TOP 100 GREATEST LOVE SONGS–WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE? by Cheryl Pierson

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With Valentine’s Day just last week and my anniversary the week before that, I was curious when I saw that Amazon’s “music experts” had curated a list of the 100 greatest love songs from the past.

 

Needless to say, they did not mesh with what I think they should have picked! But that’s the way of these lists of the “very best” of anything, right?

 

There were quite a few of my favorites on the list, just not at the number on the list where I thought they should be. Grinning here, because no one is going to agree on everything, but some of these songs I never even heard of. Because I am old…

 

Some of my old favorites are on the list—

14—Stand by Me – Ben E. King

12—The Way You Look Tonight—Frank Sinatra

11—Wonderful Tonight—Eric Clapton

10—Faithfully—Journey

7—Ain’t No Mountain High Enough—Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

4—I Will Always Love You—Whitney Houston version

2—Can’t Help Falling in Love—Elvis Presley

And who can argue with Percy Sledge belting out When a Man Loves a Woman? (#17)

I do love The Beach Boys, but God Only Knows placed #19 on the list—above Bette Midler’s The Rose at #22, Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson (#25) and My Girl by The Temptations (#27). Uh…no.

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack at #33? WHAT? Sigh…

Sam Cooke’s You Send Me came in at #74, and Sonny and Cher’s I Got You Babe at #73.

What were the last songs on this list? #98—Love Theme from A Star is Born (Evergreen) by Barbra Streisand; #99—Lovin’ You by Minnie Ripperton; and #100—Suddenly by Billy Ocean.

 

Number 1 was At Last by Etta James—no argument there!

At last…my love has come along…

 

 

My absolute favorite song—bar none—in any category is Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers. It came in at #18.

What’s your favorite love song of all time? Do you and your significant other have a special song? My hubby and I don’t—I wish we did!

 

 

81 thoughts on “TOP 100 GREATEST LOVE SONGS–WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE? by Cheryl Pierson”

    • Denise, that one was on the list, but I can’t remember what # it was. I should have saved the link! I always loved that song, too. And I loved that movie it was used in, Robin Hood. Who can forget Kevin Costner saying, “I would die for you…” Ahhhh…

  2. I love Unchained Melody and I Can’t Help Falling In Love With you But Color My World has a special place in my heart. Although the marriage didn’t last, the fond memories surrounding that song did last.

  3. In my life, the one that got away dedicated ‘Always On My Mind’ to me when we ran into each other many years later…we were both single by that time and he took me to a Willie Nelson concert just so he could let me know. But for me, it was too late to go backwards…

    • Rachel, that is such a sweet sentiment, but I do truly understand not being able to go backward in time. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I ran into a couple when I worked at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum who had dated in high school, gotten married very young, and then divorced. Thirty years later, they were both single and started dating again and got married again. I have thought of that so many times–what it would be like to have lived a whole separate life in between those two marriages. Like you, I’m not sure I could go back. Always On My Mind is a great song–Willie wrote some masterpieces!

    • Janice, my mom loved the Seekers, including that song, and do you remember “A World of Our Own” by them? All I can remember is “We’ll build a world of our own that no one else can share, all our troubles we’ll leave far behind us there…”

      I don’t know why I love Unchained Melody so much–but it HAS to be the Righteous Brothers’ version. I think maybe it’s the feeling Bobby Hatfield put into that song when he sang it.

    • Kathleen, I remember Perfect was on that Top 100 list too, as it should be! Yes, Unchained Melody–wonderful. I saw a little video on Youtube about the other people who had released Unchained Melody before the Righteous Brothers did but it never made it big. There is just something special about their version!

    • Oh, what a beautiful song that is! And so true in so many cases, isn’t it? Just a wonderful, special song that is so meaningful to so many couples. I love that too, Debra!

    • YESSSS! Both really excellent songs. I had forgotten From This Moment–Gosh, I remember when that song came out and how her voice just stopped me in my tracks when I heard that song!

