The Best Love Songs Ever

20. Blur – ‘Tender’ Graham Coxon shuffles about uncomfortably, Damon Albarn is all gawky certainty, and Blur have never been so powerful. Backed by a gospel choir, recalling the imagery of Fitzgerald and Keats, it had altogether loftier ambitions than Blur’s earlier records. However, its charm is the devastating simplicity of both words and music, combining to make a song full of affection.

19. The Stranglers – ‘Golden Brown’ A love song about heroin, it waltzes past, seemingly propping itself up on a merry-go-round rhythm that bobs along constantly. Full of contradictions and a tickling vocal, it sounds peculiarly English, a strange vagueness mixing with a stately delivery to get that bubbling affection creeping through.

18. Oasis – ‘Wonderwall’ One of the most recognisable riffs in music gives way to a brooding vocal, part-sneer, part-croon, and millions of people recall millions of moments this song has soundtracked. The faint strings bring depth, lyrics effortless togetherness. A track so universal it makes rabbles of drunken lads show signs of emotion on a daily basis.

17. Buzzcocks –‘Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have)’ Buzzcocks masterpiece of hormonal adulation pits a confused Pete Shelley against his confusing lover and produces a rollicking two and a half minutes of unadulterated punk revelry. The repetition of ‘Ever fallen in love’ gives the song its heart and a quality that ensures reminiscence on every listen.

16. Donna Summer – ‘I Feel Love’ A trance-inducing loll through romance, ‘I Feel Love’ contains a synthesized backing so hypnotic it takes on an ardent glow. This lays the platform for Summer to sing piercingly pure vocals that bring an elated atmosphere to the track that revolutionised disco.

15. David Bowie – ‘Be My Wife’ “Sometimes you get so lonely/Sometimes you get nowhere.” Bowie is both playful and heated in this particularly frank plea for love. The key is the unconventional alteration of the repeated set of lyrics, changing slightly each verse and tapping into the desperation of Bowie’s appeal.

14. PJ Harvey – ‘This Is Love’ “I can’t believe life's so complex/When I just wanna' sit here and watch you undress.” PJ Harvey wastes no time in this rumbling blast of authoritative infatuation. It is unswerving in its intentions, as direct as it is commanding. The lack of complexity adds to the raw passion of a song of lustful pleasure.

13. The Smashing Pumpkins – ‘Tonight’ “The indescribable moments of your life tonight/The impossible is possible tonight/Believe in me as I believe in you, tonight.” Could be a bit cheesy, that. But sung in Billy Corgan’s unmistakable croak, it’s an empowering rollercoaster of a track, with grandiose strings ensuring an altogether affecting song.

12. Super Furry Animals – ‘Fire In My Heart’ A track of warmth and tenderness, it sees the Welsh scamps build up an exquisite but plain beginning. It evolves into a strong assertion of dedication, which clashes euphoric delivery with the underlining feeling the song should just collapse at any moment. Brilliantly different.

11. The Cure – ‘Friday I’m In Love’ Robert Smith penned this jovial ode to joy with a knowing simplicity that ensures it is as catchy as it is sincere. He uses the hook of days of the week eight years before Craig David made it annoying, and sings with enough jubilant abandon to lay claim to the title of happiest Goth of all time.

10. Led Zeppelin – ‘Thank You’ The first song that Robert Plant ever wrote for Led Zeppelin pays homage to his beloved wife Maureen; it features such heartrending lines as: “If the sun refused to shine / I would still be loving you /Mountains crumble to the sea / There will still be you and me.” Lovely.

9. Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin – ‘Je T’aime (Moi Non Plus)’ Few love songs have been officially denounced by The Vatican, but Serge Gainsbourg managed it with this sensual saga. It was deemed outrageous and explicit, with hushed French vocals and a deliciously suggestive style, but is also delicately delivered. Gainsbourg’s then-girlfriend Brigitte Bardot asked him to write 'the most romantic song that you could imagine', which is a fairly apt description.

8. The La’s – ‘There She Goes’ The lyrically sparse, wandering spirit of ‘There She Goes’ sounds as fresh and free today as on its release. The liberating, uncomplicated nature of the song may be at odds with interpretations it is actually about heroin, but, regardless, it remains a startlingly loveable tale of adoration.

7. The Beatles – ‘Something’ A majestic, swirling, and unashamedly sentimental track written at the stage when The Beatles seemed to have left this type of balladic tune behind, the song showcased the genius of George Harrison. He claims to have had Ray Charles in mind when writing it, and captures a sentiment of both openness and elusiveness.

6. Lou Reed – ‘Perfect Day’ The former Velvet Underground man showcased sensitivity on this release from acclaimed solo album ‘Transformer.’ The track is a subtle trip down a seemingly conventional romance, and is stark in its honesty, with lines such as “You make me forget myself/I thought I was someone else/Someone good.” Of course, it could all be about heroin again, but it’s cute nonetheless.

5. Marvin Gaye – ‘Let’s Get It On’ With more “ooh ooh”s, primal cries and “baby”s than most singers manage in a career, Marvin Gaye was at his most persuasive on this classic groove of charismatic seduction. A laid-back slice of soulful perfection, thousands of bad karaoke renditions haven’t tainted the pure smoothness of this expressive perfection.

4. Sebastien Tellier – ‘La Ritournelle’ The almost unbearable lushness of ‘La Ritournelle’ is tantalisingly visceral, a song that breezily drifts away aches and pains. It’s stylish, but oozes a soft vulnerability that only adds to the aching beauty of this crafted composition. The kind of song so gorgeous it should be annoying.

3. The Beach Boys – ‘God Only Knows’ From the French horns of the introduction to the airy vocals of Carl Wilson, reluctantly allowed to sing the song by his brother Brian, ‘God Only Knows’ is a twinkling composition as gorgeous as it is complex. The understated harmonies and emotional lyricism complete a delightful pop moment.

2. Joy Division – ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ The delineation of destructive love, Ian Curtis’s tortured vocals are tormented by pulsating drums and a tainted melody, giving the song a prodigious power. The well-documented context in which the song was created adds a spectral quality to the sound, but it is the lyrics of isolation and devotion that make this an essential song of love and pain.


1. The Smiths – ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ Undoubtedly the most beautiful music ever to include lyrics about getting hit by a bus, this manages to be a touching love song despite, or perhaps because of, its ambiguous lyrics of isolation and death. Morrissey at his most poetic.