15 Emo Bands We Will Always Love

Back in high school, you were listening to emo bands, plain and simple. Back in the early-to-mid 2000s, you were in junior high and then high school, and you were all about emo. You might have hidden it from certain friends because you wanted to seem cool and you tried to pretend that you cared about more mainstream bands. But then you realized that, hey, liking emo was actually cool. You were part of this group of misunderstood teens who just wanted someone to know what they were feeling and thinking. You wore your ripped jeans and Converse with total pride and you sang along to Dashboard Confessional and Taking Back Sunday in the comfort of your own bedroom and at concerts, too. But although it might seem like most emo bands have gone the way of a lot of other trends from the past, like bellbottoms and bad scrunchies, some of your beloved bands are still around. Here are 15 emo bands that we will always love. Give some of these old tunes a listen and remember being a teenager again.

15 Yellowcard

You probably listened to this band's hit single "Only One" about a million times. It was addictive and pretty hard not to just listen to it on repeat. This Florida-formed band started in 1997 and is still going strong -- but if you associate their songs more with a California vibe, you're not wrong, since they've been working out of L.A. since the year 2000. They have actually released nine albums and their latest is set to drop September 30th, so if you think they're a thing of the forgotten past, you're totally on the wrong track. Indulge in some good old nostalgia and listen to their 2003 album Ocean Avenue in preparation for their tenth album. That's probably your fave CD of theirs and how you know them best. There's really nothing better than listening to music that you used to truly adore. It brings back all those old feelings and memories.

14 Story Of The Year

This was another band that you really loved, even if you only knew their hit single, "Until The Day I Die." That song had some super intense lyrics (and super intense feelings to go along with those words, of course). But that was the entire point and that was the real thrill of it. They've released a few albums since the one containing that single, but nothing has really been such a big deal as that one song. They're still touring and recording, though, so there's always hope that you will fall in love with their new music. There's nothing better and more nerve-racking than loving a band's older catalog of work and hoping desperately that you're going to love their new stuff. You just never know. But what you do know is that old hit single is pretty glorious and you want to listen to it again. Hopefully, you don't feel quite as antsy anymore, though.

13 The Used

This band started back in 2001, and you just loved them. You still do. These guys have got six awesome albums and you especially love The Used (2002) and Love and Death (2004). As soon as you listen to any of their old songs and hear lead singer Bert McCracken's haunting voice, you're totally hooked and drawn in all other again. This band wrote some of the most beautiful and soulful lyrics you could find. Just recall these lyrics from their song "Blue and Yellow": "you never would have thought in the end/how amazing it feels just to live again/it's a feeling that you cannot miss/it burns a hole through everyone that feels it." You totally get chills just reading those words and remembering that gorgeous song. So if you ever want to flashback to high school and a time in your life when you felt so many things all at once, just cue up a song by The Used.

12 New Found Glory

Remember these guys? Of course, you do. Because they are still a band that you really adore, even if you don't listen to them all that much anymore. While your daily listening parties might be filled with Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen, in your heart of hearts you're still an emo fan, and you still remember the bands that really helped you through your sometimes awful, sometimes awkward, and mostly interesting teenage years. This band is considered rock and pop/punk -- which really means that they are part of the emo label. It's funny how many different labels there are. This band, in particular, has a pretty iconic place in the emo world and have truly inspired a lot of other musicians. You might know their hit single "My Friends Over You" more than others, but their other singles and albums are definitely worth checking out.

11 Green Day

"Basket Case" and "Time Of Your Life" are truly emo classics and there's just no getting around that fact. All you have to do is hear the first line of each of those songs and suddenly you're humming along and singing along, too, no matter where you are. You just can't help it. These tunes bring you totally back to a time when you didn't know what was going on or where you were going. But you knew that you had a lot of feelings and that you wanted your life to turn out well. It's pretty cool listening to these songs when you're in a much better, more positive place in your life because you can still relate to the person that you were back in the day. But you know that that time was really important because it got you in touch with your emotions and now you don't have to feel quite that many feelings anymore.

10 blink-182

You might not know that blink-182 is associated with the emo movement, but they definitely were. When you stop and think about it, it makes perfect sense, right? Just think about some of their most famous tunes. From the tragic "Adam's Song" to hits like "I Miss You" and "All The Small Things," their songs tell a story that is not always super happy. You can literally feel the emotion in the lyrics and the melodies. Unfortunately, that tragic story has kind of continued, since there have been so many rumors about the band breaking up. These boys go back super far: they formed the band back in 1992, which definitely feels like about a billion years ago. Original member Tom DeLonge left the band back in 2015 and was replaced, although we really feel that he could never, ever be truly replaced because he was such a special part of this band.

9 Weezer

Ah, Weezer. This band has so much magic and mystery surrounding it, especially around the lead singer, River Cuomo. But forget all that and focus on the music because that's the most important part, of course. Their most famous album is, obviously, Blue Album from 1994. That's the one with all the songs you know and love like "Sweater Song" (which is totally the best song title ever) and "Say It Ain't So" and "Buddy Holly." You probably love their second album, Pinkerton, too, and that's an interesting case since it didn't have the success of their previous CD and didn't become too beloved until much later on. But if you're a true fan, then you love all their music, even the most recent stuff. Because that's how it goes with a true fan. If you ever want some fun old-school music for your commute to and from work (which you probably do, since commutes tend to suck), then think beyond current stuff and go back to the emo basics with Weezer.

