John, Paul, George and Ringo thought it was all we needed; Whitney Houston’s was undying.
Rihanna and Calvin Harris found it. Elvis couldn’t help falling in it…
Love.
On top, in the future… Crazy in it.
From “Love Shack” to “Love Story,”—we love songsabout love. Endless love, unconditional love; fleeting love, fading love; platonic love, romantic love…
Over the decades, high schoolers have turned to the time-honored (and incredibly corny) tradition of carefully curating songs to share their sentiments—recording  mixtapes, burning CDs, making digital playlists. It’s easy, it’s affordable and it’s an incredibly personal way to show someone you care.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, two Inkspot staffers made mixes of their ten favorite love songs, crafting what they think is the perfect playlist to look at love in all its forms—platonic, passionate and everything in between.
Tyler Chapman and Marielsie Iglesias explore what it is about each song that keeps them coming back to it time and time again and the lyrics that they are most attracted to.

10. “Better Together,” Jack Johnson (2005)

“Better Together” attempts to describe the indescribable – all the ways someone you love makes you feel. The complexity of love is almost impossible to articulate without coming up short, but Jack Johnson manages to simplify the complex – turning his emotions into just two words in this simple, acoustic and catchy track.

Favorite Lyric: “Love is the answer, at least for most of the questions in my heart / Like why are we here? And where do we go? / And how come it’s so hard?”

9. “Bloom,” The Paper Kites (2013)

Another song about ineffable affection, “Bloom” depicts the feeling through the music itself.
The guitar and background vocals give the listener a sense of weightlessness, a floating feeling, as if everything heavy has been lifted from their life because of the love they feel.

Favorite Lyric: “Oh, you fill my head with pieces / Of a song I can’t get out”

8. “Murder In The City – Live At Bojangles’ Coliseum,” The Avett Brothers (2010)

Scott Avett sings about a different type of love – the often under-appreciated familial love.
Avett’s lyrics challenge the listener to pause and think about the people in their lives they may be taking for granted.
The solo-acoustic version of the song embodies the strength of familial love that is at the core of its message. It is intimate, you can almost visualize the performance – as if Scott Avett is pouring his heart out to his family, his loved ones.

Favorite Lyric: “Always remember there was nothing worth sharing / Like the love that let us share our name”

7. “Just Breathe,” Pearl Jam (2009)

Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder said, in an interview with Canadian radio station The Edge, that “Just Breathe” is “as close to a love song as [the band] has ever gotten.”
This track off “Backspacer,” the band’s ninth studio album, is far from the typical Pearl Jam song – it’s like a lullaby, smooth and calm.
Vedder, after years on the road, touring the world, selling out stadiums, performing in front of screaming fans, suggests to his partner that they just take a moment to sit, slow it down and share their time with each other. Perhaps listen to a lullaby.

Favorite Lyric: “Did I say that I need you? / Did I say that I want you? / Oh, If I didn’t, I’m a fool you see / No one knows this more than me”

6. “Beige,” Yoke Lore (2017)

In “Beige,” Yoke Lore sings about digging below superficial attraction, finding real emotional connection. Lore asks their lover for complete vulnerability, to be totally open with them. Vulnerability, while scary, allows for deeper connection and understanding, and a more fulfilling relationship. Yoke Lore describes the feeling of someone wanting to know every single ugly piece of you, loving you because of them, not in spite of them, finding perfection in your imperfections.
This song is like a secure, warm hug, reminding us that some love is unconditional.

Favorite Lyric: “You know you’re beautiful / But that ain’t half the gold treasure in your soul that you got / ‘Cause I want it all”

5. “Lover,” Taylor Swift (2019)

When you finally find the one, the person who justifies all the heartbreak, all the bad breakups; When you meet the person who makes you say: “all of that pain was worth it for you” – this is the song for that moment.
“Lover” has everything a perfect love song needs: creative lyrics – simple, yet powerful; a dreamy, nostalgic quality; a catchy, memorable melody; vivid imagery – comparing their relationship to a physical space, a home they share; and of course, a classic Taylor Swift bridge.

