27 Songs That Will Take You Straight Back To Being A ’00s Emo
Looking back, the ’00s were a great time. It was a time when you could wear the world’s most ridiculous fashion while thinking you looked cool AF. It was a time magazines like Dolly and Girlfriend gave us truly questionable advice but, hey, we’d roll with it. And it was a time when one of the greatest music genres thrived.
I am, of course, talking about the ’00s emo wave that took over radio stations, Channel V, and my iPod shuffle.
From international bands like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy, to local wonders like The Getaway Plan and The Amity Affliction, ’00s emo was not just a phase (mom). It was a whole damn lifestyle.
In some ways it doesn’t feel that long ago, yet we all know hearing that G note on the piano can transport us back into a more nostalgic time. A time where you stayed glued to the TV to see the premiere of whatever new, weird, and extremely long music video 30 Seconds To Mars was putting out. A time where you’d comb your fringe carefully over your eyes while gazing in awe at Brendon Urie. A time where the biggest feud you cared about was between Gerard Way and Bert McCracken.
Now that we’ve passed the angsty teen emo stage and just turned into bitter adults, it’s time to revisit some of the songs that made us scream, shout, sing, cry, and mosh wildly in our bedrooms by ourselves.
Here are 27 songs that will take you straight back to the glory days: the days of the ’00s emo.
1. ‘I’m Not Okay’ – My Chemical Romance
MCR were and are the kings of ’00s emo. I will not listen to any other opinions. Now that I’m an adult I’ve never related to their song ‘Teenagers’ so hard.
2. ‘This Ain’t A Scene, It’s Arms Race’ – Fall Out Boy
Pete Wentz in this music video was basically my sexual awakening.
3. ‘The Kill’ – 30 Seconds To Mars
Before Jared Leto got super weird and started a cult, 30 Seconds To Mars did an emo pivot on their second album and it was good shit.
4. ‘Miss Murder’ – AFI
This song holds up to this day. 10/10 banger, would play again.
5. ‘Face Down’ – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus released this song about a toxic abusive relationship in 2006 and the message still resonates to this day.
6. ‘Lying Is The Most Fun A Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off’ – Panic! At The Disco
Sure we all get so used to associating Panic’s biggest track as ‘I Write Sins, Not Tragedies’ but this has actually got to be the best song on their debut album. Fight me.
7. ‘MakeDamnSure’ – Taking Back Sunday
If you didn’t angrily blast the chorus of this song while thinking of someone who made your life a living hell in high school, were you even a true emo?
8. ‘I Caught Fire’ – The Used
The Used are one of the emo GOATS. Still releasing music to this day, ‘I Caught Fire’ was one of those tracks that proved they could do emo really well, but they could do pop punk just as good.
9. ‘Welcome To My Life’ – Simple Plan
TBH I was never a Simple Plan fan, but you don’t get much more emo than this.
10. ‘Dear Maria, Count Me In’ – All Time Low
Trust me when I say now you’ve been reminded of this song, it’ll be in your head for weeks.
11. ‘Juneau’ – Funeral For A Friend
While a lot of emo nostalgia lists focus on your MCR’s and FOB’s, let’s pour one out for Welsh band Funeral For A Friend. Emo by name, emo by nature.
12. ‘The Curse of Curves’ – Cute Is What We Aim For
This was some cheesy, easy listening emo/pop punk at its finest. Catchy AF, but leaves your head as instantly as it arrives.
13. ‘Misery Business’ – Paramore
There weren’t many female-fronted bands that broke through the ’00s emo wave, but Paramore and fearless lead singer Hayley Williams made sure they broke through with a vengeance. While Williams has now retired this song from playing it live due to not supporting its overall message anymore, we can’t pretend like we didn’t dance around our bedrooms to it growing up.
14. ‘Ohio Is For Lovers’ – Hawthorne Heights
The chorus of this song is about as emo as it gets. No wonder our parents worried about us if this was always blaring out of our rooms.
15. ‘Bring Me To Life’ – Evanescence
To this day, this is still a fucking banger. Evanescence were a band that completely broke the mold. Also let’s not forget how great follow-up single ‘Going Under’ is.
16. ‘Calling All Cars’ – Senses Fail
If you owned the Kill Pop: Scream Til It Hurts compilation album in the ’00s, then you know.
17. ‘Take Me Back’ – Story of The Year
Who didn’t love singing along to this song earnestly as though you even knew what “better days” were.
18. ‘Where The City Meets The Sea’ – The Getaway Plan
The Getaway Plan hit it big with their 2008 hit ‘Where The City Meets The Sea’ and suddenly everyone at your high school loved the song too, while you were sitting there blasting ‘The New Year’ like a true, disgruntled fan.
19. ‘Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous’ – Good Charlotte
Catchy pop punk at its finest. It’s still impossible not to sing along.
20. ‘Youngbloods’ – The Amity Affliction
The Amity Affliction proved that Aussies do emo/hardcore just as well. No words can describe the feeling of being in a loud, crazy mosh and screaming out, “Light up the sky and scream fuck the reaper!” with thousands of other people.
21. ‘The Middle’ – Jimmy Eat World
This was like a personal emo anthem for any teen girl growing up trying to figure shit out.
22. ‘Ocean Avenue’ – Yellowcard
This song is ageless. It’s just always that good.
23. ‘I Miss You’ – Blink-182
If you didn’t sit there with friends yelling “WHERE ARE YOU? AND I’M SO SORRY” in a fake, bad American accent then you haven’t lived.
24. ‘Underdog’ – You Me At Six
You Me At Six were starting to garner worldwide attention in the ’00s and it’s easy to see why with catchy songs like ‘Underdog’ – even if their 2011 collab with Oli Sykes ‘Bite My Tongue’ is the best song they ever did do.
25. ‘Numb’ – Linkin Park
It still hurts to listen to this, but the best gift Chester Bennington gave us was that his music, and way of describing feelings you never knew you had, will always live on.
26. ‘Dirty Little Secret’ – The All-American Rejects
The All-American Rejects can sometimes be one of those bands who nearly slips under the emo radar until you remember how many bangers they had.
27. ‘Shakedown’ – Behind Crimson Eyes
It seemed fitting to have one more Aussie band round off this list, in one last angsty throwdown.