The search for the ever-elusive "bop" is difficult. Playlists and streaming-service recommendations can only do so much. They often leave a lingering question: Are these songs really good, or are they just new?

Enter Bop Shop, a hand-picked selection of songs from the MTV News team. This weekly collection doesn't discriminate by genre and can include anything — it's a snapshot of what's on our minds and what sounds good. We'll keep it fresh with the latest music, but expect a few oldies (but goodies) every once in a while, too. Get ready: The Bop Shop is now open for business.

When Toronto’s pop perfectionists Alvvays returned last month with the roaring “Pharmacist,” it was clear they’d spent the five years since their last LP adding layers to their music. Follow-up “Easy on Your Own?” is more ballad than ripper, but it boasts just as much beautifully washed guitar noise in service of a real heartbreaker. As a song, it contains everything that makes Alvvays so easy to fall in love with: a moony melody from singer Molly Rankin and an uncanny ability to make an unbeatable pop song sound like it’s warping under heat damage in real time. That’s precisely what happens internally when I listen to Alvvays. —Patrick Hosken

Carly Rae Jepsen promises to delve into her most solitary thoughts on The Loneliest Time (due out October 21), but our latest taste of her forthcoming album finds the pop queen perfectly happy being alone, thank you very much. Though to Carly’s credit, her singleness is less about what she’s putting out there and more about the caliber of men she’s running into. From a suitor whose “wife really had some impeccable taste,” to the boy who “brought up his ex and he started to cry,” it’s no wonder she’s flying solo. Thankfully, we’ve scored a sun-soaked, bass-heavy, beach-ready anthem out of her dating mishaps, complete with cheeky and ridiculous ad-libs from the dudes themselves, as well as the best one-liner to come from the sunny season: “I got a beach house in Malibu / And I’m probably gonna hurt your feelings.” —Carson Mlnarik

This existential tune goes out to anyone who’d rather eject themselves into the vast unknown of space than deal with the plethora of problems on our home planet. Hey, all the billionaires are doing it! Though they’re also the ones massively contributing to the mess here on Earth. The F16s say it’s fair to complain. It’s a natural reaction to watching our world deteriorate before our eyes — war, hunger, inflation, climate change, and the gutting of education, health care, and basic human rights. Similar to how these issues are trivialized, The F16s use whimsical, galactic imagery to contrast the severity of our sticky situation, and it seems like a neat alternative. Beam us up, Scotty! “How did we end up with a planet left in ruin / We’re fighting battles that we only keep on losing / Apologies but it sucks to be human / Big bang!” —Gwyn Cutler

It’s hard to overstate how much Blonde remade the pop landscape in the years following its 2016 release. We’ve since turned a corner — nostalgia and dance music have largely supplanted moodiness on the pop charts. But that’s perhaps why “Pink + White,” the Blonde track that hews closest to Frank Ocean’s livelier 2012 opus Channel Orange, sounds so good these days. It swings and bounces even as it’s tinged with melancholy. Remi Wolf picks up on all of those individual aspects and does them justice in this jazzy cover recorded at New York’s Electric Lady Studios (fittingly, where Ocean laid down parts of Blonde). Her athletic vocals and the fact that the song’s key piano melody is delivered via trumpet gives the enterprise a sultry nightclub vibe; for a moment, Remi becomes a Gen Z Billie Holiday. No one could mistake her motivation in choosing this song for anything other than pure affection. In short, she showed it love. —Patrick Hosken

Beyoncé has gifted us with a dance floor-ready collection of bops on her experimental and jubilant new album Renaissance, though no song has ingrained itself in my head – nor captured the attention of TikTok – quite like “Alien Superstar.” The pulsating and empowering track is an ode to uniqueness, and a call to “release the wiggle” from its very intro: a robotic voice warning us to, “Do not attempt to leave the dance floor.” What transpires next is a treasure trove of intergalactic references and sonic delights, featuring a spoken-word piece from Barbara Anne Teer’s “Black Theater,” as well as a sneaky interpolation of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy.” Somehow, Bey transforms all these influences entirely into her own, making “alien superstar” something to aspire to. She’s too “classy for this world” on its ethereal chorus, before declaring, “Category, sexy bitch” on its ballroom-influenced, lightning-fast verses. In this way, it’s emblematic of the entire project itself, showing that she can not only take influence from other genres and pay tribute to Black queer trailblazers simultaneously, but that she can also do so while creating something entirely new. —Carson Mlnarik

Were you born a bad bitch? You are absolutely entitled to financial compensation. This hypnotic hype song is all about acknowledging your greatness and how it’s reserved for your purposes only. Your impact is immortal, and if people rock with it, “it was nice to know ya,” but you don’t owe anyone anything. Zyah Belle and Tempest may be the bosses, but they’re here to serve, not service anyone. This is a sign to be your best self for you, not to impress others, especially incompetent men. Keep racking up checks and coming for necks without hesitation. —Gwyn Cutler

The pairing of Danger Mouse and The Roots’s Black Thought feels so organic, it ought to have happened a decade ago. The early singles from the pair’s upcoming album, Cheat Codes, showcase why — the hypnotic, soulful “Because” in particular — but nothing prepared me for the blockbuster power of “Strangers,” on which they recruit A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels. It’s not just that the track sounds like a million dollars (though sonically, it’s gritty with a record-bin quality) or that the bloat suggested by its marquee names is kept in check by lyrical precision and a four-minute runtime. It’s that everyone sounds like they’re having a blast — the rare Event Record that’s actually so subtle, you’ve gotta pay attention. —Patrick Hosken