- 5/13/2025
From commercial flops to critical disasters, these albums didn't just underperform—they derailed entire careers! Join us as we explore the records that marked the beginning of the end for once-mighty musical acts. From experimental missteps to creative dead ends, these notorious releases proved that even the biggest stars can fall hard.
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00:00Open your eyes, just flip around and you'll discover
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo
00:05And today we're counting down our picks for albums whose commercial and often critical failure devastated the band or artist's status
00:15But it doesn't have to be
00:17Number 10, Passage, The Carpenters
00:22The adult contemporary sound of The Carpenters had aged out of fashion by the late 1970s
00:36The band thus shifted for passage, but in the wrong direction
00:40The album mingled pop with ambitious avant-garde, culminating in a cover of Klaatu's prog rock epic, calling occupants of interplanetary craft
00:51In your mind, you have capacities, you know
00:56Some of the more mainstream singles wound up being pretty respectable hits
01:00On the whole, though, The Divisive Passage would become the first Carpenters album to sell under gold certification
01:07And if I'm all strong now, you're the only one who'll straighten me out
01:12It was quite successful outside of the States, but that was enough to signal the band's loss of relevance
01:18It took a Christmas album and Made in America for the Carpenters to bounce back
01:23Before Karen Carpenter's shocking death in 1983
01:26It's a new day for those good old dreams
01:31Number 9, Summer in Paradise, The Beach Boys
01:35Summer in Paradise
01:37Summer in Paradise
01:38Summer in Paradise
01:41Though their critical reception took a dive throughout the 1980s
01:45The Beach Boys were surfing on their loyal fan base into the next decade
01:50Then came the wipeout that was Summer in Paradise
01:53People all around the world in every nation
01:57Like to get together for some excitation
02:01With the notable absence of Brian Wilson, the album mostly features re-recordings, covers, and remixes with a 90s pop rock production
02:10As predictably harsh as the critics were, fans were no kinder to this radical departure from the classic Beach Boys sound
02:18Girls are on the trail for the summer of love
02:22Summer, summer, summer, summer, summer
02:25The album was the band's worst selling ever, arguably bankrupting the distributor, Navarre
02:30It would be 20 years before the Beach Boys put out new material
02:34Meanwhile, Summer in Paradise has gained a cult following for one reason
02:40It has been out of print since its first issue
02:43Hey now, well it's a love thing
02:46Number 8, Second Coming, The Stone Roses
02:49Love spits her arms, and waits there for the nail on the line
02:55After weak initial sales, The Stone Roses' eponymous debut became the sleeper hit to turn Madchester into a global phenomenon
03:04Their sophomore album was highly anticipated, ultimately going platinum in the UK
03:09Let me put you in the picture, let me show you what I need
03:15However, Second Coming was met with mixed reviews over its much less groundbreaking alternative elements
03:22The mediocre international sales set the album up for a legacy as a dud
03:27Really, it was the band's frustrated response and messy promotional tour that brought tensions to a head
03:33The Stone Roses broke up in 1996
03:39Their long-term reputation hanging mostly on that legendary first album
03:44Whether that's fair to the now-better-received Second Coming, it did leave the group down for the count
03:51Number 7, Chinese Democracy, Guns N' Roses
04:00There was obviously a lot of hype going into Guns N' Roses' first original album in 17 years
04:11Recorded over the course of the interval
04:14That quickly died down after Chinese Democracy disappointingly debuted at number 3 on the U.S. Billboard 200
04:22Number 7, Moonsteam
04:27It did go platinum, but far more slowly than expected
04:32Even with little radio play and Best Buy's exclusive distribution deal
04:37Mixed reviews over the dated-style compounded fans' frustration with the album's long, troubled production
04:44Infamous conflicts with frontman Axl Rose had already alienated the band that everybody loved
04:55Some have come around on Chinese Democracy, though it's still considered a legendary letdown in rock
05:01Guns N' Roses have not released a studio album since
05:05Number 6, Van Halen 3, Van Halen
05:13David Lee Roth's replacement with Sammy Hagar should have inspired faith in Van Halen's capacity for reinvention
05:25But Extreme's Gary Cherone didn't impress fans as the new singer
05:29Probably because he wasn't the real voice of Van Halen 3
05:34Eddie Van Halen's heavy involvement in the album's production amounted to what many considered
