“I Want It That Way” – Backstreet Boys

By Rachel Rogerson

As a mere child, I was a Backstreet Boys superfan. I didn’t have time for ‘N Sync, 98 Degrees or New Kids on the Block. No, my heart belonged to the Backstreet Boys and more specifically, Nick Carter. As time passes, their songs become more and more irrelevant, but “I Want It That Way” remains one of the songs of our generation. At a party or after a few brews, if this tune comes on, my friends and I can’t help but chime in. Maybe we’re weird, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I WANT IT THAT WAY.

“Bye, Bye, Bye” – N*Sync

By McKenzie Kirkland

Because everybody knew the dance and couldn’t help but do it.

“In the Garage” – Weezer

By Ian Erickson

Talk about throwbacks! The Blue Album was probably the first album I ever obsessively played on repeat on my first MP3 player. This song specifically takes me back to the seventh and eighth grades, when it was pretty cool to wallow in realized nerd-dom and teen angst. “In the Garage” actually has a lot of meaning to me because one of my best friends and I became friends over us both knowing this song.

“Waterfalls”- TLC

By Colin Kellogg

This song was all the rage when I was in kindergarten, back when I thought the lyrics were actually “Don’t go, Jason Waterfalls.” Now, at a more mature age, this song reminds me of a simpler time filled with My Little Ponies and afternoon naps.

“Roses”- Outkast

By Kevin Kousha

More than ten years old, “Roses” came out when I was in elementary school. Hearing a cover at the Madhatters concert, I re-listened to the song. With a little more age under my belt, I realized how seamlessly it combines multiple genres across multiple time periods, and does it all with the odd and goofy bits that remind you that Andre 3000 and Big Boi are just messing around and happen to be performing a truly awesome song like it’s no big deal. I might have sold it short when I was too little to appreciate it, but “Roses” is among the songs I’ve rediscovered and now love.

“It Wasn’t Me”-Shaggy

By Phebe Myers

This song just reminds me of being a tween, going to the pool, listening to this song and being embarrassed at how much I liked it. This is a song that has aged successfully. It’s still good, even when I listen to it now. And if it gets stuck in your head — it wasn’t me!

“Wannabe” – Spice Girls

By Danielle Leick

When the 7-year old version of myself was trying to come up with a choreographed dance to “Wannabe,” I never thought I’d still be using that dance in 2013. Half the fun of this catchy song was trying to get the song lyrics right. This is a song that will never get old in my book and will forever remind me of my childhood.