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From underground clubs to global stages, emo music has left a lasting mark on rock history. With raw emotion, heartfelt lyrics, and unforgettable performances, these bands changed the way fans connected to music.
In this countdown, we look at the Top 20 Greatest Emo Bands of All Time — from the pioneers of the genre to the modern icons that kept the scene alive. Whether you grew up in the 2000s emo wave or just discovered the style, this list will take you through the most legendary names in emo history.
🎶 Which emo band is your favorite? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Don’t forget to like, share, and follow for more Top 20 Music Countdowns.
In this countdown, we look at the Top 20 Greatest Emo Bands of All Time — from the pioneers of the genre to the modern icons that kept the scene alive. Whether you grew up in the 2000s emo wave or just discovered the style, this list will take you through the most legendary names in emo history.
🎶 Which emo band is your favorite? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Don’t forget to like, share, and follow for more Top 20 Music Countdowns.
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MusicTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today, we're counting down our picks for the most influential and
00:13popular acts that fall within the wide genre parameters of emo.
00:1720. Embrace
00:26Genre labels can be a funny thing, often placed upon certain artists, regardless of whether
00:32or not said band members agree with that term. It went on to influence generations of artists
00:42in its wake. The band featured within its ranks former Minor Threat vocalist Ian McKay,
00:48while the LP consisted of two studio sessions that had been recorded over the previous two years.
00:56The music is remarkably prescient for this timeframe, basically containing all of the
01:03busy, jangling riffs, introspective lyrics, and melodicism that would go on to define first
01:10wave emo. And you know what? It still holds up great today.
01:1519. Saves the Day
01:22These days, the old adage of separate the art from the artist feels more relevant than ever,
01:28and it's admittedly difficult to separate the legacy of New Jersey's Save the Day from the
01:33misconduct allegations that were leveled at frontman Chris Conley back in 2021. That said, there are
01:45many modern emo and pop-punk groups that likely saw Saves the Days through being cool and can't slow
01:52down efforts as formative in their formation. The band's sound was definitely catchy, immediate and
02:06indicative of emo's continued musical progression into the 90s and beyond.
02:1318. Mineral
02:19The sound of emo can often take many different forms, and this can be seen within the diverse musical approach of Austin, Texas' Mineral.
02:27They only released a couple of albums, but their take on emo was refreshingly unique and devoid of any stylistic cliches. A spirit of indie rock experimentalism is coupled with an almost shoegazy aimlessness within the riffs, a place where the journey is as important as the destination.
02:52The Power of Falling, in particular, was an album that inspired a lot of admiration, both back then and today. It's an LP with a lot of ideas and a refusal to compromise. An emo album that never forgets to rock.
03:1417. Moss Icon
03:24The phrase, I know it when I see it, may have been popularized by the judge in a 1964 court case, but it's also a fitting descriptor when describing the post-hardcore genre.
03:3517. The term post-anything is sort of nebulous, but Marilyn's Moss Icon went on to influence not only this experimental form of indie rock, but also emo groups.
03:4917. This latter tag was another one with which Moss Icon might not have necessarily agreed, but it remains a stubborn stamp upon their legacy.
04:0617. This was thanks to a musical approach that felt borderless, incorporating a wide array of influences, together with emotionally insightful lyrics.
04:15So, was Moss Icon an emo band? To paraphrase, I'm not sure, but I know it when I hear it.
04:2216. Dag Nasty
04:29It's an album that's proven impossibly influential and important over the years since its 1986 release.
04:3617. Can I Say by DC's Dag Nasty is an LP that exists at the crossroads of melodic hardcore and emo, in a musical place inhabited by groups like the Descendants, who inspired both hardcore and pop-punk groups over the years.
04:5817. Dag Nasty crafted an album that was fast and aggressive, sure, but also with songs that had something, pardon the pun, to say.
05:0617. The days go by, things get worse, but they say they can only get better.
05:1017. Punk rock and hardcore's natural aggression was starting to be tempered with other elements by the mid-80s, and Dag Nasty was there to sound a clarion call towards the emo horizon.
05:2217. Rites of Spring
05:31Man, what's with these one-and-done emo bands that struck like lightning and then exploded into dust?
05:3717. Rites of Spring was from Washington, D.C., a hotbed of activity for this forward-thinking approach to emotional hardcore.
05:5017. They recorded and released a single album in 1985, a self-titled effort that's still serving as a blueprint for bands forming right now as you're listening to this video.
06:0217. Rites of Spring
06:08To say that the Rites of Spring album was important is an understatement. This is an album that's furious and angry, like all good hardcore should be, yet with a musicality and progressive spirit that's just bubbling below the surface.
06:2317. Rites of Spring
06:28Meanwhile, the harsh vocals on the LP would go on to inspire screamo bands like Orchid years down the line.
