15 of the Greatest Love Songs of All Time

Tracy Chapman is best known for her hit single “Fast Car” from her self-titled 1998 debut album. The song has enjoyed a uniquely long life via various remixes and cover versions – including Luke Combs’ duet with Chapman at the 2024 Grammy Awards – and which frequently makes the best-selling record lists on Discogs. “For My Lover” comes from the same timeless album, which is full of stripped-down folk songs that speak in equal parts to deep hurt and relentless hope. It’s a heartfelt song about a forbidden love and the lengths a lover is willing to go for it:

The things we won’t do for love

Climb a mountain if I had to

Risk my life so I could have you

You, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you

Daft Punk’s sophomore album Discovery is in many ways a love letter not to any one person but to the joy of discovering music. On early-appearing single “Digital Love,” however, the band brings these twin concerns together to create a straight-up love song born from a dream of the dancefloor. Over a typically French touch filtered sample of guitar and synths from George Duke’s “I Love You More,” Daft Punk collaborator DJ Sneak recounts a dream of dancing with an object of infatuation and waking up, too soon, with that feeling still stuck sweetly in one’s head. The processed vocals are simultaneously robotic but emotive, in Daft Punk’s signature style. The track is fizzy, ebullient, building along a thumping drum pulse and a choppy sample breakdown before erupting into an over-the-top keytar solo. At its heart, over a fluttering electric flute, Sneak delivers the song’s plea, “Oh, I don’t know what to do, about this dream and you, I hope this dream comes true.”

Written during the breakup of The Beatles in 1970, “Maybe I’m Amazed” was Paul McCartney’s attempt to put the past behind him and get back to songwriting. Inspired by his wife Linda, McCartney wrote the song in London at the piano, while enduring depression. The focal point being, Linda’s love for Paul gave him a reason to pull through the breakup of The Beatles. The song was recorded and mixed at EMI Studios in February, 1970, featuring three guitars, piano, bass guitar, drums and several vocal overdubs by Paul and Linda. McCartney announced his departure from The Beatles on April 10, 1970. A week later, his debut solo album, featuring “Maybe I’m Amazed” was released. It’s often regarded as one of McCartney’s greatest love songs, and paved the way for McCartney to consider a future as a solo artist.

Written prior to the formation of The Police, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” depicts a character in pursuit of an unattainable romantic relationship, thwarted by nerves. According to Sting, the song was fully formed before bringing it to the other members of The Police. The other members felt it wasn’t Police material, but eventually agreed to play over the demo. Appearing on The Police’s fourth album Ghost In The Machine, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” reached Number One in the U.K. and Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981. In a somewhat ironic twist, Sting pined for years over a word to rhyme with “Magic” before eventually settling on “Tragic,” meaning that the protagonist of the song was utilizing his newfound love to overcome a past tragedy.

This soft melodic ballad from Taylor Swift was originally only available on the deluxe version of 1989, but it can also be found on all variants of 1989 (Taylor’s Version). “You Are In Love (Taylor’s Version)” tells the beautiful love story of two people who have been together for a long time and have found a peaceful, steadfast, and comfortable romance.

You don’t always get love right on the first try, but for the right one it can be worth trying again, and again. New Order took several tries with “Temptation” over the years, releasing versions of the song including 7” and 12” cuts with different mixes and runtimes, as well as remixes, re-recordings, and live versions. But their most indelible of these might be the “Temptation ‘87” version included on 1987’s Substance compilation and 1996’s Trainspotting soundtrack. The song fades in on Bernard Sumner’s hopeful crooning “oohs” and shimmering guitar strumming, quickly joined by Peter Hook’s high-fretted bass leads, all backed by Stephem Morris and Gillian Gilbert’s propulsive drumming and synthesizer arpeggios. It follows its singer on a delirious, lovestruck walk home, seemingly overcome and shot through with dizzy feelings of infatuation, before reaching its climactic refrain of, “Oh you’ve got blue eyes, oh you’ve got green eyes, oh you’ve got gray eyes, and I’ve never met anyone quite like you before.” A line so good that some others have borrowed it, and a song that was worth getting right and trying again.

Selena’s “Dreaming of You,” released posthumously in 1995, is a Latin pop and R&B ballad that sees the singer yearning for a love just out of reach. The timeless track, co-written by Franne Golde and Tom Snow six years earlier, was selected by the singer for her first English-language crossover album. The track’s gentle guitar strums and subtle orchestration create a dreamlike atmosphere for its lyrics, which when coupled with Selena’s lush mezzo-soprano vocals and heartfelt delivery, reflect the bittersweet optimism of loving and longing.

