Music gets me through the workouts

My iPod? The one who goes by the name Darth (thanks to Farrah for the naming suggestion!)? He's become my new best friend. I love him. And I get a lot of use out of him. At work. At home. At the gym. Me and Darth? We're BFFs.

The place where Darth and I get along best though is at the YMCA. The tunes he cranks out help get me through the nasty workouts. I'll be running on the treadmill to nowhere and the timer is counting down the last few minutes of my run and Darth will conveniently decide to play just the right song to get me through those last minutes or give me the energy to make it the last half mile.

And while I've got a semi-decent workout play list right now, I feel like it needs a bit of updating. There needs to be a few more songs that give me that energy. The songs that make me want to continue to run or bike even though it hurts like heck. The music that gets me to the finish line.

I've downloaded a few new songs from iTunes the past few days and they've helped. I don't listen to the radio much, but Sean Kingston's "Take You There" and Timbaland's "The Way I Are" were catchy. So I added them to the list. And I've heard good things about Paramore, so I clicked on "Misery Business" and "Crushcrushcrush." And I love them. And am seriously considering just shelling out the cash for the album.

And while we're talking about Paramore, I just have to say, my favorite lyric from "Misery Business" happens to be:

"I watched his wildest dreams come true
Not one of them involving you
Just watch my wildest dreams come true
Not one of them involving ..."

Not sure exactly why I like it so much, but I like it. And that's all that matters.

Back to workout tunes. Does anyone have any other suggestions? What music helps you get through a workout? I like fast-paced stuff, but I'm opening to trying anything.