The 75 Best Breakup Songs (2024)

Bring it in, friend. You don’t have to say it. You’ve either gotten your heart broken, or you had to do the breaking. Unfortunately, there’s really no “winning” in either position, but just because you’re lonely doesn’t mean you’re alone. In fact, as special as your love might have been, you’re going through one of the most universal feelings of the human experience. We’ve got decades of achey breaky ballads to prove it.

Misery loves company, and sometimes the best company of all is the melodic melancholy of a fellow broken heart. Whether you’re in need of a shoulder to cry on, an anthem to scream to, or a soundtrack to this new chapter of your life, the breakup genre is one of the richest natural resources in music. And, don’t worry, we’ve collected the best of them so you don’t have to. Throw out that old sweatshirt of theirs, lock your bedroom door for the day, and let yourself wallow in these best breakup songs of all time.

Best Lyric: “Didn't I do it for you? / Why don't I do it for you? / Why won't you do it for me? / When all I do is for you?”

Best Lyric: “Which books are yours? / Which tapes and dreams belong to you and which are mine? / Our lives are tangled like the branches of a vine that intertwine”

Best Lyric: “I checked your phone and no surprises / She’s grinning from ear to ear in purple lace”

Best Lyric: “I know I've locked myself in my room / But I'll open up the door and try to love again soon”

Best Lyric: “I will go out tonight / I'm gonna drink the whole town dry / Put poison in my wine / And hope that you're the one who dies”

Best Lyric: “Why did I come here? To sit and watch you stare at your feet? / What was the plan? Absolve your guilt and shake hands?”

Best Lyric: “You know I’m such a fool for you / You’ve got me wrapped around your finger / Do you have to let it linger?”

Best Lyric: “I hate you for what you did/ And I miss you like a little kid”

Best Lyric: “Here in the dark, in these final hours / I will lay down my heart, and I’ll feel the power / But you won’t”

Best Lyric: “Please don’t go misreading me / I’m not saying you’ve been misleading me / Just not needing me the way that I need you”

Best Lyric: "It's been so lonely without you here / I'm like a bird without a song / Nothing can stop this lonely rain from falling / Tell me, baby, where did I go wrong."

Best Lyric: "You say you're sorry, but it's too late now / So save it, get gone, shut up' / Cause if you think I care about you now / Well, boy, I don't give a f*ck."

Best Lyric: "Wish I could turn you back into a stranger / 'Cause if I was never in your life, you wouldn't have to change it."

Best Lyric: "I wanted you to know / That I am ready to go, heartbeat."

Best Lyric: "Falling for you was my mistake."

Best Lyric: "If I last-strawed you on 8th Avenue / Well, you're the only motherf*cker in the city who can stand me."

Best Lyric: "Should've never gave you my number, I did it with you (ooh) / Should've never let you hit it, I split it with you."

Best Lyric: "But in our darkest hours, I stumbled on a secret power / I'll find a way to be without you, babe."

Best Lyric: "You say you don't believe in fairytales / But if this was a perfect world / I wouldn't have been distracted by them other girls."

Best Lyric: "Some things are long forgotten / Some things were never said / We were on one endless road / But I had a wandering heart."