Sad Songs to Listen To
Sad Songs That Will Actually Make You Feel Better
There's nothing like a sad, slow song to aid in a post-breakup cry or be the soundtrack to a bad day. It's a well-known fact that music is made to bring out emotions in all of us, but what may come as a surprise is that sad music can have the opposite effect from what you would expect: it can actually make you feel happy.
According to Andrew Rossetti, PhD, a board-certified music therapist and supervisor of the music therapy program in radiation oncology at The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, it's proven science that music can be a mood regulator. "Music is something that affects the human organism in a systems way, which means that pretty much the entire organism is affected, either directly or indirectly, by listening to music or by performing music," he explained, per Women's Health Magazine. "Our emotional brain is activated, our limbic system [the part of the brain involved in behavioral and emotional responses] is activated, motion is activated along with cognitive and associative processes."
Music is the sonic gift that allows us to reflect and even feel a sense of consolation during bad times, whether it sounds somber or upbeat. Luckily for us, there are some really amazing sad songs out there — because what are life and love without a bit of heartache?
Ahead, see the saddest songs out there that you can add to your playlist.
— Additional reporting by Katelyn Evans and Njera Perkins
1 Sad Songs: "Special" by SZA
2 Sad Songs: "Breaking Point" by Leon Thomas
3 Sad Songs: "To Be Loved" by Adele
4 Sad Songs: "Mother I Sober" by Kendrick Lamar feat. Beth Gibbons of Portishead
5 Sad Songs: "Please Do Not Lean" by Daniel Caesar feat. BadBadNotGood
6 Sad Songs: "Exile" by Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver
7 Sad Songs: "You Don't Know Me" by Summer Walker
8 Sad Songs: "Lost One" by Jazmine Sullivan
9 Sad Songs: "Lonely" by Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco
10 Sad Songs: "Know That You Are Loved" by Cleo Sol
11 Sad Songs: "I'm Not OK" by H.E.R.
12 Sad Songs: "Runnin' Away" by Blood Orange
13 Sad Songs: "Beetlejuice" by Mariah the Scientist
14 Sad Songs: "Goodbyes" by Jorja Smith
15 Sad Songs: "Missin Out" by Brent Faiyaz
16 Sad Songs: "Stone Cold" by Demi Lovato
17 Sad Songs: "Godspeed" by Frank Ocean
18 Sad Songs: "Cranes in the Sky" by Solange
19 Sad Songs: "Feeling Whitney" by Post Malone
20 Sad Songs: "The Heart Wants What It Wants" by Selena Gomez
21 Sad Songs: "Don't Let Me Down" by Amel Larrieux
22 Sad Songs: "Stay" by Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko
23 Sad Songs: "Sing About Me, I'm Dying of Thirst" by Kendrick Lamar
24 Sad Songs: "Marvins Room" by Drake
25 Sad Songs: "Someone Like You" by Adele
26 Sad Songs: "Supermarket Flowers" by Ed Sheeran
27 Sad Songs: "Perfect" by Selena Gomez
28 Sad Songs: "Unhinged" by Nick Jonas
29 Sad Songs: "Chainsaw" by Nick Jonas
30 Sad Songs: "Stay With Me" by Sam Smith
31 Sad Songs: "Sober" by Demi Lovato
32 Sad Songs: "Last Kiss" by Taylor Swift
33 Sad Songs: "All of Me" by John Legend
34 Sad Songs: "All Too Well" by Taylor Swift
35 Sad Songs: "Skinny Love" by Birdy
36 Sad Songs: "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M.
37 Sad Songs: "Good Woman" by Cat Power
38 Sad Songs: "Samson" by Regina Spektor
39 Sad Songs: "Breathe Me" by Sia
40 Sad Songs: "You Were Mine" by The Chicks
41 Sad Songs: "Hey Mama" by Kanye West
42 Sad Songs: "Nothing" by Brandy
43 Sad Songs: "Twilight" by Elliott Smith
44 Sad Songs: "The Sounds of Silence" by Simon & Garfunkel
45 Sad Songs: "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" by Iron & Wine
46 Sad Songs: "This Year's Love" by David Gray
47 Sad Songs: "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan
48 Sad Songs: "Lost" by Michael Bublé
49 Sad Songs: "Make You Feel My Love" by Adele
50 Sad Songs: "Fix You" by Coldplay
51 Sad Songs: "Heart" by Stars
52 Sad Songs: "God Only Knows" by The Beach Boys
53 Sad Songs: "Crown of Love" by Arcade Fire
54 Sad Songs: "Say Something" by A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera
55 Sad Songs: "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab For Cutie
56 Sad Songs: "Wish You Were Here" by Pink Floyd
57 Sad Songs: "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac
58 Sad Songs: "Guess I'm Doing Fine" by Beck
59 Sad Songs: "Goodbye My Lover" by James Blunt
60 Sad Songs: "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley feat. Alison Krauss
61 Sad Songs: "Something in the Way" by Nirvana
62 Sad Songs: "River" by Joni Mitchell
63 Sad Songs: "Creep" by Radiohead
64 Sad Songs: "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice
65 Sad Songs: "The Needle and the Damage Done" by Neil Young
66 Sad Songs: "I Can't Make You Love Me/Nick of Time" by Bon Iver
67 Sad Songs: "Poison & Wine" by The Civil Wars
68 Sad Songs: "If You Say So" by Lea Michele
69 Sad Songs: "Temporary Home" by Carrie Underwood
70 Sad Songs: "Liability" by Lorde
71 Sad Songs: "Dreaming With a Broken Heart" by John Mayer
72 Sad Songs: "Never on the Day You Leave" by John Mayer
