The Top Ten Love Songs of Our Time

No, it’s not another blog about love. It’s a blog about the soundtrack you need for love (see what we did there?). As we mentioned and we’re sure you’re all very aware of, Valentine’s Day is approaching and we’re getting ready for that love bug bite.

Whether you’re getting ready by spraying your house with mosquito repellent or crossing the date on your calendar, why not do it while you play your favorite love song or romantic songs in the background?

Have you asked yourself “What is the most powerful love song?” or “What is the most popular love song right now?”. Well, we know the easy route to get an answer (Sir Google…) but we’ve curated a romantic playlist with the most popular love songs of the last decades, including the 90s. 

What are the top 10 most romantic songs?

The great thing about music is that there is no rule of thumb. The top ten most romantic songs can vary from one person to another or, better yet, from one time to another in the same person. 

But, if we were to ask “What is the number 1 love song of all time?”, then before you’ve even finished reading the question you’re going to start mouthing “If I should stay, I would only be in your way,” right? You might not even know who Kevin Costner is, but the second that first note goes straight to your heart, you get into that lovely mood.

We don’t know if the following top ten love songs are part of your love soundtrack but, one thing is for sure, these are popular love songs that will get you in a mood you can’t escape from.

1. “Thinking out Loud” by Ed Sheeran

First up, Ed Sheeran, the romantic guru of music and his “Thinking out Loud” which we’re sure you’ve heard at a wedding or two. And isn’t this the message anyone would want their chosen one to think out loud?

“When your legs don’t work like they used to before

And I can’t sweep you off of your feet

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks”

Yes, our hearts skipped a beat too. Far from being left with the feeling of “settling”, it’s more about recognising that moment in which you feel that “this is it,” “this is love,” and it’s the kind that makes you brave enough to say it out loud. Because, after all, “Maybe we found love right where we are.”

2. “If the World Was Ending” by JP Saxe feat. Julia Michaels

A song that is a lesson in itself. Love, the romantic kind, doesn’t always have to be felt in a relationship. Especially, if it’s for someone you ended on good terms with, there will always be a special connection, no matter how much time has passed:

“It’s been a year now, think I’ve figured out how

How to let you go and let communication die out”

Whether there is friendship still or not, it’s the type of love that we still look for to find comfort because it makes us feel safe, even “If the World Was Ending”:

“But if the world was ending, you’d come over, right?”

Right?

3. “Say You Won’t Let Go” by James Arthur

James Arthur rules this side of love in “Say You Won’t Let Go.” The darker we feel and the lower we’ve landed in life, the brighter a genuine love will shine:

“I met you in the dark

You lit me up”

There’s something raw about the 2012 winner of The X Factor, maybe how the small rifts in his voice blend with the guitar-and-piano backing or how he genuinely expresses these poignant lyrics. The truth is, no one is left indifferent when we hear things like:

“You made me feel as though

I was enough”

And that is one of the best and most powerful side effects of love.

4. “Young and Beautiful” by Lana del Rey

With a voice that takes about half a second to identify, Lana del Rey voices all of our deepest insecurities in “Young and Beautiful,” starting with the physical:

“Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?”

Let’s face it, we’ve all asked ourselves at one point or another why our love chose us. Once we realize why, we then wonder whether they’ll keep choosing us if we change. Call it unhealthy to think like this, but we just do. She quickly moves to a psychological insecurity:

“Will you still love me when I got nothing but my aching soul?”

Once we are confident that they love every part of us, including our personalities, what about when we ache? When we’re not always smiling? Well, we included this song because we know that, if it’s true love, the answer is a definitive yes.

5. “Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles

You know that conversation, before or after sex, that lasts hours and hours and hours…(the talk, of course) and you suddenly realize that you don’t want to share your views with anyone else in life but that person:

“We’ve been doin’ all this late night talkin’

‘Bout anythin’ you want until the mornin

‘Now you’re in my life”

Coming from a heartthrob like Harry Styles certainly makes you wonder whether he felt it himself. But hey, that’s the beauty of any “Late Night Talking,” once you feel it and relate to it, it’s yours.

6. “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele

Have you ever waited for someone? Adele perfectly describes what this feels like for someone who is more certain than not that the wait is worthwhile.

“I know you haven’t made your mind up yet

But I will never do you wrong

I’ve known it from the moment that we met

No doubt in my mind where you belong”

Wow! Now this is confidence and being completely sure that they’ll realize you’re just right for them. Just like her voice, “Make You Feel My Love” absorbs you and places you in that patient mood that love will sometimes require.

7. “All of Me” by John Legend

Tied the knot to Chrissy Teigen in 2006 and we’ve grown with their relationship through his songs. A complete artist that has one of the most powerful yet gentle voices in his genre. The “All of Me” artist gives us a glimpse into how their relationship started:

“What would I do without your smart mouth?

Drawing me in, and you kicking me out

You’ve got my head spinning, no kidding, I can’t pin you down”

That love that makes you crazy but makes more sense than anything in your life at the moment. This is probably why, next to Ed Sheeran, John Legend’s voice is one of the most heard at weddings.

8. “You’ve Got The Love” by Florence + The Machine

Well, if you’ve ever wondered “What is the best song to say I love you?” Florence + The Machine gives you an amazing option with “You’ve Got The Love,” personally one of our favorites:

“Sometimes I feel like throwing my hands up in the air

I know I can count on you

Sometimes I feel like saying ‘Lord I just don’t care’

But you’ve got the love I need to see me through”

In line with the previous song, it’s the beautiful nightmare and emotional roller coaster that is love; yet, somehow, it’s also the type that has made you behave like you are a sane person after all.

9. “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi

Luckily we’ve covered James Arthur already and we know that there will always be a saving love. Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved” also transmits that visceral side of love where we need it like medication:

“I need somebody to heal

Somebody to know

Somebody to have

Somebody to hold”

He closes with more of a warning about what happens when you get to that good feeling of getting used to being loved by someone:

“And then you pulled the rug

I was getting kinda used to being someone you loved”

Simply make sure that the rug is well grounded and comfy because, everything else, is definitely worth it.

10. “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper

Not to sell it but this is an Oscar-winning song. That’s right. From wearing the most eccentric clothes to a simple black dress, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed “Shallow” and unleashed even more rumors! But that’s not what this is about.

If you’ve heard the song several times, you’ll notice that the meaning links more to the movie itself than anything else. However, much like Whitney’s And I moment, as soon as the song starts we’re already dying to get to:

“I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in

I’ll never meet the ground

Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us

We’re far from the shallow now”

 

Like love, love songs are meant to lift us up, tear us down, give light in darkness, and make us feel worthy of being known, understood, and truly felt by someone else. Forget about top 10 love songs, where are the rest of the 100 greatest love songs? Here’s the rest of the best modern and old classic love songs Indiemono has curated: Love songs (2023, 2020s, 2010s, 2000s, 90s – Romantic Songs).