List of Music Considered The Worst - Albums

Albums

Due to their longer playing time than songs, albums contain material that most people, apart from fans and professional critics, will not have heard. Therefore, "worst-ever" lists usually contain albums that many readers or viewers have not heard in their entirety, or the "worst" or most disappointing albums by well-regarded artists. An artist's actions or reputation might also influence the results. Such lists are harder to compile in the form of a public poll, unlike singles or music videos, which will usually have been heard or seen even by non-fans of the artist.

Philosophy of the World, The Shaggs (1969)

The Shaggs, who had previously had minimal exposure to music, recorded this album at the behest of the band members' father, Austin Wiggin; the album achieved wide release in 1980, long after the band had disbanded and Wiggin had died. Chris Connelly wrote for Rolling Stone: "Without exaggeration, may stand as the worst album ever recorded." Debra Rae Cohen, also writing for Rolling Stone, was so impressed by the album's poor quality that she referred to it as "the sickest, most stunningly awful wonderful record I've heard in ages".

Having Fun with Elvis on Stage, Elvis Presley (1974)

This album was a spoken word compilation that contained almost no actual music, compiled in a seemingly incomprehensible manner. It ranked #1 in Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell's list of the worst rock and roll albums in the 1991 book, The Worst Rock and Roll Records of All Time, duly noting the lack of rock and roll on the album. The Allmusic review of the albums states: "Some have called Having Fun with Elvis on Stage thoroughly unlistenable, but actually it's worse than that; hearing it is like witnessing an auto wreck that somehow plowed into a carnival freak show, leaving onlookers at once too horrified and too baffled to turn away."

Metal Machine Music, Lou Reed (1975)

A deliberately "unlistenable" album, consisting entirely of guitar feedback loops, ranked #2 in the 1991 book The Worst Rock 'n' Roll Records of All Time by Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell. In 2005, Q magazine included the album in a list of "Ten Terrible Records by Great Artists", and it ranked #4 in Q's fifty worst albums of all time list.

Crash Landing, Jimi Hendrix (1975)

Called the "Worst Posthumously Released Album" by music critic Jesse Thompson in Maxim.

Soundtrack to Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Bee Gees with Peter Frampton and others (1978)

A glam rock and disco Beatles cover album, named "worst ever" by Maxim in April 2000 – a top 30 list which mostly contained pop albums from the 1970s to '90s.

Thank You, Duran Duran (1995)

A cover album, named the worst album by Q magazine in March 2006 – almost all 50 albums in this "all-time" list were pop and rock from the previous 20 years.

Crazy Hits, Crazy Frog (2005)

Ranked at number one in rateyourmusic's bottom albums of all time list.

Playing with Fire, Kevin Federline (2006)

The only album recorded by the ex-husband of Britney Spears, Kevin Federline, this album also holds the distinction of being the lowest-scoring album on Metacritic, with a score of just 15. It was also a commercial failure, with second-week sales of only 1,500.