25 Best Paramore Songs (Top Picks)

Paramore rode in on the pop-punk and alt-rock wave of the 2000s and have never left, continuing the emo and new-wave music traditions that have made them so relatable and popular over the years.

Multiple crossover hits have marked their five studio albums and live tours as can’t-miss opportunities, as well as made them one of my favorite listens. In this article, we’ll go over the 25 best Paramore songs of all time. 

1. Misery Business

Paramore: Misery Business [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

I’m gonna be honest here, the top five of this list are all in my personal playlists, and I do think Paramore is a mostly underrated group. I got my start with the band rocking out to the instrumental of Misery Business on an old EA Sports NHL game years ago, and it’s still just such a good song.

It goes hard, it gets your energy flowing, and it’s frankly their signature track as a whole. It might not get played live much by them now, but anyone who has heard their music—from a certain movie—knows and loves this song to death.

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2. That’s What you Get

Paramore: That's What You Get [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

That’s What You Get continues the teenage angst you find in Misery Business, though with a bit of a less in-your-face attitude. It’s more of a pop-style of song, even finding more success on the Top 40 charts than the alternative ones, but it’s still a quintessential Paramore track.

Diving into getting screwed over by letting your heart rule your decisions, the song combines beautiful vocals and sweet guitar riffs to make something truly special. 

3. Still Into You

Paramore: Still Into You [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Still Into You layers in some softer tones with Paramore’s sweet basslines to create one of pop-punk’s greatest love songs of all time. Despite the fame, the problems, and getting over the early relationship butterflies, her feelings haven’t changed at all, and she’s just as into him as she ever has been. It ranked as a Top 10 hit on both the Hot Rock Songs and Mainstream Top 40 charts at one point, making it one of their most successful tracks. 

4. The Only Exception

Paramore: The Only Exception [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Life experiences can really bring you down and even make you believe love doesn’t exist anymore. But how awesome would it be if someone who thought that told you that you made them believe again? That’s basically the premise of The Only Exception, and it happens to be one of Paramore’s most beautiful songs.

While it is a different musical style than most of their earlier work, it received massive amounts of praise for Hayley William’s vocals and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, becoming their most successful track until the next entry was released. 

5. Ain’t It Fun

Paramore: Ain't It Fun [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Ain’t It Fun is probably Paramore’s most successful song of all time. It broke into the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, was certified double platinum as a single, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.

It’s an infectious pop-rock track with a funky beat and a piano loop that you could listen to for hours. It easily ranks as one of their best songs, with critics, fans, and in terms of commercial success. 

6. Crushcrushcrush

Paramore: crushcrushcrush [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

From the same album as Misery Business came crushcrushcrush, and man was it emblematic of the pop-punk wave of the 2000s and would have made sense coming from the likes of Avril Lavigne.

It’s high drama, teenage problems, and utterly excessive in every way. In summary, the song and music video are wonderful. 

7. Decode

Paramore: Decode [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Calling all Twilight fans, Decode was the song featured in the movie’s soundtrack and whether you love or hate the film, you can’t hate the track. It was written specifically for the movie, with fans able to get their hands on it first through Stephanie Meyer’s website.

The song builds tension throughout, pushing listeners onwards and giving a bit of a confidence boost. It broke the Top 20 charts internationally, was nominated for a Grammy Award, and won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Rock Song. 

8. Hard Times

Paramore: Hard Times [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Hard Times took a different approach musically to create a sensational alt-pop song that served as the lead single for Paramore’s fifth studio album. It was the first track the band released after the return of drummer Zac Farro and was compared to earlier songs like Still Into You and Ain’t It Fun.

9. Fake Happy

Paramore: Fake Happy [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Serving as the third single from Paramore’s After Laughter album, Fake Happy dives into the image culture and the idea of faking it until you make it. It seamlessly blends acoustic sections with pop synths to make something a bit less emo and a little more alt-folk than you would expect.

While nowhere near their most commercially successful song, it gave us a peak behind the curtain of all the fame, success, and problems they’ve had to deal with over the years. 

10. Last Hope

Paramore: Last Hope (LIVE)

Many people think Paramore’s best work came early, but most of their later albums are grossly underrated. Last hope served as the eighth track on the band’s 2013 LP and the live performances of the song made it an instant fan favorite.

More of a stripped-down track than their decadent others, it focuses on the talents of Hayley Williams and has an orchestral backing that is absolutely to die for. 

11. Pool

Paramore - Pool (Official Audio)

Pool continues the trend of the After Laughter album in that it’s deceivingly upbeat in its vibe. You might feel like you should give people second chances, but there are risks in that. You might just get burned again, but the chance that it works out gives you some optimism despite the risk. It carries on the emo legacy while weaving power-pop elements into it to make something you can listen to any time, any place. 

12. Turn It Off

Paramore - Turn It Off (Official Audio)

You probably won’t find better lyrics in a Paramore song than in Turn It Off, with Hayley Williams going in-depth on mixed messages and disappointments in life.

