These songs didn’t just top charts—they tattooed themselves into teenage memory.
Music has always shaped how people remember high school, but Gen Z’s playlist hits different. It wasn’t just about catchy beats or danceable hooks—it was about escape, rebellion, heartbreak, identity, and online validation. These weren’t just songs you heard at prom or blasted through your AirPods—they became the background score to your friendships, meltdowns, crushes, and glow-ups. You didn’t just listen—you felt them.
For Gen Z, music lived on TikTok, Spotify, Instagram stories, and those long walks home with your hoodie up. These songs didn’t just mark a time—they created a mood. Some were pop anthems you screamed with friends. Others were melancholic bangers that kept you up at 2 a.m. All of them left a mark. If you were in high school anytime between 2014 and 2022, chances are these tracks hit you right in the chest and never really left.
1. Olivia Rodrigo’s “drivers license” made heartbreak feel cinematic.
No other breakup ballad hit Gen Z quite like this one, according to Laura Snapes at The Guardian. It wasn’t just a song—it was a collective emotional meltdown. Olivia’s vocals carried raw pain that made even happy teens feel like they just got dumped in a Target parking lot. Everyone had their own version of that story, and this track became the soundtrack for it. “drivers license” felt so personal, it almost made you suspicious of your own friends.
This was the song that transformed bedrooms into stages for sobbing singalongs. Even people who hadn’t gone through a breakup suddenly understood heartbreak on a soul level. It was a viral, gut-wrenching wave that swept through TikTok, group chats, and lonely nights. And it wasn’t just for teens—it pulled adults back into their teenage heartbreaks, too. That universal pain wrapped in a piano melody? Pure Gen Z magic.
2. Billie Eilish’s “bad guy” made being weird feel cool.
This song flipped the script. It wasn’t about trying to be perfect or polished—it was about owning your quirks and finding power in your shadows. Billie’s whispery vocals over that gritty bass line gave everyone permission to be a little offbeat and a lot bold, as reported by Vee Dee at Fame Magazine. For once, the quiet kids weren’t sidelined—they were leading the trend.
“bad guy” showed up everywhere: memes, remixes, Halloween costumes, and endless slow-mo TikToks. It helped redefine what confidence looked like for Gen Z—not loud, not flashy, but cool in a detached, chaotic kind of way. It didn’t matter if you understood the lyrics or not. The vibe was enough. The weird was finally winning, and Gen Z embraced it with open arms and smudged eyeliner.
3. Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” brought chaos, country, and confidence.
This song was absolute madness in the best way. A genre-bending, cowboy-hat-wearing, chart-smashing hit that took over phones and school halls like wildfire. It wasn’t supposed to work—rap and country were never meant to be friends. But Lil Nas X made it impossible not to love, as stated by Ashley Lasimone at Billboard. Suddenly, kids were yeehaw-ing through Snapchat filters and arguing over who knew the lyrics best.
“Old Town Road” became more than a song—it was a meme, a rebellion, and a celebration all rolled into one. It didn’t matter who you were or what kind of music you liked. When this came on, everyone sang. It broke records, broke expectations, and helped Lil Nas X kick open the door for unapologetically queer artists in the mainstream. That wild ride? It all started in high school earbuds.
4. Lorde’s “Royals” gave suburban teens an anthem for quiet defiance.
Lorde made minimalism feel like a power move. “Royals” wasn’t about chasing fame—it was about rejecting it. Her moody delivery and stripped-back production stood out in a sea of party anthems. Suddenly, the kids who didn’t care about clout or designer shoes had a voice. And it sounded hauntingly calm.
This song echoed in art classrooms, dim bedrooms, and coffee shops where people tried to look busy while ignoring each other. It was low-key but potent. You didn’t blast “Royals” to rage—you played it to reflect. For Gen Z, this was a moment to step back from the noise and realize that being different didn’t mean being less. It just meant your story had a deeper beat.
5. Post Malone’s “circles” turned soft heartbreak into a vibe.
There’s something about the way Post Malone sang about going in circles that just got people. The mellow beat, the wistful lyrics, and that touch of sadness wrapped in warmth—it was like having a heart-to-heart without needing to say a word. Teens who weren’t even sure why they were sad still played it on repeat.
This song didn’t scream for attention—it pulled you in quietly. You’d hear it at a party, in the car with your friend who never talks, or during that weird week after a relationship ends but before you delete their number. “circles” didn’t try to solve anything. It just sat with you, like a hoodie on a cold bench, letting you feel whatever needed to be felt.
6. Juice WRLD’s “Lucid Dreams” made vulnerability sound brave.
If you were a teenager feeling everything way too deeply, this track was your therapy session. Juice WRLD sang openly about pain, regret, and heartbreak in a way that felt both messy and beautiful. He didn’t try to dress up the sadness—he let it bleed right into the beat, and Gen Z loved him for it.
