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 3295
    Down 963
    Dance music, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  2. 2
    Up 2930
    Down 1297
    Alternative rock, Hard rock, Pop rock More
  3. 3
    Up 2139
    Down 682
    Hip hop music, Horrorcore
  4. 4
    Up 2082
    Down 626
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  5. 5
    Up 1595
    Down 575
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  6. 6
    Up 1626
    Down 452
    Hip hop music
  7. 7
    Up 1723
    Down 816
    Synthpop, Dance music, Pop music More
  8. 8
    Up 1454
    Down 880
    Alternative rock, Heavy metal, Alternative metal More
  9. 9
    Up 1867
    Down 924
    Pop rock, Synthpop, Dance music More
  10. 10
    Up 1484
    Down 886
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Hard rock More
  11. 11
    Up 1465
    Down 519
    Synthpop, Electropop, Pop music More
  12. 12
    Up 1391
    Down 548
    Synthpop, Electropop, Pop music More
  13. 13
    Up 1193
    Down 363
    Dance music, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  14. 14
    Up 1024
    Down 395
    Rock music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  15. 15
    Up 948
    Down 317
  16. 16
    Up 1321
    Down 470
    Pop music
  17. 17
    Up 1189
    Down 447
    Pop rock, Electronic music, Dance music More
  18. 18
    Up 920
    Down 314
    Pop music
  19. 19
    Up 924
    Down 454
    Dance music, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  20. 20
    Up 916
    Down 412
    Pop rock, Pop music, Contemporary Christian music
  21. 21
    Up 1169
    Down 467
    Rock music, Pop rock, Synthpop More
  22. 22
    Up 722
    Down 276
    Electronic music, Dance music, Eurodance More
  23. 23
    Up 880
    Down 585
    Alternative rock, Pop rock, Pop music More
  24. 24
    Up 880
    Down 364
    Alternative rock, Country, Country rock More
  25. 25
    Up 793
    Down 260
    Rhythm and blues, Pop music, Hip hop music More
  26. 26
    Up 486
    Down 180
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Soul music More
  27. 27
    Up 885
    Down 483
    Rock music, Alternative metal, Hip hop music More
  28. 28
    Up 976
    Down 658
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  29. 29
    Up 654
    Down 395
    Dance music, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  30. 30
    Up 824
    Down 415
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  31. 31
    Up 790
    Down 567
    Rock music, Electronic music, Dance music More
  32. 32
    Up 551
    Down 242
    Pop music, Boy band
  33. 33
    Up 843
    Down 496
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  34. 34
    Up 671
    Down 434
    Pop rock, Rhythm and blues, Pop music More
  35. 35
    Up 723
    Down 303
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  36. 36
    Up 499
    Down 210

    Blood on the Dance Floor

  37. 37
    Up 1102
    Down 547

    New Metallica

  38. 38
    Up 489
    Down 185

    DJ Pauly D

  39. 39
    Up 570
    Down 316
    Pop rock, Soft rock, Dance music More
  40. 40
    Up 443
    Down 233
    Rhythm and blues, Soul music, Pop music More
  41. 41
    Up 612
    Down 305
    Pop rock, Synthpop, Electropop More
  42. 42
    Up 846
    Down 393
    Rock music, Dance music, Pop music More
  43. 43
    Up 527
    Down 258
    Rock music, Dance music, Pop music More
  44. 44
    Up 509
    Down 291
    Rhythm and blues, Soul music, Pop music More
  45. 45
    Up 583
    Down 270
    Rhythm and blues, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  46. 46
    Up 391
    Down 159
    Soul music, Pop music, Contemporary R&B More
  47. 47
    Up 551
    Down 260
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  48. 48
    Up 489
    Down 205
    Synthpop, Electronic music, Dance music More
  49. 49
    Up 507
    Down 227
    Alternative rock, Rock music, Pop rock More
  50. 50
    Up 382
    Down 214
    Hip hop music, Gangsta rap
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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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