Top 10 Musicians that Aren't as Talented as Some People Say

These musicians aren't really as talented as some people might think.

The Top Ten

1 Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967, in Aberdeen, Washington. In 1987, he started the grunge band Nirvana, which became one of the most successful bands ever. He was a talented yet troubled grunge performer. Kurt Cobain became a rock legend in the 1990s with his band. He committed suicide at his ...read more.

Lyrically maybe but musically his guitar solo's and vocals are average at best.

His guitar skills are great and legendary, but he's not the most talented out of all of them. - Mumbizz01

Even he himslef admits he's not very talented at guitar and doing vocals - christangrant

HA, no. - phillysports

There's much more to music than how well you can play a guitar, besides he isn't actually that bad, the sloppy sound is where the genius is. So I personally wouldn't have him on this list. - markclip27

2 Kanye West Kanye West Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, songwriter, and fashion designer. He was born on June 8, 1977 in Atlanta, Georgia. After West's parents divorced, him and his single mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. At the age of 10, West temporarily moved to Nanjing, China, because his mother was teaching ...read more.

In what way is he talented?

There is literally no talent here

3 Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots Twenty One Pilots is an American musical duo that originates from Columbus, Ohio. Currently there are two members. The lead singer, Tyler Joseph, and the drummer, Josh Dun. At the 2016 American Music Awards, they won two AMAs for Favorite Pop/Rock Artist, and Favorite Alternative Artist. Twenty One ...read more.

I started hating these guys after I saw them "live". They lip-synced the whole time! - Kfox101

No these guys are very talented although sometimes Tyler's voice can sound hoarse and messed up but they're mostly good and Tyler usually sings good.Josh is also a very good drummer too.All you TOP haters can call me a fanboy but this is just my opinion.-LitSavage

Nah,I think they're great.But that's my opinion.-DarkBoi-X

This isn't funny anymore.
GIT MY BAEAS OFF THIS LIST OR I WELL SMAKC YOU WITH MY SPOOKY UKE! - JamesBourne

4 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey Mariah Carey, born March 27, 1970, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is one of the biggest best-selling women in the music industry, with 18 number 1 records to her name. She is regarded as a sex symbol through her songs and music videos, and she is "well known" for her over-the-top ...read more.

She is really good though

"Greatest voice of all time" my ass. Luther Vandross is the greatest voice of all time you dumb lambs! - DaWyteNight

5 The Rev The Rev James Owen Sullivan (February 9th, 1981 - December 28th 2009), better known by his stage name "The Rev" (Short for "The Reverend Tholomew Plague") was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the former drummer, backing vocalist and co-founder of the American alternative metal/ metalcore ...read more.

I love The Rev, no denying. But even I know there are a lot of better drummers out there. I mean, I don't think its fair to compare him to Dave Lombardo or Mike Portnoy, considering their experience and The Rev's untimely death. The Rev could have been much better overtime had he not suddenly passed away though. - CrimsonShark

He's not the best metal drummer, honestly Dave Lombardo's a lot better in comparison.

6 Aaliyah Aaliyah Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born on January 16th 1979 and died August 25th 2001. She was a dancer, an actress and an R&B singer. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, raised in Detroit, Michigan and died at Marsh Harbour, Bahamas. ...read more.
7 Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born on December 3, 1948. He is also known as ''The Prince of Darkness''. Ozzy is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the band Black Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath ...read more.

Usually in defense of not that good singers I very often I read this: "his/her voice suits his/her songs". But this proves nothing. Of course the songs suit somebody's voice - they were written for his/her voice! Especially singers/songwriters who write songs for themselves. Do you think somebody would write a song for Ozzy that Ozzy couldn't sing? No, because it doesn't make sense.
Ozzy vocal skills aren't very special so all his songs are easy to sing. The level of difficulty of Paranoid is that of a kiddie song. War Pigs - Ozzy sings the entire song of 8 minutes using only one octave of his range! - Metal_Treasure

He's not all that talented to be honest Bruce Dickinson has a higher vocal range.

I honestly have no problem with Osbourne's voice. It fits perfect for Black Sabbath and Solo. - Mumbizz01

The most unique voice, and the best voice for Black Sabbath and his own. The best? No. Can it be imitated? Definitely not. - SoldierOfFortune

8 Beyonce Beyonce Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter, is an American singer and actress, who started out in the popular pop/r&b girl group Destiny's Child. They had multiple top 5 hits such as "No, No, No", "Say My Name", "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Survivor", "Independent Women", "Bootylicious", and "Jumpin', Jumpin" from ...read more.

