In Love With Love: The Top 30 Greatest Love Songs Of All Time

As far as music goes, if this isn’t the first time we’ve had the pleasure to meet, you know by now that I pretty much figure life out one lyrical lesson at a time. All of this leads to the point that today, I get to discuss the Top 30 greatest love songs of all time with all you! Except greatest love songs of ALL TIME turned out to be a lot of pressure so it’s more like my most favorite songs about love. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, right? With soul, pop-rock, country, classic and a few nods to the tween heartthrobs of yesterday and today, there is a little something for everyone. So, without further ado, I present to you, my 30 favorite love songs of all time!

30. ‘Love Story‘ by Taylor Swift Love her or hate her, Taylor is the reigning princess of the love song so it would be foolish of me not to throw her a mention. With this, one of her first hits, she puts into words what each of us started out thinking love was- a fairytale.

29. ‘U Smile‘ by Justin Bieber Allow me to continue on with the teeny-boppers of today’s generation. Trust me, the list isn’t filled with them (so don’t stop reading), it just happens that they bring up the rear in the ranking; they are still learning about love, after all. At any rate, the Biebs actually gets a little soulful in this song and it reminds us that when we smile, he smiles. He’s all in.

28. ‘All My Life‘ by K-Ci and JoJo There wasn’t a single couple in love in 1998 who didn’t claim this hit as “their song.” If you weren’t in love, you played this on a Friday night with your girlfriends talking about your biggest crush. It’s just that simple and the sentiment lives on.

27. ‘If It’s Love‘ by Train When you think of love songs your mind may not go directly to Train. Alternative, slightly grungy, 90’s pop rock? Yes, but love may be a stretch. However, it turns out Pat Monahan loves love too, so give this one a listen. He’s totally right; “If it’s love, and we’re two birds of a feather, then the rest is just whatever.”

26. ‘You Give Me Something‘ by James Morrison Love is a little scary, right? Sometimes, we don’t all feel we were cut out for it and James seriously understands that. With this gem, he shows us just how good it can be when we get over our fear and his voice makes you want to believe anything he sings.

25. ‘All For Love‘ by Color Me Badd Seriously, they want you to know they do it ALL FOR LOVE. That makes the band and this song a shoe-in for the list. I may be biased here considering this was the song to which I debuted my dance and cheer skills at pee-wee camp (I am certain there is a video somewhere) but there is no way anyone can play this song and not bust a little move in honor of love. Plus, they’ll call you every night and bring you flowers too.

24. ‘This Year’s Love‘ by David Grey I imagine heaven to be a place where they play David Grey on repeat. I am in love with whoever is in the room from his first word to his last on this track. Play with caution.

23. ‘You Had Me From Hello‘ by Kenny Chesney Our main man Kenny has sung some sweet lyrics over the years but ‘You Had Me From Hello’ takes the love cake. This classic country song perfectly puts into words the beauty of love at first sight.

22. ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart‘ by The Backstreet Boys A band whose fame and fortune was based solely on their ability to get tween girls to fall madly in love with them deserved to have at least one song on the list. With plenty of options to choose from, ‘I’ll Never Break Your Heart’ won out because, at the end of the day, it’s what every girl really wants to hear.

21. ‘This I Promise You‘ by N’Sync In an effort to not play favorites, the two smoothest, love-song-singing boy bands of my generation are one right after the other. The boys of N’Sync won just as many hearts as their aforementioned counterparts and when they sang ‘This I Promise You’ and girls everywhere believed. You know you had the poster. You know you begged to go to the concert. You know one of them was your first love and at least once a year you listen to one of their songs again. It’s okay to admit it. You’re not alone.

20. ‘Then‘ by Brad Paisley Those country boys know a thing or two about love, and with an arsenal that includes songs like ‘She’s Everything’ and ‘Little Moments’, Brad Paisley is one of the masters. He truly seals the deal with “Then”, proving that true love just keeps getting better, even when we think it’s at its best.

19. ‘Love Me Tender‘ by Norah Jones  Originally sung by Elvis Presley, Norah Jones sweetly represents old school love, The Notebook type love, which may be the rarest kind. ‘Love Me Tender’ takes you back to a time where you might be sitting on a porch swing with your one and only, feeling like you are the only two people in the whole world.

18. ‘You Are The Best Thing‘ by Ray LaMontagne When Ray LaMontagne sings, you listen and when he sings about love you fall hard. Don’t we all just want to be the best thing that ever happened to someone? I certainly do after listening to Mr. LaMontagne sing about it.

