Most overrated bands in history

I agree with those and I add Kiss to that list.

Led Zeppelin. The Rolling Stones. The Who.

I agree Twentyfive.

In retrospect, Kiss was a musical spectacle with a decent promoter. Their music wasn’t even secondary, it was much further down the list.

Not bands, per se, but definitely overrated:

Madonna

Rod Stewart

Garth Brooks

The Beatles. I was never a fan.

U2

This was made worse by the fact that in the late 1980s, if you said you didn't like U2 then a lot of people looked at you like you just admitted to punching kittens. The level of fan fanaticism definitely went beyond my understanding.

all popular bands from 1995-now

rem

springssteen

grateful dead

u2

bon jovi

^^

Nailed it about U2

Nirvana

People claim Kurt Cobain is the greatest rockstar of all time just because he's dead

The interesting (and tragic) thing about Cobain and Nirvana is that he killed himself right when the music media had started to go sour on him and his antics. In a macabre way, he killed himself at the best time to save his musical legacy.

I liked their music, but never considered myself a dedicated fan.

I agree about Nirvana. They were decent, nothing more.

forgot to add nirvana n pearl jam to the pile.

just a theory: maybe cobain didn't kill himself?

“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a classic. Love it. One of the best all time. But I never got into the Grunge movement. Maybe they had other good songs but they just seem overrated for the relatively small catalog of work

I like U2 well enough but they are definitely overrated and over hyped.

Led Zepplin I just almost never have the urge put a Led Zepplin song on.

Kiss to some extent

A lot of 90’s rock at one point I liked not all but I hate so much of those stupid songs. I think that decade is when music started to really degrade for me.

And how there viewed I agree with Metallica too. I’m just not reaching to put on too many Metallica songs in my life

Pearl Jam?!?? You bastard!!

The Beatles... To me they're a boy band with guitars.

U2 was good through Achtung Baby. After that, everything sucked.

Creed is awful, as is Nickelback.

I dig 311 and Sublime but feel like they're limited. A lot of 311's stuff is garbage, and Sublime seemed like it didn't take off until Bradley Nowell died.

Love Nirvana, but I'd compare them to the Beatles...not the boy band with guitars thing, but just as far as "ranking". They're both so high only because they were the first to make it big, but they weren't the first to do what they were doing.

Kiss, definitely.

I agree on most of the bands posted in comments.

I never thought Nirvana was great either. I was older when they got popular. I liked Smells Like Teen Spirit - even though it sounds like it could be a porn site.

REM should have never jumped into pop music.

Grateful Dead are ok, but I don’t understand folks traveling the country to see them on tour every night.

I’m a big U2 fan, but I understand what is being said.

Almost unanimously Kiss, and I’d agree. Just like Houdini, promotion was their best ally. Some things never change.

The Eagles

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Rage Against the Machine

I wanted to say The Eagles but figured I’d get roasted for it

I agree on the Eagles. They were good, but I never saw them as an all time great band.

the eagles were great whenever felder was in the band. but i could see why they would be considered overrated. near the point of being nauseating too - how many times can you listen to the phrase pink champagne on ice?

One more that I just remembered - Fleetwood Mac.

Fleetwood Mac was great until they became the Buckingham/Nicks backup band.

Anyone old enough to remember when the Bay City Rollers were hyped to be the next Beatles?

Oasis. I never got it, but everyone swore they were the next big thing.

CCR- only knew three chords and played folk music

The Doors

The B-52s

U-2

The Beatles, how I hate the fucking Beatles. I don't live in a yellow submarine. Oasis was just riding their coattails.

I remember the Bay City Rollers! They had 1 song - Saturday Night -

m.youtube.com

It doesn’t hold up, but I loved Saturday Night at the time

I may be pushing it with this one.

I liked Appetite for Destruction - but I think Axl got such a huge ego - it ruined what the band could have become. So, I might put Guns n Roses here.

Currently overrated, or overrated at peak popularity?

It's easy to trash bands like Smash mouth who had a few hits and a couple years on top and became punchlines. Same with Creed.

Currently I would say it's Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2 and Metallica. None is a bad band and all had decent albums and good songs. But they all feel like Zombie bands who have coasted for decades without imploding completely.

Nickelback

Red Hot chili peppers

Alice in chains

Not only overrated but IMO absolutely suck

On the other hand (sorry NjBalla) kinda like Nickelback

I can see why someone would argue any band is overrated. But Alice in Chains sucks?!?!?!?!?!!!!

That's just madness. Next thing you know, this guy will say pineapple belongs on pizza and soccer is entertaining.

