70 Sad Songs to Listen to When You Need a Good Cry

"Special" appears on SZA's second studio album, "SOS," which made history as the first female R&B album to spend four consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. It's about the pain of comparing yourself to others and feeling like you're unworthy of love after a bad relationship.

"Funeral" is a track on Phoebe Bridgers's debut album "Stranger in the Alps." It's an exquisitely sad track about depression and dealing with the death of someone close in age to you.

"Isn't It a Pity" is a song off George Harrison's masterful album "All Things Must Pass." It expresses sorrow about all the pain and suffering in the world and the way people continue to hurt each other.

"Breaking Point" is a breakup anthem by famed singer/songwriter/producer Leon Thomas.

No one does a sad song quite like Adele, and this is no exception. "To Be Loved" appears on Adele's "30" album.

"Mother I Sober" appears on Kendrick Lamar's "Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers" album. The thought-provoking song dives into childhood trauma, guilt, shame, and Lamar's own personal journey towards overcoming all of it.

"Please Do Not Lean" is a single that was released by Daniel Caesar in 2022. It's about feeling unworthy of a lover based on one's own struggle.

Taylor's Swift "Exile" appears on her Grammy-winning 2020 "Folklore" album. With its themes of alienation and loss and its devastating chorus, it's the perfect song to cry to.

"You Don't Know Me" is a song off Summer Walker's 2021 "Still Over It" album. This track describes the pain of feeling like your partner doesn't fully see you.

"Lost One," which expresses regret after being too careless with someone's heart, was the first single released from Jazmine Sullivan's Grammy-winning "Heaux Tales" album.

"Lonely" appears on Justin Bieber's 2021 "Justice" album that dives into his feelings of isolation and struggles with fame.

"Know That You Are Loved" appears on Cleo Sol's 2021 "Mother" album. This track is a love song for someone who doesn't love themselves.

"I'm Not OK" by H.E.R. is featured on her 2018 "I Used to Know Her: Part 2" EP. True to the title, it discusses someone who is full of anxiety about their struggling relationship.

"Runnin' Away" by Blood Orange is a somber song off the "Queen & Slim" movie soundtrack.

"Beetlejuice" is a breakout song featured on Mariah the Scientist's 2019 debut album, "Master," and it's about being stuck in a toxic relationship and making excuses for bad behavior even though you know you should leave.

"Goodbyes" is a melancholy track about endings that appears on Jorja Smith's 2018 "Lost & Found" album.

"Stone Cold" appears on Demi Lovato's 2015 album, "Confident," and it details the pain of seeing an ex happy with someone else.

"Godspeed" appears on Frank Ocean's 2016 "Blonde" album. It's about letting go of someone you love and wishing them the best on their journey, and it will crack your heart wide open.

"Cranes in the Sky" appears on Solange's 2016 album, "A Seat at the Table." It paints a portrait of post-breakup feelings of lostness and confusion.

"Feeling Whitney" appears on Post Malone's 2016 "Stoney" album, and it's about Post Malone getting down deep into his feelings and reflecting on the loneliness of fame.

"The Heart Wants What It Wants" appears on Selena Gomez's 2014 "For You" album, and it explores the sadness of being attracted to the wrong person.

"Don't Let Me Down" is a 2009 single that was released by Amel Larrieux, and it explores the pain of trying to be vulnerable after being hurt.

"Stay" is a ballad that appears on Rihanna's 2012 "Unapologetic" album, and it's about the sorrow of being in a troubled relationship that feels like it's on shaky ground.

"Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" by Lamar is a track from his 2012 debut album, "Good Kid, M.A.A.D City." This devastating track is about the hurt of losing friends.

Drake's hit breakup anthem "Marvins Room" appears on his 2011 "Take Care" album.

"Someone Like You" appears on Adele's Grammy-winning "21" album, and it's one of the most tear-jerking breakup songs out there.

Ed Sheeran's "Supermarket Flowers," which is about his late grandmother, appears on his 2017 album, "÷," aka "Divide."

"Perfect" by Gomez appears on her 2015 "Revival" album. It's about comparing yourself to someone's other lover and staying in a relationship even though you know your partner is cheating on you — cue the waterworks.

"Unhinged" appears on Nick Jonas's 2016 album, "Last Year Was Complicated." It's about struggling with indecisiveness and dealing with a complicated relationship.

Jonas's "Chainsaw" also appears on his "Last Year Was Complicated" album. It's about remembering a place you used to share with someone and wanting to destroy it.

"Stay With Me" is Sam Smith's debut single off their "In the Lonely Hour" album. The track, which is about wanting someone to stay even though you know they don't really love you, won record of the year and song of the year at the 2015 Grammy Awards and is certified diamond.

"Sober" by Lovato is about struggling with addiction, and it appears on the "Fresh Hits Jesień 2018" compilation album.

"Last Kiss" is a bittersweet breakup track that appears on Swift's 2010 Grammy-nominated "Speak Now" album.

Swift's "All Too Well" originally appeared on her 2012 Grammy-nominated "Red" album, and she released a ten minute version on "Red (Taylor's Version)" in 2021. This utterly devastating breakup track is packed with heart-piercing lines like "Time won't fly, it's like I'm paralyzed by it / I'd like to be my old self again / But I'm still trying to find it."

Birdy's "Skinny Love" is a cover of Bon Iver's 2007 version of the song. Its enigmatic lyrics seem to be about a relationship that's on its last legs.

"Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. appears on the rock band's 1992 "Automatic For the People" album. It's meant to discourage suicide by helping listeners feel less alone.

"Good Woman" appears on Cat Power's 2003 "You Are Free" album. It's about the agony of leaving someone because it's the right thing to do, even though it hurts.

"Samson" appears on Regina Spektor's 2002 "Songs" album. A riff on the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah, it's about a doomed relationship.

Sia's "Breathe Me" appears on her 2004 "Colour the Small One" album. It's about self-destructiveness, loneliness, and wanting desperately for someone to come and save you.

"You Were Mine" by The Chicks, which is all about heartbreak and betrayal, appears on the group's 1998 "Wide Open Spaces" album.

"Hey Mama," an ode to Kanye West's late mother, Donda, appears on his Grammy-winning "Late Registration" album.

"Nothing," which is about trying to find yourself in the aftermath of a relationship, appears on Brandy's 2002 "Full Moon" album.

"Twilight" appears on Elliott Smith's 2004 album, "From a Basement on the Hill." Like many of Smith's songs, it explores depression, addiction, and love that has no chance of working.

"The Sound of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel appears on the duo's 1964 "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M." It describes the alienation that characterizes so much of contemporary life in a beautifully heart-shattering way.

"Flightless Bird, American Mouth" appears on Iron & Wine's 2007 "The Shepherd's Dog" album. Its poetic lyrics could be interpreted in many different ways, but its sorrowful sound creates a world of melancholia all its own.

"This Year's Love" appears on David Gray's 1998 album, "White Ladder." It explores fears about falling in love again after being hurt in the past.

"I Will Remember You" appears on Sarah McLachlan's 1993 "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy" album. The wistful tune is about never forgetting someone, no matter what happens.

"Lost" is a breakup track that appears on Michael Bublé's 2007 "Call Me Irresponsible" album.

"Make You Feel My Love" by Adele appears on her 2008 album, "19." It's a cover of a Bob Dylan song that's all about being desperate for someone to love you.

"Fix You" appears on Coldplay's 2005 "X&Y" album. It's about wanting desperately to heal someone you love who's hurting, and all the pain and sorrow that can come from that.

"Heart" by Stars, a song about leaving someone you still love, appears on the band's 2003 album of the same name.

"God Only Knows" appears on the The Beach Boys's 1966 "Pet Sounds" album. It's a track that can be interpreted in multiple ways, but there's something so deeply melancholy about Brian Wilson's harmonies and lyrics, which express a lot of anxiety and fear about a loved one leaving.

"Say Something" appears on A Great Big World's 2014 album, "Is There Anybody Out There?" It's about realizing a relationship is ending, and it's sure to bring a tear to your eye.

"I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie appears on the band's 2005 "Plans" album. The tune explores themes of mortality and wanting your love for someone to outlast both your lifetimes.

"Wish You Were Here" is the title track off Pink Floyd's 1975 album. Like many Pink Floyd tracks, it's full of multiple layers of meaning, but at its heart is a sense of loneliness and loss that infuses the song with a sense of tragedy.

"Landslide" appears on Fleetwood Mac's self-titled 1975 album. It's about realizing you're changing and wondering if you can handle life's vicissitudes, and Stevie Nicks's vocals lend a sense of world-weariness to it that make it timeless.

"Guess I'm Doing Fine" appears on Beck's 2002 "Sea Change" album. Like many of the songs on this list, it's about the pain of loss, though this one leans into the emotional numbness and disconnection that can come with that.

"Goodbye My Lover," another song about heartbreak, appears on James Blunt's 2004 album, "Back to Bedlam."

"Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley appears on his 2003 "Mud on the Tires" album. It's a tragic song that follows a man drinking himself to death as he mourns the end of a relationship.

Nirvana's "Something in the Way" appears on the band's 1991 album, "Nevermind." Its lyrics are somewhat ambiguous, but it's tied together by a brooding chord progression and Kurt Cobain's gloomy vocals, and the whole song creates an atmosphere of despair and desolation.

Joni Mitchell's "River" appears on her 1971 "Blue" album. It's a delicate, beautiful song about wishing you could escape your feelings of sadness after loss.

"Creep" appears on Radiohead's 1992 album of the same name, and it explores the pain of feeling alienated and unable to connect to others.

"The Blower's Daughter," another song about loss and painful love, appears on Damien Rice's 2002 "O" album.

"The Needle and the Damage Done" appears on Neil Young's 1972 "Harvest" album. It explores the affects of addiction and the loss it creates.

"Poison & Wine" by The Civil Wars appears on the duo's 2009 "Live at Eddie's Attic" album, and it's about the harm two people can do to each other while still giving each other sweetness.

"If You Say So" by Lea Michele appears on her 2014 "Louder" album, and was written in the aftermath of Michele's then-boyfriend Cory Monteith's death.

"Temporary Home" appears on Carrie Underwood's 2009 "Play On" album. It's about mortality and how everything in life is temporary.

"Liability" appears on Lorde's 2017 "Melodrama" album, and it's about feeling like you're too much for people.

John Mayer's "Dreaming With a Broken Heart," a track about trying to move on despite being heartbroken, appears on his 2006 "Continuum" album.

"Never on the Day You Leave" by Mayer is another breakup track that appears on his 2017 album, "The Search For Everything."