8 My Chemical Romance

My Chemical Romance is one of those emo bands that definitely hit the mainstream more than some of the others on this list, and you really loved them. Plus everyone you knew loved them. The band formed in 2001 and is generally believed to have stopped making music together in 2013, but hey, never say never, as our beloved Biebs says. The band posted a message recently saying that this year just might be the time that you can look forward to some new music. The boys of this band have got a lot of messy black hair and messy black eyeliner, and they had the classic emo/rock sound that you love. Unfortunately, they don't love being called an emo band, as one member said (in some not so pleasant words). But hey, if the music label fits. And honestly, whether they like it or not, it really does fit. So we don't think it's such a negative thing.

7 Death Cab For Cutie

You probably first discovered this beloved band back when their songs were featured on The O.C. (which you, of course, watched every single week like clockwork). They're still making beautiful emotional music and you're still loving them. They have really deep, descriptive lyrics and you probably love their 2003 album Transatlanticism the most. Just consider these gorgeous lyrics from their song "A Lack Of Color": "And when I see you/I really see you upside down/But my brain knows better/It picks you up and turns you around." OMG don't you just get chills? Don't you just get totally transported back in time? The band is currently on a North American tour, so if you're feeling nostalgic and you can try to score some tickets, you should totally give it a shot. Just make sure that you're open to some new tunes and aren't just super stuck in the past because they've been putting out new albums for a while now and they're worth listening to.

6 Brand New

Oh, Brand New. Just that band name is totally enough to make you crazy nostalgic. You loved their sad songs, their love songs, and most of all, their super creative song titles. Like a lot of the other bands on this list, they got their start back in 2000. Their most infamous album is 2003 Deja Entendu and one of those most hit singles was definitely "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows." It's such a deep song and it's super clever too since the chorus ends with the line, "Wasting words on lower cases and capitals." We mean, isn't that just the greatest?! They've been touring this summer and are still going out on the road this fall. This is the kind of band that you might think you're the only one who likes them because you don't have any friends who listened to them back in the day, but if you bring them up, you'll learn everyone loves them just as much as you do.

5 Dashboard Confessional

Talk about the most emo of all the emo bands, right? You definitely fell for this soulful band and your friends loved them, too, and you just really connected to the lyrics. You just felt like they were talking directly to you and that whatever you were dealing with, from first love to friendship issues to break-ups to anything else, there was a Dashboard song for it. The lead singer Chris Carrabba is actually 41 now, which seems so crazy, but then again, you're not a teenager anymore and you're so much older and wiser now, too. So hey, you grew up and so did these beloved emo bands. Their most famous song that you still adore? Definitely "Screaming Infidelities." It's so hard not to remember those lyrics or the opening chords and not get all caught up thinking about where you were when you used to listen to it.

4 Jimmy Eat World

From "A Sunday" to "For Me This Is Heaven" to "Bleed American" to "The Middle" and beyond, you just adore all of these classic Jimmy Eat World songs. You still listen to this band every once in a while and you really love getting in touch with your teenage sensitive side and remembering those good old days (or not-so-good old days, depending). This band is still recording and performing, thankfully, so if you haven't caught up with their later tunes, now is honestly the time. Go ahead and check their latest albums out and bask in the glory of a beloved band. And bask in the glory of the fact that you're older and stronger now and don't have to literally cry as you listen to music. Even if boys break your heart or you break theirs or you break up with a friend or quit your job, you're still standing and you're still strong. You can deal with these life changes and ups and downs so much more calmly than when you were in high school (which is totally normal).

3 Jack's Mannequin

Jack's Mannequin is like a spin-off band from Something Corporate, another glorious emo band from back in the day, and you loved both of them. You're a huge fan of Andrew McMahon, the frontman, and all-around creative guy. Now he's onto his own project: first, he went solo and took his name, and now he's creating his beautiful music under the umbrella Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness. Pretty cool, huh? If you ever want to get super nostalgic, just listen to those three Jack's Mannequin albums, and you will be brought right back in time. It's really interesting to see how Andrew's musical career has grown and evolved because he started making music with Jack's in his early 20s when he was battling cancer and now he's cancer free, in his 30s, and married with an adorable little girl named Cecelia. But he's still touring and creating, of course, because he's the best.

2 Something Corporate

Sound familiar? Yes, we just referenced them in the above entry. Something Corporate was totally your gateway emo band. You fell for their beautiful piano-based songs and soon you were totally into the whole emo thing, listening to as many bands as you could find and always excited about discovering new music. You just loved these voices and songs and stories and you wanted to inhale as much as you could. Something Corporate was Andrew McMahon's high school band, and they formed back in California in 1998. The band went through a few different people but Andrew was the one constant, and then, of course, he formed his other band Jack's Mannequin and now he has gone solo. Talk about being busy. It is funny to think that SoCo's third and final album was released back in 2003 because that seems like a million lifetimes ago (or even more)

1 Taking Back Sunday

TBS is totally like The Holy Grail Of Emo Bands. You loved them. Your friends loved them. The guys you date loved them. Seriously, there's nothing that you enjoy more than meeting a new person or going on a first date… and realizing that you're with a fellow Taking Back Sunday superfan. It's like you love this person already because you share this common bond of loving this emo band. The best part about TBS? That would be the fact that they're still going strong. The band has put out several albums in recent years and they've got a new release coming up super soon. So go ahead and get back in touch with your teen self and listen to their 2002 album Tell All Your Friends. Just that album title should totally be enough to make you feel all the feelings all over again. That was such a beautifully written, clever album and you loved hearing about the boys' heartbreak and love stories and friendship issues. The best part about the whole emo movement is that these bands and songs are always there for you, no matter what's going on in your life or how you're feeling. So the next time you break your own heart or get yours crushed, cue up Taking Back Sunday and you'll be good as new in no time.