They don’t write ’em like they used to? Well, maybe not as often as they used to — look at the top of the Billboard charts in the 20th century and chances are you won’t find nearly as high a percentage of love songs as you might have decades earlier. Where once the love song essentially marked a sort of default mode for pop music, today top 40 encompasses more subjects than ever: Identity, sexuality, personal struggles, not talking about Bruno, and countless others.
Still, look at the biggest names in music of the 21st century: Drake, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Adele, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Ed Sheeran. They all have multiple unforgettable love songs to their credit, earning the artists some of their biggest and most-beloved hits. The form and content may have evolved since the days of The Ronettes and The Beach Boys — hell, since the days of Boyz II Men and Celine Dion — but it remains an essential and inextricable part of the pop experience, and likely will for as long as popular music exists.
Here are our staff’s picks for the 50 greatest love songs of the 21st century — mostly keeping to the more aww-worthy end of the spectrum to keep the energy right for this Valentine’s Day. (If you’re not feeling particularly in the mood for love today, though, we’ve got you covered there too.)
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Billie Eilish, "Ocean Eyes" (2015)
Whispery, dreamlike vocals? Check! Lyrics that reflect the all-consuming feeling of being deeply, hopelessly, terrifyingly in love? Check! Immediately striking and alluring title? Obviously. There may not be a song more perfect for a first dance at a wedding — or a school dance, seeing as how Eilish was only 14 when her breakthrough hit was first uploaded to SoundCloud. It’s not hard to picture lovers in an embrace, oblivious to everything else as they sway to the haunting chorus: “I’m scared/ I’ve never fallen from quite this high/ Fallin’ into your ocean eyes.” — ANNA CHAN
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Rascal Flatts, "Bless the Broken Road" (2004)
Gary LeVox’s formidable, crystalline voice hits every lyrical nuance in this tale of a complex romantic journey that ultimately finds its happy ending. Poetic lyrics such as “Every long lost dream led me to where you are/ Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars/ Pointing me on my way into your loving arms” made this glossy ballad a wedding mainstay. Not only did the song become a five-week No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hit, it netted the song’s writers Marcus Hummon, Bobby Boyd and Jeff Hanna a Grammy for best country song. — JESSICA NICHOLSON
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Maná, "Eres Mi Religión" (2002)
Hard-hitting drum beats and an electric guitar make “Eres Mi Religion” a rocking romantic ballad — but it’s the heartfelt and honest lyrics that bring it to life. Beginning by describing a person who’s lost in the world, with broken wings and surrounded by fallen angels, the song turns into a hopeful love miracle. “My love, you appeared in my life and cured my wounds… In a world of illusion, I was evicted, I was abandoned, I lived without meaning, but you came / Oh my love, you are my religion,” the Mexican band sings. In every verse, there’s an unconditional metaphor describing how pure and unexpected love can be: “You are my eternity / And you are even salvation / I had nothing / And today I have you.” — JESSICA ROIZ
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Ginuwine, "Differences" (2001)
Ginuwine’s 2001 hit “Differences” is a dramatic R&B classic — the then-31-year-old crooning with fervor about settling down and being “so in love, so deep in love” — with a delectably dated early ’00s music video to match. “This is my story and I’m telling you/ It’s not fiction, it’s surely a fact,” he sings.”Without you right here having my back/ I really don’t know just where I’d be at.” In his prime, Ginuwine was a heartthrob, and with the intense yearning in his delivery, there is no wonder why. “Differences” is still a Black wedding reception staple — and a recurring sample choice for contemporary rappers, recently helping to boost Pop Smoke’s similarly swoonworthy “What You Know Bout Love” to the Hot 100’s top 10. — CYDNEY LEE
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Bloc Party, "I Still Remember" (2007)
A love song about a love that never was — not quite, not that way — but one that remains as sweeping and resonant as any such ballad of romance fulfilled. As singer/songwriter Kele Okereke recalls a schoolboy friendship forever a heartbeat away from becoming something more, the song expresses the wish that the frontman himself apparently couldn’t at the time: “You should’ve asked me for it/ I would have been brave/ How could I say no?” It could have come off maudlin or tragic, but over blood-pumping bass and drums and a soaring guitar riff, Okereke sounds as nostalgic for the innocent emotional rush of the moment as he does regretful for not acting on it, leaving the song as heart-filling as it is heartbreaking. — ANDREW UNTERBERGER
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Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland, "Dilemma" (2002)
A perfect sonic distillation of an instant romantic obsession, “Dilemma” boasts an inspired Patti LaBelle sample, Nelly’s puppy-love flow, Rowland’s crystal-clear croon and those irresistible OHs you can’t help but sing along to every time. “Dilemma” had no problem on the charts, bounding to No. 1 on the Hot 100 for 10 weeks, becoming the fourth biggest single of 2002 and going down in history as one of the greatest hip-hop love songs of all time. — JOE LYNCH
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Gyptian, "Hold Yuh" (2010)
Never a major chart hit — “Hold Yuh” peaked at No. 77 on the Hot 100 in summer 2010 — Gyptian’s signature single has endured as a radio and club staple in the decade-plus since for the irresistible embrace of its dancehall groove and singalong chorus. Winning from its opening piano plinks, the song is both sensual and sweet enough that it’s basically up to you whether or not you want to find the double meaning in its hook: “Girl, you give me the tightest hold me eva get inna mi life.” — A.U.