It’s hard sometimes to reconcile where good and bad things come from in life, and the lyrics of this song take those issues head-on. Sometimes, you just want to turn everything off and not worry about it, and this one not only makes you think but can help you get through a tough day. 

13. This Is Why

Paramore: This Is Why [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Paramore dropped This Is Why in 2022 and it definitely summarizes the crazy ride that everyone went through during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s really an ode to why you just shouldn’t even bother leaving your house, so all the introverts can stand up and enjoy this one.

It’s a funkier song, diving into a paranoid spiral of how it’s just better at home. 

14. Playing God

Paramore: Playing God [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Just like how Taylor Swift used Mean to clap back at haters, Paramore did it with Playing God. It was the final song on their fifth studio album, full to the brim with satisfaction and self-righteousness in the best way possible.

It also felt like a bit of a goodbye from the band who didn’t release another album for four years after this one. 

15. Proof

Paramore - Proof (Official Audio)

Proof is kind of the prequel to Pool for Paramore. Surprisingly, it’s also one of the band’s most positive songs, trying to take compliments at face value and finding the power within yourself.

It helps that this one can uplift you a bit on a down day and that it’s incredibly fun to sing along with, but overall, it’s just a good and upbeat track that’ll wash those rainy days away and that’s something we all need from time to time. 

16. Emergency

Paramore: Emergency [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Paramore has always been a group that could go from emo-rockers to arena bangers in the blink of an eye, and Emergency proved the band had mature songwriting in its early days. It relays the message that taking love for granted is what puts most relationships into emergency status. 

17. Brick By Boring Brick

Paramore: Brick By Boring Brick [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Look, if you can’t hold it in your hands or see it, is it even real? Paramore dive into needing something tangible in the real world by describing a fairytale princess that holds out for her prince charming that never shows up. Brick By Boring Brick was the second single released from the Brand New Eyes album in 2009, breaking into the Top 20 of the US Hot Rock and Alternative Songs chart.

You may also have heard it in the show The Vampire Diaries, where it featured in the episode Under Control in 2010 and it almost matches The Only Exception when it comes to airplay for tracks from the album. 

18. Now

Paramore: Now [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Now was the first Paramore release that didn’t include the band’s original guitarist and drum players and their first departure from the established sound they became so well known for.

It mixes the pop-punk influences you expect from them with some funk and reggae without going away from their rock roots and has one of the best drum sections in any of their songs.  

19. Rose-Colored Boy

Paramore: Rose-Colored Boy [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Another song that stays within the trend of the After Laughter album, Rose-Colored Boy takes on the 1980s style in its music video that would fit right into any old VHS collection.

It’s a bit defeatist, but what can you expect from a group that dabbles in emo? Killing the optimism left inside of you, killing boredom with insane hair and makeup, and trying to stay laid back and cool while anxious are all relatable themes that Paramore embodies with this song. 

20. Ignorance

Paramore: Ignorance [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Ignorance set the tone for Brand New Eyes as the lead single from the album in 2009. It changes in intensity often, going through several shifts as Hayley Williams sarcastically works through resentment and hate to become a free-spirited and defiant person.

It was the first glimpse of the band rising above naysayers and represented a shift in their musical careers that would continue going forward. It is a showcase of the anger burning inside Williams and the band with some fans, placing this one as their best song ever. 

21. Renegade

Paramore - Renegade (Official Audio)

Today, Paramore is a force in the alt-pop world, but their earlier work was driven by rocking guitars and powerful punk-style statements. Renegade was one of their last singles to fall in line with their old stylings before turning pop-punk and one of the best songs to come from their Singles Club series in 2011.

It was met with positive critical reception, drawing compliments from everyone who rated it despite not breaking new ground in the genre and hearkening back to their early glory days and sound. 

22. We Are Broken

Paramore - We Are Broken (Official Audio)

Almost the entirety of Riot! was full of venom and attitude, but We Are Broken bucked that trend to show vulnerability and emotion. It’s a positive banger, aimed at uplifting listeners the way you’d expect Christian rock to do but doesn’t have the same campy vibe most of those songs end up with. 

23. Anklebiters

Paramore: Anklebiters [OFFICIAL VIDEO]

Anklebiters has never been released as a single, but that didn’t stop Paramore from making an official music video for the song. It’s a breath of fresh air for a band that seems so angry and angsty, sounding honestly fun for them to do. It’s all about self-acceptance and includes a message for people who can’t think for themselves to start giving it a good old college try. 

24. Grudges

Paramore - Grudges (Official Audio)

Paramore went through changes when the Farro brothers left, leaving a bad taste in fans’ mouths and some complicated things to work through for the band. Upon Zac Farro’s return, they put out Grudges, a song that dives into reuniting with people you’ve known forever and how weird it feels to not really know why you fell out with each other in the first place. It wasn’t just a good track, it was a message that the negativity was behind them and they were all on board together. 

25. Idle Worship

Paramore - Idle Worship (Official Audio)

Idle Worship is Hayley Williams struggling with fame and trying to put out the message that no single person is truly worthy of the worship of others. The song is a bop though, which did nothing but add fans to Paramore’s group of “idle worshippers.”