14 mood setting songs for the perfect Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day coming up we wanted to offer up a little romantic playlist for our readers to set the mood, lift your loving spirits and remind you of all those powerful emotions that love can bring. 

1. “Exist for Love” by Aurora
For when you need a song that fully embodies that fuzzy and heart-pounding feeling of intimacy.

2. “Maybe I'm Amazed” by Paul McCartney
McCartney perfectly captures that sense of shock and wonder at a love that is always there, and can lift you through your darkest moments.

3. “The Waiting” by Angel Olsen
Olsen pushes past superficial companionship to describe a longing for that kind of partner who makes your life feel like a movie.

4. “What a Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke
Charming both musically and thematically, Sam Cooke utterly nails the romantic notion that it doesn’t take a genius to see how love brightens the world.

5. “Show U Off” by Chairlift
With a bouncy free spirit and some goosebump-inducing vocals from Caroline Polachek, you feel how much this love makes her soar emotionally.

6. “Sweet” by Cigarettes After Sex
There’s a comfort in the bass lines of this song that adds to the wholesome message of how even in his deepest sense of lust, it’s his partner's subtle beauty that keeps winning him over.

7. “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” by She & Him
While the Smokey Robinson original has a message that’s resonated through decades of covers, the downbeat energy and conversational approach to this update aches with sounds of a romance that’s survived through a lot of pain.

8. “Green” by Diane Coffee
The doo wop magic of this track enhances its surreal take on love, while it tries to gospel about how healing that special someone can be.

9. “Sea of Love” by Cat Power
Something about the autoharp used on this cover makes the romance feel so pure, just as Chan Marshall’s vocals communicate the comfort it brings her.

10. “Come Back and Love Me” by Hinds
The sloppy swing of this song makes its emotion feel so raw, while its loosely shouted feel can easily bond any couple who gets it stuck in their head.

11. “I Saw the Light” by Todd Rundgren
Sheer lip-bite-inducing romantic energy here, and the lyrics are about as sweet as the production sounds.

12. “Your Love Is So Good For Me” by Diana Ross
The upbeat fun of this song is exactly like that special feeling you get from your partner.

13. “Slip Away” by Perfume Genius
A more epic, poetic and bombastic take on partnership, particularly forbidden ones, and the drug-like euphoria the right one can bring in the darkness.

14. “Never Tear Us Apart” by INXS
In an album rich with love songs, this rises as an all-time great between the wine-like lyrics, the angelic synths and a sax/guitar combo that exudes the right counterpoint of sexual tension.  

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