When it comes to pop music, we all have our own unique taste in what we like to listen to—whether it's considered good, bad, cool, or lame. There is, however, some music—even music made by artists we would otherwise consider talented—that we can all agree is just plain bad. That's why Best Life set out to crunch the numbers and determine the most hated album of the 21st century, based on cold hard data.
To get started, we looked at more than 60 albums rated at the bottom of review aggregator Metacritic's ranking of the more than 12,600 albums* from 2000 to today. The site collects the reviews of both critics and casual listeners, ranking them on a 100-point scale based on critical reviews, and a 10-point scale based on user reviews. All albums we analyzed received a critic score of 45 or below.
We then turned to AllMusic, another expansive database of music reviews, to see how each album fared on the site's five-star rating system. Finally, we looked at the average number of stars each album received from consumers on Amazon.
Once we gathered all the data, we gave each metric a weighted value before running them through our exclusive algorithm to see how each album scored on our 100-point Awful Album Index, with a score of 100 being the worst album of the century. Of the 60-plus albums we analyzed, we narrowed it down to the 27 worst. Read on to discover the most hated album of the 21st century, according to data, and to see if the record you detest the most made the cut. And for more music that listeners can't stand, This Is the Most Hated Rock Band of All Time, According to Data.
*Editor's note: This was the most exhaustive collection of reviewed albums from which to mine our list, so it is important to keep in mind that the following analysis is only representative of those albums included in the Metacritic database.
27 | Ashlee Simpson: I Am Me (2005)
Geffen RecordsMetacritic critic score: 43 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 5.2 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 0.00
26 | Puddle of Mudd: Life on Display (2003)
Geffen Records, Flawless RecordsMetacritic critic score: 37 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.8 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 1.08
25 | Cyndi Lauper: Memphis Blues (2010)
Downtown RecordsMetacritic critic score: 45 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.8 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 3.5 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 5.60
And for more entertainment that missed the mark, check out The Worst Julia Roberts Movie of All Time, According to Critics.
24 | Santana: All That I Am (2005)
Arista RecordsMetacritic critic score: 45 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.9 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.2 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 6.87
23 | The Panic Channel: (One) (2006)
Capital RecordsMetacritic critic score: 39 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 5.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 7.56
22 | Ben Lee: The Rebirth of Venus (2009)
New West RecordsMetacritic critic score: 43 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 5 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.2 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 8.38
21 | Nickelback: All The Right Reasons (2005)
Roadrunner RecordsMetacritic critic score: 41 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.2 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 10.66
And for the place where consumers would rather not go to get their morning caffeine fix, This Is the Most Hated Coffee Chain In America.
20 | Charlie Puth: Nine Track Mind (2016)
Atlantic RecordsMetacritic critic score: 37 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.7 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 10.75
19 | Lou Reed + Metallica: Lulu (2011)
Warner Bros., Vertigo RecordsMetacritic critic score: 45 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.3 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 3 out of 5
Amazon rating: 3.7 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 13.34
18 | Run-D.M.C.: Crown Royal (2001)
Arista RecordsMetacritic critic score: 43 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 5.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 14.48
17 | Black Flag: What The... (2013)
SSTMetacritic critic score: 42 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 3.6 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 14.58
16 | XXXTentacion: Skins (2018)
Bad Vibes ForeverMetacritic critic score: 44 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 3.4 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 14.76
15 | Soulja Boy: iSouljaBoyTellem (2008)
Stacks on Deck Entertainment, Collipark Music, and Interscope RecordsMetacritic critic score: 42 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 1.5 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 3 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.3 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 15.26
14 | Lenny Kravitz: Baptism (2004)
Virgin RecordsMetacritic critic score: 43 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.9 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 19.65
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13 | Chris Brown: Fortune (2012)
RCA RecordsMetacritic critic score: 38 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 3.3 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 26.42
12 | Paul Oakenfold: A Lively Mind (2006)
MaverickMetacritic critic score: 40 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.5 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 3.9 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 27.90
11 | The Chainsmokers: Memories... Do Not Open (2017)
Disruptor Records, Columbia RecordsMetacritic critic score: 43 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 30.34
10 | Chris Cornell: Scream (2009)
InterscopeMetacritic critic score: 42 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.2 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.2 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 30.97
9 | Lil' Wayne: Rebirth (2010)
Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment, Universal MotownMetacritic critic score: 37 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 3.3 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.2 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 32.49
8 | Chingy: Hoodstar (2006)
Capitol RecordsMetacritic critic score: 41 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.4 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.4 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 33.11
7 | Chris Brown: Graffiti (2009)
Jive RecordsMetacritic critic score: 39 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 5 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.5 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 35.55
6 | Limp Bizkit: Results May Vary (2003)
Flip Records, Interscope RecordsMetacritic critic score: 33 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 4.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 36.72
5 | 6ix9ine: Dummy Boy (2018)
Heikki Wichmann / Shutterstock.comMetacritic critic score: 38 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 1.8 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.7 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 37.89
4 | Dirty Vegas: One (2004)
Parlophone Records LimitedMetacritic critic score: 35 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.4 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.3 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 42.18
3 | Gucci Mane and V-Nasty: BAYTL (2011)
1017 Brick Squad, Vice, Asylum, Warner Bros.Metacritic critic score: 39 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.1 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2.5 out of 5
Amazon rating: 2.8 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 50.75
2 | Viva Brother: Famous Last Words (2011)
Geffen RecordsMetacritic critic score: 34 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.5 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 2 out of 5
Amazon rating: 3.5 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 55.32
1 | Kevin Federline: Playing With Fire (2006)
Federation RecordsMetacritic critic score: 14 out of 100
Metacritic user score: 2.2 out of 10
AllMusic rating: 1 out of 5
Amazon rating: 4.1 out of 5
Awful Album Index Score: 100.00
And for the place people dislike eating at the most, This Is the Most Hated Restaurant Chain in America.
