Summer and the long weekend life have begun. This means it’s time for a summer playlist. Those songs you will have playing in the background as you hang out at the beach or dance the warm summer nights away. Depending on your musical tastes here are a few new song suggestions for the beach to have handy on your iPod or MP3 player.

If you are into Jimmy Buffett, even though Jimmy doesn’t have a new release on the streets right now because he has been busy touring we still like his Live at Anguilla the best. It many of the classic Parrot Head favorites and adds a few musical guests like Bankie Banx to the mix. Along those lines a great new release by Jack Johnson is out that features a Jimmy Buffett song in his playlist called KōKau Festival which was recorded in Hawaii and the proceeds go to benefit the Kōkau Hawaii Foundation. JAck Johnson, Eddie Vedder, Ozomalti and Jake Shimabukuro are all on the album covering everything from A Pirate Look at Forty by Jimmy Buffett to Take it Easy by the Eagles and Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain by Willie Nelson of all people. These two albums will likely not get you up and dancing much but they will serve as great beach music for relaxing and enjoying the sand and sun. Another great summer Live release is Jason Mraz Beautiful Mess. This has all of his hit songs like Lucky and The Remedy and adds a cover of the Lionel Ritchie classic All Night Long in to keep the party going. Speaking of Lionel Richie, he has retooled a number of his classic hits on an album called Tuskegee which includes All Night Long with Jimmy Buffett

For Reggae lovers a few new releases are out that are pretty good. Simple Plan has a new release called Summer Paradise that features both K’naan or Sean Paul rapping depending on which version you get. This is a great summer song that may likely be the perfect theme song for your summer this year.

For dancing Sean Paul is always a favorite and he has a few singles he has remixed and rereleased called She Doesn’t Mind with Pitbull and Shake Señora with Pitbull that are great dance tunes as always. Jay Sean is also teaming with Pitbull for I’m All Yours a new release out this week. Speaking of Pitbull he has his own album out Planet Pit and any number of singles with everyone from Jennifer Lopez to Havana Brown with We Run The Night. Look for Pitbull to be the king of summer when it somes to party music this year.

If you are looking for something a bit more relaxing and jazzy then check out Jake Shimabukuro and his most recent release Peace, Love Ukulele. Jake toured with Jimmy Buffett for a while and gained his fame that way before touring on his own and selling out arenas in the US and over seas.

Enjoy your summer and the sounds of summer as you relax or dance on the beach with these tunes playing in the background. They make for the perfect soundtrack for summer. We are sure you have some of your own favorites to add to the mix so why not leave them in the comments and let us know what you jam out to on the beach during the summer.