A Tournament of the Worst Albums Ever 

My theory is that, in order to maintain balance in the universe, if Pet Sounds exists Corey Feldman’s Angelic 2 the Core must exist also. Like good and bad, like order and chaos. So really we must actually thank Corey for averting total cosmic meltdown.

I had to hit pause at about the 20 minute mark after Kramzer quoted Lou Reed: "... like a girl, like a girl". I lost it. Joe and Jason reacted with a split second of amused befuddlement and everyone just moved on. Comedy gold.

You guys had me rolling. I was in tears at one point. Great stuff! 😂

OK, I can't resist, I'm going to listen to some of these and vote. A very clever way to run the tournament!

Great show!! I knew this would be awesome. I guess I’ll vote , but there’s no way I’m gonna do my homework and listen to these albums after listening to your descriptions. Lol...just like I fill out my basketball bracket.

Great vid guys! The upcoming AJR vs Liz Phair match-up is a tough one. Hadn't heard either one before so gave them a skim thru on YT. Both are absolutely terrible, though in very different ways.

Todd in the Shadows has covered a lot of these albums. They really deserve to be a part of this contest.

This is excellent, guys! I am not a sports fan, and it always frustrates me when people get so excited for MARCH MADNESS, which I have absolutely no interest in. Thanks for giving us non-sports music fans something equally fun to take part in!

Love this topic! You guys have quickly become one of my must watch YT channels. And this is One of the best video topics I’ve heard of. Heading over to vote now. 👏👏👏

I personally would keep Ummagumma off this list for two reasons: 1. It’s got the definitive version of “Careful With That Axe, Eugene” (though the Pompeii version rivals it); 2. One time when I was way too high on some edibles a friend of mine put Ummagumma on and it (paradoxically?) chilled me out. So that album has some worth. 3 stars!

Great idea as there's some compelling matchups to be sure! Perhaps a topic for future shows could be What makes this song / album wretched.

Guys , first time watching this and the other March badness videos. Friggin hilarious and very entertaining . Please find a way to recycle this tournament / concept at some stage. One thing that’s always constant every year ..shit albums particularly from self important “artists” .Bon Jovi ‘s 20/20 was a wonderful discovery ( I wasn’t even aware of its release) . Thank you Kramz ..and Joe’s reaction was gold “...he so wanted it to be good which made it even worse”😂

Great video. Awesome contest. Couldn’t spot St Anger or King Of Limbs though. Ummagumma being nominated is incredible - the live disc, the other way, the cool droste album art?

I think the Shaggs' album belongs in its own category. Though bad by any conventional standard, it's worth infinitely more than any number of duds put out by professional musicians.

Hey that was fun, thanks guys. Fortunately i don't own any of these though there are one or two in my collection that would be strong contenders. Yes I'm looking at you Sinead O'Connor's Am I not your Girl? A Guide in how to destroy classic songs and your own career at the same time.

A quick dishonourable mention of Hot Space by Queen. I know it has Under Pressure, but everything else...

this is a great concept, i stole it for some of my friends and were doing our own bracket with different picks. only two albums a week though

That was fun to watch. I will definitely give fresh listens to the albums I don’t know from the ones left, specifically all of them except The Weirdness (probably 2 stars from me), Lulu (1-1/2) and Ummagumma (3). I can definitely believe Bon Jovi’s 2020 response album is horrifying in particular. I’m “excited” for that one. 😂

Chris Gaines vs Nickelback That’s a pretty special matchup!

I don't say this very often but excellent idea and video, enjoyed the crap out of it, and I do mean crap, my only slight negative is I wish we could have stuck to serious artists, eagles, van halen, ccr, zz top, I don't consider Federline or Corey Feldman serious artists, I mean if your going that route, there's Paris Hilton, Shatner, and I'm sure the guy who gave us the no 1 hit Disco Duck put an album out way back when. Thanks though for the enjoyable video guys.

Jason -- You didn't disclose your feelings about Chinese Democracy in this video. I'm curious about your thoughts on it. (Great video, guys. Loved it)

I love how spectacularly bad this Corey Feldman album is. He's actually trying to make a monumental album for the ages, that's what makes it so funny to listen to.

That was fun as shit to watch. But I'll have to pass on evaluating 16 albums considered terrible in less than a week. I will instead focus on Pearl Jam and King Crimson. Cheers mates! Looking forward to the next one.

