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10 songs that feel like Breakdown

Matched to Breakdown by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers on how the music actually moves — intensity, dynamic swing, texture, tempo — not by genre tag. Here's what makes each one a match.

Breakdown
The song you love
Breakdown
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
safe 17/100 intensity 92 BPM
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400 Lux — Lorde safe 90 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (17/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (90 BPM).

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The Letters — Leonard Cohen moderate 72 BPM

94% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Same smooth texture.

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Jezebel — Iron & Wine safe 72 BPM

Keeps the same intimate pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (15/100). Measured 94% alike.

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Computer Love — Kraftwerk safe 110 BPM

Measures 96% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (19/100). Same smooth texture.

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Loch Raven — Animal Collective safe 85 BPM

A 99% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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Pale Shelter — Tears for Fears safe 92 BPM

99% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (17/100). Same smooth texture.

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Paradise Circus — Massive Attack moderate 85 BPM

Keeps the same intimate pull — lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Measured 95% alike. Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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Free Until They Cut Me Down — Iron & Wine safe 85 BPM

Measures 95% the same. It lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Same smooth texture.

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Mythological Beauty — Big Thief moderate 85 BPM

A 95% feel-match — carries the same intimate pull and lands at almost exactly the same energy (16/100). Nearly the same tempo, too (85 BPM).

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Tour of Duty — Jason Isbell moderate 72 BPM

93% match across our 8 measured dimensions; it lands at almost exactly the same energy (19/100). Same smooth texture.

Frequently asked

What songs sound like “Breakdown” by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers?

The closest feel-matches we measure are “400 Lux” by Lorde, “The Letters” by Leonard Cohen, “Jezebel” by Iron & Wine — the top match scores 99% alike. Matching is by how the songs actually move (intensity, dynamic range, texture, tempo, predictability, vocal force), not by genre tag or popularity.

How intense is “Breakdown”?

It measures 17/100 on our intensity scale, computed from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Tempo is 92 BPM.

How do you decide which songs are similar?

Every song in our catalog is measured on 8 dimensions — intensity, dynamic range, tempo, sudden changes, texture, predictability, vocal force and fine sound detail. Similarity is the distance between two songs across those measurements, so matches cross genres and eras. Shared mood tags break ties.

By the numbers: how this song compares

Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.

Where it sits in 19,000 songs

This sits near the calm end of everything we've measured — gentler than 93% of the 19,209 songs in the library. Its intensity reading of 17/100 comes from a dynamic range of 4/10, smooth texture, no sudden shifts, and soft vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.

What makes it unusual

What stands out most about this song is an unusually steady, even volume: more extreme on that axis than 97% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on full chaos — sudden changes, huge quiet-to-loud swings, and relentless energy — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.

Feels almost identical to

Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.

What it’s good for

Sleep9/10
Focus10/10
Workout0/10
Dinner7/10
Party / hype1/10

Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.

1976 in context

The 192 songs we’ve measured from 1976 average a dynamic range of 6.2/10. At 4/10, this track is gentler and steadier than its year.

Mixes smoothly with

Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.

The fingerprint

Intensity17
Dynamics33
Tempo29
Surprise0
Density0
Predictability0
Vocal force25
Trigger load25

The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.

Want the single closest match, with every dimension compared?

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