In honor of Valentine’s Day, I looked up some of the best love songs ever and settled on a list by timeout.com called “The 50 best love songs of all time” that grabbed me with its number one song, “This Magic Moment” by the Drifters. That’s a song that you forget how good it is until you hear it.

50 songs is a little too much love for even the most romantic of listeners, so I decided to pick and choose songs I recognized and songs I felt like I should know. Many of these were picked based on my interest in the descriptions in the original article by contributor Tim Lowery.

“This Magic Moment”- The Drifters

Just a beautiful song. There’s not a lot of guitar, which in a rare instance isn’t a huge deal for me, because the vocals are perfect. A magic moment is what I experience when I listen to this song. The instrumental section doesn’t try to do too much, yet still manages to transcend any genre label that might be assigned it.

“Temptation”- New Order

New Order is a band that I forget has some great songs. This track is no exception. “Temptation” is nearly seven minutes of danceable post-punk and admittedly it could probably be a few minutes shorter. Lyrically, it’s not the most complex of love songs, as Bernard Sumner was probably still getting his footing as a lyricist post-Joy Division.

“Hallelujah I Love Her So”- Ray Charles

I don’t listen to Ray Charles as much as I should, considering how critically acclaimed he is. There’s no doubt the piano in this song is being played with undeniable skill, but the blaring horns just aren’t for me. This song is a little too playful for my taste, which tends to be cynical and dour. Lyrically, this song is undeniably about love, but might be more of a fun song than a love song.

“Day Dreaming”- Aretha Franklin

I also have very little experience with Aretha Franklin’s music, but as I listen to “Day Dreaming” I’m realizing that I should change that. The chorus is a great mix of instruments and vocals, featuring woodwind swirls that remind me of some Tyler the Creator songs. It’s very possible that he drew inspiration from this song and others like it. The inclusion of “dreamy jazz flourish” in the description of this song by Lowery drew me in, and I’m glad I selected it.

“Everywhere”- Fleetwood Mac

While this song is also a new discovery, and one I’m happy with, it is definitely not chillwave, as Lowery defines it, or at least not the chillwave I know. It’s a pleasant soft rock song, perhaps even a yacht rock song, if I’m using that term correctly. I could live without the palm-muted guitar riff, but the synths and vocals in the chorus more than make up for it.

Ryan Meyer is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at rameyer@eiu.edu or at 581-2812.