50 Best Rock Songs About Bad Friends

Best Rock Tracks on Fake Friends

There’s a certain sting when you realize someone who called themselves a friend was really pulling the floor out from under you. It hits in a strange way, half bitter and half freeing, the kind of moment where a loud guitar riff feels sharper than any conversation you could have. Rock songs thrive in that space, chewing on betrayal with distortion, sarcasm, and hooks that feel way too fitting when you’re replaying the mess in your head. A few of these tracks might not be written for the subject at hand, but they carry the energy that lines up with the feeling perfectly.

The mood isn’t clean. It’s messy like a bar fight at closing time, like laughing in the middle of an argument you know you lost. You’ll hear bands sneer through lyrics that sound way too personal, or choruses built for shouting along when you’re too tired to care who’s listening. These tracks don’t offer any neat lesson. They sit in the bitterness, the drama, the part where trust cracked and the feedback hasn’t faded yet.

Some of the most memorable cuts are angry, some are sly, and some lean into humor in ways that make the sting easier to swallow. And mixed in with the obvious rock staples, you’ll find a few that bend genres and sneak in from pop, rock, country, and R&B songs, proving the theme carries across sounds. Not every song is literally written for this topic, but they carry the bite and the raw edge that make them fit. Here are the best rock songs on bad friends for Instagram reels and stories.

1. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette

2. 'Numb' by Linkin Park

3. 'Fake Friends' by Attila

4. 'Seventy Times 7' by Brand New

5. 'I Lost a Friend' by Finneas

6. 'Bad Friend' by Rina Sawayama

7. 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt

8. 'Ignorance' by Paramore

9. 'Cry Me a River' by Justin Timberlake

10. 'Fake Ass Friends' by Set It Off

11. 'Real Friends' by Camila Cabello

12. 'Death on Two Legs' by Queen

13. 'You Give Love a Bad Name' by Bon Jovi

14. 'The Kids Aren't Alright' by Fall Out Boy

15. 'Dead to Me' by Melanie Martinez

16. 'Poison Ivy' by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

17. 'Judas' by Lady Gaga

18. 'Trust' by The Cure

19. 'Blood on the Ground' by Incubus

20. 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Elliott Smith

21. 'Best Friends' by Grandson

22. 'The Bitter End' by Placebo

23. 'Fake It' by Seether

24. 'True Friends' by Bring Me the Horizon

25. 'My Friends Over You' by New Found Glory

26. 'Flesh Without Blood' by Grimes

27. 'You' by Bad Religion

28. 'A Dish Best Served Coldly' by Type O Negative

29. 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails

30. 'Goodbye Forever' by Alkaline Trio

31. 'Walk' by Pantera

32. 'Pieces' by Sum 41

33. 'Jaked on Green Beers' by Alkaline Trio

34. 'All My Friends Are Dead' by The Amity Affliction

35. 'No Good' by Knuckle Puck

36. 'You Can Count on Me' by Trophy Eyes

37. 'Tell Me How' by Paramore

38. 'Friend' by Grandson

39. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey

40. 'The Only Thing' by Sufjan Stevens

41. 'Evil Friends' by Portugal. The Man

42. 'The Last Carnival' by Bruce Springsteen

43. 'In the End' by Linkin Park

44. 'Out of the Black' by Royal Blood

45. 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved' by The Script

46. 'Who Knew' by P!nk

47. 'The Loser Wins' by Atmosphere

48. 'The Sun' by Tigers Jaw

49. 'Hollowed Out' by Belmont

50. 'I Don't Fuck With You' by Big Sean