50 Best Rock Songs About Graduation
Best Rock Songs for Graduation Season
There’s something strange about that last week before everyone scatters. You’re packing up boxes that still smell like the dorm and pretending it’s all fine. Every goodbye feels quick, like nobody wants to say what they actually mean. Then some song hits from a Bluetooth speaker and for a second, everyone’s still there—off-key, sweaty, probably drinking from mismatched cups, yelling along to something half-nostalgic, half-defiant. That’s the kind of track that makes the floor shake a little and the moment stick longer than it should.
Graduation doesn’t feel clean. It’s a mess of pride and panic and half-made plans that sound better at night. The songs that match it don’t always spell out the theme but they carry the same pulse—some mix of running forward while looking back. A few sound like freedom, others like loss hiding under riffs and cymbals. You hear the crowd noise in your head and think it’s the sound of the future, but maybe it’s just static before the next thing starts. These tracks pull at that feeling and hold it until you have to laugh or shout it out.
They’re the kind of songs that could sit next to pop, rock, country, and R&B songs in someone’s end-of-year playlist without feeling out of place. Not every one talks directly about graduation, but they fit the vibe of the last night, the walk across the field, the long drive home when it finally sinks in. These are the best rock songs for graduation.
Top 10 Graduation Rock Songs
1. 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' by Green Day
2. 'School's Out' by Alice Cooper
3. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey
4. 'We Are the Champions' by Queen
5. 'Here's To the Night' by Eve 6
6. 'Times Like These' by Foo Fighters
7. 'Graduation Day' by The Beach Boys
8. 'Photograph' by Nickelback
9. 'Tonight, Tonight' by The Smashing Pumpkins
10. 'Breakaway' by Kelly Clarkson
Rock Songs for New Chapter Celebrations #11 to 20
11. 'Learn to Fly' by Foo Fighters
12. 'Forever Young' by Alphaville
13. 'Unwritten' by Natasha Bedingfield
14. 'The Middle' by Jimmy Eat World
15. 'I Lived' by OneRepublic
16. 'Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)' by Billy Joel
17. 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac
18. 'Wake Me Up When September Ends' by Green Day
19. 'Sweet Disposition' by The Temper Trap
20. 'The Adventure' by Angels & Airwaves
Alternative Rock Songs About Moving On #21 to 30
21. 'Best Day Of My Life' by American Authors
22. 'Shut Up and Dance' by WALK THE MOON
23. 'New Divide' by Linkin Park
24. 'Future' by Paramore
25. 'Underclass Hero' by Sum 41
26. 'The House That Heaven Built' by Japandroids
27. 'Ain't It Fun' by Paramore
28. 'My Own Worst Enemy' by Lit
29. 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie
30. 'Float On' by Modest Mouse
Rock and Emo Songs for Ending School #31 to 40
31. 'I Write Sins Not Tragedies' by Panic! At The Disco
32. 'All the Small Things' by Blink-182
33. 'Where the Streets Have No Name' by U2
34. 'The Kids Aren't Alright' by The Offspring
35. 'The World Is Yours' by Nas
36. 'Live Your Life' by T.I. featuring Rihanna
37. 'Walk' by Foo Fighters
38. 'Shake It Out' by Florence + The Machine
39. 'Hey Look Ma, I Made It' by Panic! At The Disco
40. 'Be My Forever' by Christina Perri featuring Ed Sheeran
Post-Graduation Rock Songs and Themes #41 to 50
41. 'Vienna' by Billy Joel
42. 'Changes' by David Bowie
43. 'The Final Countdown' by Europe
44. 'The Times They Are A-Changin'' by Bob Dylan
45. 'Senses Working Overtime' by XTC
46. 'Right Here Right Now' by Jesus Jones
47. 'Right Now' by Van Halen
48. 'The Rest of My Life' by Prince
49. 'My Way' by Frank Sinatra
50. 'I Can See Clearly Now' by Johnny Nash
© 2025 Carson McQueen
