Modern Love Songs

Anyone who’s ever felt the world stand still in the presence of another knows that love has power over time and space. A great modern love song is the same way, sounding notes and telling tales that are as heady and fresh as passion’s first kiss, and as lasting and tender as a longtime union. It can be as spiritual and dramatic as the strains of Beyoncé’s “Halo,” or as down-to-earth and intimate as Brad Paisley’s just-us-two tale “We Danced.” And you can feel it as strongly in the sultry soul pulse of the Alicia Keys pleader “No One” as you can in the snuggly pop lilt of the Jason Mraz pledge “I’m Yours.”

How much do we love modern love songs? Let us keep counting the ways, in Next Steps.

When you look at the world through the eyes of love, you see it in a different light, and the shifting shades and tones of our Modern Love Songs Essentials express all the ways that passion and romance transform us. So while Céline Dion gives exalted voice to healing powers on her sweeping ballad “Because You Loved Me,” Aqualung’s dream-pop whisper “Brighter Than Sunshine” describes the first sweet surprise of finding love in your life. Tim McGraw & Faith Hill blend voices for a testament to the ties that bind on “It’s Your Love,” and on “Like I Love You” Justin Timberlake (featuring Clipse) is so giddy with his girl, all he wants to do is dance.

How deep is our love? Find out, in Deep Cuts.

Love isn’t one-size-fits-all, so we searched far and wide to find modern love songs for everyone, from the dance-floor hottie who’s constantly on your mind (Kylie Minogue’s club-night spellbinder “Can’t Get You Out of My Head”), to that sweet thing in homeroom who always catches you staring in his general direction (the Jonas Brothers’ “When You Look Me In the Eyes”). Music speaks where words fail, whether you prefer messages of love delivered with stirring soul poetry (Jill Scott’s “It’s Love”), childlike wonder (the Moldy Peaches’ “Anyone Else But You”), or the direct intensity of a pop-rock statement of fact (Hootie & The Blowfish’s “Only Wanna Be With You”).

It’s ironic that a truly worthy modern love song must possess a quality that is, like the thing itself, timeless. But that’s love — a feeling that hits you right in the here-and-now yet still makes you yearn for forever. Taylor Swift describes it perfectly with the lift and sway of her country-pop charmer “Jump Then Fall.” But, then, so do all of our up-to-the-minute lovebirds, whether it’s John Legend with his come-on promise of a smoldering R&B “Slow Dance,” Oasis and their alt-classic ode “Wonderwall,” or Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova as they join forces to capture the beautiful ache of “Falling Slowly.” So, tell your longtime love how you feel with Keith Urban’s country-rock revelation “You’re My Better Half,” let that special someone in on the secret with Colbie Caillat’s carefree confession “Fallin’ for You,” or simply revel in the feeling just by pressing play.