The most disreputable genres: which is the worst?

[Nasarati]

Recently, I've been thinking about 'disreputable' genres -- ie, genres that are generally loathed by critics and seen as trash by a good portion of the music-listening world, despite being quite popular at one time or another.

Which of these genres with terrible reputations is the absolute pits? Which one is the best?

Personally, my vote probably goes to Bro Country. I can at least think of good adult-contemporary songs/2010s ad-rock songs; despite the schmaltz, I like a nice Celine Dion ballad, and I'm still fond of songs like "Feel it Still" by Portugal. the Man or "SAIL" by Awolnation. But my knowledge of country music isn't very deep either. 

Let me know if you think of any other critically-maligned genres.

[312999]

Should have had Reggaeton in the polls too.

Honestly it's hard for me to vote, because I like a few songs from each of those genres even though most of them are bad.

[gikem]

Of the genres shown here, bro country is the one I have the least respect for. However, boyfriend country is just as bad if not even worse on whole. Whereas there are some bro-country songs that I think are guilty pleasures, I’ve yet to hear a single boyfriend country song that I think is better than mediocre (at least from the most popular acts in the subgenre).

[jdanton2]

bro country easily. the others have songs that are both good and bad.

[Nasarati]

i agree that reggaeton would've been a good addition, and i probably should have included boyfriend country -- but i thought we were all in agreement that bro country is even worse than the boyfriend stuff.

also, hot take: 'fancy like' is the best bro country song. at least it's bad in a funny way.

[SabrinaFan]

Bro country is atrocious. I can't think of a single song from that genre I like because it's just so repetitive theme-wise and artistically bankrupt.

I tend to avoid most country music in general (most of it's just not of interest to me), so I'll admit I'd never heard the term "boyfriend country" before, but I would say there are at least a few songs that would fall under that genre that I enjoy (although they're very few and far between).

As for the others, I tend to rank a lot of the adult contemporary ballads super low in the 80s/90s polls that have been happening over in The Polling Booth, but there are at least a few that are sweet. Generally speaking, I don't enjoy the sappiness of the genre.

Ringtone rap is pretty hit or miss for me. There are a few songs I enjoy ("Kiss Me Through the Phone" and "Crank That," the latter mainly due to nostalgia), but there are just as many ringtone rap songs that are abysmal ("Laffy Taffy" and "Turn My Swag On").

Hot take, but I actually don't mind some of the "car commercial" rock. Imagine Dragons, Portugal the Man and Foster the People (among others) actually have some decent songs. It's not a genre I'd listen to a lot, but I certainly don't dislike it like most of the other genres here.

And yeah, Nasarati, I completely agree with your hot take on "Fancy Like." Even as someone who dislikes most country, I feel like "Fancy Like" works so well because it's not supposed to be taken seriously. The tone of the song is very tongue-in-cheek and falls into the "so bad it's funny" category.

[jasper0102]

I feel weird that Music critics were mentioned here given how i’ve an avid watcher of them. It’s how I got into pop music in the first place.
I’ve listened to my share of adult contemporary ballads when I listen to the radio (i.e, just car rides), and I don’t think I can say anything here because I forget their existence right after they stop playing.
Bro-country is something I feel more conflicted on than I should. Because while I agree with the consensus around the genre, i’ve liked a couple songs from it either because they’re so embarrassing they swing into “so bad it’s good” territory or they’re mediocre enough that they don’t attract my ire. Boyfriend Country doesn’t attract my ire for that reason specifically.
When it comes to Ringtone Rap, and tbh, i think i’m gonna shelve this one until I go listen to a year-end list in the mid-2000s because of lack of knowledge.
I actually like the majority of the commercial core songs. Even with their nature, I’ve liked a good number of Imagine Dragons songs, and Feel It Still is still a jam and a half.
For my vote, I guess Bro-Country more out of obligation than anything, even if it is also the worst genre here on an objective level.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Actually, I like the reggaeton artists like Daddy Yankee, Karol G, Becky G, Anitta, and Natti Natasha. Their music is good to dance to just like dancehall and soca.

