In honor of the upcoming love-filled holiday celebrating all things romantic and affectionate, we’ve compiled a list of hits to serve as your Soundtrack to Love this Valentine’s Day. Of course, not everyone will be celebrating with a special someone; like any strong emotion, love has a polar opposite. We’ve got you covered. Our lists below are for the scorned, the hip, the nostalgic, the romantic, the decadent, and those wishing to bring sexy back. If we forgot your favorite love anthem or your own Valentine’s playlist, add it to the comments below. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Hopeless Romantic
You don’t shy away from tear-jerkers. Your Netflix cue starts at Casablanca, progresses to Love Story, Ghost, and then The Notebook. You loved Lifetime, when their selections were classic Sunday morning hangover cures instead of the current showings featuring cyber-crime and domestic violence. Thankfully the Hallmark Channel is stepping it up, turning their ways to say “I Love You” from paper into film. Aside from movie selections, you like pretty things…flowers, soft colors, fabrics—both aesthetically pleasing and comfortable. This category is mainly for the ladies, but if a man embraces romance, he will see that movie, listen to that song without too much complaint – and he may actually enjoy it. He knows the importance of lighting a candle, putting on the right background music, setting the mood.
Vintage Sweet
Back in the day, people sang about love without the emo weepiness accompanying some of today’s selections. This was an era when people had reason to sing the blues, bound by a society that wasn’t often fair. They put their hearts and souls into song. It was also an age when wooing—the act of trying to win a lover’s heart was still very much alive. Songs were more innocent, yet held that duality of being raw and provocative with emotion.
Angry and Scorned – and Totally Cool With It
No doubt about it, you’ve been burned. It could have been that longstanding relationship that ended abruptly, or went on way too long causing you to look back and think, “I wasted five years on that?” Or maybe you’re perpetually single and trying to find a lasting relationship, but know how to celebrate your single self on the weekend. No matter, you’re certainly not going to spend Valentine’s Day listening to sappy love songs while shedding tears alone. These songs are for you.
Perfect Couple’s Songs for Hipsters
You’re a couple that’s at least relatively young. And if you’re not, you’re still playing the part. Spotted in appearance by your “look”: often a mix of vintage and trendy where males tend to accessorize as much as the ladies. You are a couple in the know of artsy things, usually stemming from your shared talents in the field. Your taste in music is diverse from throwback hits to indie darlings and more obscure titles. For you, it’s as much about the artist as it is about the message behind the song – bordering on music snobbery, you wouldn’t be caught dead with let’s say, an 80’s cult classic on your list.
80’s MixTape
Get Your Sexy On
These songs are meant to set the, ahem… mood. These songs are the real Soundtrack to Love. No doubt about the intention for the evening, if you’ve got this list. And that’s all we’ll say about that…after all talking isn’t really the point, is it?