06:3517. Rites of Spring
06:4014. Weezer
06:43Sometimes, all it takes is for a band to take one risk, a decision that may not reap dividends at the time but will eventually be reappraised.
06:5317. Rites of Spring
06:59The Pinkerton album was a risk for Weezer back in 1996, and it wasn't well received by fans that simply wanted retreads of Buddy Holly or say it ain't so.
07:0917. Rites of Spring
07:15Pinkerton is also the sole reason why Weezer makes this list. Because it was an album that was heavier and more dynamic, yet still possessing this air of emo confessionalism.
07:2617. Rites of Spring
07:33It's not hyperbole to admit that Pinkerton was ahead of its time. An album that many future emo groups would copy and hold high to the stars as a major influence.
07:4417. Rites of Spring
07:53Number 13. The Promise Ring
07:55Do sweethearts still give each other promise rings? It's a courtship ritual that's definitely of its time.
08:02Just how the sound of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's The Promise Ring feels indicative of a certain era.
08:0917. Rites of Spring
08:14This is melodic emo rock from the 90s that felt unafraid to be fragile and imperfect.
08:2117. Rites of Spring
08:28The emo genre is one that's often criticized for its, let's go with, unique style of lead vocal.
08:35Davey Von Bolin is definitely more concerned with getting his lyrical point across than winning any sort of lead singer awards. But this is sort of the point, right?
08:4517. Rites of Spring
08:50The Promise Ring connected with generations of fans on albums like 1997's Nothing Feels Good, and they're still tightly connected with classic emo from this period.
09:0017. Rites of Spring
09:07Number 12. Texas is the Reason
09:10The prevalence of Krishna consciousness with pop culture didn't end with the 1970s. It instead, surprisingly enough, spread through the hardcore scene.
09:2017. Artists as diverse as Shelter, 108, and the Cro-Mags incorporated Krishna lyrics into their music, while Texas is the Reason formed as an offshoot from those former two bands.
09:3717. Their debut LP, Do You Know Who You Are, doesn't necessarily require a Krishna-receptive audience to be effective, however, since it's since gone on to be considered a classic of the emo genre.
09:5317. Texas is the Reason was a bit indie, a bit rock, with just enough of their hardcore past to be embraced by devotees of the heavier stuff.
10:0717. Braid
10:17The life of a hardcore band is notoriously fleeting, with many musicians restlessly moving from new group to new group, consistently in search of a fresh sound.
10:3117. The members of Braid were similar in this regard, moving on to other bands in the wake of their critical success with album number three, Frame and Canvas.
10:4317. Braid
10:50Still, this does nothing to take away from how important this album was to emo's graduation from 1980s experimentalism into a full-on fad.
10:5817. Braid
11:06Braid's sound felt intensely personal, like something they had to get out of their collective systems.
11:12It's imperfect as a compliment, a rocked-out slice of emo that saw a claim come to Braid, rather than the other way around.
11:2117. Braid
11:24New Jersey's Thursday are one of the most successful and popular bands from the screamo genre, a sub-style of emo that employs impassioned screaming and heavy guitars to create properly emphatic impact.
11:4017. Braid
11:45A few of the band's members share vocal duties, alternating between sensitive, clean singing and screams to offset Thursday's energetic guitar attack.
11:5417. Braid
11:59The band was active for almost 15 years before taking an extended hiatus in 2011, only to reunite in 2016 for a series of festival dates, which included a homecoming show in New Jersey's legendary Starland Ballroom.
12:1517. Braid
12:2217. Braid
12:24Sprung up from the jammed spaces of New York University, this punk rock-inspired emo outfit progressed the genre to new heights during the latter part of the 1980s and into the 90s.
12:3480s and into the 90s.
12:42Jawbreaker's subtle mixture of do-it-yourself ideals and jangly indie rock guitar work quickly
12:48won an audience, and it wasn't long before the band signed a major label deal with media
12:53mogul David Geffen.
13:01The resulting album's scrubbed-clean production style diluted the band's favor with fans,
13:06however, with Jawbreaker going their separate ways not long afterwards.
13:16Number 8.
13:17The Get Up Kids Emo's second wave found a major power player
13:22with Kansas City, Missouri's catchiest young rock band, The Get Up Kids.
13:33Upbeat, stripped-down songwriting was finding favor within this newer crop of emo bands,
13:39and The Get Up Kids were quick to lead the charge with straight-ahead sing-along rock and roll.
13:50The band's 1999 album, Something to Write Home About, focused upon anthemic melodies
13:56and big-time choruses, and did a great job at increasing the band's profile, introducing
14:01them to a whole new group of fans.
14:04These fans included future pop-punk star groups Blink-182 and Fall Out Boy, both of which cite
14:10the Get Up Kids has a major influence.
