Summer means different things to different people. For some, it’s all about avoiding work and enjoying barbecues. For others, it’s all about avoiding the heat and enjoying the water. And for a select few, it’s all about avoiding deadly projectiles while enjoying backyard games of Jarts.

But no matter what you’re up to this (or any) summer, you need a soundtrack.

The 12 albums on this list of the best summer albums of all time vary in the amount they’re actually about summer. (A few are really more about Southern California than anything else, but hey, it’s basically always summer there.) Just trust us — all of these records are ideal for beating the heat by rolling down the windows and turning up the volume.