Red Hot Chili Peppers. I’m just not putting them on like that

A lot of their songs are annoying as fuck

Bob Marley & the Wailers

Wu-Tang Clan

Blink 182

Calling the Beatles overrated is a bit harsh. They were ground breaking and the most influential “group” in history. (Back in the day no one said “band”, they were a rock “group” - hence “groupies”)

True, the Beatles had some shit songs on some of their albums - Ringo’s songs are really annoying, but I guess they felt like they had to indulge him. They also had a lot of great songs too.

Watch the last hour (only) of the 6 hour 3 part Beatles doc “Get Back” on Disney Plus. It really shows how supremely talented and charismatic Paul McCartney and John Lennon were. Paul definitely comes off as the leader and driving force behind the group.

KISS is not only overrated they flat out suck.

Limp Bizkit, Korn, linkin park any of that Nu-metal shit was awful and how it ever got popular is beyond me.

Phish, Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band and jam bands in general are overrated garbage.

I forgot about Dave Matthews Band. I tried to get into their music, but I didn’t get it.

Phish was billed as a super group - to rival the great bands of all time - and I didn’t see it.

@Cashman anytime i hear the song or name bay city rollers i think of this underrated movie

youtu.be

Heeed move youtu.be

I might not have minded Dave Matthews Band so much, but I went to college in Virginia right as they broke. They got their start in Charlottesville playing the clubs around UVA, so throughout all the dorms at my school you heard them non-stop. Generally being force fed something tends to not make me like it.

When I went to college every frat boy played Dave Matthews Band on repeat. But I also feel like our culture just forgot about them except for movies and shows set specifically in the late 90s.

phish, grateful dead and dave matthews band are shit jam bands that i describe as college preppie kid rock. i believe phish was the band that was anointed as the band to continue the grateful dead tradition.

my friend and i were at some bar one night. he picks and plays a nickelback song. i gave a look of out of all the songs you could have picked from the jukebox you picked that nickelback shit? i got him back by picking something weird off from pink floyd's animals.

ime - those are great movie clips! That was a funny movie - and I forgot about that song being used in it.

Rattdog - Animals has always been my favorite Pink Floyd Album. Three moods, dark, darker, and darkest.

The Doors and Rush.

Kiss may be overrated musically but transport back to 76-77 and there was no hotter concert ticket here in the Midwest.

I agree on Rush. I know Neil Peart was a great drummer. I liked a few of their songs, but that’s all.

Yeah I have to agree in Rush.

I like a few of their songs but they’re not a top ten legendary band.

But I have to disagree on the Doors. Blues Rock is my favorite genre so I could just listen to the Doors all day long

And I'll have to disagree about Rush. My favorite band since high school. Saw them 14 times in concert and always felt like I got my money's worth.

I’m sure they put on a great concert, crosscheck.

This type of discussion is going to include bands some of us really like.

Kiss, Metallica, REM, Lincoln Park, U2, Chili peppers, Eminem not a band but I can only listen to a couple songs by him and then it is annoying.

I feel like KISS has never pretended to be anything other than spectacle with loud, ok rock music.

Aerosmith.

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY will say Iron Maiden. Wait, I just did....and I'm going to see them next year.

And don't EVER disrespect Led Zeppelin; or I'll come straight outta your phone screen at the club, slap you in the mouth, and take your place underneath her.

To be "overrated," you have to be "rated" in the first place.

+1 for fuck jam bands. I tried to listen to a Phish song once, and got 60 seconds before I got bored.

Oh and Dave Matthews' voice is metallic and grating to me. Basic white bitches, the kind who love pumpkin spice and New England fall, love DMB, as do guys trying to fuck them.

I saw Iron Maiden in the 1980’s and they did a good live performance. I think they were the second band in the line up - and the main band was Motley Crue. The Motley Crue show was pretty good too.

I know lots of bands are much better live, and that can give fans a different perspective.

I’ve avoided mentioning Led Zeppelin, as I think they are up there with the Beatles, in terms of all time greats. But, they have a large catalog of music, and there is some not so great music in there. That’s expected when a band makes music for many years.

Agree, Iron Maiden puts on a great live show. Seen them multiple times and always a treat.

Ted Nugent

I don't care how poorly he's rated, it's too high.

and Kiss.

Never understood how anyone could stand Fleetwood Mac or Tom Petty. Slow harmonic rhythm with chords that lacked imagination. Horribly repetetive.