    • Estella, I am pretty old myself. A lot of songs on that list I never heard of. LOL Oh, yes, there are some wonderful older country love songs, for sure! So many good ones. I Will Always Love You was on the list, but I prefer the Dolly Parton version over Whitney Houston’s version. Always On My Mind was on there, too. I know there have been so many songs through the years it would be hard to try to narrow it down to only 100!

  9. Anne Murray Can I have this Dance for the rest of our lives. My ex and I used to dance to this one. My husband and I danced to Diamond Rio I was meant to be with you.

    • Charlene, I love Can I Have This Dance. Anne Murray had so many wonderful songs, didn’t she? But that was always one of my favorites of hers. I love Diamond Rio, too–one of my favorites is Meet in the Middle–another really good love song!

      I’d start walking your way
      You’d start walking mine
      We’d meet in the middle
      ‘Neath that old Georgia pine
      We’d gain a lot of ground
      ‘Cause we’d both give a little
      And their ain’t no road to long
      When you meet in the middle

  10. Oh, Cheryl! Some of these songs really bring back the memories. For me, anything by Dean Martin (I am really old!), Elvis Presley, and Frank Sinatra are some of the absolute best.

    I love it when I can actually understand the words being sung. The music the young ones listen to is just so electric and loud, you can’t even understand what they’re singing. Ha!

    Fun list!

    • Pam, I wish I had kept that list! I wanted to post the entire list but it had links included and would have been a mess. Yes, I love the “oldies” too–Frank Sinatra…”When I was seventeen it was a very good year…” there is no one who can sing that song like he did–with that nostalgic note in his voice and such feeling. I love Elvis Presley’s ballads and of course Dean Martin–they were all such masters.

      I agree–anymore, it’s hard to understand what’s even being said in the lyrics! But it seems every generation has their own kind of music, doesn’t it? Do you remember Four Strong Winds by Ian Tyson? That was back in the folk music days. That song always made me so sad, but I still loved it. LOL

  11. I have 2 especially favorites, “unchaiined Melody” from Ghost and “I Will always love You” from The BodyGuard. To this day I cry copious tears when listening to them. With GHOST the trailer will still choke me up.

    • YES! I know what you mean, Judy. There are certain songs I feel that way about too. When my husband and I used to perform in our band there were certain songs I just knew I could not sing. I get really emotional, and sometimes it just “hits” me– so I chose with care. LOL

  12. Good morning.
    Well I have to go with my man, George Strait- I Cross My Heart.
    Rob & me have a song and you got it.. it’s a George Strait song too.
    Living Well!

    Of course those on your list are some of my favorites.

    Another one that wasn’t mentioned was by Kenny Loggins
    When A Man Loves A Woman.

    • Tonya, I truly don’t know how they went about making their selections and ratings for the top 100 love songs of all times–there are soooo many great ones out there from so many genres and decades of music, it would be almost impossible to narrow the list to 100, to my way of thinking! Yes, I love George Strait’s music, too, and I Cross My Heart is one of my favorites too!

    • HA! Teresa, I mentioned this one in an earlier comment before I read yours! LOL I love that song so much. It’s fun and different and I just love the harmonies and the tightness of the band. Great song, IMO!

  14. We must be around the same age because a lot of your favorites are mine also. Love Unchained Melody, great song! Some of my favorites were in the year 1971 when my husband and I were dating, Don’t Pull Your Love, Take Me Home Country Roads, You’ve Got a Friend, We married in December. One of our wedding songs was A Time For Us, the theme song from Romeo and Juliet.

    • Hey Connie! I bet we are–I’ll be 65 in July of this year (COME ON MEDICARE!) LOL I love all those songs you mentioned, and I remember buying A Time For Us (the sheet music) so I could learn it on the piano! I think I still have that somewhere.

  16. I’d have a hard time picking just one now that I can google best 1st dance songs etc. So I’ll go with my 1st dance wedding song, I Swear, by John Michael Montgomery.

  17. I am a huge fan of the Texas Tenors and I love their version of Unchained Melody. There are so many songs that remain in our hearts. Thank you Cheryl for taking us on this journey of love songs. It was special!