People treat her like a goddess when the only thing she’s a “goddess” at is using a crap ton of autotune and overexposing her body. - 3DG20

9 Jimmy Page Jimmy Page James Patrick Page is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

He did steal some songs but he improvised them and created his own style

10 The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American DJ and production duo consisting of Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart. The EDM-pop duo achieved a breakthrough with their 2014 song "#Selfie", which was a top twenty single in several countries.

Who said they were talented?

they SUCK

The Contenders

11 Lil Wayne Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. is an American hip hop artist and is often referred to as one of the worst rappers of all time. He was signed to Cash Money Records by Birdman at a young age. Before he became a household name and the artist he is today, he was 1 quarter of the southern rap group The Hot Boys, ...read more.
12 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. She was born on December 13, 1989 in Reading, Pennsylvania. She is best known for writing break up songs and for having more than 5 Grammys. She became interested in country music when she was around 9 years old and after watching a documentary about ...read more.

She gets overrated very fast. Almost all of her songs are revenge ballads about all her ex boyfriends or comparing herself to popular people. She never comes up with anything new.

13 Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor who is best known as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter, and guitarist of the punk rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt.

He is on 35th of "Greatest Rock Guitarists of All Time" list. Higher than guitarists like James Hetfield and Yngwie Malmsteen. - zxm

14 Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica.

Much better drummers in metal out there, even The Rev is better in some aspects... - HiBye

I totally agree with HiBye. Rev is overrated/people think he is good/isn't very talented. But that goes more for Lars. - zxm

15 Bono Bono Paul David Hewson, known by his stage name Bono, is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician, venture capitalist, businessman, and philanthropist. His original nickname was Bono Vox which means "big voice".

When people say "Honestly" or "To be honest", what they really mean is "In MY opinion", nothing more.

Honestly there's far more talented singers out there.

16 Kesha Kesha Kesha (formerly known as Ke$ha) was born in Los Angeles, United States. She is best known for her hits like Timber, Tik Tok, and We R Who We R. Kesha is an animal rights activist and she works for H.S.I. (Humane Society International). Kesha also stands up for L.G.B.T. rights in America

Who said she was talented?

She is, she just wastes it on using autotune and making horrible music. - 445956

17 Dave Grohl Dave Grohl David Eric "Dave" Grohl is an American rock musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, producer and film director. He is best known as the former drummer of the hugely popular 90s grunge band Nirvana and the vocalist/guitarist for the alternative rock band Foo Fighters. He has sat behind the ...read more.

He's a decent drummer but his guitar skills are mediocre at best his vocals are at most ok.

18 Katy Perry Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson, professionally known by her stage name Katy Perry, was born on October 25, 1984 in Santa Barbara, California. She is a singer, songwriter, actress and an ambassador on one of the most popular companies of now, UNICEF. ...read more.

She is not talented in anything except making my ears bleed with her lame pop music and her awful voice. - DaWyteNight

19 Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Raised in Compton, California, Lamar embarked on his musical career as a teenager under the stage name K-Dot, releasing a mixtape that garnered local attention and led to his signing with indie record label Top Dawg ...read more.
20 Axl Rose Axl Rose William Bruce Rose Jr., better known as 'Axl Rose', is an American singer born on February 6, 1962, in Lafayette, Indiana. He Is the founder and lead singer of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses. He is a celebrated but controversial figure in the world of rock.

Excuse me! NO. He's immensely talented, whether you like his voice or not. He's got a remarkable vocal range, power, sustain and technique. His vocal range is 5 octaves, 2-1/2 notes! For comparison, Pavarotti range is only 2 octaves, 2-1/2 notes. I know about only 5 other singers who's got a range over 5 octaves. This is a rare talent. It's another topic how Axl wasted much of his talent and got a bad reputation. - Metal_Treasure

Honestly his singing's not that great and nowadays he's just a washed up has been, a joke if you will.

There are plenty of other singers who are just as good. He's not the one and only, even though most people try to make him out to be.