^yeah i get what you're saying with petty. their music is just plain rock n roll - hardly original. but what makes petty stand out though is the way he delivers his vocals. i don't recall anybody singing like that before he came around.

fleetwood mac with buckingham and nicks had 2 great albums. after that ok. i can't comment on the peter green and bob welch eras. i'll check them out someday.

Great list! The only band I disagree with any of you on is The Beatles. They were genius. But every other band mentioned? You all are spot on.

Great thread. So glad to see the beatles on this thread - I wont even put them in capital letters. They are figuratively a band that was at the right place at the right time. Like the old adage on real estate - location, location, location. I'm sorry to all of you beatle followers.

Other than the beatles...agree with Fleetwood Mac. Jefferson Airplane/Starship. Rush. Led Zep.

To each his own I guess. I'll die on this hill.

ABSOLUTELY EAT SHIT ASSHOLE. If you don't like 80's metal that fine but don't trash the great bands from that era. JP fucking rocks. Listen to The Sentinel and tell.me that isn't one of the greatest songs of all time. It puts "Drake" to shame 5,000 times over. Again, if you din't like 89's metal thats fine but don't claim it was "over-rayed."

80's metal

This ones easy: The Doors. Ok maybe Oasis.

CJ Kent Band

Yeah, the doors. Has anyone actually looked at the lyrics of the so-called genius Jim Morrison? Embarrassing.

Hard to say much about this that I could claim was not very subjective.

When the Beatles and the the Rolling Stones first started having major success, they considered THEMSELVES to be overrated. They saw themselves as cover bands playing the music of Black American musicians. The Beatles went on to use innovative studio production on their albums, and to take Rock in different directions, and give it an overt English character. I like the Stones, but they were never as innovative.

I don't call Kiss or the 80s androg metal bands overrated because they were never pretentious. They never claimed to be big musical innovators. They were like, we like playing, putting on a show, if people will give us money and hot chicks will fuck us for it, we'll take it of course.

Went to high school in the early 80's. I wasn't a fan, but Loverboy had a few big hits at the time and were very popular for a while. A bunch of friends were all going to see them in concert so I went along. They were awful. They were one of those bands that are good at producing hits in the studio but suck when they perform live.

Luckily we got there early enough to catch the opening act, a band none of us had heard of at that time: The Hooters. They were great, and even the Loverboy fans in our group agreed that the show would have been better with Hooters as the headliner.

Bruce Springsteen. The only way I'd pay to see him would be if he sucked off a donkey on stage.

Misterorange, a friend and I made a trip to the Jersey Shore during the early 80’s. On our way back north, we saw that Huey Lewis and the News were opening for Loverboy, at the Arts Center. We had such a good time partying with the folks in the parking lot, we decided to not go in and see the show. It was likely a good decision!

I have become less and less of a Bruce fan over the years. His music has taken a turn for the worst, and he has become too outspoken with his politics.

Dave Anderson - I have seen Judas Priest live. They put on a great show, and they have many followers, but I don’t think they are a great band when compared to other bands historically.

I respect your opinion, as you obviously have strong feelings regarding their greatness.

Springsteen's a typical balladeer. Targeted to middle class people in the Northeast of his generation. Very formulaic.

All rock guitar players who are not Jimi Hendrix could be called overrated.

I have to correct myself re. Tom Petty. Mary Jane's Last Dance is musically interesting and creative. Still think Fleetwood Mac is a bore.

In no particular order...

Nickelback, the Foo Fighters, Neil Young, Adele, and Oasis

Rage Against the Machine

One more occured to me The Grateful Dead, never got them or the hippie hype

Springsteen is a balladeer? Badlands is one of the finest examples of kick ass rock n' roll in history. If I am winding down after an incredibly fun day and am happy beyond belief, I like to sit in a chair, puff a bit and listen to Ripple, the best of all the amazing dead tunes and one I could listen to in a loop for the rest of my life. "Reach out your hand if your cup is empty, if your cup is full, may it be again, let it be known, there is a fountain, that was not made, by the hands of man ....."