    • Hi Kathy! It was my pleasure! I just wish I’d had room to list more and more and more! LOL I need to listen to the Texas Tenors version of Unchained Melody. I’m so glad you mentioned them–I will look on youtube!

      • I’ve been a fan of Pave ever since I heard Lähtisitkö/Would You for the first time. And I would be surprised if you had heard Lähtisitkö/Would You, since Pave was a Finnish singer and songwriter (and he played several instruments, too).

  20. My favorite song of all time has to be Kiss an Angel Good Morning by Charley Pride. I don’t have a hubby or significant other, so don’t have an “our” song, either.

    • Trudy, Charley Pride was one of my favorite performers, too. I saw a video –I think it was on one of those Dan Rather “The Big Interview” shows, where he was talking about Kris Kristofferson’s song Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down–such insights! He was a very smart and talented man, and I used a reference to Kiss an Angel Good Morning in my book Time Plains Drifter toward the end of the book. That’s a great song!

  21. Etta James is incomprable, but I’ve always loved John Denver’s “Annie’s Song”. Of course, “Unchainded Melody” from the movie “Unchained” is up there also.

    • Oh, Doris, yes! Annie’s Song! I remember the first time I heard that song and how I was just blown away by the lyrics and the music–the entire “package” of that song. It is wonderful!

    • Oh, someone else had mentioned A Time For Us too, Paula. I was 12 when that movie came out–back when they had “M” for “MATURE” audiences! LOL My cousin was staying with me for a couple of weeks when it came to our little theater, and she was a few months older than I–OH HOW WE BEGGED to go see that movie! But Mom said no, because it was rated Mature. Now they show that movie in high school literature classes! LOLLOL I loved that song so much–I bet I drove my mom crazy because I practiced it over and over on the piano and learned to play it–I don’t know, maybe she was just glad I was practicing. LOL

      YES, THIS KISS IS WONDERFUL TOO! I’d forgotten that one!

  24. There are so many possibilities – Unchained Melody, Can’t Help Falling in Love, I Will Always Love You, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Those are my favorites.

    • Oh, yes, so many good ones, for sure, Kari! So many songs that have such meaning for so many people in the world. I just wonder what it would feel like to write a song that millions of people learn, sing, and remember? Must be fantastic.

    • Cass Elliot had such a distinctive, strong voice and so pitch-perfect. That song is instantly recognizable, and it’s a very hard song to sing because of the wandering key changes. I love that song, too, Megan. It’s really a masterpiece when she performed it.

  27. The song we sang to each other on our wedding day, almost 26 years ago… Only God Could Love You More, by Kelly Nelon Thompson. And another song that was sung at our wedding… Keeper of the Stars, by Tracy Byrd. 🙂 There are more, but those two hold special meaning to us. <3

  28. I love Neon Moon and I love the son Can I have This Dance. I am very Blessed to hear alot of these songs every day, My husband is a musician and he plays the saxophone, clarinet and the flute and he plays alot of these beautiful songs. One day I actually told him that he should play Neon Moon and he did. We don’t really have a song for us.

    • I love Neon Moon, too, Alicia. And Can i Have This Dance is one of my favorites. So beautiful! My hubby is a musician too–we used to have a band but that was long ago. LOL Still he plays every day (guitar) and does so many beautiful songs. I really enjoy hearing him. I play the piano and guitar, but have slacked off on my practicing in the past couple of years.

  29. The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face by Roberta Flack at #33? WHAT? Sigh…

    Love Theme from A Star is Born (Evergreen) by Barbra Streisand

    there are so many favorites. I love Barbra Streisand. I had all of her records.

    No my husband and I dont have a favorite “same” song

    • Lori, another one I thought of today was Diamonds and Rust by Joan Baez, though it’s a sad love song, it’s just so poignant, and I love to hear her sing and play it. Yes, the First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is such a signature song for Roberta Flack, but when I saw that it made me also think of that song she did, “Jesse, Come Home”–that was such a powerful song, too. I love Barbra Streisand, too. Her voice–just so perfect!

