50 Best Rock Songs About Missing Your Ex
Rock Songs for When You Can’t Stop Thinking About Your Ex
There’s a certain ache that hangs around after someone leaves. It’s not the cinematic heartbreak that makes you want to cry in the rain, but the quieter kind that creeps in when a song from your old playlist slips through shuffle. You’re half-focused, maybe half-healed, but the chords pull you back to that first drive home alone. These tracks don’t promise closure or wisdom. They linger in the haze of what used to be and refuse to clean up the edges.
Some of these tracks spell it out in lyrics you can mouth without thinking. Others twist the feeling into something fuzzier, buried under distortion and drums that sound like they’re trying to outrun regret. They might not literally center on lost love, but they carry the pulse of it—the stretched-out silence, the leftover gravity. There’s something about rock songs that hold space for this kind of longing, but the ache cuts across pop, rock, country, and R&B songs too. Every genre has its own way of circling the same wound.
These picks lean into that space where memory turns restless and familiar riffs hit like a flashback you didn’t ask for. The tracks might be bitter, nostalgic, or strangely calm, but they all tap into the restless hum of missing someone who used to be everywhere. Here are the best rock songs for when you can’t stop thinking about your ex.
Top 10 Breakup Rock Songs
1. 'Everlong' by Foo Fighters
2. 'I Miss You' by blink-182
3. 'My Heart Will Go On' by A Day to Remember
4. 'The Unforgiven' by Metallica
5. 'Black' by Pearl Jam
6. 'The Bed's Too Big Without You' by The Police
7. 'Don't Look Back in Anger' by Oasis
8. 'Hear You Me' by Jimmy Eat World
9. 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails
10. 'Wish You Were Here' by Pink Floyd
Nostalgic Rock Songs for Exes #11 to 20
11. 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night' by Nirvana
12. 'Since U Been Gone' by Kelly Clarkson
13. 'Every Breath You Take' by The Police
14. 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division
15. 'Hallelujah' by Jeff Buckley
16. 'The Sound of Silence' by Simon & Garfunkel
17. 'High and Dry' by Radiohead
18. 'Nothing Else Matters' by Metallica
19. 'I Will Always Love You' by Dolly Parton
20. 'Somebody That I Used to Know' by Gotye ft. Kimbra
Emotional Rock Songs About Lost Love #21 to 30
21. 'You Oughta Know' by Alanis Morissette
22. 'The Scientist' by Coldplay
23. 'With or Without You' by U2
24. 'Iris' by Goo Goo Dolls
25. 'Last Kiss' by Pearl Jam
26. 'Drive' by Incubus
27. 'Come Undone' by Duran Duran
28. 'Tears In Heaven' by Eric Clapton
29. 'I Remember You' by Skid Row
30. 'Behind Blue Eyes' by The Who
Best Rock Songs for Missing an Ex #31 to 40
31. 'Seasons in the Sun' by Terry Jacks
32. 'All Apologies' by Nirvana
33. 'Where Are You Now' by Royal Blood
34. 'The Man Who Sold the World' by David Bowie
35. 'Losing My Religion' by R.E.M.
36. 'Hey There Delilah' by Plain White T's
37. 'Fade Into You' by Mazzy Star
38. 'November Rain' by Guns N' Roses
39. 'Crying' by Aerosmith
40. 'I Want to Know What Love Is' by Foreigner
Top Rock Songs About Wanting an Ex Back #41 to 50
41. 'Don't Stop Believin'' by Journey
42. 'The One I Love' by R.E.M.
43. 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman
44. 'Better Man' by Pearl Jam
45. 'Say Something' by A Great Big World
46. 'Fake Plastic Trees' by Radiohead
47. 'Wonderwall' by Oasis
48. 'Just Like Heaven' by The Cure
49. 'She Will Be Loved' by Maroon 5
50. 'I Will Follow You into the Dark' by Death Cab for Cutie
© 2025 Carson McQueen
