50 Best Sad Songs About Missing Someone
Heartache Tracks for When Someone’s Missing but Still Everywhere
There’s a very specific kind of ache that slips in when someone’s gone but still everywhere. In the quiet after a long day. In the background noise of a crowded place. You could be mid-laugh or halfway through a late meal and it still hits. That kind of weight doesn’t tap politely. It flattens you out, low and weird and humming like an old fridge. These are the songs that sit in that space. Not to cheer you up or patch it over. Just to match the low frequency of missing someone in a way that doesn’t always make sense on paper.
You’re not falling apart in some cinematic way. You’re scrolling too fast and rereading texts you shouldn’t have saved. There’s a voice you forgot was memorized until it shows up in a voicemail or a dream you didn’t want. And sometimes, the only thing that cuts through that haze is a track that understands without trying to explain. A line that gets stuck because it feels like it was pulled straight from the hour you’re still living in. These pop, rock, country, and R&B songs aren’t trying to fix the feeling. They echo it. They stretch it out until it becomes something familiar enough to carry around.
No fake silver linings here. No perfectly timed closure. These songs let the missing linger. They loop the chorus like you’re stuck in traffic with nowhere to be but your own head. These are the tracks for when someone’s absence turns into a rhythm that follows you around. Here’s the list.
Top 10 Emotional Songs
1. 'Someone Like You'—Adele
2. 'See You Again'—Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
3. 'Nothing Compares 2 U'—Sinéad O'Connor
4. 'Tears in Heaven'—Eric Clapton
5. 'Hurt'—Johnny Cash
6. 'Ain't No Sunshine'—Bill Withers
7. 'Yesterday'—The Beatles
8. 'I Will Remember You'—Sarah McLachlan
9. 'When You're Gone'—The Cranberries
10. 'Fix You'—Coldplay
Popular Songs for Longing #11—20
11. 'Missing You'—John Waite
12. 'My Heart Will Go On'—Celine Dion
13. 'Supermarket Flowers'—Ed Sheeran
14. 'Home'—Michael Bublé
15. 'Back to December'—Taylor Swift
16. 'Wish You Were Here'—Pink Floyd
17. 'How Do I Live'—LeAnn Rimes
18. 'I Miss You'—Blink-182
19. 'Angel'—Sarah McLachlan
20. 'The Scientist'—Coldplay
Songs About Absence and Connection #21—30
21. 'Fire and Rain'—James Taylor
22. 'Always'—Bon Jovi
23. 'Who You'd Be Today'—Kenny Chesney
24. 'Slipped Away'—Avril Lavigne
25. 'Gone Too Soon'—Michael Jackson
26. 'Lay Me Down'—Sam Smith
27. 'Goodbye's (The Saddest Word)'—Celine Dion
28. 'Let Her Go'—Passenger
29. 'I Will Always Love You'—Whitney Houston
30. 'Hello'—Adele
Deeply Moving Songs About Missing Loved Ones #31—40
31. 'Everywhere'—Fleetwood Mac
32. 'The Night We Met'—Lord Huron
33. 'It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday'—Boyz II Men
34. 'The Man Who Can't Be Moved'—The Script
35. 'Officially Missing You'—Tamia
36. 'Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)'—Phil Collins
37. 'Un-Break My Heart'—Toni Braxton
38. 'Don't Speak'—No Doubt
39. 'Chasing Pavements'—Adele
40. 'Hallelujah'—Jeff Buckley
Timeless Songs for Longing and Reflection #41—50
41. 'Don't You Remember'—Adele
42. 'Jar of Hearts'—Christina Perri
43. 'Photograph'—Ed Sheeran
44. 'Ghost'—Justin Bieber
45. 'Only Time'—Enya
46. 'I'm Already There'—Lonestar
47. 'Jealous of the Angels'—Donna Taggart
48. 'The Bed's Too Big Without You'—The Police
49. 'So Far Away'—Carole King
50. 'I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself'—Dusty Springfield
© 2025 Carson McQueen