Favorite Lyric: “My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue / All’s well that ends well to end up with you”

4. “Jackie and Wilson,” Hozier (2014)

Hozier (singer/songwriter Andrew Hozier-Byrne) is a hopeless romantic. He illustrates the purest of fantasies, dreaming of a life with someone he had just met – even naming their future children.
While the song may be based on false hope, it captures the excitement and anxiety of a new relationship in the upbeat swing of the vocals and guitar.

Favorite Lyric: “She’ll know me crazy, soothe me daily / Better yet she wouldn’t care”

3. “If We Were Vampires,” Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (2017)

Life is temporary and death will eventually separate soulmates, even the most perfect of pairs. But maybe the knowledge of our mortality is what makes our love so strong.
The pain in Isbell’s voice as he acknowledges that he and his lover don’t have forever is resounding. But the peacefulness of his realization that their non-permanence makes their unconditional love possible is comforting and fulfilling.

Favorite Lyric: “Maybe time running out is a gift / I’ll work hard ’til the end of my shift”

2. “Future Days,” Pearl Jam (2013)

This is truly the closest that Pearl Jam has come to a love song, despite Vedder’s earlier proclamation. “Future Days” details the fulfillment love provides. He sings of a love that can make a person whole, a relationship that can fill all their missing pieces.
Vedder’s vocals are raw and vulnerable, sung in the tone of someone who has completely surrendered themself to the love they are feeling.

Favorite Lyric: “When hurricanes and cyclones raged / When winds turned dirt to dust / When floods they came or tides they raised / Ever closer became us”

1. “Dead Sea,” The Lumineers (2012)

One of Earth’s saltiest bodies of water, the Dead Sea, is so dense that a human body becomes buoyant – they float atop the water.
To be someone’s “Dead Sea” is never to let them sink, never let them down, never let them drown, to be the one who will always be there to relieve their struggles.
The creativity and beauty of this metaphor puts “Dead Sea” in the #1 spot of the mixtape with ease.

Favorite Lyric: “Whoa, I’m like the Dead Sea / The nicest words you ever said to me / Honey can’t you see / I was born to be, be the Dead Sea”

10. “Pretty Boy,” The Neighborhood (2020)

All you need is the person you love; at least, that’s what Jesse Rutherford, The Neighborhood’s lead singer, hums over this track’s relaxing synth-pop background.
This song highlights how vital love is, offering a sweet, heart-swooning reminder of the power of love.

Favorite Lyric: “Even if the Earth starts shaking / You’re the only thing worth taking”

9. “As The World Caves In,” Matt Maltese (2017)

All Matt Maltese wants to do in the last few moments of Earth’s existence, as the atom bomb approaches, is lie with their other half. Maltese tells a heart-wrenching story — the final moments of a couple and the world.
The song is defined by its bittersweetness which is only reinforced by the instrumentation. The song opens with sparse piano chords, slowly adding drums and distorted electric guitar, becoming more chaotic, mirroring the end of the world and the lovers’ final moments.

Favorite Lyric: “We creep up on extinction / I pull your arms right in / I weep and say goodnight, love”

8. “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (1987)

The opening acoustic guitar riff is iconic, signaling to listeners that — yes, this is “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” Written by frontman Axl Rose, the song is a perfect blend of hard rock and heartfelt emotion.
The lyrics are simple yet powerful, expressing the singer’s love for his child — telling a story of a father’s love, an uncomplicated love.
The chorus is anthemic and uplifting, Rose’s powerful vocals convey the emotion in the simple lyrics.
The song’s bridge is where it really shines; the guitar solo is full of emotion and energy — an example of how rock and raw emotion can come together to create something truly special.

