Rock may first and foremost be about sticking it to the man, as noted expert Ned Schneebly would tell you — but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t also have a softer, sweeter, more sentimental side. Rocking and rolling all night and partying every day is all well and good, but it would inevitably ring somewhat hollow without a Beth to sing about eventually coming home to. That’s what the hair metalers quickly discovered to be the necessary balance inherent in music as well as in life: When you release a new album, it’s always ass-kicking party-starting riffer first single, romantic power ballad second single.
With that in mind, our edit staff here at Billboard has crafted a list of the 50 best rock and roll love songs — in time for this Valentine’s Day, naturally — to get you in the proper gentle-rocking mood this swooning season. That’s not to say that it’s all slow songs, though: There have been plenty of classic up-tempo rock love songs that are fundamentally excited and set haywire by such waves of emotion. But yeah, we’ve got some classic lighter-wavers on here too, the kind that soundtracked your awkward school dances, your formative first kisses, maybe even a big question or two down the road.
Check out our list below, which spans six decades and countless different shades of rock love songs. And if you need the soundtrack from your upcoming Valentine’s Day plans, you can find a Spotify playlist with all 50 of them here — use it responsibly, and you’re welcome.