Top 100 Party Songs

First posted 11/12/2018; updated 6/2/2020.

Party Songs: Top 100

This list was compiled by aggregating more than 50 lists focused on “party songs.” Note: click here to see other genre-specific song lists. 1. Village People “Y.M.C.A.” (1978) 2. Los Del Rio “Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)” (1995) 3. The B-52’s “Love Shack” (1989) 4. Kool & the Gang “Celebration” (1980) 5. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983) 6. DJ Casper (aka “Mr. C the Slide Man) “Cha Cha Slide” (2004) 7. OutKast “Hey Ya!” (2003) 8. Abba “Dancing Queen” (1976) 9. The Beatles “Twist and Shout” (1963) 10. Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” (2008) 11. Van Morrison “Brown-Eyed Girl” (1967) 12. Sister Sledge “We Are Family” (1979) 13. Rednex “Cotton Eye Joe” (1994) 14. Kenny Loggins “Footloose” (1984) 15. Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” (1969) 16. Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’” (1981) 17. Aretha Franklin “Respect” (1967) 18. AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long” (1980) 19. Sir Mix-A-Lot “Baby Got Back” (1992) 20. Justin Timberlake “Sexyback” (2006) 21. Marcia Griffiths “Electric Slide (Electric Boogie)” (1990) 22. Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive” (1977) 23. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992) 24. Chubby Checker “The Twist” (1960) 25. Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982) 26. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” (1986) 27. Usher with Lil’ Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!” (2004) 28. Sorta Crackers Band/The Emeralds “Chicken Dance” (1982) 29. LMFAO with Lauren Bennett & GoonRock “Party Rock Anthem” (2011) 30. The Isley Brothers “Shout (Parts 1 and 2)” (1959) 31. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance with Somebody Who Loves Me” (1987) 32. Michael Jackson “Thriller” (1982) 33. Pink “Get the Party Started” (2001) 34. Def Leppard “Pour Some Sugar on Me” (1987) 35. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama” (1974) 36. Commodores “Brick House” (1977) 37. Nelly “Hot in Herre” (2002) 38. Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Old Time Rock and Roll” (1978) 39. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (1976) 40. The Romantics “What I Like About You” (1980) 41. Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling” (2009) 42. Prince “1999” (1982) 43. Salt-N-Pepa “Push It” (1987) 44. 50 Cent “In Da Club” (2002) 45. Brooks & Dunn “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” (1991) 46. Cupid “Cupid Shuffle” (2007) 47. Garth Brooks “Friends in Low Places” (1990) 48. Pharrell Williams “Happy” (2013) 49. Vanilla Ice “Ice Ice Baby” (1990) 50. The Foundations “Build Me Up Buttercup” (1968) 51. Montell Jordan “This Is How We Do It” (1995) 52. Psy “Gangnam Style” (2012) 53. Flo Rida with T-Pain “Low” (2007) 54. MC Hammer “U Can’t Touch This” (1990) 55. Rick Springfield “Jessie’s Girl” (1981) 56. The Temptations “My Girl” (1965) 57. Robin Thicke with T.I. & Pharrell Williams “Blurred Lines” (2013) 58. Beyoncé with Jay-Z…Crazy in Love (2003) 59. Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Come on Eileen” (1982) 60. Ke$ha…Tik Tok (2009) 61. Young M.C. “Bust a Move” (1989) 62. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1987) 63. Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta “You’re the One That I Want” (1978)/ “Grease Megamix” (1990) 64. Michael Jackson “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979) 65. Rick James “Super Freak” (1981) 66. Lady Gaga with Colby O’Donis “Just Dance” (2008) 67. Miami Sound Machine “Conga” (1985) 68. Earth, Wind & Fire “September” (1978) 69. Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started” (2003) 70. Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive” (1978) 71. California Swag District “Teach Me How to Dougie” (2010) 72. Usher with Pitbull “DJ Got Us Falling in Love” (2010) 73. Marc Ronson & Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!” (2014) 74. Deee-Lite “Groove Is in the Heart” (1990) 75. Taylor Swift…Shake It Off (2014) 76. Miley Cyrus “Party in the U.S.A.” (2009) 77. Billy Idol “Mony Mony (live)” (1987) 78. Daft Punk with Pharrell Williams “Get Lucky” (2013) 79. C + C Music Factory “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” (1990) 80. Carly Rae Jepsen “Call Me Maybe” (2011) 81. Maroon 5 with Christina Aguilera “Moves Like Jagger” (2011) 82. Big & Rich “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” (2004) 83. Michael Jackson “Beat It” (1983) 84. Kanye West with Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger” (2005) 85. The Jackson 5 “ABC” (1970) 86. V.I.C. “Wobble” (2008) 87. Ray Anthony “Hokey Pokey” (1953) 88. Elvis Presley “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1961) 89. Lonestar “Amazed” 1999) 90. Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull “On the Floor” (2011) 91. Billy Medley with Jennifer Warnes “I’ve Had the Time of My Life” (1987) 92. Prince “Kiss” (1986) 93. David Bowie “Let’s Dance” (1983) 94. Lou Bega “Mambo No. 5” (1999) 95. Spice Girls “Wannabe” (1996) 96. Martha & the Vandellas “Dancing in the Street” (1964) 97. Rihanna with Calvin Harris “We Found Love” (2011) 98. Wham! “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” (1984) 99. LMFAO “Sexy and I Know It” (2011) 100. Silentó “Watch Me (Whip/Nae Nae)” (2015)