I grew up ĺistening to a lot of AC ballads from the 80s and 90s, so I have no qualms about it.

The ones I really can't stand are heavy metal and today's rap music. I hate mumble rap.

I'm not really a country music lover but I like a few songs from older acts like Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, Shania Twain, and Willie Nelson.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Ringtone rap did had some good bops.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Ringtone rap did had some good bops.

[Nasarati]

Soundcloud rap would've been a good addition to the list, especially now that the scene has died down and we can look back on it with some sense of historical retrospective. People were non-stop foaming over how much they loathed artists like Trippie Redd, Lil Pump, 6ix9ine Lil Peep, XXXTentacion, and Lil Xan. It probably doesn't help that a lot of the main players in this scene were woman-beaters, assholes, or both.

If Juice WRLD is considered a member of the Soundcloud rap oeuvre, he's probably the most 'reputable' and artistically well-regarded member of the genre. RIP.

[Joe1240]

AC Ballads from the list.

Surprised no mention of Classic Rock on this list,perhaps the most boring genre of them all.

[Liucci]

I dislike none of these genres, which I think speaks to how diverse my musical tastes are. I can enjoy something about any of these.

If I have to pick though, I'm going with what I voted which is ringtone rap...

A while ago I would have said bro country easily, but country has really grown on me the last few years so I can enjoy bro country quite well

[M5AGTS]

Bruh. It's obviously ringtone rap. Cmon. What do you even want me to say about it. It's just so cringy and annoying.

[M5AGTS]

Sept 25, 2022 13:05:20 GMT -5 Nasarati said:

also, hot take: 'fancy like' is the best bro country song. at least it's bad in a funny way.

I fucking love Fancy Like. I've only loved it more and more as time goes on.

[Willow Rinadoobee Breakfast]

Oh lord, most of my s**tty work playlist. Really if I had to rank them.

1. Bro-country (NOTHING GOOD HAS COME OUT OF THE GENRE AT ALL. Every single singer is pure obnoxiousness)
2. Car Ad rock (Absolute bland with little personality)
3. Adult Contemporary Balladry (if we're talking the past decade, then yeah it certainly is up there near car rock. 90's and 2000s, definitely some nice songs. But if we mean the balladry in the 90's, yeah that is primarily reason why I don't think the 90's is completely this holy grail for music.)
3. Ringtone rap (At the very least, this was about like a small period or two, also barely any of the songs get the same amount of airplay as like all the crap in the rest of those genres.)

[Kelly's 10th Fan]

This disreputable list just doesn't feel right without corporate/butt rock lol. The 2000s really stayed on our necks from 0 to 9 with multiple critically disacclaimed hit genres.

I voted bro country, mainly because its sound is SO monolithic; if you dislike one bro country song then you categorically dislike them all, and the one song they all chose to clone is not good so it gets really old REALLY fast. I genuinely don't know how the fans distinguish one song from another. With the other 'disreputable' genres there is at least a semblance of variation in tempo, melody, and/or lyrical content sometimes.

I'm not even gonna lie, I kinda live for the cheesy '80s-'90s AC. That's half my childhood right there! Eff what you heard, roll the car windows down and turn the volume up bc Richard Marx still slaps at 70 mph on an endless summer night. /intentionally cheesy pun

Ringtone/snap rap doesn't annoy me much. Yeah, on the one hand we got dumb s**t like White Tee, but OTOH we got Andre 3000's opening verse on the Walk It Out remix and for that alone, I cannot disown it. It was fun with the right amount of drank in your cup...it didn't need to be heard outside of a club environment most of the time, was the thing. Mainstreaming it hastened its end, but that was also ringtone rap's biggest grace - due to its relatively short shelf life, it is mostly comprised of one-hit wonders. We weren't building ENTIRE CAREERS out of repetitive mediocrity like bro country did for so many, so it didn't overstay its welcome (well, the tiny bit of 'welcome' it received). And it isn't the era of rap that was regularly blocking other genre hits from the top of the Hot 100. In the long run, it harmed nothing.

