The Worst Bands of All Time Bands/Musicians

The Worst Bands of All Time

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The worst bands in music history, ranked by music fans (and haters.) This list contains the most awful bands to listen to from throughout the history of recorded music, suggested and voted on based on a variety of metrics, including popular bands least deserving of their fame and fortune, artists who shamelessly ripped off other, superior acts and just bands that don't know how to play their instruments or write songs. Obviously, the majority of choices will be rock bands, but any "musical group" or bands are technically eligible. Think the worst band of all time is a jazz band? Hate polka bands as much (or more) than Nickelback? Suggest your least favorite group by making your own list and including them! (Please, don't include individual musical artists who aren't in bands. You may hate Sting, but unless you also hate The Police, save it for another list!)

What makes a band go from just being terrible to epically earning "Worst Band of All Time" status? For some, there's an original inkling of a good sound in there that just gets weighed down by poor decisions, excessive drug use and bad production. For others, it's a total lack of songwriting ability that renders the band - as a whole - incapable of producing quality music. Some bands just have no business being together in the first place, so incapable are they of playing in sync and producing pleasant music. And then some bands may have limited talent but waste it by producing songs and albums that are overblown, slickly commercial and hollow.

This list collects all these examples of terrible bands with no business recording music, and more. It will be a great guide for keeping track of musicians and artists to avoid next time you are on iTunes or Amazon.
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Rank     Name
  1. 1
    Up 3490
    Down 1039
    Dance music, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  2. 2
    Up 3057
    Down 1385
    Alternative rock, Hard rock, Pop rock More
  3. 3
    Up 2237
    Down 726
    Hip hop music, Horrorcore
  4. 4
    Up 1755
    Down 641
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  5. 5
    Up 2196
    Down 691
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  6. 6
    Up 1705
    Down 489
    Hip hop music
  7. 7
    Up 1830
    Down 870
    Synthpop, Dance music, Pop music More
  8. 8
    Up 1283
    Down 401
    Dance music, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  9. 9
    Up 1568
    Down 574
    Synthpop, Electropop, Pop music More
  10. 10
    Up 1488
    Down 606
    Synthpop, Electropop, Pop music More
  11. 11
    Up 1547
    Down 947
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Hard rock More
  12. 12
    Up 1952
    Down 982
    Pop rock, Synthpop, Dance music More
  13. 13
    Up 1520
    Down 936
    Alternative rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  14. 14
    Up 1119
    Down 444
    Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  15. 15
    Up 1000
    Down 351
  16. 16
    Up 1405
    Down 523
    Pop music
  17. 17
    Up 1009
    Down 358
    Pop music
  18. 18
    Up 1294
    Down 510
    Pop rock, Electronic music, Dance music More
  19. 19
    Up 958
    Down 447
    Pop rock, Pop music, Contemporary Christian music
  20. 20
    Up 967
    Down 497
    Dance music, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  21. 21
    Up 1247
    Down 517
    Rock music, Pop rock, Synthpop More
  22. 22
    Up 805
    Down 310
    Electronic music, Dance music, Eurodance More
  23. 23
    Up 566
    Down 212
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Soul music More
  24. 24
    Up 923
    Down 402
    Alternative rock, Country, Country rock More
  25. 25
    Up 920
    Down 620
    Alternative rock, Pop rock, Pop music More
  26. 26
    Up 834
    Down 279
    Rhythm and blues, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  27. 27
    Up 930
    Down 518
    Rock music, Alternative metal, Hip hop music More
  28. 28
    Up 688
    Down 426
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  29. 29
    Up 857
    Down 440
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  30. 30
    Up 573
    Down 319
    Rhythm and blues, Soul music, Pop music More
  31. 31
    Up 532
    Down 211

    DJ Pauly D

  32. 32
    Up 860
    Down 617
    Rock music, Electronic music, Dance music More
  33. 33
    Up 581
    Down 266
    Pop music, Boy band
  34. 34
    Up 1009
    Down 699
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  35. 35
    Up 873
    Down 524
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  36. 36
    Up 537
    Down 239

    Blood on the Dance Floor

  37. 37
    Up 759
    Down 325
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  38. 38
    Up 483
    Down 259
    Rhythm and blues, Soul music, Pop music More
  39. 39
    Up 540
    Down 232
    Synthpop, Electronic music, Dance music More
  40. 40
    Up 884
    Down 423
    Rock music, Dance music, Pop music More
  41. 41
    Up 717
    Down 471
    Pop rock, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  42. 42
    Up 627
    Down 352
    Pop rock, Soft rock, Dance music More
  43. 43
    Up 1137
    Down 590

    New Metallica

  44. 44
    Up 649
    Down 336
    Pop rock, Synthpop, Electropop More
  45. 45
    Up 428
    Down 252
    Hip hop music, Gangsta rap
  46. 46
    Up 623
    Down 298
    Rhythm and blues, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  47. 47
    Up 560
    Down 287
    Rock music, Dance music, Pop music More
  48. 48
    Up 519
    Down 231
    Pop music, Hip hop music, East Coast hip hop More
  49. 49
    Up 420
    Down 182
    Soul music, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  50. 50
    Up 585
    Down 285
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
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    1. inthekitchenwithdinahshore
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 2/02/2013 11:30 PM
      Jargon jargon jargon about worst rock groups is all I see here.
    2. Sadye Segar
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 1/17/2013 7:30 AM
      Breaking down and trying to learn about worst rock bands .
    3. grapes-of-math
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 12/21/2012 5:30 AM
      Needed this! Could use Worst Bands at some point.
    4. Rochel Hnat
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 12/03/2012 10:30 PM
      I'm bookmarking this for next time I need to know worst bands ever.
    5. Genna Girven
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 10/29/2012 2:30 PM
      Good list of worst bands of all time, for a robot.
    6. Thaddeus Mechanic
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 10/07/2012 12:30 AM
      Keeping this! Might need worst band ever later.
    7. KevinThomasFreckman
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 6/02/2012 9:32 AM
      I thought this was about Bands - why are there so many solo acts?
    8. BOB JONES IS GAY
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 6/02/2012 8:16 AM
      Bob Jones, any band that puts "OOOOOO AAAAAAHHHHH AAAAAHHHH AHHHHHHHH" like a fucking monkey deserves to be shot and killed... And so do you.
    9. You are all gay
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 6/02/2012 8:06 AM
      A fucking retarded list.. Should have been called worst artists, as 90% of these are not bands.
    10. Axel
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/30/2012 1:21 PM
      Sorry, but David Guetta should be in the top 20 and Coldplay shouldn't even be on this list.
    11. siryami220
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/26/2012 5:51 PM
      Why don't you just put ALL the bands on the earth? A lot of them should NOT be up here.
    12. Monster Joe
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/26/2012 8:31 AM
      bob jones: for real? you are a waste of space
    13. Death
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/25/2012 9:00 PM
      Haha this list is awesome! Nice to see so many shitty bands being hated on, New Metallica should be at least #10!
    14. Bob Jones
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/23/2012 11:34 PM
      Ok. Linkin Park, KoRn, and Disturbed should not be put ANYWHERE near this list. Linkin Park is the only band to SUCCESSFULLY combine rap, rock, and electronica. KoRn is the father of Nu Metal, a great genre, but overrun with shitty bands *cough Slipknot cough Black Veil Brides cough Limp Bizkit* but is a great genre nonetheless. Disturbed is AMAZING. Listen to the entire "The Sickness" album and then you will see. God damn people are really stupid nowadays.
    15. mrFUNBooBs69
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/22/2012 12:45 PM
      Coldplay does nt suck, you suck for dragging them into this! They have enuff stuff goin on without this. I hate it when good bands like Nickelback n Coldplay get hated on for no good reason cept jealously! O and New Metallica? Y make the difference of new, old, etc? THEY ARE THE WORST BAND THAT EVER LIVED AND HAVE ACTUALLY GOTTEN BETTER MOST RECENTLY! NEWSFLASH, IF IT'S ON THE RADIO ITS FOR A REESON, AND ITS CALLED BEIN GOOOOOOD!
    16. ????
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/22/2012 10:57 AM
      Why is Crush 40 on here? I wouldn't really call that a band to begin with. Its more like a collaboration of Sonic The Hedgehog OST's.
      Seems kind of butt hurt, whats next on the list? The Black Mage Orchestra because someone hates Final Fantasy VII?
    17. Sparkledork
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/19/2012 12:45 PM
      Brokencyde, in a perfect world, would be numbers 1 thru 12.
    18. teppscan-google
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/15/2012 9:47 AM
      This is the most pathetic list I think I've ever seen on Ranker. Perhaps if it was retitled 'bands I hate' it would make a lot more sense because most of the voters evidently don't know what 'bad' is. That's not to say there aren't some deserving entries (like the Black Eyed Peas), but the majority on the list can at least play their instruments and sing on key. You want 'bad,' go listen to some of the original 'influential' punk bands like The Sex Pistols or Black Flag, who didn't even know how to play and just flailed on guitars and screamed into microphones. How can you rate an actual band like Nickleback lower than one-hit novelty crap like Chumbawamba or imposters like Milli Vanilli and Ashlee Simpson? What a joke. As for my not knowing musical talent, or not paying proper homage to Black Flag, they did a promotional appearance in a record store I worked in during the mid 70s. They set up their stuff and played a set of the most godawful trash I've ever heard. As I said, they couldn't even play their instruments. It was like you just grabbed four guys off the streets and handed them guitars and drums and said whang on this a while. As for creating metal, Black Sabbath and Led Zepplin might have something to say about that. As for thrash -- so what?
      1. RickyScricca
        The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/22/2012 1:09 PM
        lol...technical skill doesn't necessarily indicate quality...Black Flag and the Sex Pistols are both responsible for spawning thrash metal and hardcore punk, which branched off into virtually every extreme metal subgenre we know today (other than power metal)
      1. NathanJustice
        The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/22/2012 8:37 AM
        You seem like type that wouldn't know a guitar chord let alone musical talent if it hit you in the head. Black Flag worse than these bands? Either you are just looking for attention or you really are mentally handicapped.
    19. see you in hell my friend
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/13/2012 2:43 PM
      grim reaper rock
    20. quaeee
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 5/13/2012 2:40 PM
      FOGHAT IS A GREAT BAND AND MANY OTHER GREAT BANDS ON HERE TOO LIKE REO SPEEDWAGON EARLY ALBUMS GREAT LIVE BAND TOO,WHITESNAKE,RUSH,KISS,CINDERELLA,POISEN,CHER,STYX,DURAN DURAN AND ALOT OTHERS ARE NO WAY WORST BANDS BUT THERE IS ALOT OF CRAP ON HERE
    21. iliketurtles
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 3/22/2012 9:44 PM
      miley cyrus and hannah montana on the same list?
    22. mal1
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 3/20/2012 9:57 AM
      Lil' Kim shouldn't be on there, Nicki Minaj should be
    23. First L
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 3/20/2012 9:30 AM
      311? Oasis? Incubus? Evanescence? on the same list as Beiber?
      These people are HATERS
    24. Led Zeppelin Fan
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 3/19/2012 7:36 AM
      Where's Crush 40, they are the worst band ever. I never heard a good song by them because they stink dirty donkey farts that come from Asia and can be smelled as far away as Greenland.
    25. Ceeds
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 2/04/2012 11:22 PM
      A few good points but mostly wankerific.
    26. Aenybody
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 1/26/2012 5:55 AM
      Where's Geggy Tah? They should top any list regarding bad music/bands. Oh.. and Kid Rock.
    27. GZepelin
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 1/25/2012 2:38 AM
      its a troll...
    28. SatyQ
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 1/21/2012 5:11 PM
      So LMFAO is the #12 worst band ever, but they have the #17 best song of the year with "Sexy and I Know It" on another one of your lists.
    29. George Sterling
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 11/15/2011 10:40 AM
      Wow! This is the stupidist list ever by the stupidest HATERS EVER!!! There are some really good bands on this list! All I can say is enjoy your Bob Dylan and Neil Young but know that Southern Band don't need him around anyway. And, oh yeah, WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE but watch your ass cause U gonna get owned!
    30. vestigial_tail
      The Worst Bands of All Time at 11/06/2011 11:44 AM
      Man, looks like I'm more a serious hater than I ever imagined!

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