The 50 Best Indie Love Songs

14 February 2022, 08:00 | Updated: 15 February 2022, 09:59

Get ready for Valentine's Day with half a ton of Indie love songs - songs for romance, songs for weddings, songs for when love is elusive...

By Radio X

@RadioX

Love is in the air! Valentine's Day is upon us, so if you need the perfect playlist for that special someone, Radio X can help. Here are our favourite love lorn ditties that you can play to your sweetheart. Or listen to as you drown your sorrows before heading off home alone...

And don't forget that all these great tunes and more are available on the Radio X Indie Love Songs live playlist on Global Player...

Listen to the Radio X Indie Love Songs live playlist here!

1. Arctic Monkeys - 505

   • From the album: Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007)
   • Longing thoughts from Alex Turner in a mystery hotel room.
   • The ideal tune for: Remembering those special days... and nights

2. Ash - Girl From Mars

   • From the album: 1977 (1996)
   • An ode to an intergalactic lover, from young Tim Wheeler.
   • The ideal tune for: Swooning over someone

3. Richard Ashcroft - A Song For The Lovers

   • From the album: Alone With Everybody (2000)
   • Britain's biggest romantic balladeer sends one out for all of you.
   • The ideal tune for: A windswept evening of high romance

4. The Beatles - Something

   • From the album: Abbey Road (1969)
   • George Harrison's perfect song for his wife Patti.
   • The ideal tune for: Gazing in admiration at your other half.

5. Biffy Clyro - Many of Horror (When We Collide)

   • From the album: Only Revolutions (2009)
   • One of the Biff's swooning love anthems, impeccably delivered.
   • The ideal tune for: Holding hands in the pouring rain.

6. Blink-182 - I Miss You

   • From the album Blink-182 (2003)
   • "Don't waste your time on me / You're already the voice inside my head."
   • They may rock out, but here's one of their gentler moments.
   • The ideal tune for: Sitting alone in your room with your memories

7. Blur - To The End

   • From the album Parklife (1994)
   • "Well you and I collapsed in love..."
   • They've made it to the end... of what, though?
   • The ideal tune for: waltzing around with your beau

8. Bon Iver - Skinny Love

   • From the album For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
   • "In the morning I'll be with you / But it will be a different kind."
   • Justin Vernon rings the changes.
   • The ideal tune for: playing to your love on an acoustic guitar

9. David Bowie - “Heroes"

   • From the album "Heroes" (1977)
   • "I, I will be king / And you, you will be queen / Though nothing will drive them away / We can beat them - just for one day"
   • Bowie's most inspirational, anthemic lyric that was the title track of his 1977 album.
   • The ideal tune for: those dark times when the odds are stacked against you

10. Buzzcocks- Ever Fallen In Love With Someone You Shouldn't've

    • From the album Love Bites (1978)
    • Because sometimes you shouldn't go there.
    • The ideal tune for: when the dust has settled

11. The Cardigans - Lovefool

    • From the album First Band On The Moon (1996)
    • Sometimes love makes you silly, yes.
    • The ideal tune for: being madly in love

12. Gerry Cinnamon - Belter

    • From the album Erratic Cinematic (2017)
    • “She plays with lightning / I’m a hundred miles high / Dishing out the thunder/ Like a God inside the sky.”
    • The ideal tune for: when you need to get your feelings off your chest

13. Coldplay - Fix You

    • From the album X&Y (2005)
    • A song of strength and support from Mr Martin
    • "Lights will guide you home / And ignite your bones / And I will try to fix you."
    • The ideal tune for: trying to make amends

14. Courteeners - That Kiss

    • Single, October 2008
    • Liam Fray sums up the perfect moment exactly
    • "We probably shouldn't have danced to that song."
    • The ideal tune for: remembering the night before

15. The Cure - Lovesong

    • From the album Disintegration (1989)
    • "However far away, I will always love you."
    • Robert Smith wrote this for his wife's wedding present.
    • The ideal tune for: pledging your heart

16. The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love

    • From the album Permission To Land (2003)
    • They may be daft, but this song is spot on.
    • The ideal tune for: rocking out with your loved one

17. Elbow - The Bones Of You

    • From the album The Seldom Seen Kid (2008)
    • "And I'm five years ago / And three thousand miles away."
    • Because sometimes you can't shake off those memories.
    • The ideal tune for: reminiscing

18. Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love

    • From the album Lungs (2009)
    • Ms Welch sings of love from the heavens.
    • The ideal tune for: a starlit night of romance

19. Foo Fighters - Everlong

    • From the album The Colour & The Shape (1997)
    • Dave Grohl's most tender and affecting moment
    • "If everything could ever be this real forever."
    • The ideal tune for: those desperate nights of passion

20. The Fratellis - Whistle For The Choir

    • From the album Costello Music (2006)
    • "Is it out of line if I was to be bold and say 'Would you be mine'?"
    • The ideal tune for: when last orders are called

21. Jose Gonzalez - Heartbeats

    • From the album Veneer (2003)
    • Jose turns electro-pop into acoustic bliss, thanks to this Knife cover.
    • The ideal tune for: those introspective moments

22. Guns N’Roses - Sweet Child O’ Mine

    • From the album Appetite For Destruction (1987)
    • "She's got a smile that it seems to me / Reminds me of childhood memories."
    • Axl Rose writes beautiful lyrics to a hard rocking tune.
    • The ideal tune for: a romantic night at a rock club

23. Ben Howard - Only Love

    • From the album Every Kingdom (2011)
    • "And I'll be yours to keep / A wind in the shadow, a whale song in the deep."
    • The ideal tune for: sitting in a field and daydreaming

24. Vance Joy - Riptide

    • From the album Dream Your Life Away (2014)
    • "I swear she's destined for the screen / Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh."
    • The ideal tune for: dancing with your intended

25. The Killers - Read My Mind

    "Can you read my mind?" Yes, try and work out what they're thinking...

