20 popular bands/artists that are cool to hate on

This two-time Grammy Award-winning pop ballad crooner has sold more than 75 million records, but even his soulful voice and emotionally charged musical vibe aren't enough to keep him from being ridiculed. America's casual disdain for Bolton's music likely heightened in 1990, when the hilarious Office Space comedy was released. Iconic supporting character Michael Bolton (David Herman), a disgruntled computer programmer, was forced to admit he liked his namesake's music in an attempt to keep his job.

When pop and EDM collide. The result is The Chainsmokers, the New York City duo of Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, who debuted in 2015 and have a Grammy Award to their name and plenty of hits, to boot. However, The Chainsmokers are quite popular with the college crowd, notably frat boys and "bros." That usually is grounds for ridicule from more rock-oriented fans, who like their music a little edgier and less predictable.  

Creed arose in the aftermath of grunge and proclaimed to be a more wholesome, not quite Christian, but with a more positive-learning attitude, while delivering a heavier, yet highly polished rock sound. Which doesn't always sit well with the fans who like their rock a little sharper. The band was a commercial hit out of the gate during the mid-to-late 1990s, even if singer Scott Stapp was accused of being an Eddie Vedder wannabe. That said, Stapp's holier-than-thou image took a hit with his alcohol problem, which eventually began to disrupt the group's live shows and, at least partially, led to its breakup. It's important to note that Creed has successfully resurfaced, and Mark Tremonti is one of the great rock guitarists of the last 30 years.

Multiple Grammy Awards, more than 160 million records sold, and Spotify legends. So why is Coldplay despised in various circles of music fandom -- and by some critics? Well, Chris Martin and Co. have generally been chided for being too formulaic. Too commercial or mainstream. So much so that anyone from grade-schoolers to 80-somethings is a fan. Not to mention that it's long been considered that Coldplay plays it safe, rarely pushes any musical boundaries, and lacks depth.

In the early 2000s, Good Charlotte achieved pop-punk success, notably with 2002's The Young and the Hopeless album. However, that commercial glory attracted plenty of negativity, as the group was frequently chided for looking like hardcore punks but sounding like a boy band. The term "posers" tends to come up when discussing Good Charlotte, whose brothers Joel and Benji Madden have done quite well for themselves in the love department, but have never been taken consistently seriously as punks.  

Back in the early 1990s, Green Day emerged from the Bay Area punk scene with a raw but promising sound on its first two releases -- 39/Smooth (1990) and Kerplunk (1991). The band broke big with 1994's Dookie, and since then, it has been a mainstream staple in the pop-punk world. However, Green Day has long been labeled a sellout, easily finding its way into the corporate rock world and branching out onto Broadway with a stage musical version of 2004's iconic American Idiot album. And we haven't even touched on the band's political outspokenness. 

When Guns N' Roses released Appetite for Destruction (1987), it was a middle finger to the "hair metal" Sunset Strip music scene that had captivated the rock world at the time. The undeniably raw and unfiltered record helped turn the tide in hard rock, but the band was never able to recapture that magic and began to lose credibility. While the stripped-down G N' R Lies (1988) was solid, the simultaneously released Use Your Illusion I and II albums from 1991 were over-the-top, highly produced, and deliberately epic releases that aimed for commercial success while sacrificing the edge that initially made GN'R great. Critics and fans took aim at those latter records and those ridiculous music videos that had people diving into wedding cakes and Axl Rose, the band's ringleader of dysfunction, swimming with dolphins. 

Simply put, pop-rock bands have been a steady target for public ridicule over the years. Imagine Dragons have not been immune, even though they've won a Grammy and have sold more than 65 million digital songs worldwide since debuting in 2012. The group has been branded as generic or made-for-arena rock. A boy band with instruments, perhaps. While the band has a devoted following, traditionally made from a healthy dose of middle schoolers, critics have panned the guys for being anything but imaginative when it comes to the music.

Hootie's debut Cracked Rear View (1994) is one of the most successful debut albums of all time, going platinum a whopping 22 times. That said, the four-piece, which got together at the University of South Carolina, was fueled by catchy sing-along melodies and a frat boy/sorority girl/yuppie fan base. Not to mention some serious overplay on the radio and MTV. Forget the fact that these were nice guys, led by the always cordial Darius Rucker (who has forged a strong post-Hootie country music career), Hootie & the Blowfish's brand of alternative pop was too accessible, too soon.

Even before he somewhat revived himself as the musical voice of the MAGA movement, Kid Rock was open to bashing. His mix of hard rock, country, and rap had a place during the mid-to-late 1990s, but even back then, the Kid's hood-like image was soured when it was realized he grew up in an affluent Detroit-area home. Thus beginning a career full of jokes at his expense, which has only intensified, of late.

