Music is very important to the feel of a party, I dont really go in for theme music - I might include one or two favourites for a bit of a mood (eg for halloween I might put in time warp and monster mash) with only one exception, decade theme parties - 70s, 80s, the music is not only fun but creates a great theme! make sure it is music to dance to though if you want dancing- in a 70s party disco and pop will work better than folk songs! At our parties we tend to dance to a light mix from the 80s and 90s - our returning favourites are take on me, love shack, pretty much anything by madonna or the bangles. this is because they are light happy songs with a good beat. I always suggest people bring cds and we all take turns playing DJ.

if some nong tries to hog the stereo and play the kind of music that clears the room, bring in someone to replace them and then try to distract them and entice them away from the stereo. be firm if you need to but try not to hurt their feelings - its the music they like its not their fault if noone else does!