26. Kings Of Leon - On Call

    • From the album Because Of The Times (2007)
    • Caleb is there for you. Although he doesn't seem to happy about it...
    • The ideal tune for: composing that late night text

27. The Kooks - Naive

    • From the album Inside In/Inside Out (2006)
    • Sounds like a tricky relationship about to kick off.
    • The ideal tune for: that first meeting

28. The Lumineers - Ho Hey

    • From the album The Lumineers (2012)
    • “I belong with you, you belong with me, you’re my sweetheart”
    • The ideal tune for: the first dance at your wedding

29. The Maccabees - Toothpaste Kisses

    • From the album Colour It In (2007)
    • “Cradle me, I’ll cradle you / I’ll win your heart with a woop-a-woo!”
    • God, we miss these guys.
    • The ideal tune for: early morning romance

30. Massive Attack - Unfinished Synpathy

    • From the album Blue Lines (1991)
    • "You're the book that I have opened / And now I've got to know much more."
    • The ideal tune for: heart-breaking romance

31. Muse - Bliss

    • From the album Origin Of Symmetry (2001)
    • Everything about you is so easy to love says Matt Bellamy.
    • The ideal tune for: super-massive feelings

32. Nothing But Thieves - Real Love Song

    • From the album Moral Panic (2020)
    • "Got a thing about you, and it won't go away" sings Conor Mason, as he names all the ways his love is "real".
    • The ideal tune for: listening to after you've listened to Nick Cave

33. Oasis - Slide Away

    • From the album Definitely Maybe (1994)
    • "Let me be the one / that shines with you."
    • An epic love song from the Gallaghers, in this peerless track
    • The ideal tune for: married bliss

34. Razorlight - Golden Touch

    • From the album Up All Night (2004)
    • Calm down, Johnny! Have a cold shower or something.
    • The ideal tune for: when you're obssessed

35. Shed Seven - Chasing Rainbows

    • From the album Let It Ride (1998)
    • Rick Witter gets into a proper fluster over someone.
    • The ideal tune for: when you're missing someone

36. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight Tonight

    • From the album Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness (1995)
    • Those strings! Marry me now!
    • The ideal tune for: the perfect evening

37. The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out

    • From the album The Queen Is Dead (1986)
    • "And if a double decker bus / Crashes into us / To die by your side / Is such a heavenly way to die."
    • The most unlikely romantic sentiment ever. courtesy of this Queen Is Dead album track.
    • The ideal tune for: a quirky romance

38. Snow Patrol - Run

    • From the album Final Straw (2004)
    • Others may try to top it, but the original is perfect.
    • The ideal tune for: when you're feeling a little lost.

39. The Stone Roses - Sally Cinnamon

    • Single, May 1987
    • From the Roses' early years. Is it a true story, or just a letter that’s been found?
    • “Then I put the letter back / In the place where it was found / In the pocket of a jacket / On a train in town.”

    The ideal tune for: remembering past love

40. Suede - Stay Together

    • Single, February 1994
    • Brett Anderson knows how to do the heartbreaking anthem.
    • The ideal tune for: glam passion

41. Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

    • From the album Conditions (2009)
    • For some reason, this encapsulates a great summer romance perfectly.
    • The ideal tune for: running through a field, hand in hand.

42. The Verve - Sonnet

    • From the album Urban Hymns (1997)
    • "Yes, there's love if you want it / Don't sound like no sonnet, my lord."
    • Ashcroft breaks our hearts again.
    • The ideal tune for: catching up with an old flame

43. Viola Beach - Boys That Sing

    • From the album Viola Beach (2016)
    • “And she told me that she loves a boy who knows how to sing / So I learnt how to sing.”
    • The ideal tune for: the first flush of love

44. The Wannadies - You And Me Song

    • From the album Be A Girl (1995)
    • “You and me / Always / And forever.”
    • The ideal tune for: when you're at the top of your game.

45. Paul Weller - You Do Something To Me

    • From the album Stanley Road (1995)
    • The Modfather comes over all peculiar in this timeless song from his 1995 album Stanley Road.
    • The ideal tune for: finally telling them how you feel

46. The White Stripes - Fell In Love With A Girl

    • From the album White Blood Cells (2001)
    • It bears repeating.
    • The ideal tune for: running around after someone

47. Wolf Alice - Don't Delete The Kisses

    • From the album Visions Of A Life (2017)
    • “Me and you were meant to be in love,” sings Ellie Rowsell in this shy and wistful pledge of love.
    • "I'm like a teenage girl / I might as well write all over my notebook.”
    • The ideal tune for: sending messages about how you feel.

48. Wolfman featuring Pete Doherty - For Lovers

    • Single, 2004
    • "I'm running away with you / That's all I ever do."
    • One of Pete's more tender moments.
    • The ideal tune for: plotting your getaway

49. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps

    • From the album Fever To Tell (2003)
    • "Wait... they don't love you like I love you."
    • So moving it made Karen O burst into tears while making the video.
    • The ideal tune for: when you can't quite express yourself.

50. The Zutons - Valerie

    • From the album Tired Of Hanging Around (2006)
    • The original version of this joyous indie hit.
    • The ideal tune for: an engagement party.