Car ad rock is what happens when you let butt rock and 2000s alt procreate. It's not really a cross-pollination that anyone asked for, but I don't dislike it. I appreciate that the car ad singers found a vocal tone that doesn't sound like they gargle with gravel in lieu of mouthwash.

[big2000]

Even as someone who enjoys country music, I DESPISE bro country. It just felt like the genre was so desperate to catch up with the popularity of hip hop in the 2000s and 2010s and failing spectacularly. You can count on the most popular of these songs including lyrics about trucks, girls, and beer, hip hop references (namedropping T-Pain and Drake lol) and in the worst cases, rapping… And the music isn’t even catchy, so I can’t even look past the awful lyrics. It was just a terrible time to be a country fan and I’m glad it’s basically over now.

[Ling-Ling]

Bro country by a... country mile? The hokey/cornpone lyrics, sh*t production, bad vocals, over-the-top forced twangy accents. I can't run to the mute button fast enough.

[toomuchboy]

Bro country, by far, then ringtone rap. I actually like many AC ballads...

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 25, 2022 12:21:46 GMT -5 312999 said:

Should have had Reggaeton in the polls too.

People like reggaeton

[Disco🌶️📖]

Bro Country though I wouldn't kick Luke Bryan or Florida Georgia Line out of bed if I found them in there.

[312999]

Sept 27, 2022 1:38:07 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Sept 25, 2022 12:21:46 GMT -5 312999 said:

Should have had Reggaeton in the polls too.

People like reggaeton

I've seen lots of people complain about it on Pulse. 

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 27, 2022 2:21:17 GMT -5 312999 said:

Sept 27, 2022 1:38:07 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

People like reggaeton

I've seen lots of people complain about it on Pulse. 

Pulse is not the only music community

[312999]

Sept 27, 2022 2:27:26 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Sept 27, 2022 2:21:17 GMT -5 312999 said:

I've seen lots of people complain about it on Pulse. 

Pulse is not the only music community

it’s not even my choice as the worst genre anyways, I just think it should have been included in the poll because the genre can annoy a lot of people, at least in my opinion from what I seen, especially more than some alt rock songs.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 27, 2022 2:45:20 GMT -5 312999 said:

Sept 27, 2022 2:27:26 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Pulse is not the only music community

it’s not even my choice as the worst genre anyways, I just think it should have been included in the poll because the genre can annoy a lot of people, at least in my opinion from what I seen, especially more than some alt rock songs.

Annoying a couple of people didn't seem like the only criteria for this poll. As someone who's in several Music Servers (even becoming a mod of one of the bigger ones) more people have complained in and out of pulse about car commercial rock than they have about reggaeton.

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Anyway would've had post-grunge also on this. Say what you will but ringtone rap at least it was meant to be fun. Post-grunge was all the overserioueness of grunge, without the good vocalists, or good lyrics so what you're left with is music to miserable to be enjoyed, even while drunk

[ilikemilk]

Reggaeton and Mumble Rap should be on it! They are the 2 worst genres for sure, at least Bro Country while being garbage you can still understand what they are saying.

How can you understand anything with most rap songs nowadays, most of them mumble and you cannot understand, and reggaeton is self explanatory, with annoying vocals and instrumentals and beats, plus you can't understand what they say a lot either.

Ballads and Car Rock are great!

[dremolus - solarpunk]

Sept 27, 2022 13:37:51 GMT -5 ilikemilk said:

Reggaeton is self explanatory, with annoying vocals and instrumentals and beats, plus you can't understand what they say a lot either.

We get it, you don't like songs that aren't in English

[Devil Marlena Nylund]

Sept 27, 2022 3:24:53 GMT -5 dremolus - solarpunk said:

Sept 27, 2022 2:45:20 GMT -5 312999 said:

it’s not even my choice as the worst genre anyways, I just think it should have been included in the poll because the genre can annoy a lot of people, at least in my opinion from what I seen, especially more than some alt rock songs.

Annoying a couple of people didn't seem like the only criteria for this poll. As someone who's in several Music Servers (even becoming a mod of one of the bigger ones) more people have complained in and out of pulse about car commercial rock than they have about reggaeton.

Tbh i’d never heard of car commercial rock until it was mentioned here 🥶