Whose song will always remind us of the summer of 2008?

Everybody's got a personal playlist of summer songs. It might have Frank Sinatra's "Summer Wind," or Sly and the Family Stone's "Hot Fun in the Summertime." The Lovin' Spoonful's "Summer in the City," or maybe Regina Spektor's song of the same name. Seals and Croft's "Summer Breeze" might make you feel fine, though I'm betting the Isley Brothers' version would make you feel finer.

The 21 picks assembled here - on a playlist that can be burned onto one CD - are contenders for the songs of summer '08, tunes that may worm their way into your consciousness, if they haven't made it there already. Some are already hits on radio, Internet or TV. One of them is 40 summers old - but thanks to McDonald's and its marketing plans for the Olympics, it will soon be inextricably linked with U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps and Happy Meals. So, with apologies ...