Songs for Best Friends: Filter Friendship Songs by Vibe and Moment

The friendship song: a promise to show up, wherever they are. James Taylor’s cover took it to No. 1.

Bill Withers drew on the small mining town where he grew up, where people carried each other.

Light ukulele pop about being there for each other, however far apart you are.

John Deacon wrote it for his wife, but the title made it a best friend classic.

Ringo’s turn at the mic on Sgt. Pepper. A warm, easy sing-along about getting by with your people.

The theme from Friends. Four claps in and the whole room is in.

Four legends on one song, recorded to raise money for AIDS research. A heartfelt thank-you.

A 1978 hit, better known as The Golden Girls theme. For the friend you will grow old with.

The Toy Story theme, for the friend who has had your back since you were kids.

A simple promise to stay close when things get dark. Every generation knows it.

The girl-group anthem that puts your friends before any boyfriend.

A fist-in-the-air rock ballad about the friends who stay when everything else goes.

A slow, huge promise to carry a friend through the worst of it.

For a friend who is hurting and thinks they have to hide it.

From Beaches, the film about two lifelong best friends. Have tissues ready.

Wicked’s goodbye duet between two friends who changed each other for good.

From Waiting to Exhale, a film about four friends. Two great voices promising to be there.

A gentle reminder that a real friend sees who you are and loves it.

A gospel-tinged pop promise to be there, built to end on a big choir.

A bright 1990 pop anthem about getting through one more day. For a friend in a rough patch.

A slow build from organ to full band, for a friend going through a loss.

Bouncy, whistle-ready pop for a friend who needs a lift.

A hopeful 2020 song about the good days coming back, for a friend you cannot see right now.

The sunny one to send when a friend is finally coming out of a long winter.

A quiet, sad Chili Peppers ballad about friends who show up when you are low.

Folk meets dance in a promise to have someone’s back, whatever happens.

From Dear Evan Hansen, for a friend who feels alone.

Motown’s great no-distance-is-too-far duet. Send it to a friend who moved away.

From An American Tail: two people far apart under the same night sky.

Stomping folk-pop about being somebody’s place to come back to.

Young Michael’s promise to come running whenever he is needed.

Made for Furious 7 as a tribute to Paul Walker. For a friend you are saying goodbye to.

The end-of-school goodbye song, built on Pachelbel’s Canon. For friends heading different ways.

A Christian pop classic about friends who stay friends forever, often played at farewells.

The acoustic Green Day song for the end of an era together.

Two old men side by side on a park bench. A short, quiet song for friends who will grow old together.

Piano pop about the friends who knew you before anything else happened.

Two longtime duet partners on the friend no one new can replace.

Burns’s Scots song about old friends and old times, sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

The 80s synth anthem for the prom, the reunion and every old crew.

A gentle country song about a friend who is gone, or just far away now.

Old friends swapping high school stories. For the guys who still tell the same ones.

A rock look back at the first band and the friends in it.

Freshman year with her best friend Abigail. For the friend who has been there since high school.

A tiny acoustic song about meeting a new friend at the start of the school year.

Dreamy indie rock about two friends who grew up as a team. First out on a 2013 EP.

The 80s anthem for a night out with the girls.

Disco’s sisterhood anthem. Gets the friend group onto the dance floor at the wedding.

The disco classic for the friend who owns every dance floor.

Carefree and silly, made for a best friend’s 22nd and fun at any age.

Written for her band and fans, it plays like a toast to everything you did together.

A loud hype song about hyping up your best friend. Play the clean edit around kids.

Biz Markie’s gloriously off-key hit. Sing it badly with your best friend.

The country bar sing-along about showing up to a fancy party with your real friends.

The rickroll. Send it to the friend who has never fallen for it.

The Scottish stomp about walking 500 miles. Silly, loud and made for the car.

The guys-night-out rock classic, for when the old crew gets back together.

Pure summer-day pop with nothing to worry about.

Stomps and hand claps for the start of a big day together.

Brassy funk-pop for the night out, the birthday or the wedding dance floor.

Written to push for a Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, now the soul song at every party.

Loud and fun, for a best friend who would rather rock than sing the usual song.

The party starter for the birthday dinner or the wedding dance floor.

An acoustic song about a coastal trip with the bandmates. The best friend road trip song.

Windows down and the volume up for the first hour of the drive.

Willie’s easygoing song about life on tour with friends. A road trip must.

The car sing-along. Everyone takes a line.