“Lucid Dreams” wasn’t just sad—it was raw. It turned personal grief into shared catharsis, especially for boys who weren’t used to hearing vulnerability in hip-hop. It gave people permission to be a little broken, a little lost, and still worth listening to. His voice cracked open something real, and the echo still lingers across playlists long after his passing.
7. Doja Cat’s “Say So” lit up TikTok and school dances alike.
This song didn’t even need a full verse to go viral—the first beat was enough to get people dancing. “Say So” had that glossy retro energy mixed with Doja’s playful vocals that made it impossible not to smile. It became a TikTok staple, a hallway ringtone, and the background music to every friend group’s funniest videos.
But it wasn’t just about the dance. The whole song shimmered with flirtiness and chill vibes that felt effortlessly cool. It wasn’t trying too hard. It just knew what it was and owned it. Doja’s rise paralleled a new kind of celebrity—online-first, meme-friendly, and deeply tied to Gen Z’s digital playground. And this song was the moment where everything clicked.
8. BTS’s “Dynamite” proved music didn’t need translation.
When “Dynamite” dropped, it wasn’t just a song—it was an international movement. BTS was already huge, but this track smashed through every language barrier and hit mainstream American radio like a firework. You didn’t have to know a single word of Korean to feel the joy in every beat. It was colorful, infectious, and straight-up fun.
This song wasn’t just big for ARMY—it became a high school anthem for anyone who needed a serotonin boost. It played at pep rallies, graduation slideshows, and in headphones on days when the world felt gray. “Dynamite” reminded Gen Z that pop music could still bring people together—and look damn good doing it.
9. Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode” turned unpredictability into an art form.
This track didn’t follow any rules. It changed beats, flipped moods, and kept you guessing the whole time. For Gen Z teens raised on short attention spans and infinite scrolls, “Sicko Mode” felt like home. It was bold, chaotic, and unforgettable—just like high school itself.
“Sicko Mode” wasn’t background music—it demanded attention. It blasted through gym speakers, lit up parties, and made even introverts nod along. The transitions felt like mood swings in real time, which is probably why it resonated so hard. This wasn’t just a song—it was a rollercoaster in three acts, and everyone was strapped in.
10. The Kid LAROI’s “Without You” gave high school love a soft, messy anthem.
This track hit that sweet spot between raw emotion and bedroom pop. “Without You” wasn’t polished or overproduced—it was simple, moody, and honest. Teens heard their own messy relationships in every lyric. That feeling of holding on too tight or letting go too late? It’s all in there.
It was the kind of song you’d hear someone playing on their phone during a late bus ride or blasting in the car after a breakup. It didn’t try to sound wise—it just hurt out loud, and that made it relatable. The Kid LAROI captured a very specific kind of high school heartbreak: dramatic, over-the-top, and entirely real.
11. Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful” made being sad feel poetic.
Lana has always lived in her own dreamy world, but “Young and Beautiful” reached out and touched every high schooler with a soft spot for melancholy. It asked the question everyone’s quietly scared of—what happens when youth fades? In the middle of acne, awkward crushes, and identity crises, that fear hit a little too close.
This track felt timeless and dramatic in the best way. It gave sad girls permission to romanticize their loneliness and wear their eyeliner a little heavier. It wasn’t for everyone, but for those who got it, it felt like an anthem. Lana didn’t just sing about beauty fading—she made it sound like something worth crying over in style.
12. Khalid’s “Location” gave quiet kids something smooth to vibe to.
There’s a reason “Location” played on loop in teenage bedrooms across the country. It was mellow without being boring, sweet without being cheesy. Khalid’s voice had this relaxed, confident warmth that made you want to send a flirty text—or just sit back and think about who you almost liked.
It wasn’t flashy, but it stuck with you. “Location” felt like a midnight message sent when you didn’t know what to say but needed to say something. It lived on playlists made for crushes, heartbreaks, and chill Sunday afternoons. This was Gen Z’s version of a love letter—short, direct, and vibey.
13. Olivia Rodrigo’s “good 4 u” gave rage a sugary edge.
“good 4 u” was the explosion after the breakdown. Where “drivers license” made people cry, this one made them scream. It was sarcastic, furious, and way too catchy to skip. Teens who felt burned, dumped, or just fed up finally had an outlet that didn’t make them feel weak.
This song played at full volume during bedroom meltdowns and in cars speeding away from toxic situations. Olivia’s voice dripped with anger dressed up in pop-punk glitter, and Gen Z devoured every second. It reminded everyone that rage can be fun, especially when it’s catchy enough to scream at the top of your lungs.