The 5 Most Timeless '80s Love Ballads

If you were lucky enough to fall in love in the '80s despite all the neon paraphernalia and parachute pants you might've been wearing, you had a righteous soundtrack for the romance. You probably even made your sweetheart a mixtape featuring some of the greatest love songs of the decade. And if you're a nostalgic sap who gushes at the sound of those songs, you know exactly how powerful love ballads from the '80s were.

Were there slurpy strings and heartfelt lyrics? Of course. Were there soaring vocals that challenged your sing-along abilities? You betcha. Were there overly emphatic music videos and desperate pleas of eternal devotion that turned into playlist favorites that still tear at your heartstrings? We wouldn't be publishing this feature if there weren't.

Everyone has their favorite '80s love ballad, and everyone is right about whichever one it is — love songs are subjective that way. And the collection is deep: This is the decade that gave the world "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" from Chicago, "Against All Odds" from Phil Collins, and "Careless Whisper" from Wham. But a few classics have stuck with us like heirlooms, giving voice to our heartache and adoration. Thanks to a mix of heartfelt lyrics, sincere delivery, and undeniable artistry, we've identified a set that stands out from the crowd. In a decade filled with fantastic love ballads, these five transcend time like few others can.

If you haven't been to a wedding where the classic '80s ballad "Faithfully" was a featured part of the playlist, then you haven't been to enough weddings. This tearful, road-weary heartbreaker became a centerpiece of Journey's mighty run through the decade. It had everything a proper ballad requires: aching piano chords, dramatic pauses, and lyrics about loneliness and long distance. Add Steve Perry's plaintive wail to the mix, and you have a recipe for a tearjerker that never gets old.

Though the message is that being a rockstar makes you pine for the one you love, fans adopted it as a vow of devotion that applies to any relationship where distance makes the heart grow fonder. As every next verse describes the troubadour's charade and long stretches of time that test even the strongest love, Perry's desperation to declare his fidelity becomes more palpable. And then, guitarist Neal Schon launches a searing solo that Perry wails over — "I'm forever yours / Faithfully" — and it's game over for all other guitar-driven love songs.

Journey set the tone a few years earlier with another amazing '80s love song, "Open Arms," queuing up a pair of tunes that have undeniable lasting power. But "Faithfully" exerts just a little more passion, which gets it on this list. Though Steve Perry isn't in the spotlight anymore, this song guarantees him a spot in the love song pantheon.

Long before lead singer Lou Gramm left Foreigner to go solo, the quartet loosened its rock stylings and embraced a softer format complete with gospel choir backing vocals in this aching ballad. After power-packed bangers like "Head Games," "Cold as Ice," and "Urgent," tunes that defined the band's hard-edged sound, this softer composition ushered in a more adult rock-oriented sound — one that helped the band age with its audience.

Love songs weren't entirely new for the band. After all, the ballad "Waiting for a Girl Like You" sent ripples through the airwaves in 1981 when the band issued its seminal album, "4." So when "I Want to Know What Love Is" debuted in 1984 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year, it was a well-deserved victory. The best part of this timeless love song is that it doesn't specifically relate to romantic love. The lyrics could just as easily apply to the greater search for an all-encompassing love, which helps it reach a broader audience.

Foreigner is enjoying a bit of a nostalgic comeback thanks to a soundtrack cameo in the Season 5 wrap-up of "Stranger Things." It's a reminder that this '80s band has mastered the art of sticking around by making great music. And "I Want to Know What Love Is" has become an indelible love song that still has legs. After all these years, if you can hear the chorus without feeling your heart swell, it's possible that you don't have one.

Meat Loaf collaborator and producer Jim Steinman knocked it out of the park and reignited Bonnie Tyler's flagging career with a scorcher that hit every emotional chord perfectly. It was quite a surprise for anyone who knew Tyler from her 1977 hit, "It's a Heartache," which placed her squarely in the light rock/country genre. Her whiskey gravel voice was a perfect fit for that scene, but when she let it rip on Steinman's masterful epic about the torment of lost love, she found her higher calling: the torchy power ballad.

One of the most recognizable piano riffs introduces a chill-inducing verse that sounds like an ethereal being beckoning a woeful and lonely Tyler to "turn around," — an otherworldly tone that tells you things are about to get really dramatic. The leitmotif lyrics explain how the singer sometimes gives in to her tortured pining, and they're hypnotic and sorrowful in a way we all understand. By the time she gets around to the now-iconic chorus, the goosebumps are in full effect. You're not getting out of listening to this timeless love song without singing along at the top of your lungs, every note smacking your heart like a punching bag. Tyler and Steinman teamed up again the following year for 1984's thundering "Holding Out for a Hero," the singer's other best-known hit, which was recorded for the "Footloose" soundtrack. But when it comes to unfettered romantic regret, "Total Eclipse" can't be ... well, eclipsed.

Few ballads from any decade capture the yearning of young love quite as dramatically as the 1981 hit "Endless Love," by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross. These two were a power duo that was meant to be, yet this was the first time their silky voices had been matched with one another. As a songwriter at the peak of his talents, Richie's deft way with emotive lyrics and syrup-sweet piano melodies are put to their best use. He and Ross trade lines back-and-forth like lovers who couldn't bear the thought of turning away — the song almost sounds like musical wedding vows.

The tune is the title track of the 1981 Franco Zeffirelli film featuring a young Brooke Shields and Martin Hewitt in a tempestuous teen romance torn apart by her father. The movie was met with mixed reviews, but the theme song went on to become the best-selling single Motown ever produced. It racked up nine weeks at the top of the charts and held the title of the biggest duet in Billboard history. This success helped cement Lionel Richie's decision to leave the Commodores for a solo career.

Commercial success aside, this happens to be one of the most stirring love ballads of the 20th century, if not of all time. There's no escaping the soaring emotion as the softly sung verses slowly build to a rapturous crescendo. But the emotion lingers long after the last note fades. Endless love, indeed.

Cyndi Lauper showed that she wasn't just a goofy pop singer when she hauled out a tender tribute to unending devotion. It helped her prove that girls may want to have fun, but they can also weather heartache like nobody's business. It came in the form of "Time After Time," a soul-stirring treat of a love song that demonstrated a whole different set of skills from the singer-songwriter. The music video also depicted Lauper's cinematic side, with her and real-life boyfriend at the time David Wolff acting out scenes of lovers at a juncture. The tune hasn't been forgotten in the decades that have passed since its release, and it isn't likely to be lost to future decades, either.

This bittersweet ode to commitment strikes all the right chords, with a subdued arrangement that leaves plenty of space between the instruments for unmitigated longing. The whispered chorus close-out inspires sheer chills. It's one of those songs that everybody thinks they nail at karaoke but usually can't. The fact that it resonates makes people want to sing along wherever they hear it, whether it's at happy hour or on a nostalgia-friendly Spotify playlist.

For her longevity, creativity, and striking way with a heart-piercing love song, Lauper is now a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. And though her signature tune, "Girls Just Want to Have Fun," may be the bop she's most appreciated for, "Time After Time" ranks a close second. Cue the goosebumps.