“I’ll Be Here In The Morning” is Townes Van Zandt’s romantic twist on the classic “ramblin’ man” song. Van Zandt’s lyrics depict the allure of the open road and the beauty and freedom it provides, but the impulse to remain with the one he loves is even stronger than his wanderlust. As the song progresses, the repeated reassurance seems to be for himself as much as it is for his romantic counterpart. Van Zandt’s melancholic blend of folk and country features a minor chord strategically placed near the end of each chorus and a mournful harmonica throughout to lace his passionate promises with undercurrents of doubt and unease.

Mariah Carey’s soulful “We Belong Together” is one of the singer’s most emotive and most loved tracks. Showcasing her five-octave vocal range, Carey mourns the loss of a relationship, pleads for her lover to return, and begs for a chance at reconciliation because, simply, “there ain’t nobody better.” Co-written with producer and So So Def label head Jermaine Dupri, the song pairs 808 kicks and hi-hats with classic R&B and pop sensibilities, referencing tracks by Bobby Womack and the Deele.

Originally written by Morris Broadnax, Clarence Paul, and Stevie Wonder, “Until You Come Back To Me” was recorded by Stevie Wonder in 1967, but went unreleased. Instead, Wonder offered the song to Aretha Franklin to sing, and according to Franklin, she “went to town with it.” Franklin’s version was released in late 1973, and reached Number One on the R&B charts and Number Three on the Hot 100 charts. The song describes a protagonist determined to win someone’s love back, taking action to prove their love and devotion. In 2021, a demo version of the song appeared on the Aretha box set, featuring count ins from Franklin and motivational praise from producer Jerry Wexler.

Sometimes the deepest declarations of love are also declarations of dependency. Such is the sentiment of “Can’t Do Without You,” the lead single from Dan Snaith’s fourth album as Caribou and seventh studio album overall, aptly titled Our Love. The track builds around a pitched-down, looping sample of its titular chorus – “can’t do without, can’t do without” – with Snaith singing the full phrase over and over the top in his composed yet clearly yearning falsetto. This quickly blooms into washes of upward wafting synthesizer tones propelled by limber and muscular live drumming, the song swelling with a giddy mix of devotion and apprehension –  this is a precipitous kind of love – before Snaith’s looping refrain finally unfurls, “I can’t do without you, and you’re the only thing I think about, it’s all that I can still do, and you know you’re the one I dream about, I couldn’t do without you.”

With married couple Fred and Toody Cole covering songwriting duties, Dead Moon was able to craft songs that strayed from the standard love song formula. “I Won’t Be The One” tenderly examines the potential dissolution of a long-term marriage. The stripped-down arrangement and passionate vocals make the heartache contagious and the pledge to not be the one that walks away from the relationship feels both heartbreaking and empowering. Dead Moon may be best-known for their high-energy blend of punk, country, blues, and garage rock, but it’s ballads like “I Won’t Be The One” that resonate most with those navigating love and loss. Fortunately, neither Toody or Fred were the ones to walk away as the couple remained romantically and creatively wed until Fred passed away in 2017. 

“Be Without You” is a contemporary R&B hit written by Johnta Austin, Bryan Michael Cox, and Jason Perry for Mary J. Blige’s seventh studio album The Breakthrough. The track is characterized by its smooth melodies, lush instrumentation, and Blige’s powerful vocals expressing the singer’s unwavering commitment to and love for her partner. Blige reminds us that a love as confident and secure as this one takes time to build, as her rich, emotional delivery paints a soul-stirring picture of romantic bliss.

The conflation of secular and spiritual love in pop music goes back at least as far as the split of commercial R&B from traditional gospel church music. All of which are distant reference points for Olympia, WA ‘80s twee-punk indie pop trio – and K Records flagship band – Beat Happening. While best known for K boss Calvin Johnson’s playful baritone, this track is led by sometimes drummer sometimes guitarist sometimes vocalist Heather Lewis’ dreamy singing. The song recites a litany of its love object’s virtues and good deeds, both mundane and exceptional –“You wanna run and play, you make a sunny day, See a man on the street, you wash his tired feet” — before coalescing around its chorus: “It’s just the things you do, you make it true, you’re a godsend.” It’s a rare track that can make nine and a half minutes pass like a momentary daydream, and yet, with its simple, meditatively looping structure, “Godsend” manages it with grace to spare.

“Love You More” may sound like a jubilant song about recently falling in love, but between the captivating melodies and hopeful lyrics lies desperation, fear, and distrust. The Buzzcocks’ sonic dichotomy is built around their penchant for blending pop hooks with punk energy, and that trademark formula allows the song to sound uplifting as it swiftly takes you through the heart-wrenching complexities of a budding romance. The song’s momentum surges forward until singer Pete Shelley’s declarations of enduring love take a sharp turn and the song abruptly ends with the line: “until the razor cuts.” If that feels like ending on a hopeless note, listeners can start the song over and fall in love again.