In your opinion, who is the most overrated singer/band/artist in modern music history and why?
Last Updated: 30.06.2025 05:30
by Michael R. Burch
Kanye West is best known for dissing Taylor Swift, no?
Nickelback is the most hated band of all time, with a near-perfect 99.99 score on the Hated Band Index, and is also the #1 worst band of all time according to Ultimate Guitar. David Grohl said that if you play a Nickelback song backwards, you’ll hear the Devil, but if you play it forwards, even worse, you’ll hear Nickelback!
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Limp Bizkit is the second most-hated band of all time, with a 96.79 score on the Hated Band Index, and is also the #2 worst band of all time according to Ultimate Guitar.
Lou Reed
Billie Eilish
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U2 is #4 on the Hated Band Index and the #7 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar. But I like a good number of their songs and disagree here.
Kesha aka Ke$ha
Imagine Dragons
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Maroon 5 and Adam Levine
Rebecca Black
Mariah Carey has a great voice and and amazing vocal range. I like a number of her songs but none have made my all-time playlist.
Vanilla Ice
Nick Cannon
Spin Doctors are #20 on the Hated Band Index and also the #20 worst band according to LA Weekly.
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Mumford & Sons is the #5 on the Hated Band Index and the #17 most overrated artists according to Ranker.
Roseanne Barr
THE MOST OVERRATED ACTS IN MODERN MUSIC HISTORY
by Michael R. Burch
Taylor Swift is drop-dead gorgeous and I do like some of her songs, but still… how good can you be when you have to sing in your undies?
Piet Mondrian
The Doors are #13 on the Hated Band Index.
And to make it a perfect menage a trois, there is Beyonce…
Justin Bieber is a good-looking guy who can carry a tune. Does that make him a megastar?
Dr. Dre
JAY-Z
Ariana Grande has an amazing vocal range but her songs haven’t wowed me. I do like “Bang Bang” and “The Way.”
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Usher
Jefferson Airplane aka Jefferson Starship aka Starship had some good songs like “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” but got pop-fizzy with songs like the unlistenable “We Built this City.”
NSYNC
K.C. and the Sunshine Band don’t just play the same three chords over and over again, they sing the same three or four words over and over and over again.
One Direction
These are artists sometimes called “overrated” for whom I do NOT agree: AC/DC, Aerosmith, Gary Barlow, Bon Jovi, Kurt Cobain, Celine Dion (I’m not crazy about all her songs but what an amazing voice!), Doors, Eminem, Jackie Evancho, Guns N' Roses, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, Outkast, Steve Perry, Pink aka P!nk, Elvis Presley (in his better songs like “That’s All Right,” “Peace in the Valley,” “American Trilogy” and his amazing covers of “Blue Moon” and “Fever”), Prince, Queen, Rolling Stones, Axl Rose, U2, Neil Young
KISS is #9 on the Hated Band Index and the #10 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar.
The early Beatles were overrated for pop-fizzy songs like “Love Me Do,” “Please Please Me,” “She Loves You” and “I Want to Hold Your Hand.”
Bob Dylan is overrated as a vocalist, if anyone rates him as such, but he has written many good and great songs. Dylan said he’s more of a poet than a musician, and I agree. Dylan is the #6 most-hated band of all time on the Hated Band Index and he’s not even a band!
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Wilco
Radiohead is #8 on the Hated Band Index.
Rihanna has had good songs such as “Stay,” “Diamonds,” "We Found Love" with Calvin Harris, and "Love the Way You Lie" with Eminem.
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Sex Pistols
Cardi B
Nirvana is #19 on the Hated Band Index.
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Kings of Leon
Jonas Brothers
Megan Fox
I have a number of rappers in my “overrated” list. It’s not that I discriminate against the genre. My favorite rap acts include Tupac Shakur, Arrested Development, Public Enemy, Eminem, Nas and Outkast. But I’m a lyric man and I often find rap lyrics to be high on rhythm and rhyme but not all that compelling otherwise.
BTS
Kendrick Lamar
Nicki Minaj
Beastie Boys
Justin Timberlake
Jennifer Lopez
Jenny McCarthy
Creed is the #3 most-hated band of all time on the Hated Band Index and the #4 worst band of all time according to Ultimate Guitar.
Korn is #15 on the Hated Band Index and the #20 most overrated artists according to Ranker.
Oasis is #16 on the Hated Band Index and the #5 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar. They are also the #18 worst band according to LA Weekly and the #42 most overrated artists according to Ranker.
#ART #MUSIC #POP #ROCK #MRBART #MRBMUSIC #MRBPOP #MRBROCK
Wu-Tang Clan
Chris Brown
Lil Wayne
Madonna put out some great songs like “This Used to Be My Playground,” “Ray of Light,” “Justify My Love,” “Express Yourself,” “Like a Virgin,” “Like a Prayer” and “Papa Don’t Preach.” But somehow it became more about the spectacle than the music.
Black Eyed Peas
Miley Cyrus
Poison
Phish is #7 on the Hated Band Index and the #17 worst band according to LA Weekly.
On the brighter side for lingerie lovers, Madonna got the whole “singing in our undies” thing going.
Rush is #18 on the Hated Band Index.
Insane Clown Posse
Tool
Katy Perry
The Dave Matthews Band is #10 on the Hated Band Index and the #1 worst band according to LA Weekly. They made it a clean sweep by being the #16 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar and the #22 overrated artists according to Ranker.
Skrillex
Green Day is #12 on the Hated Band Index and the #13 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar. They are also the #2 worst band according to LA Weekly.
My Chemical Romance
Garth Brooks did have good songs like “Shameless” and “The Thunder Rolls.”
Milli Vanilli
Yoko Ono
Barry Manilow
Pearl Jam is #17 on the Hated Band Index and the #7 worst band according to LA Weekly.
Weezer
Grateful Dead
Linkin Park
Kid Rock
Ed Sheeran
Barry Manilow heads my lists of concerts I’m not going to attend, and while I love some of his songs I’m not going to sit through a concert of Bob Dylan singing in that nasal monotone of his. Other concerts I’m not going to be attending include those of KISS, Maroon 5,
Metallica is #14 on the Hated Band Index and the #6 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar.
LL Cool J
Britney Spears
The Osmonds
I’m a longtime music lover and I’m very liberal, loving the best hard rock, soft rock, pop, blues, R&B, soul, jazz, country, folk, classical and opera. I’m not a huge fan of rap, but I do have favorite rap songs as well. However there are singers, bands and other musical artists who seem overrated to me…
Billy Ray Cyrus
Tiny Tim
50 Cent
Coldplay has had good songs like “Fix You,” “Viva La Vida,” “Clocks” and “Yellow” but they do seem overrated overall. Coldplay is #11 on the Hated Band Index and the #12 worst band according to Ultimate Guitar.
Drake
Lady Gaga produced great songs like “Paparazzi,” “Poker Face,” “Bad Romance” and “Shallow.” But, as with Madonna, it often seems more about the spectacle than the music.