 Headphones are your smartphone's best friend. They're nearly as ubiquitous as smartphones themselves, and they let you listen to music, games, or video, and make and receive hands-free calls without disturbing those around you. Many smartphones, including the iPhone, come with a basic set of headphones that have a microphone and remote on their cords. But most included headphones, like Apple's EarPods, kinda suck, with a poor fit, mediocre sound and a cable that turns into knots right in your pocket. You can spend hundreds of dollars on getting great headphones to go with your new smartphone, but if you just want something better than came with the phone and don't want to spend a fortune, there are countless options available for under 50 bucks. A good replacement headphone offers three things. Great sound, great fit, and a microphone, so you can still make phone calls. Some offer volume controls, but that's not as common in this price range, and the compatibility with volume controls varies from smartphone to smartphone. And they should be cheap and easily replaceable, so it's not a problem if you lose them, send them through the washing machine, or just wear them out over the course of a year or two. If you're looking to replace your EarPods or other bundled headphones, the best overall option are Panasonic's TCM125. These basic black headphones are super lightweight, comfortable to wear for extended periods of time, and most importantly, sound fantastic. They include a microphone and remote for play and pause controls, but unfortunately no volume, and they come with three different size tips to fit a variety of ears. The Panasonic stayed put in my ears, whether I was swiftly moving to catch the next subway train or flapping my jaw on a long conference call. The Panasonic's also have a balanced sound profile for a variety of music and audio sources. They sound great for pop, rock, metal, classical, hip-hop, podcasts, and more. They sound so good that I often forgot I was wearing inexpensive headphones and not more high-end models. And the best part about the TCM125 is just how cheap they actually are. You can easily find these for about half the cost of Apple's $29 EarPods. It's not a big deal if you lose or break these, you just buy another pair. The one area where the TCM125s don't blow away the competition is with heavy bass response. If you want more bass in your headphones, the Sony MDR-XB50 are the ones you should get. They're a bit more expensive than our top pick, but they offer a lot more bass response than the Panasonic's. The downside is they don't sound as good overall and aren't as versatile for different types of music. They're also a bit heavier and larger than the Panasonic's, but they're still comfortable and fit in my ears well and didn't really fall out. These also have a nice cord that resists turning into a ball of knots in my pocket. There are many other options across the field, but none of them really fit as well or sounded as good as our top picks. The Earbuds Inspire 400 are sweat proof and designed for wear during a workout. They do a really good job of staying in your ears while moving. They also have a remote with volume control that works with the iPhone, but they just weren't as comfortable or as good sounding as the Panasonic's. Similarly, the Urban Ears Kransen are packed with nifty design features like the ability to lock the earbuds together for storage, a fabric covered cord, and a built in cable tie so you don't have to worry about knots. They do a good job of staying in my ears, but they don't sound as nice overall compared to my top picks. The others that we tested all had a tendency to just fall out of my ears whenever I moved, turned my head, or just took a sip from a water bottle. It was difficult to get many of them to make a proper seal, which leads to lower quality sound and makes them fall out easier. The best options, like the ones we already mentioned, have designs that lock the headphones in your ears so they don't fall out. It turns out you don't have to settle for Apple or Samsung's inferior headphones. Almost every option we tested were better than the headphones that come with your smartphone. And if you just want the best overall headphones without spending more than 50 bucks, you should get the Panasonic TCM125.