3 Emotional Albums That Never Fail To Send Me Spiraling (Warning: You May Cry)

March 16, 2025 1:01 pm

Sometimes singular songs will evoke strong emotions, and sometimes an entire album all the way through will send you spiraling into your feelings. Here are the three albums that always make me emotional, no matter how many times I hear them.

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My 3 Emotional Albums

Pretty. Odd. — Panic! at the Disco

Pretty. Odd. was Panic! at the Disco’s second album and a dramatic style shift for the band. They debuted in 2005 with the cabaret-inspired album A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out. Then, they took the exclamation point out of their name and began work on their second album in a cabin in Mount Charleston, Nevada. This is an emotional album for me now because, following its release and subsequent tour, the band broke up in 2009. Pretty. Odd. was never a fan favorite album, but it was crucial for my development as a music lover and a Panic! at the Disco fan. Hearing the album opener “We’re So Starving” for the first time, with the lines “Oh, how it’s been so long / We’re so sorry we’ve been gone / We were busy writing songs for you,” was an immense emotional experience. Even worse, to this day, “Northern Downpour” never fails to make me cry ugly tears.

The Car — Arctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys’ most recent album, The Car from 2022, is another emotional album for me. However, when I listen to this album I feel more like I’m experiencing someone else’s emotions, which influence my own. For example, Alex Turner’s sullen pettiness when he sings “Guess I’m talking to you now” on the track “Sculptures of Anything Goes” breaks my heart every time. As far as my interpretation of that song goes, I believe it’s a statement on the band’s current sound and the fans’ generally negative reaction when their previous album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino came out, the first with the new sound. “Is that vague sense of longing kinda trying to cause a scene,” he begins, adding “Puncturing your bubble of relatability / With your horrible new sound.” This, for me, is the ultimate emotional release—subtly addressing the fans who rejected the new direction the band went in. Overall, the entire album feels like someone on the brink of a breakdown, or perhaps getting ready to get in the car and drive away.

Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron Soundtrack — Bryan Adams

This one might feel a little out of left field, but the soundtrack from the 2002 animated horse film Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron never fails to make me completely break down in tears. Bryan Adams made a masterpiece with this soundtrack, evoking the strong emotions of love, loss, companionship, and family within the film. “You Can’t Take Me,” “Brothers Under the Sun,” and “Here I Am” are standout tracks that made me emotional as a child and still do the job to this day. There’s intense emotion in Adams’ voice, raspy and strained in places that tug on the heartstrings. If you haven’t seen Spirit, I highly recommend it. Even just listening to the soundtrack on its own can give you an idea of the story, just without knowing it’s a horse movie.