50 Best Rock Songs About Heartbreak

Heartbreak Rock Songs That Still Sting

There’s a particular kind of ache that hits when a rock song cuts too close. It’s not pure sadness, not anger either, but that weird in-between where you’re too drained to cry and too proud to admit it still hurts. You’re driving late, maybe with the windows cracked even though it’s cold, and some old track sneaks in through the speakers. The chords sound heavier than they used to. The lyrics suddenly feel aimed right at you. These songs sit in that limbo. The late-night scroll through old photos, the silence after the call drops, the pulse of drums that almost feels like a heartbeat that won’t calm down.

Heartbreak in rock never comes clean. It crashes through like static, spilling over guitars that can’t quite drown out the noise in your head. You might hear The Killers trying to hold it together or Phoebe Bridgers mumbling through the wreckage. Some tracks came from other corners too, from pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that carried that same bruised tone. A few aren’t literally tied to heartbreak at all, but something in the delivery fits—the crack in the voice, the lift before the crash. They linger because they don’t try to heal anything. They just let the mess sprawl across the sound.

Not every heartbreak hits in slow motion. Some are loud, messy, almost defiant. Others fade in quiet, like a curtain falling before you realize the scene is done. These songs pull from that uneven rhythm, the restless kind that keeps playing long after the room goes quiet. Here are the best rock tracks that capture that raw edge of heartbreak.

1. 'Go Your Own Way' by Fleetwood Mac

2. 'Love Hurts' by Nazareth

3. 'Black' by Pearl Jam

4. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette

5. 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt

6. 'The Scientist' by Coldplay

7. 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division

8. 'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses

9. 'Pictures of You' by The Cure

10. 'I Hate Myself for Loving You' by Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

11. 'Don’t Know What You Got (Till It’s Gone)' by Cinderella

12. 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler

13. 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police

14. 'Since U Been Gone' by Kelly Clarkson

15. 'She's Gone' by Hall & Oates

16. 'Angie' by The Rolling Stones

17. 'Without You' by Harry Nilsson

18. 'Love Stinks' by The J. Geils Band

19. 'I Miss the Misery' by Halestorm

20. 'Bringin' on the Heartbreak' by Def Leppard

21. 'Cryin'' by Aerosmith

22. 'Already Gone' by Eagles

23. 'Boulevard of Broken Dreams' by Green Day

24. 'For No One' by The Beatles

25. 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails

26. 'I Don't Love You' by My Chemical Romance

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

28. 'Time for Me to Fly' by REO Speedwagon

29. 'I Hate Everything About You' by Three Days Grace

30. 'Train in Vain' by The Clash

31. 'Still Loving You' by Scorpions

32. 'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You' by Led Zeppelin

33. 'Yesterday' by The Beatles

34. 'The Famous Final Scene' by Bob Seger

35. 'Snuff' by Slipknot

36. 'Love Bites' by Def Leppard

37. 'Broken Heart' by The Babys

38. 'Something' by The Beatles

39. 'Heartbreak Hotel' by Elvis Presley

40. 'Drive' by The Cars

41. 'Changes' by Black Sabbath

42. 'Blue Eyes Blue' by Eric Clapton

43. 'Found Out About You' by Gin Blossoms

44. 'I Want You' by Elvis Costello

45. 'I'd Rather Go Blind' by Etta James

46. 'How Can You Mend a Broken Heart' by Bee Gees

47. 'The Breakup Song (They Don't Write 'Em)' by The Greg Kihn Band

48. 'Nothing Compares 2 U' by Sinéad O'Connor

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

50. 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' by Bonnie Tyler