  30. There are a lot of the songs that you listed that would be on my list. I would have to say there is one song that has special meaning to us. It would be Lady In Red. When we were dating, we were walking along the board walk at Maumee Bay. A gentleman was listening to the radio. As we walked by, the song Lady In Red was playing. My now husband, took me in his arms. We started dancing to the song. It was played at our reception. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.

    • Oh, Debbie, how SWEET! What a great story that is! I’d forgotten Lady In Red–that was such a lovely song. I know that had to be special to you after that day. Thanks for sharing that story. That makes me smile! XO

  31. No special song as a couple. However, my two favorites are Time IN A Bottle by Jim Croce and Hello by Lionel Richie. They are both so heartfelt and full of longing.

    • Patricia, I think both of those are just timeless and will still be making these “lists” 100 years from now. Jim Croce was such a great songwriter and performer. Just such a different slant on things and to me, his songs were just perfection, whether he was writing about Time in a Bottle or You Don’t Mess Around With Jim! LOL

  32. Want a real treat? Listen to Max Borgaro sing Unchained Melody. He is a New singer from Latin America, and is phenomenal. I tried to tag you on my repost of his song, but it wouldn’t let me. You won’t be sorry you took the time to listen!

    • Sherry, I will do it! I look forward to hearing it. I’m going to YOUTUBE here in a few and will listen to it for sure. I don’t know why links/tags don’t work sometimes–they just get contrary! I’m so glad you told me about Max. I love that song and I’m anxious to hear his version of it.

    • Sherry…I think Maxi’s version might just tie the Righteous Brothers–and THAT is something I never thought I would say. LOL I love his voice and now I’m going to look up some of his other music too. He is just wonderful! Thanks so much for telling me about him!

  34. When A Man Loves A Woman. We had a local band that would play this. I also like I Cross My Heart by George Strait.

    • When A Man Loves A Woman was my sister and ex-bro-in-law’s song. I didn’t realize couples had “songs” when they got married–I think I was about 10 when they tied the knot. LOLLOL I love it and I love I Cross My Heart, too.

  35. It is hard to pick just one because I love a lot of the older stuff. Loved Elvis and most of what you mentioned. I use to think it was Always On My Mind by Willie Nelson but there are a lot of others that I love also

    • Quilt Lady, I agree. There are just too many, really, to pick one. I did pick Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers because I think it’s probably my favorite song of all genres, but boy, there are A LOT of “close seconds” in my mind! LOL

    • Ahhhhh, YES! Cherish! What a great song. I was in high school when that was popular and I remember wishing I had a special someone that I could share that song with as “our” song. SIGH…

  37. My Girl, by The Temptationns. Uchainned Melody Elvis. Looks like we Made It by Shania Twain. Ain’t no Mountain High Enough, the Supremes. Strong Enough to Bend, Tanya Tucker. Deeper than the Holler Randy Travis. Those are a few of my favs. Looks Like We Made it by Shania is what I consider Our Song for my Cowboy and Me

    • Awwww, Mary, I love Looks Like We Made It. That’s a great song to have for you and your hubby! And Deeper That the Holler–great one! I love Randy Travis’s voice and his songs–so many good ones. I’m so glad you chimed in. I love hearing what songs are special to my friends, but especially those that they consider “their song” with their hubbys. I really wish Gary and I had one. But here we are 43 years later and still no “special” song! LOL Hugs, Mary!

  38. Have I Told You Lately- Van Morrison
    So Beautiful -Chris DeBurgh
    Here Is My Paradise- Chris DeBurgh
    Lady In Red- Chris DeBurgh
    For You- John Denver
    Always- Bon Jovi
    Love Song- Loggins and Messina

    • All I Ask Of You-Phantom Of The Opera
      Somewhere and One Hand One Heart – West Side Story
      I Will Always Love You- Whitney Houston

      • Laurie, I love both those songs from West Side Story! And All I Ask of You from Phantom is a favorite, too. So hard to sing, but soooo wonderful when it’s performed! And Van Morrison! Oh my gosh–you listed some wonderful ones! Thanks so much for chiming in–I’d forgotten One Hand One Heart, but that’s a fantastic love song!

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