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Keith Urban, "Making Memories of Us" (2005)
Though Urban didn’t write this sentimental track — Rodney Crowell penned it as a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift for his wife Claudia, and later recorded it as part of the group The Notorious Cherry Bombs — the Australian-American country star’s intimate, enchanting rendition lifted the song to the top of Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart for five weeks. Urban offers one of his most candidly romantic musical deliveries here, as he promises to earn his lover’s trust with every happy memory they make together. — J.N.
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Prince Royce, "Darte un Beso" (2013)
In this declaration of love, Prince Royce is willing to do anything it takes to catch the attention of the girl he likes. With his sweet bachata-pop fusion “Darte un Beso,” the Dominican-American singer opens up about everything he’s capable of doing for love, from changing the world to learning to speak different languages. “I just want to give you a kiss/ And give you my mornings / Sing to calm your fears/ I want you to not miss anything,” he sings in the chorus. Few were missing “Darte Un Beso” in late 2013, as the song reigned atop the Hot Latin Songs chart for 14 weeks. — J.R.
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Sufjan Stevens, "Mystery of Love" (2017)
Made for the 2017 romance film Call Me By Your Name, “Mystery of Love” is a masterful unraveling of the titular feeling’s wonders. The whimsical, fluttering strings sound like the butterflies you get in your stomach when thinking about the greatest love you’ve ever experienced. But within Sufjan Stevens’ hushed melodies lie the hard truth about what happens when that sensation doesn’t last forever, as his reminiscences span from “The first time that you touched me” to “The last time that you touched me.” — HERAN MAMO
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Janelle Monáe, "Make Me Feel" (2018)
From the first line of this slinky, Prince-inspired pop-funk jam, Janelle Monáe attempts to dodge the idea of verbalizing the way her lover sends every inch of her into a tizzy, launching with “Don’t make me spell it out for you/ All of the feelings that I’ve got for you.” From there, Monáe lets the tongue clicks and woozy beats do the talking for her — at least until just over 40 seconds in, when pre-chorus explodes with the insuppressible admission: It’s “an emotional, sexual bender” and “there’s nothing better.” — TAYLOR MIMS
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Daniel Caesar & H.E.R., "Best Part" (2017)
Falling in love often feels like being in a movie, doesn’t it? Daniel Caesar and H.E.R. perfectly capture that sense of too-good-to-be-true elation with their soft, honeyed vocals and lyrical metaphors, comparing the person they love to life’s best things — like coffee, sunshine and, of course, “Tylenol I take when my head hurts.” Caesar wraps up the song by repeating the question that saturates our minds when our hearts are in their most vulnerable state: “If you love me, won’t you say something?” — RANIA ANIFTOS
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Common, "The Light" (2000)
You don’t pull out the full Bobby Caldwell vocal sample on the chorus unless you really mean it — and certainly no one would accuse Common of insincerity on his biggest Hot 100 hit as a lead artist. Inspired by then-girlfriend Erykah Badu, “The Light” appropriately has that peak-relationship glow throughout — not totally love-drunk but unmistakably love-buzzed, as the rapper’s love letter hits all the right notes and lets that soul-stirring Caldwell hook fill in the gaps between. The best line is saved for the closing ellipsis: “Yo, I tell you the rest when I see you.” — A.U.
