100 Best Love Songs of the 2000s and 2010s

Love songs have signature sounds that mesmerize listeners. Every decade of music has had its share of memorable ballads and love songs, and the modern era is no different. That said, since the year 2000, the generic style often associated with love songs has fallen to the wayside to make room for new explorations on the topic. While past love songs had definitive, predictable lyrics, modern songs are breaking away from these old structures. The diversity present in modern music has inspired new lyrical structures.

Top 10 Love Songs of the 2000s and 2010s

1. "Thinking Out Loud"—Ed Sheeran
2. "All of Me"—John Legend
3. "Just the Way You Are"—Bruno Mars
4. "Skinny Love"—Birdy
5. "Make You Feel My Love"—Adele
6. "Love Story"—Taylor Swift
7. "Say You Won’t Let Go"—James Arthur
8. "If You Ever Want to Be in Love"—James Bay
9. "Crazy in Love"—Beyonce
10. "Bleeding Love"—Leona Lewis

While love songs and ballads have evolved a great deal musically and lyrically in the modern era, what remains rooted in these songs is an aesthetic blend of myriad sentiments and reflective storytelling. The lyrics in love songs paint a mental picture. It’s this aspect of love songs that keeps listeners engaged. Romanticism has found new meaning in the modern era. While the central theme of romantic songs remains the same, the expression of these sentiments from the newest generation has become exceptionally diverse. Visual content has added a new found dynamism to modern love songs. With video sharing websites making a strong presence in the mid-2000s, a number of unsigned musicians made waves by releasing their brand of love songs on YouTube. With the digital media spreading its wings globally in the 2000s, new pathways for musicians emerged, making their music accessible to the entire world.

Modern bands and artists have a huge global teenage fan base. The modern musical era has witnessed diverse collaborations among musicians in the industry. Post 2000, musicians from different genres have collaborated to come up with unique love songs. When bands and artists from diverse genres team up to write a love song, each artist brings their signature style to the song. This makes the song lyrically and musically inventive.

The indie music scene has witnessed a phenomenal rise in recent years. A number of artists associated with the indie scene have brought to life a new style of love song that has become immensely popular with music buffs. Many artists in the indie rock, indie pop, and indie folk genres are known for their thought-provoking lyrics that express a plethora of sentiments about love and life.

Rock love songs, R&B love songs, country love songs, and pop love songs have continued to have chart-topping success throughout the 2000s and 2010s. The decades have also seen a steady rise in crossover artists. While new love songs may be completely different from classic love songs of the past, they represent a new wave of romanticism that appeals to a new generation. A lot may have changed in the way love songs are made, but these new romantic songs still retain that nostalgic feeling.

• "You Are the Reason"—Calum Scott
• "Be Without You"—Mary J. Blige
• "Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)"—Erykah Badu
• "You and Me"—Lifehouse
• "The Way You Love Me"—Faith Hill
• "You Sang to Me"—Marc Anthony
• "Last Request"—Paolo Nutini
• "Grace"—Lewis Capaldi
• "Always Remember Us This Way"—Lady Gaga
• "Never Enough"—Kelly Clarkson
• "Lucky"—Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat
• "I Loved Her First"—Heartland
• "Lovers Eyes"—Mumford & Sons
• "Beautiful"—Bazzi
• "Hold Back the River"—James Bay
• "Soul Meets Body"—Death Cab For Cutie
• "Toothpaste Kisses"—The Maccabees
• "Somewhere Only We Know"—Keane
• "It’s Gotta Be You"—Isaiah
• "Where’s My Love"—SYML
• "Landslide"—Dixie Chicks
• "Stereo Love"—Edward Maya and Vika Jigulina
• "Drunk in Love"—Beyonce and Jay Z
• "7 Years"—Lukas Graham
• "Purpose"—Justin Bieber
• "One and Only"—Adele
• "We Don’t Talk Anymore"—Charlie Puth
• "Stay"—Rihanna
• "Too Good at Goodbyes"—Sam Smith
• "I’m Like a Bird"—Nelly Furtado
• "Consequences"—Camila Cabello
• "Love on the Weekend"—John Mayer
• "Wrong or Right"—Kwabs
• "Atlas Hands"—Benjamin Francis Leftwich
• "I Don’t Know What Love Is"—Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
• "Underneath It All"—No Doubt
• "Body Like a Back Road"—Sam Hunt
• "Say You Love Me"—Jessie Ware
• "Calm After The Storm"—The Common Linnets
• "Treasure"—Bruno Mars
• "Strong"—London Grammar
• "Music’s too Sad Without You"—Kylie Minogue and Jack Savoretti
• "Rebekah"—Jack Vallier
• "Marry Me"—Train
• "Small Bump"—Ed Sheeran
• "Lust for Life"—Lana Del Ray and The Weeknd
• "FourFiveSeconds"—Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney
• "Blue Lights"—Jorja Smith
• "God Gave Me You"—Blake Shelton
• "Don’t Tell Me That’s It’s Over"—Amy McDonald

• "Handclap"—Fitz and the Tantrums
• "Empire"—Of Monsters and Men
• "Die a Happy Man"—Thomas Rhett
• "Knock You Down"—Keri Hilson
• "You Don’t Know"—Milow
• "Scars to Your Beautiful"—Alessia Cara
• "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)"—Luke Bryan
• "Find Your Love"—Drake
• "Call Me Maybe"—Carly Rae Jepsen
• "Wait"—M83
• "H.O.L.Y."—Florida Georgia Line
• "24K Magic"—Bruno Mars
• "Counting Stars"—OneRepublic
• "Want to Want Me"—Jason Derulo
• "Just Give Me a Reason"—Pink featuring Nate Ruess
• "Stuck Like Glue"—Sugarland
• "Need You Now"—Lady Antebellum
• "You Let Me Walk Alone"—Michael Schulte
• "Ashes"—Celine Dion
• "Party of One"—Brandi Carlile and Sam Smith
• "I Need My Girl"—The National
• "Mystery of Love"—Sufijan Stevens
• "Ho Hey"—The Lumineers
• "Flashlight"—Jessie J
• "Can’t Feel My Face"—The Weeknd
• "Best Thing I Never Had"—Beyonce
• "Somebody Like You"—Keith Urban
• "Long As I Love"—Toni Braxton
• "I Don’t Dance"—Lee Brice
• "Diamonds"—Josef Salvat
• "I Will Wait"—Mumford & Sons
• "Photograph"—Ed Sheeran
• "I Won’t Let You Go"—James Morrison
• "Close"—Nick Jonas featuring Tove Lo
• "Best Day Of My Life"—American Authors
• "Worth It"—Fifth Harmony featuring Kid Ink
• "Deuces"—Chris Brown featuring Tyga, Kevin McCall
• "Sugar"—Maroon 5
• "Comethru"—Jeremy Zucker
• "Human"—Aquilo
• "Someone Like You"—Adele
• "Wanted"—Hunter Hayes
• "Can’t Stop The Feeling"—Justin Timberlake
• "In Case You Didn’t Know"—Brett Young
• "Firework"—Kate Perry
• "One Thousand Times"—James Vincent McMorrow
• "Impossible"—James Arthur
• "Breathe"—Rhodes
• "Marry You"—Bruno Mars
• "What Makes You Beautiful"—One Direction