21 Rihanna Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty is a Barbadian-American pop singer. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, she first entered the music industry by recording demo tapes under the direction of record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She ultimately signed a recording contract with Def Jam Recordings after auditioning ...read more.
22 The Notorious B.I.G. The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known by his stage name, The Notorious B.I.G (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls), is consistently ranked as one of the best rappers of all time. The Notorious B.I.G was born May 21, 1972, he was born in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 24 The Notorious B.I.G was murdered ...read more.
23 Selena Gomez Selena Gomez Selena Marie Gomez is an American actress and singer. She is best known for songs like "Come & Get It", "Good For You", "Same Old Love", and "Naturally". Selena Gomez's voice is mezzo-soprano but she usually sings in alto. She is best known for her role as Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place.
24 Bob Dylan Bob Dylan Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, author, and artist who has been an influential figure in popular music and culture for more than five decades.

Dylan's voice is an acquired taste. It fits and works for him. Interestingly, he's been copied often by Tom Petty, and Springsteen has been incorporating his vocal and instrumental phrasing for decades, and no one seems to mind.

I kinda disagree here. Cause no one likes his voice. Its his song-writing skills that everybody likes. And he is recognized for it. I also don't like his voice. Sometimes I just listen to his tributes. - zxm

Songwriting: 10/10
Singing: 2/10 at the best...

I truly think Bobby is one of the most talented musicians out there.. like, his voice suits his songs, I can't imagine him having a voice of Mercury and singing his songs. Also, his songwriting is probably the best out there along with Roger Waters, just listen to Boots of Spanish Leather, All Along The Watchtower, Jokerman, Hurricane, Girl From the North Country, Positively 45th Street, Idiot Wind, Visions of Johanna. He definitely shouldn't be on this list.

Edit: And I don't even think many people say he is talented (other reasons than his songwriting, which he is as talented at as people say), another reason he shouldn't be on this list. - BrianScott01

25 Ariana Grande Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera, known professionally as Ariana Grande, is an American singer and actress. She was born on June 26th 1993 in Boca Raton, Florida to Joan Grande and Edward Butera. She is best known for her role as Cat Valentine on the Nickelodeon sitcom Victorious and its spin-off show Sam & Cat. ...read more.
26 Ringo Starr Ringo Starr Richard Starkey known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for the Beatles.
27 M. Shadows M. Shadows Matthew Charles Sanders, better known by his stage name M. Shadows, is an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter and founding member of the American metalcore/alternative metal band Avenged Sevenfold.

David Draiman from Disturbed is more talented in comparison.

28 Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara, 5th September 1946 - 24th November 1991) was a Zanzibari-born British singer of Indian descent, songwriter and record producer, known as the lead vocalist and songwriter of the British rock band Queen. He also became known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave ...read more.

I know why he's here.

Anyway, I admit he is one of the greatest vocalists, objectively best. But some people like him to be cool. I once argued with a person (IRL). He said "Freddie Mercury has the biggest vocal range. Even bigger than Mike Patton". And I am sure if I ask some people why do you think Freddie Mercury is the best singer, they won't have anything else other than changing the topic.

(Remember I didn't meant it for actual Freddie's fans. I meant for some people who like him to claim how much good taste they have). - zxm

I agree. Freddie could sing in four octaves and was way more talented than any of these people.

NO, Freddie shouldn't be on this list. To all Freddie haters - face it: Freddie is the best and most talented rock singer. Pavarotti voice is more powerful but Freddie range is much bigger, so I would tie them. Pavarotti range is only 2 octaves, 2-1/2 notes, Freddie - 4 octaves!
However, comparing rock singers with opera singers is "apples to oranges" - Freddie haters just try too hard to convince us (rather themselves) that Freddie isn't talented. Not that they are convincing. - Metal_Treasure

Don't know why everyone says he is so great. To be honest, he is nowhere near as good as almost any classical singer, including Caruso, Bjorling, Pavarotti, Bocelli, or even Lanza.

V 1 Comment
29 Alice Cooper Alice Cooper Alice Cooper is an American singer, songwriter, musician and occasional actor whose career spans over five decades.

I'm sensing Alice Cooper haters. Alice Cooper is a great musician. Plus, to add on to that, he puts on a show and not just a concert when he performs live in concert. His music is awesome and so are his shows. People can say what they want, but Alice is a badass! He shouldn't be here.

Honestly their are far more talented rock musicians.

30 Flo Rida Flo Rida Tramar Lacel Dillard, better known by his stage name Flo Rida is an American rapper and pop music artist from Carol City, Florida. He is known for songs such as "Low", "Right Round", "Sugar", "Club Can't Handel Me", "Good Feeling", "Whistle", "Wild Ones", "My House" and "GDFR."
31 Jay-Z Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter, known by his stage name JAY-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur and investor born on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his albums Reasonable Doubt, The Blueprint, and The Black Album. He is considered to be one of the best rappers of ...read more.
32 Pete Loeffler

Pretty basic at most.

