Reader Poll: What are your favorite love songs?

Photo by David Greenwald

As you can see, I’m in New York for the summer, but my girlfriend (as the Big Star song goes) is still way out West. So I’ve been listening to a lot of soul-baring love songs and feeling sad and romantic; I’m compiling a list of my absolute favorites that I plan on posting here soon. But everybody has their personal favorites and I’d like to see yours. Post your top five in the comments, and if there are some clear favorites, I’ll put together a reader list to go along with my own.

Before you start: Whitney Houston and Celine Dion? Not allowed. Mariah’s cool, though.

I’ll kick things off with what I think is my all-time favorite love song, Herb Alpert’s rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s heartbreaking “This Guy’s In Love With You.” Listen to how Alpert’s quiet delivery sets up the big dramatic shock of the orchestral flourishes. Talk about goosebumps. I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Bacharach play this live, and man. I don’t even know what to say about it.

Herb Alpert – “This Guy’s In Love With You”: mp3

How about you guys, what are your picks?