05:42An overblown, overlong vanity project
05:45The idea was at least appealing enough for it to eventually go gold
05:50Of course, Van Halen practically had a license to print platinum records before this uninspiring
06:00stepped down
06:01Van Halen 3's sufficient success was not sufficient in realizing the band's collaborative process
06:08or drawing strong live audiences
06:10Cherone left in 1999, and Van Halen didn't release another studio album until 2012
06:17Number 5, Mardi Gras, Credence Clearwater Revival
06:24Bringing a California flair to Deep South culture made Credence Clearwater Revival
06:35one of the biggest bands going into the 1970s
06:38Unfortunately, Mardi Gras was no party behind the scenes or among fans
06:44A tense production yielded an uninspired country showcase that especially infuriated critics
06:55Sales were strong, but not compared to CCR's previous work
06:59And the promotional tour didn't last long, as the album's failure and other issues prompted
07:11the band to break up Many suspect that frontman John Fogerty
07:15facilitated this because of his brother Tom's departure and creative conflict with the rest
07:20of the group The junior Fogerty would have a stellar solo career,
07:24but Stu Cook and Doug Clifford had a disastrous songwriting debut with Mardi Gras
07:29Number 4, Cut the Crap, The Clash
07:37At least the title of The Clash's last release said what we were thinking
07:47Cut the Crap finds the punk icons indulging in overproduced new wave without Mick Jones
07:53Drummer Pete Howard and bassist Paul Simonon were even removed from the final mix
07:58But, but now I am up in the video And I never let it come to mind
08:05Joe Strummer didn't sell out his songwriting, but that's lost in the noise of a very 80s sound
08:11The album undersold and was lambasted by listeners
08:14Strummer agreed
08:16His creative conflict with producer Bernard Rhodes marking the final straw in The Clash's internal tension
08:22The band cut out a month before Cut the Crap came out
08:32Fans have since warmed to the album, subverting the group's style, but everyone agrees it was
08:37a failure they couldn't even come back from
08:40Number 3, 143, Katy Perry
08:47After leaving American Idol and critically falling short with two experimental albums, Katy Perry needed a comeback for 2024
09:02143 was expected to be a triumphant return to dance pop that featured a star-studded production
09:09It also featured producer Dr. Luke, despite allegations of sexual assault
09:18Controversy over this only compounded the worst reviews of Perry's career
09:22After debuting at number 6, the outdated and superficial album dropped off the US Billboard 200
09:32after just two weeks
09:34Critics soon questioned Perry's relevancy in the music industry and even her authenticity as an artist
09:40143, named for numerical slang for I love you, was so unloved that it certainly set the pop idol back
09:48Number 2, Paula, Robin Thicke
09:54The aftermath of the album Blurred Lines was unfortunate for Robin Thicke
10:03His follow-up was a concept work in response to his then-recent separation from actress Paula Patton
10:09Paula polarized critics with its musical quality and awkwardly confessional lyrics
10:15After a disappointing debut at number 9, the album plummeted alongside Thicke's already controversial image
10:25as a suave ladies' man
10:27His reputation was further tarnished as his and Patton's divorce got bitter
10:33and allegations of plagiarism and abuse emerged in the coming years
10:37Thicke didn't make another album
10:44Until On Earth and In Heaven was released in 2021
10:47To even worse sales
10:50Paula just stands out as a cautionary tale of misguided personal songwriting
10:54And botched overnight stardom
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11:16Number 1
11:19Metal Machine Music
11:21Lou Reed
11:22Avant-garde and mainstream rock fans alike agree on Lou Reed's greatness
11:33They also agreed that Metal Machine Music was an experiment too far
11:38The 65-minute-long double LP consists entirely of electric guitar feedback
11:50Even the critics found this self-indulgent expression to be a grind
11:55Needless to say, casual listeners were not happy
11:58The monumental critical and commercial failure basically ostracized Reed from the popular music industry
12:05Whatever his vague motivations
12:14He did take the opportunity to blend more experimental music into accessible songwriting
12:19To consistent acclaim
12:21Even Metal Machine Music has inspired debate about whether it's plainly the worst album ever
12:26Or if there's genius in such subversiveness
12:29Either way, it was the definitive, literal sound of a major music career
12:35Self-destructing
12:36What are some other missed notes in your favorite musician's catalog?
12:47Spin it in the comments
12:48Did you enjoy this video?
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