Throughout the 50-plus-year run of this iconic and massively influential rock band, critical disdain has been as much a part of the Kiss legacy as the make-up and catchy tunes. At the beginning, Kiss was branded a novelty act, then panned for a foray into disco (sort of) or for turning into a pseudo-hair-metal outfit in the post-make-up era. However, the biggest jab at Kiss, especially within the last 35 years, is the fact it would do anything for the money. Kiss was, and in some ways, still is, as corporate as they come. Though certainly not the first band to follow this path, it's a far cry from those gritty early days in New York City.

The nu metal subgenre of heavy metal has always been considered an outsider within the broader musical landscape of the scene. While Korn is widely regarded as the most influential of these acts, Limp Bizkit wasn't far behind. However, the band seemed more cartoonish in nature and focused on controversy than on producing quality music. Frontman Fred Durst was at the forefront of Limp Bizkit's unabashed hell-raising, which enjoyed a healthy run during the late 1990s, but, unlike Korn, didn't have the same commercial and critical staying power. 

Three-time Grammy Award winners, Maroon 5, are the epitome of pop-rock for the masses. Tattooed frontman Adam Levine is everywhere, never missing a chance to get himself within view of the camera. Overplayed, over-hyped, and essentially harmless to the ears and eyes, Maroon 5 is corporate pop rock at its safest and most lucrative. 

Since debuting in 1994, Dave Matthews and his band have built a loyal following, long been praised for their jam-like live shows, won a Grammy, and been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yet, there is a healthy faction of music fans (within the alternative rock and pop world) who simply don't like DMB. Why? The reasons have varied, ranging from the group getting too big, too fast, to Matthews' vocal political opinions, to his quirky voice and apparently strange facial expression while on stage. Not to mention, plenty of "bros" call themselves fans of the band.

Metallica is among the pioneers of thrash metal and is still one of the most successful bands of all time. But, the Hall-of-Famers have been collectively taking it in the teeth from hardcore fans of the genre since the mid 1980s. The ballad "Fade to Black" got the Metallica hate-train rolling, and it truly picked up steam with the corporate-sounding, mainstream metal game-changer, the self-titled album (aka "the Black Album") from 1991. The band's perception further softened with true metal fans when the members cut their hair for the Load (1996) record, which kept Metallica in the mainstream for good. 

Perhaps the best compliment thrown at Nickelback is that the band might actually be best known for not being liked. The butt of many jokes, due to its accessible, melodic tone and clean image, Canada's Nickelback is a post-grunge, alternative/hard rock act on the outside, but with pop-rock vibes and tunes that music fans of all ages and genres seem to get behind. Sure, it's easy to rag, but Nickelback has been nominated for six Grammys, won seven Billboard Music Awards, and has been praised by critics for its high-energy live shows.

Oasis just delivered one of the great touring comebacks of all time with its massively successful 2025 reunion run of shows. One of the most successful and influential bands of the Britpop genre, Oasis was an international musical force during the 1990s and 2000s. However, even some of the band's diehard fans soured as the music became overplayed and the antics of the brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher grew tiring. By the late 2000s, Oasis became more of a pop culture punchline than a prominent player. 

Poster boys for the 1980s "hair metal" scene in Hollywood, Poison made no excuses for dressing like girls, wearing make-up, teasing their hair, and cranking out rock tunes that were dripping with schmaltz. While the band's first three albums, Look What the Cat Dragged In (1986), Open Up and Say... Ahh! (1988) and Flesh & Blood (1990) were both commercially successful, and Poison was an MTV darling; heavier metal bands hated the group, and critics never really took them seriously. Some 40 years later, the band still won't apologize for having a good time on and off stage. 

Here's the fun part: Weezer actually rips on Green Day on its popular track "El Scorcho." The irony is that Weezer is often the butt of jokes about its overall popularity. The band enjoyed massive success with its 1994 debut (and first self-titled album), but has been rather inconsistent in terms of critical and commercial success since then. The 1996 follow-up, Pinkerton, was considered "too dark" upon release, but it is often cited as the best overall work in the band's catalog. Fans have also dumped on Weezer for being "too personal" and singer/guitarist Rivers Cuomo for consistently feeling sorry for himself through his lyrics. 

Part of the late 1980s "hair metal" rock genre, Winger didn't sport the heavy makeup like other prominent bands on the scene. However, it was criticized for its lighter, pop-rock sound, with some distortion added, that was made for MTV. Winger was initially mocked, ironically, on the MTV Beavis and Butt-Head, where the unpopular character Stewart wore a Winger t-shirt. The fun-making continued when Metallica's Lars Ulrich was seen throwing darts at a picture of frontman/bassist Kip Winger in the "Nothing Else Matters" music video. Metallica has since apologized for the scene.