more than that, it provides the energy that drives this funk masterpiece, backed with taut guitar picks, undulating bass and a fantastically minimalist yet totally titillating drum break. There are other classics we could have picked to honour the Godfather of Soul, but you won't find a more pneumatically powerful example of a funky good time than this. Adam Feldman This is one of the most forward-looking, cash-making enterprises in music history. Back in 1982, Prince foretold that when the century turned, DJs around the world would desperately need songs about the occasion. If he wrote a winner, the PRS royalties would roll in, come Y2K. Now when we hear it, we just want to be back in the last century when everything seemed to be all okay. God we miss you sweet, sweet Prince. Throw this on towards the end of the night as a reward for the party hardcore — it will be messy and beautiful. A Holiday Inn, you say? Jonny Ensall Taylor Swift shook off her Disney princess image with this 2014 smash. And also that her skin is diamond-encrusted, which is actually pretty awesome and allows her to dance her way through laser sensors and kill you. It really is Britney at her best. And is the perfect excuse to arch your back, turn up your nose haughtily and whimper about feeling misunderstood. Flowers in the back pocket are optional but advised. With this belting slice of dance-pop, the Belgian act helped kick-start hip house, shouted to the world outside of Belgium about New Beat and achieved some impressive chart action reaching Number Two in the UK and US , but never really get remembered much in the music history books. This song should be listed, like an old building. It should have a blue plaque on it. Written and performed by gents from Wales, Worcester and London and made famous by a load of heroin addicts in Scotland, it sums up our love of fizzing our brains on drugs and gulping down pints of lager, lager, lager. This - this - is what a UK party is. Danielle Goldstein How many party anthems can boast The Temptations as backing singers? James has the last freaky laugh, though, if only for the slashed, sequin-strewn top and circulation-endangering leggins that he braves in the accompanying video. John Lennon, suffering from a cold, famously lost his voice after recording it, but his raw, shouty tone makes it the classic it is. Ellie Walker-Arnott AKA the perfect song for a group of people who are just at the top of the long slide into total drunkenness. But they had fun getting there. Josh Jones A truly great party has to have drama, and who better to provide this than the Queen of Pop,? Jags of electric guitar followed by a huge, cavernous drum thwack. A waft of angelic choral singing. Bruce Tantum Pop music may not be the obvious place to call out phoney beliefs, but in the hands of Stevie Wonder and his crunchy funk jam, it just works. This one is pure class. Hank Shteamer It might have become something of a hen do go-to, with its own silly dance move to match, but 'Single Ladies' is an epic pop anthem. Bey is guaranteed to get people on the dancefloor. Put… it on your playlist. Ellie Walker-Arnott Everything is electric in this song: the synths, the bassline, the drums, the robotic vocals and the tension between the guy and the girl. We all sing along to the chorus with joyous abandon, but at its heart is a slightly dark tale of stalking, revenge and fame going sour since that fateful cocktail bar meeting. And you can understand why. One tip: move aside all furniture because people will need to stride powerfully in all directions. His choppy and melodic guitar work is all up at the front with handclaps and big group vocals celebrating just how damn good life can be. Eddy Frankel Here we hear what the absolute power of hitting a piano key six times can wield. People literally freeze, wait for a beat and go bananas. Hitting a piano like that can FREEZE TIME you guys! Praise be to that… Mmmm-hmmm. Every great party needs a properly emotional moment, and this classic sadbanger is guaranteed to provide it. Sometimes the best dancing is done defiantly, with tears forming in the corners of your eyes, and 'Dancing On My Own' gets that like few other pop songs in history. Just make sure you don't play the altogether less rousing Calum Scott cover version by mistake. This timeless, -produced disco anthem from 1977 did exactly that, becoming the first purely electronic jam to make it big and pretty much inventing dance music in the process. It would be more impressive if boys got out a tin whistle and played this solo at a house party instead of a guitar and strumming fucking 'Wonderwall'. Paul Simon is that baron. Absolutely every single part of this song is an earworm: the synths, the abstract lyrics and chorus, the bassline, the bass solo, the horns, everything. Josh Jones This is the one time it is absolutely acceptable to shriek a song. She sings it and everyone else shrieks it in homage to one of the great vocals of all time. The video for this features a bloke aimlessly wandering around on the Northern Line as well, which, as we all know, is usually what happens at the beginning and end of every great party. Oliver Keens Thank god for this song. This hugely anticipated not to say hyped comeback single from Daft Punk became the summer anthem of 2013. Yeah, Pharrell, they asked us, too. Sophie Harris Putting personal politics aside — R Kelly being a questionable human being and all — try and deny the powerful allure of this track. A bouncing, suggestive clapping beat, instructive dance moves, and a sung storyboard of an enviable night that famously includes the hotel lobby. Imagine going to a party with Lionel Richie and touching him on the shoulder and asking, 'Hey Lionel, I just wondered how long are we gonna be here? Once it starts to spin, you really feel like you could party until the end of time. Just try not dancing to this song when it comes on. Get through the whole four minutes without as much as a toe tap, and your soul is clearly as stale and shrivelled as a weeks-old jacket potato. Shaking it Specifically in the manner of a Polaroid picture. And what Lou says goes.
