Hello there, the angel from my nightmare. Remember Myspace in the early 2000s? You know, when it was socially acceptable to autoplay music in the background of your profile page? Let's take a trip down Ocean Avenue and revisit this sacred time of emo, pop-punk, screamo, and the many genres that soundtracked your teen angst.
Fans always wanted to makedamnsure they were the first ones to discover new music. Listening to an underground band before they "sold out" and went mainstream -- a.k.a. made it to MTV 😂 -- was sort of a badge of honor in the middle school Myspace world.
Well, now we're putting them on MTV anyway. Below, you'll find hands down the most comprehensive list of emo bands (and the songs they're known for) we could possibly muster. These are the anthems, so throw all your hands up, and sing along to the age of paranoia.
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A Static Lullaby
Ferret
Most popular song: "The Shooting Star That Destroyed Us" from And Don't Forget To Breathe (2003)
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AFI
Interscope
Most popular song: "Miss Murder" from DECEMBERUNDERGROUND (2006)
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Alexisonfire
Vagrant
Most popular song: "This Could Be Anywhere In The World" from Crisis (2005)
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All Time Low
Hopeless
Most popular song: "Dear Maria, Count Me In" from So Wrong, It's Right (2007)
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Amber Pacific
Hopeless
Most popular song: "Gone So Young" from The Possibility And The Promise (2005)
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Anberlin
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "The Feel Good Drag" from Never Take Friendship Personal (2005)
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Armor For Sleep
Equal Vision
Most popular song: "Car Underwater" from What To Do When You Are Dead (2005)
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Avenged Sevenfold
Warner Bros.
Most popular song: "Bat Country" from City Of Evil (2005)
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blink-182
Geffen
Most popular song: "I Miss You" from Blink-182 (2003)
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Boys Like Girls
Columbia
Most popular song: "The Great Escape" from Boys Like Girls (2006)
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Brand New
Triple Crown
Most popular song: "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" from Deja Entendu (2003)
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Bright Eyes
Saddle Creek
Most popular song: "First Day Of My Life" from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)
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Cartel
Epic
Most popular song: "Honestly" from Chroma (2005)
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Cobra Starship
Fueled By Ramen
Most popular song: "Good Girls Go Bad" feat. Leighton Meester from Hot Mess (2009)
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Coheed And Cambria
Columbia
Most popular song: "Welcome Home" from Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness (2005)
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Copeland
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "Chin Up" from You Are My Sunshine (2008)
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Cute Is What We Aim For
Fueled By Ramen
Most popular song: "The Curse Of Curves" from The Same Old Blood Rush With A New Touch (2006)
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Daphne Loves Derby
Outlook
Most popular song: "Pollen And Salt" from On The Strength Of All Convinced (2005)
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Dashboard Confessional
Vagrant
Most popular song: "Hands Down" from A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (2003)
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Death Cab For Cutie
Atlantic
Most popular song: "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" from Plans (2005)
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Emery
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "Studying Politics" from The Question (2005)
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Escape The Fate
Epitaph
Most popular song: "Situations" from Dying Is Your Latest Fashion (2006)
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Evanescence
Epic
Most popular song: "Bring Me To Life" from Fallen (2003)
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Fall Out Boy
Island
Most popular song: "Sugar, We're Going Down" from From Under The Cork Tree (2005)
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Finch
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "What It Is To Burn" from What It Is To Burn (2002)
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Flyleaf
A&M
Most popular song: "All Around Me" from Flyleaf (2005)
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Forever The Sickest Kids
Universal
Most popular song: "Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)" from Underdog Alma Mater (2008)
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From Autumn To Ashes
Vagrant
Most popular song: "The After Dinner Payback" from The Fiction We Live (2003)
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From First To Last
Epitaph
Most popular song: "Emily" from Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has A Body Count (2005)
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Funeral For A Friend
Ferret
Most popular song: "Rookie Of The Year" from Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation (2003)
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Further Seems Forever
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "Snowbirds And Townies" from The Moon Is Down (2001)
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Good Charlotte
Epic
Most popular song: "The Anthem" from The Young And The Hopeless (2002)
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Green Day
Reprise
Most popular song: "American Idiot" from American Idiot (2004)
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Halifax
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "Sydney" from A Writer's Reference (2004)
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Hawthorne Heights
Victory
Most popular song: "Ohio Is For Lovers" from The Silence In Black And White (2004)
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Head Automatica
Warner Bros.