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Enrique Iglesias, "Heroe" (2001)
In this pop ballad, led primarily by an acoustic guitar, Enrique Iglesias questions if he can be his lover’s savior and talks about that unconditional love that makes you only want to help the one you love. His sensual vocals also narrate an emotional intimacy in the last verse, as he swears that he would fight against anyone or anything to save his lover — convincing enough listeners to make it one of the biggest and most enduring crossover hits of his career. — INGRID FAJARDO
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Christina Aguilera, "Ain't No Other Man" (2006)
It may not be the typical big ballad that comes to mind when you think “love song,” but make no mistake — “Ain’t No Other Man” is about as lovestruck as Christina Aguilera gets. Her lyrics listing off everything her lover’s got (namely soul, class, style and badass-ness) — blended with the song’s clearly delirious jazz-pop shuffle — makes “Ain’t No Other Man” a pop classic and a more-than-worthy love song in its own right. — STEPHEN DAW
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Death Cab For Cutie, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" (2006)
Indie stalwarts Death Cab For Cutie make the ultimate commitment in this transcendent acoustic ballad. “Love of mine, someday you will die/But I’ll be close behind,” frontman Ben Gibbard sings in the solo number. It matters not that Heaven and Hell may have hung out no vacancy signs: Gibbard’s love is so strong that he will follow his partner’s soul into the great abyss so they can remain together forever in eternity and “hold each other soon/ in the blackest of rooms.” As romantic as it is morbid — no disrespect to Paul McCartney, but there’s nothing silly about this love song. — MELINDA NEWMAN
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UGK feat. OutKast, "Int'l Players Anthem (I Choose You)" (2007)
It’s an epic start, a choir of sweet voices harmonizing on a sample of Willie Hutch’s “I Choose You,” as the hip-hop Shakespeare himself (also known as Andre 3000) delivers what can only be described as pure poetry. The OutKast wordsmith’s dedication is heartfelt, in an unmistakably hip-hop way. As soon as UGK’s Pimp C bursts into his boastful, percussion-laced verse, the wedding-ready track transitions from tear-jerking ceremony to ass-shaking reception. The classic single is a soliloquy to be delivered by former players everywhere for years to come, confessing their love for a singular partner while also cc’ing all the girls that they’d see-see ‘round town. — NEENA ROUHANI
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Ella Mai, "Boo'd Up" (2017)
British singer-songwriter Ella Mai experienced her stateside breakthrough with this playful R&B ditty, which peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100 in July 2018, a year and a half after its initial release. The super-smooth track sounds like a classic 1990s R&B slow-jam (and was originally inspired by one), but producer Mustard put a little pep in its step with a staccato, synthesized hi-hat dancing beside Mai’s warm and nimble vocal. Though the phrase “boo’d up” may fade in time, the sentiment of longing that sends the heart racing and knocks the words right out of you — leaving you with a “biddy-da-do” chorus — is forever. — CHRISTINE WERTHMAN
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Snow Patrol, "Chasing Cars" (2006)
For the second single from their 2006 album, Eyes Open, Gary Lightbody and the gang released this slow-building, emotional rocker that debuted on the Hot 100 two weeks after it was prominently featured in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. “If I lay here / If I just lay here / Would you lie with me and just forget the world?” Lightbody asks, a simple request set to an equally straightforward melody shouldered by repeating a two-note electric guitar pattern. Though the song crescendos right before the three-minute mark, Lightbody maintains his fragile, pleading delivery — a bleeding heart to the end, whose affection was returned by listeners who kept the song on the Hot 100 for 45 weeks. — C.W.
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Vanessa Carlton, "A Thousand Miles" (2002)
Nearly 15 years after Scottish rock duo The Proclaimers offered to walk 500 miles — and subsequently 500 more — in the name of love, Carlton jumped straight to the thousand-mile mark on the lead single of her Be Not Nobody debut album in 2002. She trades the trademark call-and-response hook of that ’90s smash for one of the most memorable piano licks of the 21st century to hammer home the urgency of her desire: “You know I’d walk a thousand miles if I could just see you … tonight.” The spine-tingling sensation that comes with each successive key afterward is enough to jumpstart a romance-fueled marathon on every listen. Just pace yourself, okay? — JOSH GLICKSMAN
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D'Angelo and the Vanguard, "Really Love" (2014)
The Godfather of Modern Soul Love Songs has long put his listeners in a trance, but on “Really Love,” from 2014’s long-awaited Black Messiah, D’Angelo is the one under love’s spell. Gina Figueroa’s Spanish spoken word intro about “the turbulence of their romance” opens the song with a swelling string overture that blends into a sultry Spanish guitar. D’Angelo admits he’s not the easiest man to love, but smooths things over with his honeyed “doo doo wah” ad-libs, forming a delicate ode to a difficult romance. — H.M.
