It’s incredibly easy to be cynical in the world these days. The world is slowly melting and decaying, everything is expensive, and the injustices can be horrible. But love always remains, despite the evidence that hardens our hearts. When you find the right person romantically, it’s hard not to smell the roses. When the stars align, nothing could ever compare. While some are harder and more reserved towards that kind of shift, the hopeless romantics of the world can’t help but long for that kind of connection. R&B was created for that kind of person—the deep yearner who can’t help but fall in love. Lovers of the genre are often the ones daydreaming about finding that special someone. It’s even better when they do find the love of their life, then they spend their days drowning them in affection. For those with a colder heart or those who simply want to indulge, Noisey has selected four records for the hopeless romantic.Four Songs for The Hopeless Romantics Yearning for The Love of Their Lives“Why I Love You So Much” by MonicaMonica makes young love sound so easy on “Why I Love You So Much”. The right person turned her life around drastically, and she’s working overtime to express how good her man has done by her. She’s irresistibly earnest, swelling her voice in the third verse of how he rocks her in his arms. It’s the kind of blissful love that’ll make any single person want to get out of the dating game and get engaged already.“I Found My Smile Again” by D’AngeloFalling in love will impact you in the most positive ways. The right person will guide you through breaking bad habits, will motivate you during your low lights, and console you amidst the darkness. It’s a form of ecstasy that’s hard to distill until you experience it firsthand.However, D’Angelo does a damn good job doing so on “I Found My Smile Again”. The bass line plays like the sun shining again after a spell of despondency. He reflects on the weightlessness of being in love, where the spirit lightens up, and we find new purpose. We thrive because they’ve illuminated a path we spent so long trying to find. It’s a beautiful jam session that I still can’t believe was on the Space Jam soundtrack.“Just Because” by Anita BakerThe greatest artists, writers, and philosophers have tried to define the meaning of love. One of the greatest one-hit wonders of all time settled on wailing in confusion to the high heavens about love. If we were to narrow it down to one reason, why do we love the way we do? Why does that special someone complete us?Anita Baker doesn’t fixate too much on trying to define an all-encompassing feeling. Instead, she sings the most beautiful of all: “Just because you’re you.” All the imperfections, all the things we find so insecure about ourselves—none of it matters to her. It’s those very things we worry about that she loves on “Just Because”. There’s no set of “regimented rules,” as she puts it. True love is unconditional. You don’t have to be one of the hopeless romantics to long for that feeling.“So in Love” by Curtis Mayfield1970s soul was tailor-made for the hopeless romantics of the world. Even amidst wartime and social unrest, there was sanctuary in love. Curtis Mayfield depicts this on the 1975 album There’s No Place Like America Today.Still a prescient album today, “So in Love” is the record’s crown jewel, the Chicago-born-and-bred crooner and guitarist basking in the horns and emphasizing intimacy. The little things, like the taste of a kiss, will stick in our heads that much more when we’re loved and in love. It’s the kind of record you keep into your old age, a testament to the unwavering faith of a strong relationship.The post 4 R&B Songs for People That Are Hopeless Romantics appeared first on VICE.