The B-52’s “Love Shack” charted

Love Shack The B-52’s

Writer(s): Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson (see lyrics here) Released: June 20, 1989 First Charted: August 26, 1989 Peak: 3 US, 4 CB, 6 GR, 5 RR, 14 MR, 2 UK, 5 CN, 19 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.6 UK, 1.24 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 87.05 video, 244.05 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The B-52’s arrived on the scene a decade earlier with their debut album and became a definitive band of the new wave/post-punk era. They had a cult following primarily comprised of the gay community and college radio listeners. However, their relevance declined and in 1985, they considered calling it quits after guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. Instead, they soldiered on with drummer Keith Strickland recording guitar parts in Wilson’s style. SF In 1989, they came back on the scene in a big way. The band wanted Nile Rodgers (best known for his band Chic) to produce their Cosmic Thing album, but he wasn’t available. They turned to Don Was who had his own group Was (Not Was), but had also worked with Bob Dylan, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones. Kate Pierson, one of the singers in the band, credits Was for making the song a hit. The band used to perform songs live before recording them, but Was helped them structure “Love Shack” and record it in the studio. SF “The gorgeously infectious ‘Love Shack’” TB didn’t just put the “perennially eccentric B-52’s” TB back on the radar, but gave them their first taste of mainstream success and became their signature song. It topped the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand and hit the top 5 in the U.S., UK, and Canada. WK The band was inspired by the club in the movie The Color Purple, as well as Hawaiian Ha-Le, a real club outside Athens, Georgia where the band hung out. The club drew a wide variety of hippies, scenesters, and University of Georgia students. Cindy Wilson, another of the band’s singers, described the club as “a really cool place – a run-down love shack kind of thing…It was a really interesting place.” SF The concept for the song was that the Love Shack was “a place where people of all stripes come together for a groovy time.” SF The song was additionally inspired by a tin-roofed cabin – also in the Athens, Georgia area – where Pierson lived in the ‘70s. The band conceived their 1979 hit “Rock Lobster,” probably their best-known song prior to “Love Shack,” at the cabin. Wilson’s memorable line about “tin roof rusted” was actually an outtake from a jamming session. WK The line has been famously misinterpreted as “Hennn-ry, busted.” SF Wilson has said she was thinking of the rusty roof from the Hawaiian Ha-Le club. SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for The B-52’s BC Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up. Pages 30-31. SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 238. WK Wikipedia First posted 11/16/2019; last updated 5/2/2024.