107 Emo Bands You Knew About Before Anyone Else

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.

A Static Lullaby

Ferret

Most popular song: "The Shooting Star That Destroyed Us" from And Don't Forget To Breathe (2003)
AFI

Interscope

Most popular song: "Miss Murder" from DECEMBERUNDERGROUND (2006)
Alexisonfire

Vagrant

Most popular song: "This Could Be Anywhere In The World" from Crisis (2005)
All Time Low

Hopeless

Most popular song: "Dear Maria, Count Me In" from So Wrong, It's Right (2007)
Amber Pacific

Hopeless

Most popular song: "Gone So Young" from The Possibility And The Promise (2005)
Anberlin

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "The Feel Good Drag" from Never Take Friendship Personal (2005)
Armor For Sleep

Equal Vision

Most popular song: "Car Underwater" from What To Do When You Are Dead (2005)
Avenged Sevenfold

Warner Bros.

Most popular song: "Bat Country" from City Of Evil (2005)
blink-182

Geffen

Most popular song: "I Miss You" from Blink-182 (2003)
Boys Like Girls

Columbia

Most popular song: "The Great Escape" from Boys Like Girls (2006)
Brand New

Triple Crown

Most popular song: "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" from Deja Entendu (2003)
Bright Eyes

Saddle Creek

Most popular song: "First Day Of My Life" from I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning (2005)
Cartel

Epic

Most popular song: "Honestly" from Chroma (2005)
Cobra Starship

Fueled By Ramen

Most popular song: "Good Girls Go Bad" feat. Leighton Meester from Hot Mess (2009)
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)
Copeland

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "Chin Up" from You Are My Sunshine (2008)
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)
Daphne Loves Derby

Outlook

Most popular song: "Pollen And Salt" from On The Strength Of All Convinced (2005)
Dashboard Confessional

Vagrant

Most popular song: "Hands Down" from A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar (2003)
Death Cab For Cutie

Atlantic

Most popular song: "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" from Plans (2005)
Emery

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "Studying Politics" from The Question (2005)
Escape The Fate

Epitaph

Most popular song: "Situations" from Dying Is Your Latest Fashion (2006)
Evanescence

Epic

Most popular song: "Bring Me To Life" from Fallen (2003)

Fall Out Boy

Island

Most popular song: "Sugar, We're Going Down" from From Under The Cork Tree (2005)
Finch

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "What It Is To Burn" from What It Is To Burn (2002)
Flyleaf

A&M

Most popular song: "All Around Me" from Flyleaf (2005)
Forever The Sickest Kids

Universal

Most popular song: "Whoa Oh! (Me vs. Everyone)" from Underdog Alma Mater (2008)
From Autumn To Ashes

Vagrant

Most popular song: "The After Dinner Payback" from The Fiction We Live (2003)
From First To Last

Epitaph

Most popular song: "Emily" from Dear Diary, My Teen Angst Has A Body Count (2005)
Funeral For A Friend

Ferret

Most popular song: "Rookie Of The Year" from Casually Dressed & Deep In Conversation (2003)
Further Seems Forever

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "Snowbirds And Townies" from The Moon Is Down (2001)
Good Charlotte

Epic

Most popular song: "The Anthem" from The Young And The Hopeless (2002)
Green Day

Reprise

Most popular song: "American Idiot" from American Idiot (2004)
Halifax

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "Sydney" from A Writer's Reference (2004)
Hawthorne Heights

Victory

Most popular song: "Ohio Is For Lovers" from The Silence In Black And White (2004)
Head Automatica

Warner Bros.

Most popular song: "Beating Heart Baby" from Decadence (2004)
Hellogoodbye

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "Shimmy Shimmy Quarter Turn (Take It Back To Square One)" from Hellogoodbye (2004)
Hey Mercedes

Interscope

Most popular song: "Eleven To Your Seven" from Everynight Fire Works (2001)
Hey Monday

Columbia

Most popular song: "How You Love Me Now" from Hold On Tight (2008)
Hit The Lights

Triple Crown

Most popular song: "Body Bag" from This Is A Stick Up...Don't Make It A Murder (2006)
Jack's Mannequin

Maverick

Most popular song: "The Mixed Tape" from Everything In Transit (2005)
Jimmy Eat World

Interscope

Most popular song: "Pain" from Futures (2004)
Lola Ray

DC Flag

Most popular song: "Automatic" from I Don't Know You (2004)
Mae

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "Suspension" from The Everglow
Matchbook Romance

Epitaph

Most popular song: "Promise" from Stories And Alibis (2003)
Mayday Parade

Fearless

Most popular song: "Miserable At Best" from A Lesson In Romantics (2007)
Metro Station

Sony

Most popular song: "Shake It" from Metro Station (2007)
mewithoutYou

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "January 1979" from Catch For Us The Foxes (2004)
Mindless Self Indulgence

Metropolis

Most popular song: "Shut Me Up" from You'll Rebel To Anything (2005)
Motion City Soundtrack

Epitaph

Most popular song: "Everything Is Alright" from Commit This To Memory (2005)
MxPx

A&M

Most popular song: "Responsibility" from The Ever Passing Moment (2000)
My Chemical Romance

Reprise

Most popular song: "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" from Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge (2004)
New Found Glory

Geffen

Most popular song: "All Downhill From Here" from Catalyst (2004)
Panic! At The Disco

Fueled By Ramen

Most popular song: "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" from A Fever You Can't Sweat Out (2005)
Paramore

Fueled By Ramen

Most popular song: "Misery Business" from Riot! (2007)
Pierce The Veil

Equal Vision

Most popular song: "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides" from A Flair For The Dramatic (2007)
Plain White T's

Fearless

Most popular song: "Hey There Delilah" from All That We Needed (2005)
PlayRadioPlay!