Elton John...too much cocaine Eagles...not enough cocaine

Am going to vote. First though...a bit of housekeeping: So glad that Live avoided the cut (or 'made' the cut, depending on one's approach). Love that band! In my cynical moments I might contend that Sir Elton would have had a better chance of advancing if Blue Moves was the album on the chopping block. Ugh! 'Sweet Hitchhiker' alone will always salvage Mardi Gras. Nice enthusiasm lads! Fun video. And gentile Joseph...spewing bile on 'Millennials'! My daughter would NOT be pleased. Her devotion to 'Of A Revolution' is fanatical. Cheers!

Constantly laughing through this. Well done, guys.

I really loved this video, guys. A great idea well executed. Given what you said about the Live album, a "Most Disappointing Albums" video (based on prior expectations) would be a really interesting idea for you guys to explore. I'm with Jason on the Kiss album - it may have been the wrong band to do it, may have been the wrong time for them to do it...but it's pretty good, and a lot more interesting than a lot of their records. We're talking KISS, here. Are any of their other records post-KISS Alive 2 any good? I love the participation angle of the remainder of the tournament. The only problem with the participation angle is that we have to listen to crappy records - I don't know how you guys did it. As poor as Ummagumma's studio tracks are...that live record is great! Plus, Roger Waters' tracks aren't SO bad...

We Can't Dance by Genesis. And any record by Kid Rock, i just never found the courage to check them out.

Great idea for Listography. Enjoying the tournament. I usually agree with Joe on just about everything he says but I couldn't like Chinese Democracy even though I tried real hard. I noticed Jason is smiling more lately. Kramzer said," Thank you very much."

Great job guys.

Nice idea guys btw....good going

Appreciate that nuance about rap music while rating the Kevin Federline album Kramzer.

Best vid yet fella's

22:52 'This Is England' from 'Cut The Crap' is outstanding. Whereas ~ The whole of 'Summer In Paradise' could be deleted tomorrow - no loss.

1) I hate to sound like common rabble, but Trout Mask Replica needs to be an option. I get that it's very sophisticated and that it's designed to sound the way it does, but man, is it a chore to actually sit down and listen to. As objectively awful as Philosophy of the World is, it has an entertaining charm and I get why it has a following. TMR is just boring, and that's much worse. 2) Lulu isn't remotely for everyone and I get it being seen as an experiment that didn't quite come off, but it's nowhere near as bad as most people say. It mostly sounds like a typical late period Lou Reed album with a heavier backing band. If he had recorded it with anonymous session musicians instead of Metallica, I honestly don't think it would have the reputation it does.

Jason's dog breathed a huge sigh of relief when he saw Raditude eliminated.

Thank you for introducing me to some truely appalling albums 😄 Although, that Kiss album isn't quite as bad as Kramzer makes out. I'm also disturbed by the chilling fact that I have three friends who actually rate Nickelback quite highly. Maybe need to get some new friends.

OK, I started checking out all these bad albums and I can't stop! lol...I think I will be able to give them all a fair enough shake so I can vote on them. Side note - I can't believe how bad the drums on that Boston album are. A truly appalling record.

In Defence of The Shaggs, and Outsider Art: Trout Mask Replica sounds, note for note, exactly as it was conceived by Don Van Vliet: an ugly, difficult, tortuous record. The Shaggs are straining against an obvious lack of talent to produce what is, yes, not an easy listen, but there's a certain charm to the chasm between the youthful, energetic stab at a catchy pop record about the things they love (parents, rabbits), and the gibbering, arhythmic bastard child that that energy produced. You have to respect that they gave it a shot. (There's a whole wild back story about their father receiving a fortune teller's premonition that he would have daughters who would become pop stars, and he sunk all kinds of money into making this come true... worth searching up.) This is outsider art in its purest form, and it's not equitable to throw it up against bands with actual skill who should have known that they were dropping deuces. There are a zillion private press records like this one, but noted contrarian Frank Zappa plucked it from obscurity and elevated its status. If your metric is technical competency and recording quality, then sure, this is the worst album ever, hands down. But there's value in heartfelt lo-fi music (think early Elliott Smith), early Guided By Voices albums were recorded on a Walkman, Neil Young's voice is reedy and terrible, Leonard Cohen has a one-note range... It's the gestalt of the thing that wins -- an organized whole that is perceived as being greater than the sum of its parts.

Being a huge fan/collector of the Worst Movies of All Time, this project beckons like a siren song, a duet between a coke-addled Elton John and Eddie Murphy. I haven't heard 2020 but I have to root against Bon Jovi. Just lovin the tourney. R.E.M. countdown brought me here and now I am Listography 4 Lyfe.

There should be a rematch between The Clash and Beach Boys. Summer In Paradise sounds like a bad record but Cut The Crap sounds like two bad records playing at once!

last night I was curious to hear how bad Angelic 2 the Core was. it would have been entertainingly bad had it not been a double album. Feldman's attempts to sound like MJ actually more closely resemble Yosemite Sam. I can't unhear this. you GUYYYYS?!

I don't like Ummagumma that much, but... worst album ever? Oh come on...

Did you guys listen to the new 'Tones and I' album? It would definitely qualify for a tournament like this!

Highlighting a bad Nickleback album implies they had some average or good ones

A fun watch. I was skeptical, but it was worth the time. Not sure listening to some of these albums is worth my time, but if there is one match up you find most intriguing, which is it? Anyone can answer and I'll give it a shot.

I cant remember if you guys mentioned it in the 60s, but seeing y'alls thoughts on the Shaggs, I'm interested in yalls thoughts on Captain Beefheart's Trout Mask Replica considering it often gets the same response ala "how is this even music"

So, was ELP's Love Beach on probation or something? Don't know how that dog didn't make the field. Anyway, fun video.

my favorite new genre term: soundcloud pop

Why is there no Kid Sucks album?

You're predicting future episodes of Trainwreckords from Todd In The Shadows

This was a lot of fun.

So I had never heard or even heard of this Liz Phair atrocity, Funstyle, until today. So I checked out those first two tracks you mentioned, and all I can say is W. T. F. And: This is the same person who made Exile in Guyville?!?

XXX by ZZ Top is a great album, with all that grinding boogie spiced with a little techno-pop from their 80s sound. The live material at the end is particularly good.

😃or the shorter bad record Joe....I like that as a determining factor...

Living in NY tristate area and being a lukewarm baseball fan Boston sucks is a common refrain but for it works well for this competition too

I have gained respect from you guys for actually listening to all these pieces of crap.

I'm not sure whether Lulu is Lou Reed's masterpiece (as I understand David Bowie may have suggested) but it's certainly up there with the Velvet Underground's first three albums, as well as Street Hassle, The Blue Mask, New York and Ecstasy. A complex, confronting and brilliant work. And it surely has to be the best album Metallica ever appeared on.

I'm a big Clash fan, but I never bothered to listen to Cut the Crap until last year. I was actually pretty surprised by it given its reputation. It's still likely my least favourite Clash project, if you can even call it that, but it has some great highlights. If they made better production choices it could have been legitimately good beyond just a curiosity.

Boys: This really too good (err, bad) for just once a year. Any possibility of a Fall Edition? (Halloween - so bad it's scary . . yeah, too corny, idk) . As others have noted, plenty of other really bad albums. Could easily have a full field of 64 - plus a few "play in" games. :-) Anyway, phenomenal. Many laugh out loud moments.

As a Weezer fan Raditude is only saved by the first track. And idk, that Shaggs album weirdly works for me as like accidentally avant garde. It’s also kinda just funny.

Deep Purple's "Slaves and Masters", a brief low point in their career. I've nothing against Joe Lynn Turner, he's a good melodic singer (great on Rainbow tracks like I Surrender), but basically Blackmore took control and turned a hard rock band into an AOR band. The lyrics were pretty corny on this one. Plus points to Jon Lord though (his hammond still sounded great on this debacle).

Some albums are so bad they're entertaining as Kramzer knows all too well. Every now and then I will put on a Shaggs song and just marvel at it. So if an album is entertaining because of its supreme badness, should it get credit for that?

To Kramzer: I got your back on 'Cut the Crap'. Sure, it pales stacked against their previous albums, but taken on its own terms its still a decent album. I'll listen to it say, over anything released by Limp Bizkit or Nickelback! Not sure if Listography has Lou Reed's 'Metal Machine Music' up on the chopping block yet, but I nominate it! Don't get me wrong, I love Lou (particularly the Velvets), but objectivity rules the day here!

I'll have to pass on voting in round 2 because I'm familiar with only 1 of the albums, Ummagumma. On the strength of the live disc I think it doesn't belong in this tournament. But then I think The Wall is a much worse album than Ummagumma - probably an unpopular opinion...

What the heck is ummagumma doing here? That’s not even close to Pink Floyd’s worst album. That’s gotta be The Endless River.

I like Ratitude! The Black Album is the only Weezer album I can't get behind. Also, I'm down for that folk Rush album.