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Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Maps" (2003)
Yeah Yeah Yeahs leader Karen O utters fewer than 10 different phrases over the course of “Maps,” but the most important one — “Wait, they don’t love you like I love you” — pierces deep enough to become unforgettable. While her voice oscillates between disaffected and pleading on the indie-rock touchstone, Karen O sings those nine words over trembling guitar and heart-pounding drums with straightforward sincerity — a statement of devotion that, for her subject, needs to be clear as day. — JASON LIPSHUTZ
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Kacey Musgraves, "Butterflies" (2018)
Instead of rejecting the cliché “butterflies in your stomach” and trying to overcomplicate love, Kacey Musgraves embraces it. In “Butterflies,” Musgraves is as ethereal and warm as ever, painting the picture of an unexpectedly healthy and loving relationship that turns her world upside down. “Now I remember what it feels like to fly / You give me butterflies,” she sings in the chorus. It’s so cute and no matter how cheesy it gets, you can’t help but swoon. — R.A.
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Drake feat. Majid Jordan, "Hold On, We're Going Home" (2013)
Let’s just disregard what Drake himself said about the meaning behind the lyrics of his 2013 earworm proposition “Hold On, We’re Going Home” — mainly that the chorus’ request to “just hold on” was because at the time he was too busy for a romantic relationship. Instead let’s discuss how, if a successful partnership is predicated on the notion of safety, Drake in this song makes us feel not just protected — he is taking us home, after all — but is also fulfilling the adjacent desire of being fully seen. He knows we’re good; he knows exactly who we could be. Convictions some might call condescending for others offer the tender, tantalizing promise of a ride or die one-and-only who knows us better than we know ourselves. Throw those sentiments over the R&B confection of the production and well, I think there’s something, baby. — K.B.
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Coldplay, "Magic" (2014)
What is love if not magic? Chris Martin conjures the imagery of a magician’s tricks — “cut me into two,” “I disappear from view” – to wrap his head around the wizardry keeping his romantic spirit alive even when love comes to an end. The Ghost Stories single was considered a post-divorce song, given its release after Martin’s conscious uncoupling from ex-wife and co-parent Gwyneth Paltrow, but it has to be the most hopeful breakup song of all time. Does he still believe in magic? “Of course I do,” he emphasizes in closing. – KATIE ATKINSON
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One Direction, "What Makes You Beautiful" (2011)
This peppy slice of wholesome pop/rock adoration introduced the world to One Direction in 2011 and set legions of adolescent hearts aflutter. While mere mortals may not see the object of their affection’s elusive charms — she’s oblivious to them herself — the five lads of 1D are so transfixed on their sweetheart that even the way she flips her hair gets them overwhelmed. The sugary sweet lyrics and the bouncy uptempo melodies, delivered by five teen heartthrobs in the making, are what tween dreams are made of. — M.N.
