Marvin Gaye – Let’s Get It On

If you think you can compile a list of mood-setting records without mentioning Marvin Gaye, then you don’t know music. Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” tops the list, setting the mood with tracks like “Let’s Get It On” and “Distant Lover.” Candlelight, champagne and Marvin Gaye is all you need to make your partner swoon this Friday night. Trust me, if he or she resists your advances after a little bit of “Just to Keep You Satisfied” and “Please Stay (Once You Go Away)”, chances are you’ll never get anywhere with him or her.

Al Green – Let’s Stay Together

Another essential in your music collection, whether you’re trying to get someone in the mood, or if you just want a great album. “Let’s Stay Together” is the best Al Green record ever made, and it’s also very seductive and beautiful. From the opening track, “Let’s Stay Together”, where Green crows “Lovin’ you whether times are good or bad or happy or sad,” to the final lyrics of the standout track “It Ain’t No Fun to Me” (ignore the double negative, it was the 70s), Green shows why he’s been considered one of the top songwriters of this or any generation. Pick up “Let’s Stay Together” and get it ready for Friday night, it’ll be well worth it.

Paul Simon – Graceland

An odd selection, for sure. This album is a departure from the Al Greens and Marvin Gayes of the world, but a classic none the less. In “Graceland,” Paul Simon crafts some of his best work, including the always inviting “She’s Got Diamonds in the Soles of Her Shoes” and “Call Me Al.” The songs on Graceland aren’t what you’d call ballads, most of them are upbeat, but all the tracks are soothing, beautiful, uncanny tunes that hold up today in mainstream music. Simon’s guitars and vocals relax the mind and body like perhaps no other, making it a sure-fire pick on the top 5.

Sade – Love Deluxe

An easy pick, and one worthy of being played on Valentine’s Day. For the past three decades, Sade has proven herself to be the queen of R&B, or at least one at the top of the heap. Her 1992 offering “Love Deluxe,” perhaps her best work, is my pick for her most romantic and mood-setting album. Her voice is seductive, her lyrics are sensual and the music is soft and inviting. For maximum affection, tracks 1, 3 and 7 are your best best. “No Ordinary Love” is my favorite off this disc, but you and your partner can pick yours on Friday night.

Radiohead – The Bends

Another odd selection. You might question my choice here, but one listen to “The Bends” should change your mind. All though most Radiohead albums such as “OK Computer” are more experimental than meolodic, “The Bends” is their soft-spoken masterpiece. Nearly every song has a gentle acoustic guitar, beautifually crafted lyrics about love and loss of love (“She looks like the real thing, she tastes like the real thing”) and a quiet quality that makes this album the perfect fit in your collection of romantic music.