50 Best Rock Songs About Loving Someone You Can't Be With

Rock Tracks for When Love Stays Out of Reach

There’s a strange tension that comes with caring for someone you can’t touch. It hums under your skin, sharp one minute, dull the next. You find yourself replaying the same tracks, chasing the parts that feel like something familiar. The guitar hits, the lyrics slide in, and suddenly the whole room shifts. These songs carry that weight—the kind that lingers after the call ends or the night goes quiet. Some of them might not even spell it out, but they carry the same ache underneath the noise.

Rock has always known how to live in that middle ground. The riffs lean heavy, the vocals crack, and somehow it makes sense. It’s not the sweeping heartbreak of pop, rock, country, and R&B songs that smooth the edges down. This kind of sound stays rough around the corners, where love sits unfinished. You can hear it in the stretch between notes, in the way a line cuts off before it really lands. It’s the sound of wanting to say something you already know won’t change a thing.

Maybe you’ve heard one of these songs late at night when the light hits the wall weird and everything feels closer than it should. Or maybe it caught you during a drive when the sky started fading out and you didn’t reach for the skip button. They all hit different, but they live in the same space—where love still hums after you’ve let it go. Some might not be literally tied to this kind of story, but they still carry that pulse. Here are the best rock songs for loving someone you can’t be with.

1. 'The One I Love' by R.E.M.

2. 'I Can't Make You Love Me' by Bon Iver

3. 'Layla' by Derek and the Dominos

4. 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls

5. 'Wonderwall' by Oasis

6. 'She Talks to Angels' by The Black Crowes

7. 'Big Yellow Taxi' by Joni Mitchell

8. 'Missing You' by John Waite

9. 'Alone Again Or' by Love

10. 'The River' by Bruce Springsteen

11. 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley

12. 'Lithium' by Nirvana

13. 'Stop Crying Your Heart Out' by Oasis

14. 'Love Hurts' by Nazareth

15. 'I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing' by Aerosmith

16. 'Black Hole Sun' by Soundgarden

17. 'High and Dry' by Radiohead

18. 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police

19. 'Tears in Heaven' by Eric Clapton

20. 'Wicked Game' by Chris Isaak

21. 'A Long December' by Counting Crows

22. 'Landslide' by Fleetwood Mac

23. 'Drive' by The Cars

24. 'Patience' by Guns N' Roses

25. 'Just Like Heaven' by The Cure

26. 'I Want You' by Elvis Costello

27. 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd

28. 'Somebody Told Me' by The Killers

29. 'More Than a Feeling' by Boston

30. 'Behind Blue Eyes' by The Who

31. 'Purple Rain' by Prince

32. 'All Apologies' by Nirvana

33. 'Where the Streets Have No Name' by U2

34. 'Rocket Man' by Elton John

35. 'No Surprises' by Radiohead

36. 'Hey There Delilah' by Plain White T's

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

38. 'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses

39. 'Keep on Loving You' by REO Speedwagon

40. 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash

41. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette

42. 'The Unforgiven' by Metallica

43. 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman

44. 'Champagne Supernova' by Oasis

45. 'In My Life' by The Beatles

46. 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' by U2

47. 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' by Queen

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

49. 'Everlong' by Foo Fighters

50. 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie