What artists who rank highly on here (say the top 100) get on your nerves? Which ones are you embarrassed to admit that you don't like?

Don't be ashamed to admit it here.

Here's my list of artists in the top 100 that I don't like (be gentle):

The Beatles (ranked number 1)
The Rolling Stones (2)
Bob Dylan (3)
The Beach Boys (
The Who (10)
Elvis Presley (14)
Aretha Franklin (22)
Pink Floyd (24)
Bob Marley (25)
The Byrds (2
Beck (33)
Joni Mitchell (35)
John Lennon (36)
Oasis (47)
Simon and Garfunkel (49)
Steely Dan (50)
Johnny Cash (54)
Grateful Dead (74)
AC/DC (84)
Elton John (85)
The Eagles (8

Definitely overrated artists (that I do not like) :
Bob Dylan #3
David Bowie #4
The Clash #13 (one of the worst)
Radiohead #18
Elvis Costello #20
Van Morrison #26
Talking Heads #27
The Smiths #29
Joni Mitchell #35
Sex Pistols #37
Sonic Youth #51
Tom Waits #62
Eminem #67
Captain Beefheart #70 (one of the worst)
Bjork #72
The Strokes #93 (the worst band ever ?)

The list is so long...
Add to this : almost all of the rap/hip-hop/R&B artists (except Outkast) that grow (I don't understand why) in almost all the end-of-year rocklists.
When I look at EOY lists of singles of the 2000's, it exasperates me so much that from now on I stop to give it attention.
Moonbeam, Prince is cool (even if sometimes his work is rough...)

I don't think I like the way most of you guys are using the word overrated, but so it goes.

these aren't necessarly bands I revere, just bands that I feel are overrated.
Alicia Keys
Norah Jones
Aerosmith
the Cure
Depeche Mode
AFI
Rage Against the Machine
Joss Stone
the Misfits
Radiohead
Black Flag
Josh Gorben
Alanis Morissette
Liz Phair ("Exile..." the new album by the way is brilliant)
Pink Floyd ("DSOTM")
Phil Collins and "his" Genesis
Van Halen
the Shins
the Thrills
My Bloody Valentine
Portishead
Wilco
Pavement
Coldplay
John Lennon
Queens of the Stone Age
the Used
Stereolab
Beck
this was just off the top of my head so I'm sure I'll have more bands later.

I forgot to mention the person I hate the most: Eminem
this guy is anything but a savior. Lately the only people that seem to be loving him are middle aged critics that think they so important because they love Eminem.

The most underrated band is definitely Talk Talk.

pop history has to redeem more crap that you can imagine... but the worst of them all are the flaming lips... so bleeding stupid... they're not funny, nor witty, they cannot sing, cannot play, cannot do the saxophone, not even the marimba, and they'll never achieve the shiny momentum of "dance with wolves"... so that's all i have to say by now... good night

The Flaming Lips : the worst crap ???!!!!!
Are you serious when you say such a thing or is it just by provocation ???
If Flaming Lips is crap, so 99,999999% of today's music is crapier than crap...

i am amazed that some people still think that prince is overrated!!!even if you think his songs are poor(and he has released some very poor records as well as great records)the guy is an absolute genius as a musician...if you are trying to judge him, go and see him in concert first...please

of course not... the flaming lips never meant any kind of crap to me... and so does CAPTAIN BEEFHEART...
yeah i'm still feeling deeply offended by that remark you've made... thus always remember: it was YOU who started the war!

So I thought I'd look into some older threads here:

I'm pretty good in the top 10 but I'll admit that the songs I like from Bowie aren't usually from the albums that get the biggest acclaim (other than ZIGGY which I think is legitimately good all the way through..)

In the remainder of the top 20, Radiohead is the only artist I would say I don't like overall. I like "Creep" and a few isolated tracks from "OK.." but mostly think they're overrated. (I am digging that "House of Cards" song from their newest one though so who knows..)

21-40:
I only genuinely dislike the Sex Pistols (they've got a track or two I like and that's it) but I will grudgingly thank them for helping inspire bands that came LATER which I do enjoy.

and the rest:
#42 Roxy Music. I just don't get it...I've tried and I don't.
#44 Pixies. I'd still rather listen to Nirvana...sorry.
#48 Sonic Youth. Just sound "meh" to my ears. I don't HATE them but nothing makes me LIKE them either.
#63 Massive Attack. I like trip-hop and I know they were first but I'd rather listen to Portishead.
#66 Stooges. Mostly underwhelmed so far.
#86 Pavement. I don't get it...

So I like about 90% of the top 100 to varying degrees.

But Roxy Music is the best band ever.

I'll give it a try.

10. Jimi Hendrix
14. Marvin Gaye
17. Neil Young
22. Bob Marley
24. Van Morrison
32. James Brown
36. Creedence Clearwater Revival
45. Madonna
62. The Police
65. Steely Dan
78. Brian Eno
80. Captain Beefheart
81. Frank Zappa
88. Missy Elliott
92. Grateful Dead

There are only 6 in the top 100 that I dislike:

15. U2 (I like some of their songs, though)
62. The Police (Again, I like some songs)
76. Metallica (I'm not into metal)
79. Fleetwood Mac
88. Missy Elliott
94. The Eagles (Responsible for so much evil)

Alright. I'll justify a band as overrated if I don't like more than 10 songs since there are hundreds of bands that have at least 10 songs I like.

14 Marvin Gaye
25 Aretha Franklin
29 Public Enemy
32 James Brown
34 Beastie Boys- I don't mind them in the top 100 but 34 is way too high.
42 Roxy Music
43 Johnny Cash
46 Joni Mitchell
48 Sonic Youth
49 Blur
54 Joy Division
55 The Band- The second most overrated band of all time.
56 Ray Charles
59 Tom Waits
62 The Police
63 Massive Attack
65 Steely Dan
79 Fleetwood Mac
80 Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
81 Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention
82 Patti Smith
83 Primal Scream
84 Nick Cave
87 Leonard Cohen
94 The Eagles- The most overrated band of all time.
98 Blondie- I love Heart of Glass but that's about it.
100 Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls has to be the most overrated song ever. Opportunities (Lets Make Lots of Money) it their classic.

John: I completely agree with you about The Eagles and completely disagree about The Band. Oh well. I am one of the few fans of The Band around here.

Four years later, and I still don't like any of those artists!

Huh. I never saw this one.

Let’s carve up a few sacred cows, then…

5. Led Zeppelin
30. The Doors
41. John Lennon (solo stuff only; he’s still my favorite Beatle)
63. Massive Attack
76. Metallica
79. Fleetwood Mac
88. Missy Elliott
92. Grateful Dead
94. The Eagles

Since that’s only nine (I’m very ecumenical), let me go a little further down:

111. Queen
114. Rod Stewart
141. Santana

As you can see, my bias is showing pretty clearly (ten AOR staples out of twelve). Other artists I considered were Deep Purple (but I haven’t heard them enough to give them a fair shot), and Coldplay (ask me again in five years).

This list would have looked different before Survivor (Creedence would have been on it, for starters), but there you go. And if pressed, I can find something nice to say about almost all of these folks. They’re just not my cuppa.

There are some acts I haven't heard yet but anyway:

2 The Rolling Stones: Aside form a couple of songs i've never considered them that great
6 Bruce Springsteen: I don't get it
9 Elvis Presley
14 Marvin Gaye
16 The Clash: Never found raw punk appealing
17 Neil Young: Same as Bruce
18 Nirvana: Good when i was a teenager but that's it
24 Van Morrison:
27 The Smiths: i really like "how soon is now" but the rest just didn't do it
30 The Doors: they are a little overrated
35 Beck
37 Sex Pistols: Same as The Clash
38 Michael Jackson
45 Madonna
47 Lou Reed: I love his work in VU but his solo career left me disappointed
50 Ramones
52 Oasis: A kind of copy of The Beatles "early" era. And originals are always better.
55 The Band
70 Eminem: Seriously, why is this guy ranked so high?
94 The Eagles

Sorry Moonbeam:

#7 - Prince: A few songs here and there are interesting, but I've never made it through an entire album in one sitting. At least I don't dislike the guy.
#10 - Jimi Hendrix: He was so good at the guitar that he could be uninteresting to listen to. I'd actually put him in my top 200 or so, but #10 is too high
#18 - Nirvana: Nothing special. The right band at the right time for media hype.
#21 - Pink Floyd: Recently, I've just found them boring.
#22 - Bob Marley: Many incarnations of the same song. However, "Could You Be Loved?" is awesome.
#30 - The Doors: Self-rightous, asinine lyrics by an arrogant ass fronting a boring jazz-fusion jam band. The first band that always comes to mind when the word "overrated" is mentioned.
#34 - Beastie Boys: Another one probably in my top #200 or so, but I usually only like the singles.
#41 - John Lennon: I just watched La Dolce Vita and Lennon's solo career reminds me of those lame, aristocratic parties with a bunch of chads talking about happiness and art and psuedo-intellectual matters while growing more and more disconnected from the world. In The Beatles, he kept it in check a bit more, but without the other guys he just kept vomiting up self-rightous crap.
#48 - Sonic Youth: I never really listen to much besides "Teenage Riot"
#56 - Ray Charles - I like a few songs here and there, but none of his albums have really drawn me in.
#57 - Kraftwerk: Influential doesn't mean interesting.
#62 - The Police: White reggae? I do need to give them a shot though, because I've heard some of their more punky songs and I do like them.
#66 - The Stooges: I really want to like them more, but I just can't. A few great songs and a few droning albums.
#68 - Bjork: Has just never appealed to me.
#69 - Chuck Berry: Not much I like past Johnny B. Good. The lyrics are too silly and then there's just the "My Ding-a-Ling" factor that's always in the background.
#70 - Eminem: He's ranked higher than Tribe Called Quest?!?! Did we white folks really just want to believe in our ability to rap so much that we thought this guy was good?

I've got to stop at 70 or this post will just go on forever.

"I like black music too"

Of the top 10 artists, I find Led Zep and Prince the hardest to really get into. Still trying, though

To actively dislike an artist, I guess I'd have to be forcibly subjected to her or his music, and since I don't listen to the radio much, it rarely happens. The worst I can say about anyone in the top 100, I think, is that with some, I've hardly heard enough of their music to have an educated opinion at all. That would go for most of the rap/hip-hop/recent R'n'B acts. Not prejudice, I hope, just habit: I was raised on Dylan and Springsteen ...

Anyone care to suggest an album in those categories that I should be tied to a chair and made to listen to until I appreciate it ... ?

1. Jimi Hendrix, 10
2. The Clash, 16
3. Radiohead, 19
4. Bob Marley and The Wailers, 22
5. The Smiths, 27
6. Public Enemy, 29
7. Beastie Boys, 34
8. Beck, 35
9. Sex Pistols, 37
10. Pixies, 44
11. Sonic Youth, 48
12. Outkast, 53
13. New Order, 58
14. P. J. Harvey, 61
15. The Stooges, 66
16. Björk, 68
17. Eminem, 70
18. Parliament, Funkadelic, 73
19. Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, 80
20. Pavement, 86

A lot of Eagles fans I see. I think my life might be in danger once everyone finds out I ranked The Eagles above The Beatles on my artists list. Anyway, my "I-don't-get-it"'s:

10) Jimi Hendrix (although I am starting to appreciate him more)
18) Nirvana
19) Radiohead
29) Public Enemy
34) Beastie Boys
35) Beck
41) John Lennon
48) Sonic Youth
49) Blur (I'm working on this.. I think I will soon be able to take them off the list; they seem to be sounding better every time I listen to them)
64) The Jam
71) The White Stripes
73) Parliament/Funkadelic
76) Metallica
77) Black Sabbath
83) Primal Scream
86) Pavement
88) Missy Misdemeanor Elliott
96) Run-D.M.C.

Wow, that's more than I thought I would have.

Artists I really don't get

Talking Heads
The Smiths (except There Is A Light)
Madonna
Pavement (except a couple songs)

Artists that are not my cup of tea

Pixies (love "Bossa Nova" and a couple singles)
Beastie Boys
Blur (especially their late works)
Ramones
Oasis
PJ Harvey
Guns n Roses (except Sweet Child...)
Blondie

Last, I find Radiohead (although they'll be in my artists' top 100) and Joy Division a bit overrated

From the top 100

The Rolling Stones
Led Zeppelin
Bruce Springsteen
U2
The Byrds
James Brown
Sly and the Family Stone
Madonna
Massive Attack
Parliament/Funkadelic

15) U2

Some of their early stuff I can get into, but even it smacks of moral narcissism.

21) Pink Floyd

I can not stand Roger Waters' panderingly angsty melodramatic approach to songwriting. His half baked misanthropy comes off as exploitation of the nonspecific rage of depressed teenagers. I'm sure all the people who like Linkin Park and Evanescence now would have Pink Floyd tattoos if they grew up in the 70s.