14:17Number 7.
14:21Dashboard Confessional If you were to look up the textbook definition
14:24of emo in the dictionary, you'd see a photo of Dashboard Confessional and their charismatic
14:30frontman Chris Carraba.
14:39This isn't an insult, of course, as Dashboard Confessionals seemingly have a knack for composing
14:44some of the most effective and memorable emo tunes around, including the hit single, Hands
14:49Tie.
14:56Sensitive and soft vocals meld perfectly with the band's often upbeat and laser-focused
15:01attention to songwriting detail.
15:11Dashboard Confessional also possesses a powerful connection with their fans, who have been known
15:16to shout back the band's lyrics in a passionate, call-and-response frenzy.
15:28Number 6.
15:29American Football It isn't often that a band makes one of these
15:33best-of lists based solely upon the strength of a single album, but such was the impact of
15:39American football upon the emo scene with their 1999 self-titled debut.
15:52The Illinois-based band struck a chord with fans with an EP before dropping the album via
15:57Polyvinyl Records, a collection of songs that hinged upon a soft yet determined musical approach.
16:03Complex time signatures and a jazz influence permeated American football's songwriting,
16:14but the band didn't last long as a touring entity and decided to call it quits shortly
16:18after the new millennium.
16:192016 saw the return of American football to the emo scene, however, with a new album and
16:25tour plans announced to their patient fans.
16:28I'll make you friends In the ambulance
16:36Number 5.
16:37Brand New It takes a bevy of influences to create the
16:40musical melting pot that is Long Island's brand new.
16:50Indie rock, pop, punk, and classic rock all make up the creative stew for songwriter Jesse
16:56Lacey and Company, with brand new drawing inspiration from a diverse spread of artists such as the
17:02Smiths, the Cars, and the Beach Boys. Vocal and guitar melodies alike make up the intriguing
17:13sound of brand new, with particular attention paid to arrangements and songwriting. Fans responded
17:26well, with brand new gaining more headway with each successive album.
17:35Number 4.
17:36Taking Back Sunday Hot indie darlings to major label emo heroes?
17:41It's more likely than you think when we're talking about the story of Taking Back Sunday.
17:51Upbeat, punk-fueled guitar riffs and pop-friendly songcraft defined the early energy of Taking
17:57Back Sunday, while later albums incorporated more than enough layered vocals and aggressive
18:02musicianship to expose the band to fans beyond the traditional emo spectrum.
18:13Indeed, fast-forward almost 20 years since their formation, and Taking Back Sunday are still
18:19going strong, in fact, dropping a new album in 2016 with Tidal Way.
18:24Some, you're gonna get some, either way!
18:30Number 3.
18:31Jimmy Eat World
18:33The story of Mesa, Arizona's Jimmy Eat World is one of indie rock street cred done right,
18:38a success story for a band truly deserving of all their accolades.
18:43If you brought yourself off, yeah, it's only in your head you feel locked out, look down
18:50on.
18:51Radio came running for the pop-friendly sound of Jimmy Eat World with the breakout success
18:55of their 2001 album, Bleed American.
18:57It just takes some time, little girl, in the middle of the ride, and everything, everything
19:02will be just fine.
19:04Follow-up albums, Futures, and Chase This Life increase the band's profile exponentially,
19:11perfecting their balancing act of combining smart rock rhythms, strong songwriting, and
19:16an honest confessional sensibility with frontman Jim Atkins' explosive stage presence.
19:22Number 2.
19:30Sunny Day Real Estate
19:32There are few emo bands from the 90s more influential than Sunny Day Real Estate.
19:44The quartet only managed a small handful of albums before calling it quits in 2001, but
19:50the legacy of their major label debut album, Diary, remains one of the most powerful in
19:56the genre's history.
20:06The album was a smash for label sub-pop records and inspired legions of younger bands with its
20:12fresh and dynamic approach to sensitive, melodic rock songwriting.
20:16For proof, simply listen to the album's lead single, Seven, for evidence of just how important
20:22Sunny Day was to emo's development as a viable and successful musical genre.
20:271.
20:34My Chemical Romance
20:51New Jersey has been known for spawning a bevy of emo's most important and influential
21:00bands, one of which being a little band by the name of My Chemical Romance.
21:03Goth, pomp, and unabashed punk rock were filtered into MCR's increasingly extravagant sound,
21:19amplified by the band's evocative and memorable music videos.
21:22epic tracks like Welcome to the Black Parade and The Ghost of You were offset by the comical
21:35I'm Not Okay I Promise to create a musical style that was unique and commercially successful
21:41across the board.
21:51What to you constitutes a true emo band?
21:55Sound off on your preferred definition of the style in the comments.
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