Kevin Federline or Corey Feldman - flip a coin - I'll go with Federline!

No Metal Machine Music by Lou Reed?

Lulu is art baby. A bold, challenging listen. Brilliant stuff.

Great job guys! I’m with you Kram. Cut the Crap - is it GREAT Clash? Nah. Is it one of the all time worst albums? Hell no!!!!!! It’s different. Considering how stellar a band they were in their run- it’s easy for folks to dismiss Cut as awful. I never understood the absolute disdain for it

When will the polls close btw?

The Cringe Factor.....could be a determining factor me thinks by the end of the process

Also some Albums that could make it into such a tournament imo: Imagine Dragons - Origins Whitehouse - Quality Time Justin Bieber - Changes Metallica - St. Anger (I think it was mentioned before in another comment) Men at Work - Two Hearts

The worst song contest sounds like an awesome idea!

Don't forget ''Having Fun with Elvis on Stage',.....an entire album of Elvis talking and telling bad jokes......and btw I am a huge Elvis fan.

Music fans and college basketball fans in the same place?? This is where I belong.

Late to the party, but... Joe is absolutely right about Chinese Democracy. The title track, Shackler's Revenge, Better... all great songs. The whole project is so manifestly mental, I can't help but like it.

The Elder isn't really a BAD album, more of an interesting but flawed experiment.

Some of these albums really aren't that bad like you said, I think Unmasked should've been the Kiss album instead of music from the elder and St. Anger should've been there instead of Lulu for Metallica.

This could be a super long list, could be super easy as well. Cardy B wap. Would have to be there somewhere.

I luuuuurrrrve you guys....disagreeing over Garth brooks..I could never have imagined that exchange.....I was nodding along with kramzers critique of Nickleback and then the hating on Garth brooks....and then joe bats it right back....like wtf? In the old days I’d have said that’s worth the licence fee alone....it’s a fucking great concept and I’ve never heard most of them either...I’m gonna be all over the Corey Feldman effort (I had to google him)

I'm assuming they found all 64 albums in Kramzer's pix.

Highlights from Cut The Crap: This Is England, Three Card Trick and North And South. It's 3/5 album.

Why does Bon Jovi's hand look so small on the album cover?

The Shaggs album has a place in the universe. The ZZ Top album sounds like later day Tom Waits--I like the crunchiness of the guitars and the Stooges record is actually ok. Needless to say the Pink Floyd album should not be on here. But overall this is a fun endeavor. The Beach Boys album is actually the worst record I have ever heard. Awful.!

I can’t believe you guys listened to an entire AJR album. I couldn’t get through half a song. It felt like I was being poisoned

I will predict Philosophy of the World takes top prize. It is practically the essence of badness. So bad some people think it's good.

So, I will NOT vote in the Shaggs vs. Dee Dee King poll - I like them both too much to go against one of them. That Dee Dee King album, so far, is charming and, I would say, does NOT belong in this tournament :) I understand why people think the Shaggs are terrible - I just happen to enjoy listening to their music once every few years. I'm listening to the Fray album that was in the tourney and, I'm not entirely sure why this album was in the tournament. Do you find their style repugnant and against your tastes (a la Nickelback)? I think the real loser in that bracket was the Van Halen album. (Also, currently my comments in the Poll area are "awaiting for approval.")

Ghosts of Download isn't even accompanied by the Greatest Hits. It's actually inferior re-recordings of their hits.

The Beach Boys 'M.I.U' vs The Honeys mid-eighties abomination?

Giving Cut the Crap another spin after who knows how long....four songs in and the album sounds like a mess. I agree with Joe, on the first track especially the vocals don't mesh well with whatever that musical mess is playing.

The problem with Ummagumma is that no matter how bad the studio album may be, the live album is good and that comes with the package.

It does not matter that I really like some of the albums in the tournament, it still is fun to see how bad things can get. And we have to be reasonable - none of us probably even knows the real bad albums...those here are just harmless. There is not even a Modern Talking album around...

No album is worse than 'Metal Machine Music' by Lou Reed

"I hate millennials" - A Millennial

Cut The Crap is so bad that Dee Dee Ramone listened to it for inspiration on his hip hop album.

Surprised Attila with Billy Joel didn't make the list. Most people think that one is a bomb. I don't think it's that bad though.

Omg!the beach boys and ccr on in this tournament???. Their music is usually spot on!!!

Oh shit that vh record. Bleeeeeep.