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Shakira, "Que Me Quedes Tú" (2001)
As the hopeless romantic she is, Shakira takes time on this Laundry Service gem to list everything she’d rather see extinguished before losing the love of her life. From smiles to sunsets and even poets, it’s all redundant, she declares: “Because I already know I depend on you. If you’re here, I have life.” There are so many other Shakira picks to choose from for a list like this — including some that were bigger crossover pop hits in the U.S. — but “Que Me Quedes Tú” is her quintessential can’t-live-without-you love song. — GRISELDA FLORES
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Francis & The Lights feat. Chance the Rapper, "May I Have This Dance" (2017)
That enigmatic vocalist Francis Farewell Starlite sounds like some 21st-century hybrid of Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel immediately evokes waves of nostalgia whenever he sings, but especially so on this synthtastic track. With assists from a murderer’s row of behind-the-scenes pop/rock hitmakers (including Ariel Rechtshaid, Benny Blanco and Cashmere Cat) and aided by an instantly iconic music video featuring Starlite and Chance the Rapper performing bare-bones, gestural choreography, it’s an elemental expression of love both romantic and platonic (Chance‘s verse is a sweet ode to his then baby daughter Kensli). Pulling it all together is a refrain — “Can I say something crazy? I love you” — that wouldn’t be out of place blasting out of John Cusack’s Say Anything boombox. — REBECCA MILZOFF
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Rihanna, "Love on the Brain" (2016)
Rihanna knows a thing or two about writing catchy love songs, but “Love on the Brain“ scratches a deeper, more amorous itch than nearly any other intimate single in her repertoire. The doo-wop style of the production brings an older, richer flavor, while her grasping falsetto aches with desire in a way that her fans had never heard from her. “Love on the Brain” is simply ecstatic affection bottled into a sweltering tune, anchored by one of Rihanna’s best-ever refrains. — S.D. -
Bruno Mars, "Just the Way You Are" (2010)
There’s a reason this unabashed valentine topped the Hot 100 for four weeks and brought Mars his first Grammy Award – it’s an exceptionally pretty declaration of unconditional love; the aural equivalent of a box of chocolates. In the verses, Mars repeats certain phrases, like a nervous, stuttering suitor. But then it’s as if he gets a shot confidence as he sings the chorus loud and strong: “When I see your face/There’s not a thing that I would change/’Cause you’re amazing/Just the way you are.” — PAUL GREIN
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Carly Rae Jepsen, "Run Away With Me" (2015)
Putting aside the maybes and really like yous of previous singles, Carly Rae Jepsen laid her deck on the table with this ecstatic synth-pop paean to being someone’s “sinner in secret” and “hero and win it — when the lights go out.” If Pat Benatar is right and love is a battlefield, then the glorious saxophone at the top of “Run Away With Me” is a siren call-to-arms for those ready to risk it all for a headlong charge at romantic bliss. — J. Lynch
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Jason Isbell, "If We Were Vampires" (2017)
There is no talk of blood in Jason Isbell’s spellbinding “If We Were Vampires,” but it’s still not a love song for the faint of heart. The tremendous slow-build of a song starts off with all the reasons Isbell loves his wife, from her fragile heart to her sense of right and wrong, before he gets to the crux of his fear – that they’d ultimately be lucky just to get 40 years together. Over tenderly plucked acoustic guitar, Isbell understands that there is no amount of time that would satiate him — but, at the end of the day, knowing he and his wife can’t have forever makes him all the more eager to hold her hand, do right by her, and hope it isn’t him who’s left behind. — T.M.
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Taylor Swift, "Love Story" (2008)
Taylor Swift has gone on to write plenty of love songs significantly more mature and nuanced in the 14 years since “Love Story” — but she’s acknowledged that she’ll still have to perform it for the rest of her life, as her first (and still to some fans her true) signature song. It’s not hard to see why: The instantly winning country-pop smash remains transportive for anyone who’s ever felt young love powerful and dramatic enough to make them feel like a Shakespeare protagonist — and for now-grown Swifties, it’s a ticket back to a time when any potential relationship issues could be solved by a post-key change promise of “You’ll never have to be alone/ I love you and that’s all I really know.” — A.U.
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50 Cent feat. Nate Dogg, "21 Questions" (2013)
Nearly two decades after debuting as the second single from 50 Cent’s debut album Get Rich or Die Tryin’, “21 Questions” remains an unequivocal hip-hop, love classic. “Girl it’s easy to love me now, would you love me if I was down and out?/ Would you still have love for me?” the late Nate Dogg famously croons. With an instantly recognizable beginning guitar lick, alternate reality music video starring Megan Good, and a four-week stay at No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 2003, it’s no wonder “21 Questions” remains a nostalgic romance anthem for children of the ’00s. — DARLENE ADEROJU
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Cafe Tacvba, "Eres" (2003)
Mexican rock band Café Tacvba’s sublime “Eres” soundtracked the first dance at every Latin couple’s wedding in the early 2000s, when the power ballad was released. At least that’s what we’d like to think, because it’s the perfect song for it, as a declaration of love in the simplest way possible: “Eres” (you are). “You are what I love the most in this world. [You are] my salvation, my hope and my faith,” Cafeta’s Emmanuel “Meme” del Real convincingly sings. — G.F.
