What would be on your play list of summer songs for 2006 — your soundtrack for daytime drives and nighttime parties?

Kenny Chesney is topping the country charts with "Summertime," with what he wishes was the "perfect song on the radio." But the soft rocker in the cowboy hat falls well short of that mark, and he's not on this list of the most pleasurable summer singles. Monster hits by Fort Minor, AFI and Rihanna also failed to make the cut, though you'll be hearing them at beaches and barbecues until the dog days.

Ubiquitous and likely to remain so is Shakira and Wyclef Jean's shimmying "Hips Don't Lie," though Christina Aguilera's fierce "Ain't No Other Man" and Beyoncé trump the song on this list.

Here, then, is a play list, one CD's worth of recommended songs of the summer of 2006. All songs available on iTunes, unless otherwise noted.

1. "DejA Vu," Beyoncé with Jay-Z. It's like 2003 all over again, when "Crazy in Love" destroyed all comers and Beyoncé Knowles established herself as first among divas. "DejA Vu," the first single from Beyoncé's forthcoming second solo album, is perhaps not quite as fabulous as "Crazy." But it's close, with her rapper-record exec boyfriend rhyming over a rubbery bass line, and an ever-more-excitable Beyoncé shouting out about being, well, crazy in love. "Let's go get 'em," she says to her beau, and then they do.

2. "Ain't No Other Man," Christina Aguilera. Christina Aguilera's reputation — that among barely legal pop stars, she could actually sing — has usually been beside the point. Because, usually, she oversings. Not here. Her old-school, platinum-blonde, torch-singer stance meshes perfectly with DJ Premier's old-school hip-hop production. As the woman says: "Do your thing, baby!"

3. "Mighty 'O,' " OutKast. Not as absolutely flat-out brilliant as music-starved OutKast fans might have hoped, this cut from the movie "Idlewild" (opening Aug. 25) is a quick-tongued, relatively straightforward Andre 3000 track that borrows its hi-de-ho from Cab Calloway.

4. "Promiscuous," Nelly Furtado, featuring Timbaland. A bumpin', flirtatious hip-pop duet between the dance-floor-bound Canadian songstress and the Missy Elliott producer.

5. "Hips Don't Lie," Shakira, with Wyclef Jean. The Fugees were supposed to have made a triumphant comeback this year, but instead Wyclef Jean has returned from purgatory with this bubbling reggaeton charmer, which tops the Billboard pop chart and racked up the biggest week of digital sales ever last month. It's wonderfully catchy.

6. "Don't Feel Right," The Roots. Summer isn't all about good vibes. The humid air is thick with paranoia. The Philadelphia hip-hoppers bring the funk on the first single from "Game Theory," due next month. "Things don't feel right over here," Maimouna Youssef sings. "Lately I ain't been seeing clear." (www.spin.com/features/heythisisawesome/2006/05/060525_roots/ — or wait until the Aug. 15 release).

7. "World Wide Suicide," Pearl Jam. The lead single from the Seattle rockers' comeback keeps the paranoia coming. But never mind the protest politics: What'll keep this blaring out of car speakers is the twin guitar snarl of Mike McCready and Stone Gossard.

8. "Woman," Wolfmother. Led Zep-esque Australian power trio brings thunder from down under.

9. "Change the World," Joan Jett. The eternally raucous femme reaffirms that she still does love rock 'n' roll.

10. "Faith," Boy Least Likely To. It's the George Michael song. Chirpy cover from the British folk-pop duo of the Belle & Sebastian school, who agree with Jett: You gotta have faith. (www.youaintnopicasso.com/2006/06/12/the-boy-least-likely-to-faith).