“See, records have helped me to fall in love, no question. I hear something new, with a chord change that melts my guts, and before I know it I’m looking for someone, and before I know it I’ve found her.” This quote from Rob Gordon in the book High Fidelity shows how well music and love blend together! Love songs have been prevalent in music for centuries & luckily music streaming titan Spotify has bundled some of the best tracks that focus on one of humanity’s strongest emotions into playlists for its subscribers’ listening pleasure. These playlists differentiate its romantic music into certain types with playlists like “Love Pop” dealing with poppy love songs & “Jazzy Romance” being romantic jazz tunes. Some playlists are also curated into certain romantic activities such as playlist “Spooning” & another one called “Make Out Jams”. I’ve listened to some of these collections of love songs & have chosen the best so you’re able to have the best soundtrack for your Valentine’s Day!
In Love with the Crooners
When it comes to love songs, it can’t get much better than this. This playlist is a collection of love songs from America’s greatest vocalists & let’s face it, a love song is best sung with a buttery-smooth voice & a pure heart. The artists included with this playlist include Billie Holiday, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, Billy Joel & more. If you want to experience the pinnacle of love songwriting, look no further than this playlist.
Swagger
Maybe you want to stray away from some of the mushy, lovey-dovey nonsense & want something a bit sexier, fist-pumping, & upbeat. The playlist’s description says “These sexy, high-drama roots & Americana tracks pack some serious swagger.” The songs in this playlist are more prominent rock tracks of the last few years that still deal with the topic of love. Cage the Elephant, Jack White, & Nashville psychedelic rockers All Them Witches can be found on this playlist in addition to recent Country, Folk, & Bluegrass artists like Shovels & Rope, Laura Marling, & Miranda Lambert.
You & Me
Despite its vague name, this playlist includes many alt & indie rock favorites with their most tender selections dealing with the subject of romance. While calling itself an alt-rock playlist, there are some more commonly recognizable names on this playlist like U2, Twenty-One Pilots, Oasis, & Imagine Dragons. But if you do yourself some justice & dig deeper, you’ll find some awesome cuts from bands like Future Islands, TV on the Radio, The Cure, & Karen Elson.
Love in Paris
If you want to brush up on your world music & take in some of the best pieces from the City of Love, check out this playlist, which is a compilation of French love songs. France has historically produced some of the greatest romantic composers of all time, so expect some excellent, classical auditory pleasure.
Melancholia
Valentine’s Day isn’t for everybody. Maybe this year you’re ordering yourself a heart-shaped pizza for yourself & plan on catching up on Netflix while hoping that Mr. or Mrs. Right will be in your life in the near-future. Fortunately, Spotify has provided multiple somber and dismal playlists for the broken-hearted. “Melancholia” is a playlist that makes me want to cry just from reading all the tracks that are a part of this compilation. These are some of the best songs about break-ups & tough love. Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees”, Beck’s “Guess I’m Doing Fine”, Ben Folds Five’s “Brick”, & other solemn picks from Elliott Smith, Ryan Adams, PJ Harvey, & many others make the cut. Let the waterworks open with this playlist.