Island

Most popular song: "Even Fairy Tale Characters Would Be Jealous" from The Frequency (2007)
Push Play

Wind-up

Most popular song: "Midnight Romeo" from Found (2009)
Quietdrive

Epic

Most popular song: "Time After Time" from When All That's Left Is You (2006)
Rediscover

BigMouthJPN

Most popular song: "Shake It" from Call Me When You Get This (2007)
Relient K

Capitol

Most popular song: "Be My Escape" from Mmhmm (2004)
Saosin

Capitol

Most popular song: "You're Not Alone" from Saosin (2006)
Saves The Day

Vagrant

Most popular song: "At Your Funeral" from Stay What You Are (2001)
Say Anything

Doghouse

Most popular song: "Alive With The Glory Of Love" from ...Is A Real Boy (2004)
Say Hi To Your Mom

Euphobia

Most popular song: "Let's Talk About Spaceships" from Numbers & Mumbles (2004)
Scary Kids Scaring Kids

Immortal

Most popular song: "Watch Me Bleed" from Scary Kids Scaring Kids (2007)
Secondhand Serenade

Glassnote

Most popular song: "Fall For You" from A Twist In My Story (2008)
Senses Fail

Vagrant

Most popular song: "Buried A Lie" from Let It Enfold You (2004)
Sherwood

MySpace

Most popular song: "Song In My Head" from A Different Light (2007)
Silverstein

Victory

Most popular song: "My Heroine" from Discovering The Waterfront (2005)
Simple Plan

Lava

Most popular song: "I'm Just A Kid" from No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002)
Something Corporate

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "Konstantine" from Songs For Silent Movies (2003)

Story Of The Year

Maverick

Most popular song: "Until The Day I Die" from Page Avenue (2003)
Straylight Run

Victory

Most popular song: "Existentialism On Prom Night" from Straylight Run (2004)
Sugarcult

Artemis

Most popular song: "Memory" from Palm Trees And Power Lines (2004)
Switchfoot

Sparrow

Most popular song: "Dare You To Move" from The Beautiful Letdown (2003)
System Of A Down

American

Most popular song: "B.Y.O.B." from Mezmerize (2005)
Taking Back Sunday

Warner Bros.

Most popular song: "MakeDamnSure" from Louder Now (2006)
The Academy Is...

Fueled By Ramen

Most popular song: "The Phrase That Pays" from Almost Here (2005)
The All-American Rejects

Interscope

Most popular song: "Dirty Little Secret" from Move Along (2005)
The Almost

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "Say This Sooner" from Southern Weather (2007)
The Ataris

Columbia

Most popular song: "The Boys Of Summer" from So Long, Astoria (2003)
The Audition

Victory

Most popular song: "Warm Me Up" from Champion (2008)
The Blood Brothers

V2

Most popular song: "Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck" from Crimes (2004)
The Dresden Dolls

Roadrunner

Most popular song: "Coin-Operated Boy" from The Dresden Dolls (2004)
The Early November

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "Ever So Sweet" from The Room's Too Cold (2003)
The Exit

Wind-up

Most popular song: "Don't Push" from Home For An Island (2004)
The Fray

Epic

Most popular song: "How To Save A Life" from How To Save A Life (2005)
The Get Up Kids

Vagrant

Most popular song: "Overdue" from On A Wire (2002)
The Hush Sound

Decaydance

Most popular song: "We Intertwined" from Like Vines (2006)
The Maine

Fearless

Most popular song: "Into Your Arms" from Can't Stop Won't Stop (2008)
The Offspring

Sony

Most popular song: "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" from Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace (2008)
The Pink Spiders

CI

Most popular song: "Little Razorblade" from Hot Pink (2005)
The Postal Service

Sub Pop

Most popular song: "Such Great Heights" from Give Up (2003)
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Virgin

Most popular song: "Face Down" from Don't You Fake It (2006)
The Rocket Summer

Island

Most popular song: "Do You Feel" from Do You Feel (2007)
The Spill Canvas

One Eleven

Most popular song: "All Hail The Heartbreaker" from Sunsets & Car Crashes (2003)
The Starting Line

Drive-Thru

Most popular song: "The Best Of Me" from Say It Like You Mean It (2002)
The Used

Reprise

Most popular song: "The Taste Of Ink" from The Used (2002)
The Weepies

Nettwerk

Most popular song: "World Spins Madly On" from Say I Am You (2006)
Thirty Seconds To Mars

Virgin

Most popular song: "The Kill" from A Beautiful Lie (2005)
Thursday

Victory

Most popular song: "Understanding In A Car Crash" from Full Collapse (2001)
Underoath

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White" from They're Only Chasing Safety (2004)
Waking Ashland

Tooth & Nail

Most popular song: "I Am For You" from Composure (2005)
We The Kings

S-Curve

Most popular song: "Check Yes, Juliet" from We The Kings (2007)
Yellowcard

Capitol

Most popular song: "Ocean Avenue" from Ocean Avenue (2003)