Most popular song: "Beating Heart Baby" from Decadence (2004)
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Hellogoodbye
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn (Take It Back To Square One)" from Hellogoodbye (2004)
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Hey Mercedes
Interscope
Most popular song: "Eleven To Your Seven" from Everynight Fire Works (2001)
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Hey Monday
Columbia
Most popular song: "How You Love Me Now" from Hold On Tight (2008)
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Hit The Lights
Triple Crown
Most popular song: "Body Bag" from This Is A Stick Up...Don't Make It A Murder (2006)
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Jack's Mannequin
Maverick
Most popular song: "The Mixed Tape" from Everything In Transit (2005)
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Jimmy Eat World
Interscope
Most popular song: "Pain" from Futures (2004)
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Lola Ray
DC Flag
Most popular song: "Automatic" from I Don't Know You (2004)
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Mae
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "Suspension" from The Everglow
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Matchbook Romance
Epitaph
Most popular song: "Promise" from Stories And Alibis (2003)
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Mayday Parade
Fearless
Most popular song: "Miserable At Best" from A Lesson In Romantics (2007)
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Metro Station
Sony
Most popular song: "Shake It" from Metro Station (2007)
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mewithoutYou
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "January 1979" from Catch For Us The Foxes (2004)
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Mindless Self Indulgence
Metropolis
Most popular song: "Shut Me Up" from You'll Rebel To Anything (2005)
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Motion City Soundtrack
Epitaph
Most popular song: "Everything Is Alright" from Commit This To Memory (2005)
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MxPx
A&M
Most popular song: "Responsibility" from The Ever Passing Moment (2000)
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My Chemical Romance
Reprise
Most popular song: "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (2004)
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New Found Glory
Geffen
Most popular song: "All Downhill From Here" from Catalyst (2004)
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Panic! At The Disco
Fueled By Ramen
Most popular song: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005)
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Paramore
Fueled By Ramen
Most popular song: "Misery Business" from Riot! (2007)
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Pierce The Veil
Equal Vision
Most popular song: "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides" from A Flair For The Dramatic (2007)
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Plain White T's
Fearless
Most popular song: "Hey There Delilah" from All That We Needed (2005)
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PlayRadioPlay!
Island
Most popular song: "Even Fairy Tale Characters Would Be Jealous" from The Frequency (2007)
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Push Play
Wind-up
Most popular song: "Midnight Romeo" from Found (2009)
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Quietdrive
Epic
Most popular song: "Time After Time" from When All That's Left Is You (2006)
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Rediscover
BigMouthJPN
Most popular song: "Shake It" from Call Me When You Get This (2007)
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Relient K
Capitol
Most popular song: "Be My Escape" from Mmhmm (2004)
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Saosin
Capitol
Most popular song: "You're Not Alone" from Saosin (2006)
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Saves The Day
Vagrant
Most popular song: "At Your Funeral" from Stay What You Are (2001)
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Say Anything
Doghouse
Most popular song: "Alive With The Glory Of Love" from ...Is A Real Boy (2004)
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Say Hi To Your Mom
Euphobia
Most popular song: "Let's Talk About Spaceships" from Numbers & Mumbles (2004)
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Scary Kids Scaring Kids
Immortal
Most popular song: "Watch Me Bleed" from Scary Kids Scaring Kids (2007)
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Secondhand Serenade
Glassnote
Most popular song: "Fall For You" from A Twist In My Story (2008)
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Senses Fail
Vagrant
Most popular song: "Buried A Lie" from Let It Enfold You (2004)
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Sherwood
MySpace
Most popular song: "Song In My Head" from A Different Light (2007)
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Silverstein
Victory
Most popular song: "My Heroine" from Discovering The Waterfront (2005)
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Simple Plan
Lava
Most popular song: "I'm Just A Kid" from No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002)
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Something Corporate
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "Konstantine" from Songs For Silent Movies (2003)
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Story Of The Year
Maverick
Most popular song: "Until The Day I Die" from Page Avenue (2003)
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Straylight Run
Victory
Most popular song: "Existentialism On Prom Night" from Straylight Run (2004)
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Sugarcult
Artemis
Most popular song: "Memory" from Palm Trees And Power Lines (2004)
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Switchfoot
Sparrow
Most popular song: "Dare You To Move" from The Beautiful Letdown (2003)
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System Of A Down
American
Most popular song: "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize (2005)
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Taking Back Sunday
Warner Bros.