34) Beastie Boys

See 1986 thread

36) Creedence Clearwater Revival

No comments except a general 'meh'.

37) Sex Pistols

Comes off to me as empty showmanship. I find the vocals irritating, all the 'anarchy' stuff artificial and lame.

Oh, I only went down to 50. Expanding to 100:

Oasis (A few great tracks, but overall boring)
Kraftwerk (Bonus points for being first, but kinda meh to me)
The Jam (Spastic)
Steely Dan (Irritatingly faux-educated songwriting)
Eminem (Just UGH. When will critics stop confusing crassness for subversiveness?)
AC/DC (Boasty screeching over moderately competent guitar riffs)
Black Sabbath (More pandering to the same crowd AC/DC is)
Missy Elliot (I've never liked a song of hers)
The Eagles (So freaking melodramatic it makes me want to vomit.)

All the hate for Missy E makes me sad. :(

You Eagles-haters(I'm one as well) - I'd hate to know what you think of their latest stuff - it's awful

Public Enemy
Prince
Michael Jackson
U2
Miles Davis
The Band
James Brown
R.E.M.
Stone Roses
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band
Beck
Otis Redding
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
Carole King
Paul Simon
Derek and The Dominos
Sonic Youth
De La Soul
Oasis
Aretha Franklin
Kraftwerk

Considering hip-hop artists, I always find the top 100 kinda odd, because I don't really like any of the hip-hop artists in the top 100 (Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Outkast, Eminem, Missy, Run D.M.C.). Outkast is good on occasion, but I think they're all grossly overrated.

However, I really like the artists in the 101-200 range (Grandmaster Flash, Kanye West, De La Soul, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, A Tribe Called Quest, Eric B & Rakim, N.W.A). Hell, Tribe is in my top 100 artists and De La is just on the cusp.

"I like black music too"

37) Sex Pistols

Comes off to me as empty showmanship. I find the vocals irritating, all the 'anarchy' stuff artificial and lame.


07) BillAdama

Comes off to me as empty showmanship. I find the vocals irritating, all the 'uptight' stuff artificial and lame.

And you sir Slush.


In The Beatles, he kept it in check a bit more, but without the other guys he just kept vomiting up self-rightous crap.


Maybe you can teach us how to say something worthwhile without it being an instance of vomiting, self-righteousness or crap.

Kraftwerk simply because we have to put up with all the crap that they influenced in the 80s.

If you ask me, the prominence of synthesizers in the 80s is a reason to praise Kraftwerk!

word.

My answer is going to have to be David Bowie and U2.

Every time I saw someone put Van Morrison, I cringed.

He's the greatest...along with Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen.

But self-rightous crap tastes really good coming up, why would I stop?

"I like black music too"

I think Massive Attack was better than Portishead and they proved it with Mezzenine. Portishead may have a great lead singer but when Massive Attack brought "the voice of God" Liz Frazier on board they blew Portishead to pieces. I didn't think Dummy was as great as people said it was.

Paul:
I like the Band. Now there are two.

BillAdamaa. Steely Dan 'irritatingly faux educated songwriting'. I feel sorry for guys like you, but as a matter of interest. can you tell me who you do like coz I'm looking forward to ripping your choices apart !!

You want to rip his choices apart before even knowing what they are? Interesting..

peteevo,

Are you Donald Fagen? If you are I can see how you'd get upset by such a comment. If not, you should learn that people react differently to music, and some like this and some like that. I hate Steely Dan too. They're awful. Now go tear Neutral Milk Hotel apart.

led zep - i need to give them a bit more time, but until then, the top of this list is their home.
bruce springsteen - i just find it boring!
jimi hendrix - there are a few of his songs that i would put in my top 50. he's on this list because i just feel that there's an unacceptable amount of crap on even his best albums...
sonic youth - i used to like them. i own many of their CD's, but it's been soooooooo long since they've done anything for me.
eminem - he's acclaimed? sure, why not. but top 100?? nnnaaahhh
metallica - i think i just hate them too much as people. besides, slayer's better

of course, i haven't heard music from the entire top 100, so there would likely be more if i had.

I cannot Tom Waits music at all. The raspy voice is not for me and the music I've heard tends to be simple and repetitive. Maybe it's my ignorance, but I just can't listen to Rain Dogs.