Alessandra Schade

What makes a great love song? Some would say romantic lyrics brimming with emotion. Others will nod towards a sweeping production that makes your heart flutter and your tear ducts twitch in tandem. Ultimately it's the power to connect with audiences universally; a song that speaks to the heart and deeply moves the listener. Love songs brighten our days, soundtrack weddings and make us think of those most special in our lives. That's why they tend to endure the test of time. As our rundown of the best love songs shows, even the classics still hold weight and resonance in our modern world. From Etta James to Stevie Wonder, these golden hits remain on wedding playlists to this day. There's also the new school of love birds in town – we're looking at you Olivia Dean and Billie Eilish – who continue to pluck at our heartstrings and provide a romcom soundtrack to modern romance. What is the number one love song of all time? It's widely believed that the best selling love song of all time is Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You.’ No surprise there. We’ve got it on our list, but controversially we’ve got Dolly Parton’s version instead (fun fact: Dolly’s version was actually released first, Whitney’s was just more famous). Oh, and it’s not our number one either – for that, you’ll have to read on. What's the most popular wedding song of all time? There's no exact science to deciding this, but general consenus and various surveys around the world continually point towards two songs

Sure, Netflix and chill is cool, but nothing sets the mood like a good sexy song. Sex and music are the Beyoncé and Jay-Z of popular culture, but picking the right music is crucial. Pick a silky-smooth slow jam, and you’re likely in for an awesome night. Turn on some Weird Al or death metal? You’ve got a slammed door in your future. In 2023, not long after we were social-distancing and quarantining in very un-sexy pods, we just want to touch each other, period. But for many of us, it’s been a while. So if you’re overwhelmed, we’re here to help. Below, you’ll find the 60 best sexy songs to set a steamy mood. Some are about making love outright, others are more subtly devious. Regardless, they’re sure to get your heart – and other organs – racing.  Written by Bruce Tantum, Sophie Harris, Marley Lynch, Andy Kryza, Rachel Sonis, Hank Schteamer, Steve Smith and Matthew Singer, updated by Alessandra Schade. RECOMMENDED:💕 The best love songs❤️ The best R&B songs💔 The best heartbreak songs😭 The best breakup songs

In December of 1973, on the corner where Bleecker Street collided into the graffitied skid row of the Bowery, Hilly Kristal opened CBGB, a skunky neighborhood dive bar. Fifty years later and 17 years since its marquee shuttered, the defunct music club at 315 Bowery still embodies the legacy of the punk scene which grew, prospered and died on the filthy streets of pre-gentrified Downtown Manhattan. But in the winter of ‘73, CBGB was fresh to the block—a particularly miserable street of the Bowery, nestled just south of Astor Place—where the buildings were lower, the rents were cheaper and the cast of characters were drunker. Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers Shaggy-haired Hilly had repurposed his joint “Hilly’s on Bowery” to “CBGB & OMFUG,” short for “Country, Bluegrass, Blues and Other Music for Uplifting Gormandizers,” hoping to host country and bluegrass, though his spot quickly became home to the abrasive, no-wave music of punk groups like Patti Smith, Television, Talking Heads and the Ramones. Beer signs lit up in neon plastered the place, from the low-slung door down into the cavernous saloon. “You don't want to know the smell,” iconic punk photographer Bob Gruen teases. “Hilly had two dogs that he kept as guard dogs and they didn't get walked,” he says. “There were lumps around in the corners and stuff that you didn't want to step in. That was part of the ambiance.” Gruen describes Hilly’s oversight “as if your parents go out of town