The 50 Best Albums of Summer

At the dawn of summer, we asked the eMusic community to come together to decide the best summer albums ever. What records are perfect for both easy livin' and hard partying? When the mercury starts to climb, what is it that your ears ache to hear? People responded in a big way — subscribers, employees, writers, you name it — and, surprisingly, a very clear consensus emerged. The five albums that top this poll were winners by a very wide margin — it's clear that they are the summer go-tos.

If any broad lessons can be drawn from this poll, it would be these: Give us indie rock, and lots of it. Write melodies I can sing along with, sometimes loudly, sometimes softly. Unless you are from Sri Lanka, don't bother with hip-hop. Oh, and forget jazz and classical, too. The masters of summer music: the Pixies, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, New Pornographers and CCR. When we think summer, we think: alcohol, BBQs, alcohol, sex, alcohol, alcohol and alcohol. Sometimes all at once.

There's certainly some debate about what constitutes a "summer record." Obviously it's a very personal decision. But where all of you agreed, you did so strongly, and we're happy to say it made one helluva list. Fifty records for summer, folks. Have at 'em.