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1."Happy," by Pharrell Williams

I still haven't quite figured out what it means to feel like "a room without a roof." But that hasn't stopped me from clapping along every single time this song comes on, so don't let it stop you.

2."Shake It Off," by Taylor Swift

The secret to living life with exactly zero concern for all haters and players? "It's like I've got that music in my mind saying 'it's gonna be all right,'" sings Swift, in a song that then becomes the exact "gonna be all right" anthem she's talking about for everyone who's listening to it. That T-Swizzle. She's so meta.

3."O-O-H Child," by The Five Stairsteps

If you, like me, have parents who are of the Soul Train generation, then there's a good chance that you, like me, will already have called on this '70s classic when things weren't looking super fly.

4."Safe and Sound," by Capital Cities

This song belongs in a genre that I just made up — but that should exist — called grown-up lullabies. So feel very free to curl up with some warm milk and a blanket as you listen. No judgment.

5."The Voice Within," by Christina Aguilera

It's a real injustice that Dirrty-era Xtina will be best remembered for her overuse of spray tanner and her underuse of chap fabric, because she also left us some truly awesome inspirational ballads, like this one (see also "Soar" and that favorite of early 2000s tweens as well as Mean Girls' Damian, "Beautiful").

6."Humanity (The Way It Should Be)," by John Legend and The Roots

Here's how, with this song, John Legend is like countless numbers of annoyingly misguided college campus burnouts: He attempted to channel Bob Marley. Here's how, with this song, John Legend is not like countless numbers of annoyingly misguided college campus burnouts: He actually pulled it off.

7."Pocketful of Sunshine," by Natasha Bedingfield

If the tune itself doesn't boost your mood, repeat viewings of Emma Stone hamming it up while she listens to it compulsively in 2010's Easy A will. (Still nothing? I can't help you.)

8."REVOFREV," by Kid Cudi

The only problem with this roll-with-the-punches manifesto is that Kid Cudi keeps saying "I am your big brother." Uh, that's not the kind of imaginary relationship I had in mind for us, Cudi.

9."On Top of the World," by Imagine Dragons

"On Top of the World" sounds like it should be playing in one of those commercials where people scale rock faces for no apparent reason (aren't you selling a car, commercial?) and look beyond elated while doing so. In other words, it's exactly the type of song you need to play in a loop when you're this close to throwing yourself the Mardi Gras of pity parties.

10."Skyscraper," by Demi Lovato

Many brilliant minds, from Sheryl Sandberg to Louis CK, have discovered that sometimes you have to let yourself really feel your lows before you can get to your happy place again. Demi Lovato one-ups them by not simply repeating that pearl of wisdom but belting it out over a fragile piano riff for an effect that's anything but.

11."Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing," by Stevie Wonder

When Stevie Wonder—who would be my nominee for the U.S. Secretary of Happiness, if that were a thing—tells you to calm yourself down, get yourself together, and keep your chin up, you listen.

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