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Paramore, "The Only Exception" (2010)
After Paramore broke through with their 2007 album Riot!, highlighted by brash emo-pop sing-alongs like “Misery Business” and “That’s What You Get,” the biggest hit from their 2009 follow-up Brand New Eyes was… a swaying, acoustic-led love ballad? “The Only Exception” was unexpected, and so was its emotional wallop: Hayley Williams delivers an unadorned and moving performance, singing about loving against all odds with a vocal confidence that slices through preconceived notions of what Paramore was — and what they could become over the next decade. — J. Lipshutz
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Charli XCX, "Boom Clap" (2014)
“Show don’t tell” is the clichéd literary maxim — but when you can, why not just do both? That’s what Charli XCX did on her biggest solo pop hit, this single from teen romance tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars. “Boom Clap” features Charli spelling out in direct, impactful onomatopoeic terms the sound of her heart when she’s under the influence of her love — from the very first beats of the song, even — but it’s not like you couldn’t tell anyway from the song’s synth-pop endorphin rush, its gratifyingly dynamic production and feverishly emphatic delivery. It’s the rare ’10s film love theme worthy of the ’80s; not quite as puffed-off or melodramatic as most of those mega-ballads, but just as breath-away-taking. — A.U.
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John Legend, "All of Me" (2013)
In 2014, Legend earned his first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single with this earnest piano ballad, which he penned with Toby Gad and John Stephens. Included on Legend’s 2013 album Love in the Future project, the song blends a graceful arrangement and his airy tenor with adoring lyrics that appreciate every aspect of his lover, especially in the frank and moving lyrics, “Love your curves and all your edges/ all your perfect imperfections.” Altogether, it makes for an essential track for any romantic playlist. — J.N.
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Beyoncé feat. Jay-Z, "Crazy in Love" (2003)
There’s a reason versions of this hit from 21st century popular music’s king and queen have been included on myriad romantic movie soundtracks, from 50 Shades of Grey to Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason — its lyrics capture the jubilance and darkness of being in love. Take the chorus: “Got me looking so crazy right now/ Your love’s got me looking so crazy right now.” They easily fit both someone who is deliriously in love in a good way, and one who has crossed over to unhealthy obsession. But regardless of the manner of love, the song makes you want to dance, and that’s crazy good. — A.C.
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Katy Perry, "Teenage Dream" (2010)
“Teenage Dream” could have been a straightforward ode to puppy love and still probably earned Perry a near-permanent fixture atop the Hot 100. Actually, “Teenage Dream” could have been a lot of things: Perry and co-writer Bonnie McKee — who had a hand in a number of singles from this era, from “California Gurls” to “Part of Me” — wrote half a dozen versions of the song in pursuit of pop perfection. And they found it by embracing the melancholy: “The word teenager, it makes us all a little sad, because it’s not something that can last forever,” McKee told Billboard in 2019. They result is a song that doesn’t just capture the elation of young love, but celebrates how fragile and fleeting it can be, too. — NOLAN FEENEY
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Miguel, "Adorn" (2012)
One of his many tear-inducing ballads, the promises and affirmations of Miguel’s “Adorn” could also double as wedding vows. The R&B singer-songwriter possesses a suave demeanor and sex appeal strong enough to make the listener feel like he is singing directly to them when he assures over a throbbing mid-tempo groove: “Baby, these fists will always protect ya, lady/ And this mind, ooh, will never neglect you.” Protecting and providing an emotional safe space is arguably the best thing a man can do for a woman, and Miguel does this and more with “Adorn,” which earned him a career-best peak of No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. — C.L.
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Ed Sheeran, "Thinking Out Loud" (2014)
This ballad’s opening lines pack a punch: “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?” Pop music rarely deals with old age, and less often still with infirmity — even when Paul McCartney sang of getting older in The Beatles’ “When I’m 64,” his approach was winsome and charming. “Thinking Out Loud” is less winsome, with its vivid images of theoretical physical and cognitive decline, though it still manages to be heartwarming through Sheeran’s pledges of “I will be loving you till we’re 70,” while the spare, soulful arrangement mirrors the lyric’s naked vulnerability. The song deservedly brought Sheeran and co-writer Amy Wadge the 2015 Grammy for song of the year. — P.G.
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King Princess, "1950" (2018)
As a then-20-year-old queer artist, the 1950s wouldn’t be the time period that you’d have expected King Princess to be daydreaming of when pursuing a romantic interest. But in 2018’s “1950,” she puts her dignity aside (as we tend to do when we feel that magical spark for the first time), and plays the mid-century role of longing for her crush to court her and “try to save me, ’cause I’m just a lady.” The song is a tender, oh-so-sweet take on young and perhaps not yet totally requited love, and the giddy, beautiful, confusing and insecure emotions that inevitably come with it. — R.A.
