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Despite her reluctance to be a frontwoman, Christine McVie was the true songbird in Fleetwood Mac’s storied career. Most of the group’s most memorably melodic offerings were written by her pen, and “Everywhere” is the one that has pulled away from the pack. Released as the classic Rumours-era lineup was wrapping up shop, this pulls together all the greatest aspects of her songwriting prowess. It’s always incredible to hear how each member of the band brings it to life in such an understated way.

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Pop music is fun. Yes, it can be serious. Yes, it is an artform. But fun is not an area it shies away from. And let the girls have it! Cyndi Lauper’s debut single not only launched a remarkable career for a remarkable artist, but it wrote itself into every history book covering popular music from 1983 to the end of time. Every second is so memorable – almost expected for everyone to know – with hook after hook, and a super loose concept of a chorus it doesn’t even need.

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Carly Rae Jepsen’s brand of pop music isn’t about amassing hits, but amassing a catalog of should’ve-beens – even a bonus track for CRJ is a single for some others. But from the opening note blown into the saxophone in the intro, it’s immediately clear that “Run Away With Me” is something particularly special. It stunningly captures all of the pining, hope, and imagination; all the highs and lows, whispers and screams…and the chorus is so profoundly euphoric, you could find yourself smiling through the tears. This track is a marvel.

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When it comes to the queer community, Madonna has always been a real one, even when many of her peers were silent. There’s certainly a conversation to be had about her, a white woman and household name, being the one responsible for introducing voguing and ballroom culture into the mainstream – it’s origins profoundly underground and non-white – but the payoff decades later is still palpable. And the song itself? A masterpiece. Not only a dance floor classic, but a wildly catchy pop tune, dazzling with horn hits and attitude.

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New Kids on the Block were a few steps ahead of the boy band craze of the 1990s – maybe even the blueprint. And “You Got It” was difficult to top. This song hits so hard, as the members trade lines and verses, all climaxing to a mammoth chorus of “oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh…” that feels like pure poetry.

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The thing is, “MMMBop” is a stroke of genius. Lyrics-wise beyond the years of three young teens/pre-teens, and a syncopated nonsense hook that’s even wiser. This is an earworm destined to zip right past all others and set up shop in your brain forever…an incredible feat for three young people. Whenever anything is overplayed, it tends to lose its shine, and while this track suffered, it’s safe to say over 25 years later that this has grown into something much better than it even was at the time. If someone dropped this today, we’d be comparing it to Mozart.

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This song feels like shouting from the rooftops. Tegan and Sara’s synth-laden opus is wide-eyed and hopeful, but confident and assured. And sonically – save for a few modern twists – this could have been made at almost any point in the last 50 years and had the same effect. “Closer” is as close to pop perfect as there’s ever been, with a melody that truly doesn’t feel like it’s ever been done before, and it should be the standard by which we compare others.

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How dare this song be so good. A steady rock-beat, a Jay-Z intro, and a hook so immortal it’s become virtually impossible to just say the name of this common household object. Rihanna is clearly a juggernaut figure of the last several decades, but “Umbrella” was the moment that became a reality. And that’s because the song is a pop masterpiece, laced with hooks and swag from start to finish…immortal while also capturing a place and time.

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To say One Direction cast a shadow over the last decade-plus of pop music would be an understatement. Not only a complete revival of the boy band craze that once was, but a reinvention of it. Because of the way they came together in front of the public eye, it was clear these five young artists were all determined to be their own thing – but they were more powerful together (at least to start.) Their debut, “What Makes You Beautiful” is the epitome of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and pop music has never looked back. It’s sugary sweet, deliriously catchy, and unapologetically fun… almost as though all of their talents were being funneled through a machine with a bigger purpose. Yet, especially in hindsight, it feels like them underneath it all. Five regular young men who wanted to make it, and this absolutely brilliant song allowed them to.

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I could really just say, “…you’ve heard it, right?” and leave it there. But “Toxic” deserves its flowers, and so does Britney. This song is a triumph – sleek, confident, and fittingly intoxicating. It doesn’t rely on any tricks or little hooks to propel it along, but its intricate production and synth motifs are profound. But it’s Brit that makes it special. Lots of artists could’ve recorded this song, but no one would have brought the personality, the attitude, and the sex the way her one-of-a-kind tone did. Guarantee you this is the track any pop star of that generation wishes they got their hands on.

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