This is absolutely fucking hilarious! Most of the bands mentioned are boomer bands proving that boomers know they sucked ass. Boomers hating boomers! It doesn't get better than this!!! 😂🤣😂

And then there is the great skibum609 (emphasis on bum) sitting in his easy chair smoking weed and listening to music while always talking about how hard working he is. Hahaha lazy fucker

Mr Orange has a very very good point: "Bruce Springsteen. The only way I'd pay to see him would be if he sucked off a donkey on stage.". what a boring piece of shit that constipated sounding walking scrotum is! That christmas song is easily the worst example of the worst genre. Born to Run is a pretty good song though. ill give him that.

but 48 is right... this is all very boomer. you know who is overrated today? the Linda Lindas. 3 little cute little girls have a band that sounds like any other little girl "barely can play" high school band. they add a trans kid for extra pc points on top of the fact the rest are asian (currently americas most oppressed not actually oppressed ethnic group). then their music business parents get them a glossed up recording (no the drums do not sound remotely like the record when they play live, shes a little kid, not travis barker) and a bunch of pro level pr. now theyre on fat records and the biggest deal in pop punk. but they still suck. and not just suck because they cant play their instruments. they suck because their songs are weak and half assed, as they should be for a bunch of little kids who have no idea what theyre doing. there is also no way that they were blue hearts fans and picked that name. im sure their hipster record collecting parents did that too. total overrated BULLSHIT.

theyre the fucking PC Archies. LAME

Ha ha - Springsteen’s great. A musical genius. I hate his lefty politics. I think he’s a political retard. I try not to let that cloud my judgement. I know it’s hard but life too short to let politics interfere with what’s good.

My dad’s politics were about 5 clicks to the right of Ronald Reagan, but he and my mom would put us to bed a play Barbara Streisand on the stereo. Barbara was one of the first to wear her lefty politics on her sleeve, but my dad said she sung like an angel touched by God. Plus I think it helped him get romantically down with mom lol.

48-Cowboy is consistent: He proves he has an IQ under 50 with every post. easy to tell he's a loser who never had a cent to his name or a job a senile monkey couldn't perform better. He is so bitterly jealous of boomers it'd be funny, if he were slightly less stupid. Other than be a little bitch 48-Rdverse Cowboy what do you do? Only saw the dead 32 times, so no worries bro.

I’m a NJ native, so I know my drivers license could get revoked because of this post. Springsteen made some great music back in years past.

My issue with Bruce is his politics. He may be trying to remain relevant? I’m not sure. But, I’d rather he just stick to being a fading rock star.

I forgot to add Beyonce to my list.

^God bless you.

^ Beyonce reminds me of what Ishmael said about U2--if you said you didn't like Beyonce, people interpreted that as saying you don't like black people. Think most people said they liked her to look "cool."

Red Hot Chili Peppers, not horrible but I don't get why everyone sucks their dicks.

Ditto Metallica, everyone makes them out to be gods and I don't see it.

It's been a few months since I said "fuck the jam bands," so I'll say it again, fuck the jam bands and fuck Dave Matthews Band in particular. One of my old workplaces would blare it constantly. That would be my Gitmo torture music, I'd break in a New York minute.

Metallica, Motley Crue, ones I have never thought much of.

SJG

Jack White was interesting for about 30 minutes in the late nineties. Now I find him (and the 30 bands he's in) annoying.

Nickleback

I’m in a fight w mrs C and drinking at the bar next to the sc. so I’ll add another turd to the pile: Amyl and the Sniffers. Yeah she’s hot and everyone wants to fuck this aerobic ratchet Aussie. Yeah she sort of looks like a 70s Debbie Harry or something. And the band are solid… they lay it down. But that’s where it ends. Repetitive, uncreative, dumb. Does she have a lot of energy? Yes. Did she need to write a song literally only about that? NO. She’s so great, she’s so punk, she’s so hard ass… what she is is a hot white trash oz punk with a ratchet voice and exactly one idea. Just bc you want to fuck her doesn’t mean she’s worth listening to.

And now these fucking retards are playing the Doors. Mojo rising. Fuck me.

And now some giant idiot in a baseball hat is shouting “mr mojo rising” and yelling “whooo!” This guy needs chemical castration. Full Alan Turning treatment. You guys thing seattle is all fags and trannys software engineers eating avocado toast and resting Mother Jones. I give you proof at the Thunderbird Tavern on a Friday in July: not so.

Sorry… “reading mother Jones”… I can’t see shit on this iPhone.

Please fill this out and report to HR skibum609

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SirLDAlot - thank you! I think it’s too much - the way the media fawns over Beyoncé and anything she does. I just don’t care that much about her and Jay Z - and their lives.

Her music is ok.

Wow, tough crowd. We all have strong preferences driven mostly by our age. It’s interesting to me that many of the “old” bands identified as overated have been commercially successful for decades (Stones anyone?). There are plenty of bands that trigger me to change the station, or advance the stream, but that just means I don’t care for them, and doesn’t mean they’re overrated. Somebody likes them or we wouldn’t know who they are!