Breaking up is hard to do, but music might make getting over your ex a bit easier. The provide a source of comfort to those . But just as , the same can be said of breakup songs. That’s why this list is broken up into four distinct categories so you can find the right song for those moments when you need a good cry or a good laugh—or, in ’s case, possibly both.
This list includes ballads that pair well with a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and tracks that will make you want to dance again. And because there are just too many great breakup songs to choose from, we’ve included a few honorable mentions that didn’t officially make our list, but are certainly playlist worthy.
Below, the 30 best songs for getting over a breakup.
Songs To Bawl Your Eyes Out To
Joni Mitchell, “River”
Notwithstanding its Christmas bent, ’s 1971 weepie is really a breakup song for all seasons, offering its most heartbroken listeners solace, while also imagining a world beyond the grief they’re feeling.
Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”
wrote “I Will Always Love You” in 1973 as her , her then-business partner and longtime mentor. But when re-recorded the track for The Bodyguard soundtrack nearly two decades later, she made the song all her own, turning it into a dramatic devotional to star-crossed love. This enduring ballad, whether belted out by Dolly, Whitney or , will always have the power to move even the strongest among us to tears. Our advice: let them flow.
Adele, “Someone Like You”
For the last decade, ’s bittersweet 21 ballad has been the go-to for anyone who is nursing a broken heart. Inspired by the singer’s own breakup with a boyfriend who went on to get engaged shortly after they parted ways, “Someone Like You” plays out like a sorrowful wedding toast to the one who got away. Cheers to Adele for making it totally acceptable to cry into your beer.
Lauryn Hill, “Ex-Factor”
On the soulful and sorrowful “Ex-Factor,” reckons with a toxic relationship over samples of Wu-Tang Clan and of Barbra Streisand’s heartbreaker “The Way We Were.” When Hill sings, “Where were you when I needed you?,” it’s nearly impossible not to shed a tear or two hundred.
No Doubt, “Don’t Speak”
After breaking up with her No Doubt bandmate, bassist Tony Kanal, in 1994, Gwen Stefani turned her agony into the alt-rock heartbreak anthem. The Spanish classical guitar riffs on “Don’t Speak” may leave you crying uncontrollably, but Kanal admits it used to be tough for him to play the track without getting emotional. “We were opening this wound on an hourly basis,” he told in 2012 about those early days on tour. “It was so brutal but I don’t know how we made it through.” As many can attest, listening to “Don’t Speak” on repeat often helps.
Roy Orbison, “Crying”
’s operatic voice with its impressive three-octave range never wavers on “Crying,” his 1961 ballad about a man who puts on a brave face in order to convince his ex he’s doing just fine without her. The truth is, the moment she walks away, he’s inconsolable—and so is everyone listening.
Bonnie Raitt, “I Can’t Make You Love M