Herald readers name their most overrated bands and singers

If there is one thing people love more than talking about the music they love, it is talking about the music they can't stand.

In a recent online survey NZHerald.co.nz asked readers to nominate singers or bands they considered to be the most overrated in history.

As many emails pointed out, music is all subjective, what is listening heaven to one person can be pure torture to someone else. However, each suggestion garnered the artist or band a vote, and the votes have now been counted.

So which artist has the biggest discrepancy in the global success versus musical talent' ratio? Read on to find out the top 20 most overrated singers and bands in the world according to your suggestions.

20. Lady Gaga: "The likes of Lady Gaga … have considerably lowered the musical standards of a whole generation." – Celine (Remuera)

19. Neil Finn: "Living at a west coast beach doesn't make you a wonderful song writer." – Minnie (Waitakere)

18. Britney Spears: "I don't just want to be one of many people giving her a kick on the way down - but, well, she's always got her knockers." – Justin (New Plymouth)

17. Madonna: "No one wants to see grandma dancing in their beige bloomers please stop." Povi (Huapai)

16. Shihad: "I don't want to seem overly negative here but Shihad couldn't write a decent tune if they were looked in a room with the spirits of Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and John Lennon." – Johnny (Auckland)

15. Miley Cyrus: "Most pop music is completely overrated, especially teen pop stars that can barely sing like Miley Cyrus." – LC (Auckland)

14. Amy Winehouse: "She's a celebrity not a singer. That's a different thing." – Emily (North Shore)

13. Mariah Carey: "They'll play Mariah Carey in hell – forever." – Ace (Auckland)

12. AC/DC: "I can't take a guitarist seriously who still wears short pants and the singer seems to be doing Donald/Duffy Duck impersonations." – Ray (Auckland Central)

11. Celine Dion: "Should never have been allowed to record any music – ever." – Karlos (Kaiapoi)

10. Nickleback: "Hard to believe they have sold so many albums. I don't like to think why that might be because it undermines my faith in music and humanity." – Rock Pirate (Coromandel)

9. Abba: "The music of Abba is a disease that the World Health Organisation should be trying to rid the planet of - like small pox." – Ewan (Christchurch)

8. The Beatles: "Octopuses Garden, Yellow Submarine, Penny Lane, When I'm 64, Maxwell's Silver Hammer. so much awful music in such a short space of time." – Marcus (New South Wales)

7. Pink Floyd: "Turgid song construction, ponderous guitar solos, unemotional singing and a band built round an image of visuals and great light shows." – Mr Sensitive (Auckland)

6. Nirvana / Kurt Cobain: "Songs have all the same quiet loud song structure, mumbled lyrics, mournful wailing. Then, when he realised he couldn't do anything else, Cobain topped himself to secure his status as a music icon." – Up to Eleven (Wellington)

5. Michael Jackson: "Michael Jackson, his albums maybe best selling of all time but then that just shows how most people have crap taste in music. His other achievements are inventing the moonwalk and making MTV what it is today, thanks Mike." – Adam (Kingsland)

4. Oasis: "Did not shed a tear over their recent split and it would be appreciated if neither brother would torture us with a solo album." – JD (Manurewa)

3. Dave Dobbyn: "If I hear Loyal one more time I think I'll vomit." – Doctor (Whangarei)

2. Coldplay: "World's most boring band. How they ever convinced people that they were an interesting band to listen to and see live is beyond me." – Chris (Wellington)

1. U2: "Rubbish. Joshua Tree was good, but they should have stopped there. Saw them four years ago in London and it was more a political rally than a concert." – Andy (Waikato)