33 Jojo Siwa Jojo Siwa

Ashes hot and all but I dunno if she is rly that good

34 Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. Imagine Dragons' lineup consists of lead vocalist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman.

Pop Sellout Trash - VideoGamefan5

35 Chris Brown Chris Brown Christopher Maurice "Chris" Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actor. Born in Tappahannock, Virginia, he was involved in his church choir and several local talent shows from a young age. He is most well known for his physical assault towards the singer Rihanna in ...read more.
36 Justin Bieber Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber (born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. He currently resides in Ontario, Canada and is Christian. He is the son of author Pattie Mallette. ...read more.

Talented? Seriously?

37 Kimbra Kimbra Kimbra Lee Johnson, known mononymously as Kimbra, is a New Zealand recording artist based in Los Angeles.
38 Chad Kroeger Chad Kroeger Chad Robert Kroeger is a Canadian musician and producer, best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for the Canadian rock band, Nickelback.

Oh bug off with the Nickelback hate, he's more talented than a lot of bad musicians.

39 Scott Stapp Scott Stapp Scott Stapp is an American singer, songwriter, and musician, known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of hard rock bands Creed and Art of Anarchy. He also has two solo albums: The Great Divide and Proof of Life.

Pretty basic at most. - cjWriter1997

40 Halsey Halsey Ashley Nicolette Frangipane, known by her stage name Halsey, is an American singer and songwriter. She was born on September 29, 1994 in New Jersey. She started her career by releasing songs on SoundCloud, and now she is a well-known pop singer with hits like Bad at Love and Now or Never.
41 Paul McCartney Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer . With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame with the rock band the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop and rock music .

I don't agree with this one. He is quite talented. He could play bass, vocals, piano, guitar. Even drums. Though I think he's little bit of overrated. But he's quite talented. - zxm

He's not the most talented rock singer ever to be honest.

42 Jackie Evancho Jackie Evancho Jacqueline Marie "Jackie" Evancho (born April 9, 2000) is an American classical crossover singer who gained wide recognition at an early age and, since 2009, has issued an EP and seven albums, including a platinum and gold album and three Billboard 200 top 10 debuts. Evancho's 2017 album, Two Hearts, ...read more.

Yes she's decent at singing but dear lord people act like she's the most talented female singer alive, again she isn't, if anything Janis Jopelin is more talented in comparison.

43 Cilla Black Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White, known by her stage name Cilla Black, was an English singer, television presenter, actress, and author.
44 John Lennon John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a co-founder of the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. He was assassinated by Mark David Chapman on December 8, 1980 at age 40.
45 Robert Plant Robert Plant Robert Anthony Plant is an English musician, singer, and songwriter best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band Led Zeppelin.

Yes, he has good vocals (though it may not be liked by many). But I strongly agree his instrumental skills is limited to vocals only. - zxm

46 Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Carpenter Sabrina Ann Lynn Carpenter is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She stars as the young version of Chloe Goodwin in The Goodwin Games and as Maya Hart in the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World. She plays Jenny Parker in the Disney Channel Original Movie Adventures in Babysitting . (She) ...read more.
47 Nicki Minaj Nicki Minaj Nicki Minaj is a Trinidadian American rapper/pop music artist. Nicki is most known for songs like "Anaconda", "Only", "Truffle Butter", "Super Bass" and "Stupid Hoe" . Her real name is Onika Tanya Maraj. She was born on December 8, 1982 in Saint James Trinidad and Tobago. ...read more.
48 Skrillex Skrillex Skrillex is an American (Born in 1988, in Los Angeles, California) EDM producer who is known for popularizing dubstep. He is part of the bands Jack Ü (DJ) and From First To Last (Lead Singer). His album Recess debuted at 4 on the BB200, tying him with Zedd for the highest debut for an EDM album on ...read more.
49 Bruno Mars Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez, professionally known by his stage name Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and choreographer. ...read more.
50 Eminem Eminem Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is an American rapper, actor and music producer born on October 17, 1972 in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem has sold over 300 million records making him the bestselling hip-hop artist of all time. In addition to his solo career, he is a member of D12 and (with Royce ...read more.
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