17. ‘She’s My Kind of Rain‘ by Tim McGraw and The Dancehall Doctors Only a country song can make you want for someone who will tell you that you are their kind of rain. ‘She’s My Kind of Rain’ explains love in the most magical way and Tim McGraw is the cowboy we would all only hope would describe us in these ways.

16, ‘It’s Your Love‘ by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw Continuing on with the country love, Faith and Tim are the most iconic duo in country music, one of the greatest celebrity love stories. ‘It’s Your Love’ is, quite possibly, the greatest country love song of all time. “If you wonder, about the spell I’m under, it’s your love.” Boom. Game Over.

15. ‘Endless Love‘ by Lionel Richie An oldie but a goodie, Gigglers. Originally sung by two of the greats, Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, it has been covered many times over and was also used to describe Chandler and Janice’s “movie love” on Friends. If you know what Lionel is talking about, you truly are in love.

14. ‘Vision of Love‘ by Mariah Carey No matter your opinion on Mariah or her new gig as judge on American Idol, she is a close second to Miss Whitney Houston in the love song singing diva department. With hits like ‘Thank God I Found You’, ‘Always Be My Baby’, ‘Dreamlover’ and my personal favorite, ‘Vision of Love’, she dominated a decade of music, breaking it down in honor of love.

13. ‘Let’s Stay Together‘ by Al Green One of the greatest soul artists of all time obviously new a thing or two about romancing the women and being in love. The way Mr. Green sings about love makes us want to do nothing but stay together, good or bad, happy or sad. Not to mention this classic was most recently covered by a man who exudes love (or pure sexiness, same thing), Adam Levine. Lethal love combination.

12. ‘With or Without You‘ by U2 U2 teaches us what it means to wait for love, bottom line. With or ‘Without You’ is the anthem of hopeful, patient lovers everywhere. That is one epic lyrical love lesson.

11. ‘I’ll Make Love To You‘ by Boys II Men DUH. If you were making a list of the greatest love songs of all time and you didn’t include Boys II Men, you have probably never been in love and your future is looking a little uncertain. This song is about exactly what happens when you are madly in love. Plus, there are obviously millions of 90’s children who have these men to thank for being born.

10. ‘All You Need Is Love‘ by The Beatles I think it is safe to say we are all secretly hoping that fancy instrument playing strangers will pop up out of the crowd at our wedding thanks to this song and Love Actually. Above and beyond, The Beatles summed up the key to life quite perfectly with five little words, “All You Need Is Love.”

9. ‘You Got What I Need‘ by Joshua Radin If there were ever a song that sucked you into the feeling of being madly in love it was ‘You Got What I Need.’ With lyrics along the lines of “Baby, you. You got what I need. Baby, you. You got my sunshine.” and a voice like Joshua Radin, you definitely got the number nine spot on the list.

8. ‘4 and 20‘ by Joss Stone There are few women with as much soul and swagger as Joss Stone, which means she is one cool customer when it comes to love. With ‘4 and 20′ she shows us how to love without losing that ever-elusive power. Preach sister.

7. ‘I’ve Had The Time of My Life‘ by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes Nothing says love like Patrick Swayze and Dirty Dancing. Who hasn’t envisioned themselves as Jennifer Grey, perfecting that lift. That’s just realistic love at it’s best.

6. ‘To Be With You‘ by Mr. Big Hold on little girl, Mr. Big is coming and a broken heart can’t be that bad. Being the original “I’ll never break your heart” song, Mr. Big was the first crooner to make us want to take a second chance on love. Nothing beats an original.

5. Can’t Help Falling In Love by UB40 We love it because it’s true; only fools rush in, but sometimes we can’t help falling in love. Originally sung by Elvis, it has also been graced with covers by Michael Buble and my favorite, Ingrid Michaelson. Each make us feel like it’s magical to be a fool in love.

4. ‘I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing‘ by Aerosmith Truly, Steven Tyler probably screams more sex, drugs and rock n’ roll than love, but this song changed the game. Not to mention, it’s pretty much the theme song to Armageddon, which is obviously a movie about extreme love, not space excursion. I cry just thinking about it.

3. ‘Make You Feel My Love‘ Adele’s cover Adele has the ability to make us feel like she took the feelings from our heart, turned them into lyrics and sang them back just to us. ‘Make You Feel My Love’ is the perfect example of that, reminding us what we would do for the people we fall in love with.

2. ‘Take My Breath Away‘ by Berlin Not only is this one of the greatest love songs of all time, it is the theme to one of the most memorable love scenes in cinematic history. The lyrics have represented the most sought after type of love for decades and we will continue to teach this love for generations to come. Not to mention, every time we hear the first five notes, we immediately envision Tom Cruise in aviators. So, this is love.

Didn’t see your favorite love song on the list? “Share the love” and let me know what it is!