top 12

I don't often indulge in Vh1 shows of any kind mostly because I didn't have access to Vh1 for the last several years of my life. But then you're flipping through channels with your homemade margarita and a big bowl of pasta with a lot of pesto, and you can't help but unmute the tv. Especially when it's the top 100 songs of the 00's. My jams. I grew into the person I would BECOME as a result of this music. Change your life, change your day, change your attitude, change your mind music. Music I fell in love to, music I wept to, music I grew to, music I handed to people with confidence that they too would be changed because of, music that can only be appreciated when hearing at just the right moment, usually really loud, sometimes at a wedding or on a dance floor or in your car or on a plane with your headphones in. I can't show 100 videos on my blog, but some were so formative in my music appreciation that I have to post the most epic 12. Please take a moment to enjoy at least 25 seconds of each song. I will say - not all of these are songs were my favorite or the best, but they played a huge role in ages 12-20 for Stephanie Parker, and it is likely that some of them did the same for you.

1. Beautiful Day:
The heart is a bloom. You hear this and feel like someone who finally gets poetry after never understanding anything William Blake or Lord Byron was saying in your high school English classes. I can't really explain the power of U2; even a sarcastic, cynical, pop-music loving middle schooler like me heard this song and was moved to tears. It has continued to stir something up in me every time I've heard it since, and I never get tired of it. It reminds me of growing up and learning to embrace life as is.