The Best Summer Songs of 2021

A perfect summer song is a special breed of music. It begs you to move, on oppressively hot nights out to the dance floor, or from your lounge chair under the blistering afternoon sun. When it comes on the radio, the only conceivable response is to roll your windows down and shout the lyrics at each passing car on the highway. While this season remains muted compared to years past, as concert calendars fill slowly and Covid-19 restrictions wax and wane unexpectedly, the airwaves are anything but dull. Swedish House Mafia, the dance music titans who ruled the mid-2010s, are back with a thumping new anthem while John Mayer's return to form offered an instant pool party classic. Tyler, the Creator has found a new, unhurried groove while Olivia Rodrigo's Sour LP is the perfect mining grounds for edgy, campfire singalongs. There's more, of course, from the likes of a newly-transcendent Japanese Breakfast, as well as Justin Bieber, Doja Cat and Lorde, if you'll stick around. There are the 15 best songs of summer 2021.