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Sade, "By Your Side" (2000)
If a song could double as a shoulder to cry on, it’d be “By Your Side.” Longtime musical icon Sade Adu coos about sticking to a loved one through thick and thin with a reassuring ease in her contralto and simple-yet-sincere lyrics: “You think I’d leave your side, baby/ You know me better than that.” Her eponymous group’s first classic song of the 21st century, “By Your Side” transcends genres — acting as the love child of soft rock and soulful R&B — and anything that could attempt to break apart an unshakable love, which is why it’s become canon at weddings in the 20-plus years since. — H.M.
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Harry Styles, "Adore You" (2019)
In the transfixing “Adore You,” Harry Styles doesn’t need his loved one to say they’re his or confess those three little words. He knows where he stands and it’s in their “rainbow paradise.” He is willing to be the first to say he can’t stop thinking about his lover and losing track of the hours as they get sunburned under summer skies. By the time his falsetto blares out “Ah” in the explosive chorus, it’s clear all inhibitions are gone and all that’s left is the pure joy of new love. And, as if his emotions had any choice in the matter, he begs “just let me adore you.” — T.M.
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Rihanna feat. Calvin Harris, "We Found Love" (2011)
A lot of songs employ flowery lyrics to tell you what love sounds like; together, Rihanna and Calvin Harris demonstrated how love actually feels. In the case of their 2011 Hot 100 No. 1 “We Found Love,” the sensation was that of being shot out of a confetti canon and taking flight, with the Scottish producer’s wind-up production — a classic of the EDM era — capturing the hectic, exhilarating, sometimes slightly dangerous thrill of new romance. Meanwhile, RiRi’s lyrics celebrated into the triumph of finding love despite all hope, with the soaring final product from these two stars defying any feelings of hopelessness. — K.B.
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Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You" (2004)
Alicia Keys’ most enduring love song in her vast catalog of ’em strips back everything, including the beat itself, which spotlights Keys’ pristine vocal and her soul-stirring piano melody. With lyrics simple but touching, she knows exactly when — and how — to dial up the song’s most delicate moments to hit the listener directly in the heart and boil love down to its core feeling. It’s on full display when her strained singing lingers on the final words in the chorus: “But everything means nothing/If I ain’t got you-u-u, yeahhhh.” — J.G. -
Frank Ocean, "Thinkin Bout You" (2012)
For many, it was their Tumblr-era, butterfly-inducing introduction to an R&B voice that would soon define a generation. Centering warped, minimal production, Frank Ocean’s admissions of love are initially wrapped in romantic sarcasm, offering in conversational baritone, “No, I don’t like you, I just thought you were cool enough to kick it/ Got a beach house I could sell you in Idaho, since you don’t think I love you…” But by the time he’s belting the song’s classic bridge (“Yes of course I remember, how could I forget how you feel?”), all his defenses are down. “Thinkin Bout You” is a lovesick anthem that can hold its weight alongside other R&B greats, perfectly illustrating with words and dynamics how it feels to fall head first. — N.R.
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Mariah Carey, "We Belong Together" (2005)
Regrets, Mariah has a few. In this 14-week Hot 100 No. 1 smash, Carey realizes (too late?) how good she had it with her ex. This one is all about the romantic details — like the songs on the radio that make her think of him (Bobby Womack and Babyface) or longing for the days of an endless late-night phone call (“Who’s gonna talk to me on the phone till the sun comes up?”). But unlike some post-breakup songs that leave you feeling sorry for the hopeless singer, Mariah’s breathless passion (and vocal yearning) leaves you pretty sure these two are going to make it work. They obviously belong together! – K.A.
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Beyoncé, "Love on Top" (2011)
The video might have invoked New Edition’s “If It Isn’t Love,” but there was clearly no doubt in Beyoncé’s mind what emotion she was dealing with in this one. Blissed-out on the verses and practically growling on the chorus, Beyoncé’s romantic ecstasy on 4 single “Love on Top” is buoyed by lighter-than-air keys and punchy soul horns, and contained only by the limits of her vocal range. Of course, as she demonstrates in a series of increasingly stunning late-song chorus key changes — like a bodybuilder adding weight after extra weight to an already-overloaded barbell — that ain’t restraining her much at all. And at the end of the song’s immediately iconic performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, when Bey finally couldn’t go any higher, she still topped herself one more time — by unbuttoning her jacket, and confirming that the love she was singing about had officially grown too big for just two people. — A.U.