Most popular song: "MakeDamnSure" from Louder Now (2006)
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The Academy Is...
Fueled By Ramen
Most popular song: "The Phrase That Pays" from Almost Here (2005)
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The All-American Rejects
Interscope
Most popular song: "Dirty Little Secret" from Move Along (2005)
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The Almost
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "Say This Sooner" from Southern Weather (2007)
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The Ataris
Columbia
Most popular song: "The Boys Of Summer" from So Long, Astoria (2003)
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The Audition
Victory
Most popular song: "Warm Me Up" from Champion (2008)
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The Blood Brothers
V2
Most popular song: "Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck" from Crimes (2004)
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The Dresden Dolls
Roadrunner
Most popular song: "Coin-Operated Boy" from The Dresden Dolls (2004)
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The Early November
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "Ever So Sweet" from The Room's Too Cold (2003)
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The Exit
Wind-up
Most popular song: "Don't Push" from Home For An Island (2004)
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The Fray
Epic
Most popular song: "How To Save A Life" from How To Save A Life (2005)
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The Get Up Kids
Vagrant
Most popular song: "Overdue" from On A Wire (2002)
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The Hush Sound
Decaydance
Most popular song: "We Intertwined" from Like Vines (2006)
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The Maine
Fearless
Most popular song: "Into Your Arms" from Can't Stop Won't Stop (2008)
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The Offspring
Sony
Most popular song: "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" from Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace (2008)
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The Pink Spiders
CI
Most popular song: "Little Razorblade" from Hot Pink (2005)
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The Postal Service
Sub Pop
Most popular song: "Such Great Heights" from Give Up (2003)
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The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
Virgin
Most popular song: "Face Down" from Don't You Fake It (2006)
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The Rocket Summer
Island
Most popular song: "Do You Feel" from Do You Feel (2007)
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The Spill Canvas
One Eleven
Most popular song: "All Hail The Heartbreaker" from Sunsets & Car Crashes (2003)
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The Starting Line
Drive-Thru
Most popular song: "The Best Of Me" from Say It Like You Mean It (2002)
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The Used
Reprise
Most popular song: "The Taste Of Ink" from The Used (2002)
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The Weepies
Nettwerk
Most popular song: "World Spins Madly On" from Say I Am You (2006)
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Thirty Seconds To Mars
Virgin
Most popular song: "The Kill" from A Beautiful Lie (2005)
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Thursday
Victory
Most popular song: "Understanding In A Car Crash" from Full Collapse (2001)
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Underoath
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White" from They're Only Chasing Safety (2004)
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Waking Ashland
Tooth & Nail
Most popular song: "I Am For You" from Composure (2005)
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We The Kings
S-Curve
Most popular song: "Check Yes, Juliet" from We The Kings (2007)
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Yellowcard
Capitol
Most popular song: "Ocean Avenue" from Ocean Avenue (2003)