Favorite Lyric: “She’s got eyes of the bluest skies / As if they thought of rain / I’d hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain”

7. “Cupid’s Chokehold,” Gym Class Heroes (2005)

“Cupid’s Chokehold” captures the feeling of rushing into love — expecting a relationship to be more than it is — in a way that is both lighthearted and sincere.
Lead singer Travie McCoy is helpless after being struck by Cupid’s arrow, “Cupid’s chokehold” has got a hold on him.
The song is about how love as a blessing and a curse. McCoy is “caught in Cupid’s crossfire,” a metaphor for love as both a source of joy and pain.
So many songs sing of love, but miss this particular aspect — being in love with being in love. This tongue-in-cheek love song is about what McCoy loves the most — love itself.

Favorite Lyric: “I know I’m young but if I had to choose her or the sun / I’d be one nocturnal son of a gun”

6. “Sunny,” Bobby Hebb (1966)

The love of your life can light your day and make all the darkness go away — that’s the idea, that love can cure all, that Hebb is crooning about.
The lyrics are simple and direct, but they convey a deep emotion that is hard to ignore. With his love, the sun will always shine, no matter what.
Hebb’s voice is smooth and soulful; his delivery passionate and heartfelt. The chorus is especially memorable, with Hebb singing, “Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain. Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain,” depicting that feeling of pure, happy love.

Favorite Lyric: “My life was torn like a windblown sand / And the rock was formed when you held my hand”

5. “I Hear A Symphony,” Cody Fry (2017)

Meeting someone can change your whole perception of the world. What was once sparse and silent becomes rich with sound. A monotone melody turns to a full chorus.
The pairing of the lyrics and instrumentation of “I Hear A Symphony,” work in harmony to artfully articulates the feeling of falling in love; how love can change one’s perception.The instrumentation reinforces the lyrics, the love story, building to a crescendo. The song opens with just Fry’s vocals as he sings about being alone. Then, as the relationship he describes becomes richer, piano is added, strings begin to play.

Favorite Lyric: “You took my broken melody / And now I hear a symphony”

4. “Romeo & Juliet (Acoustic),” Peter McPoland (2020)

The song is bluesy, soulful and tragic — as McPoland sings of unrequited love. He longs to be the Romeo to a Juliet who seems unaware of him. McPoland paints the picture of desperation, desperately loving someone, of wanting his Juliet.
His vocals are full of passion, amplifying the emotion of the lyrics. The acoustic guitar’s rawness mirrors McPoland’s singing, raw and hurt — further adding to this song’s sense of longing.

Favorite Lyric: “If you only knew, I’d kill for you, I am for you / I am just who you need me to be”

3. “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night,” FINNEAS (2019)

FINNEAS crafts a rich, immersive, imaginary relationship — a sweet thought that is nothing more than a dream. This song’s dreamy quality is what makes it a stand out.
The song’s production creates a lush, ethereal atmosphere, building a romantic vibe. The song is catchy, with a chorus that will stay in your head long after the song is over. The vocals are smooth and soulful.
FINNEAS’s perfect match is unreal, an idea not too unrelatable.

Favorite Lyric: “I’ve been livin’ in the future /Hopin’ I might see you sooner”

2. “Yellow,” Coldplay (2000)

This song is about head-over-heels love, that my-universe-revolves-around-you love.
Opening with a simple, yet powerful guitar riff — it is direct, filled with deep emotion.
It is about how everything is for Chris Martin’s love — from this song to the stars shining. It’s all for her. Everything is for his love.
The guitar, piano, and strings create a soundscape that is uplifting and melancholic. The song builds to a powerful climax, with the chorus repeated over and over as the instrumentation becoming more intense.

Favorite Lyric: “And you know, for you, I’d bleed myself dry”

1. “Somewhere Only We Know,” Keane (2004)

This song’s melody is both haunting and beautiful, as Keane builds a world — a special place “just for two.”
The song evokes a sense of intimacy and connection between the two lovers. It speaks of being able to escape the world and just be together. The piano and strings create a magical atmosphere as the couple finds that place they “can be alone.”

Favorite Lyric: “Tell me when you’re gonna let me in / I’m gettin’ tired, and I need somewhere to begin”

Give the playlists a spin here.