Unlike the chaos of choosing my female-fronted Ghoul Squad, this list came together like a clean tarot spread—five cards, five energies, zero hesitation. These are the men (and one ginger demigod) who have narrated entire chapters of my life.
1. AJR: The Unexpected Obsession
I met AJR in the most mundane way possible—Pandora shuffle while I worked at the State. Sober Up kept popping up like it was trying to tell me something, and honestly? It succeeded. That song dug into my ribs and made a home there.
And then I realized something dangerous: I don’t skip any of their songs.
They’re innovative, clever, and weird in the best possible way.
The kind of band that makes you want to paint your living room at 2am because inspiration struck.
2. Twenty One Pilots: The Immersive Fever Dream
Twenty One Pilots and Mayday Parade fight for my affection the same way In This Moment and Evanescence do—but Twenty One Pilots gets the edge purely because of their creative depth.
These two don’t just make music; they build worlds.
Their live shows? Mind-bending. Like being dropped into a psychological thriller where your anxiety has a drumline.
They’ve earned their #2 spot through sheer imagination.
3. Mayday Parade: The Nostalgia Knife to the Heart
Mayday Parade and I have been entangled for over half my life. Their music is basically the background noise of my formative trauma arc—and I say that lovingly.
Like Evanescence, I haven’t vibed as hard with the newer stuff…but that doesn’t change anything.
Their old tracks still hit like a memory you weren’t ready to feel.
Every note carries a story I lived through.
4. We The Kings: The Old Reliables
We The Kings walked into my life at the same time as Mayday Parade and never really left. I’m not obsessed with their newer releases, but they still have a permanent room in my emotional house.
And I’ve seen them almost as many times as I’ve seen Halestorm, which is saying something.
They’re comfort. They’re nostalgia. They’re the warm hoodie of my pop-punk adolescence.
5. Ed Sheeran: The Soft-Spot Sorcerer
My guilty pleasure, my emotional support ginger, my acoustic life raft.
Ed is at the bottom of this list not because he’s less important, but because my heart belongs mostly to Multiply and Divide. Those albums were there during some of the darkest, loneliest chapters of my life—and when things get rough, I still find myself curling back into them.
He’s talented in that maddening way that makes you want to scream into a pillow.
The Coven’s Menfolk
This group doesn’t have a cute name like my Ghoul Squad, but they’ve earned their seats at the table. These five artists helped score breakups, rebirths, night drives, and the quiet moments where I remembered who I was.
And yes—they will each get their own full Music Monday spotlight later.
Leave a Reply