List of Music Considered The Worst

List Of Music Considered The Worst

The music listed here has achieved a notably negative reputation and been called the worst music ever made by a combination of reputable sources. Such sources include the music press, television broadcasters (such as MTV), radio stations and public polls.

To be reliable, these sources must consider a large amount of musical history and a wide range of viewpoints before judging a piece to be the worst. This subject can also include works that are notably considered the worst-ever in fields closely related to music production, such as album artwork and music videos.

Paradoxically, a piece of music needs to have been noticeable, popular or memorable to be deemed the "worst" ever. A piece that was unpopular and quickly forgotten is unlikely to top all-time public polls a few years after it was released. A piece usually needs to have had a high profile at the time of its release, such as an unexpected hit that was highly disliked outside of its fanbase. Or, in the case of established musicians or composers, an embarrassingly misjudged piece might eventually gain a "worst-ever" reputation among critics and fans.

A piece of music deemed the "worst ever" is usually either a repetitive earworm, a disrespectful cover, derivative work or posthumous release, an expensive flop, a failed attempt at avant-garde music a joke or deliberately bad piece of music (e.g. to annoy a record label), or otherwise creatively compromised.

Scholarly accounts of the "worst music ever" are rare. Most polls or critical lists are light-hearted in nature, especially in pop music. Magazines reflect the preferences of their readers, and if polls are influenced by too small a group of readers or critics, they provide unreliable results. Most "worst ever" lists do not aim to take into account all music ever created, but are limited to certain time periods, styles of music, and geographical areas. Furthermore, individual tastes can vary widely, to the point where very little consensus on a worst song can be achieved; the winning song in a CNN e-mail poll ranked less than 5 percent of the total votes cast.

There are a handful of scholars who have done more in-depth analysis of music perceived to be bad, including Irwin Chusid and Barry Hansen (better known by the stage name Dr. Demento). Chusid, in particular, has coined the term "outsider music" to refer to songs that are so far outside the mainstream that they are perceived to be some of the worst music ever written, although their raw, unpolished qualities have earned such songs and musicians a cult following.