10 Albums You Need to Hear for National Emo Day

Emo is a rather contentious genre of music and subculture. For many, it represents a weird period of time when eyeliner and swoopy hair was paired with dark, awkwardly personal lyrics, often about failed relationships and self-harm. For others, emo is a legit music form that grew out of the '80s hardcore scene and was characterized by excellent musicianship and honest self-expression. Contemporary artists as diverse as Olivia Rodrigo, KennyHoopla, Machine Gun Kelly, and Phoebe Bridgers remind us that while emo is not as mainstream as it was 20 years ago, it is still a major influence on music today. Whether you like the goth theater kid aesthetic of My Chemical Romance, the sensitive sad boi vibes of Dashboard Confessional, or you're an old school purist who listens to Jawbreaker, Rites of Spring, and Sunny Day Real Estate, we have an eclectic mix of stellar emo jams that are sure to brighten your day. Or make it sadder? Not sure how that works.  

For more great music, make sure to check out the offerings of your local branch and Freegal. 

Album:  Torn in Two by Real Friends

For people who: think emo ended in 2007

Best emo lyric: “A recluse torn in two by loneliness/ Don’t wanna be with myself or anyone else” from “Nervous Wreck”

Also check out: I Want to Disappear by The Story So Far

Album: Through Being Cool by Saves the Day

For people who: love when emo meets pop punk

Best emo lyric: “Heart is on the floor/ Why don’t you step on it?/ When I think of all the things you’ve done” from “Rocks Tonic Juice Magic”

Also check out: If I Knew What I Knew Then by Hot Rod Circuit

Album:  New Day Rising by Hüsker Dü

For people who: love great hooks but think they’re too cool for emo

Best emo lyric: “You live alone and it’s always the same/ Talking to yourself when you say that I’m to blame” from “I Don’t Know What You’re Talking About”

Also check out: Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat by Minutemen

Album:  Do You Know Who You Are? By Texas is the Reason

Album:  The EP’s: Red Letter Day & Woodson by The Get Up Kids

For people who: love when emo meets indie rock

Best emo lyric: “I still wear your heart around my throat/ With barely the air not to choke” from “Anne Arbour

Also check out: Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring

Album:  We Are The Only Friends We Have by Piebald

 For people who: hold Weezer’s Pinkerton in high regard

Best emo lyric: “I’m getting good at sleeping on dates/ Nothing seems to hold my interest anymore/ Bad ideas come in small doses” from “Karate Chops For Everyone But Us”

Also check out: This Conversation Is Ending Starting Right Now by Knapsack

Album:  In Love and Death by The Used

For people who: want all their emo stereotypes to be confirmed

Best emo lyric: “And I’m melting/ In your eyes/ Like my first time/ That I caught fire” from “I Caught Fire”

Also check out: Let It Enfold You by Senses Fail

Album:  Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness by Coheed and Cambria

For people who: want all their emo stereotypes to be challenged

Best emo lyric: “The morning will come/ In the press of every kiss, with your head upon my chest/ Where I will annoy you/ With every waking breath, until you decide to wake up” from “Wake Up”

Also check out: On Letting Go by Circa Survive

Album:  Out of Bloom by Fiddlehead

For people who: are still hardcore kids at heart

Best emo lyric: “It’s like the phone we dialed when we were young has never rung/ And all our lines of standing by go unsung” from “We Are Not Friends”

Also check out: Life Under the Gun by Militarie Gun

Album:  Paramore by Paramore

For people who: think emo is just a boys’ club

Best emo lyric: “There is not a single word/ In the whole world/ That could describe the hurt” from “Hate to See Your Heart Break”

Also check out: Flyleaf by Flyleaf