Not Sinatra

Dulcet tones... perfect pitch... imaginative phrasing... You'll find none of that here, as readers answer the following Friday Question: Who is the worst singer in popular music?
Clete C. -- "No. 1 would be Michael Bolton. That voice killed cats and Michael Bolton records were banned in 17 states. Patrick Swayze would be No. 2 and Fab and Rob from Milli Vanilli would be No. 3. Even though they weren't singing, they set music back 10 years."
Rick T. -- "The group Rascal Flatts! I can't stand the lead singers, 'singing through the nose' sound. Country/rocker wanna be's! They give country music a bad name."
Scout S. -- "If anybody says 'Scout from Firecracker,' I'm killing myself."
Dave B. -- "Britney Spears. Whoever told Britney she could sing must be tone deaf. She couldn't carry a tune in a bushel basket."
Brian C. -- "In the 1960s, the worst singer was Melanie, who received a bunch of air time with 'Brand New Key.' Her singing was so bad and the lyrics so strange that it was sort of a musical car wreck: One didn't want to listen, but couldn't help by listen, it was so awful. However, the absolute worst voice ever recorded HAD to have been Yoko Ono. But I don't classify her as a 'popular singer' because she got onto albums only because she was married to John Lennon."
Gary D. -- "Shania Twain. Her whiny, wailing vocals wreck every song. Her voice reminds me of a 3-year-old complaining about something."
Angie A. -- "Mariah Carey and Eminem. Their voices are so whiny and annoying."
Kerstin H. -- "That folk dude (Buck Owens) because you can't understand what he is saying."
Jim S. -- "Michael Bolton lasts about 0.4 seconds on my car radio dial when he comes on. If I held a scalding hot cup of McDonald's coffee as I drove, I'd drop it in my lap rather than spend 0.5 seconds putting it down to change the channel. Then, I'd sue Bolton for my burns!"
Emily S. -- "The worst popular singer is Ashlee Simpson. Although I often find myself humming her tunes, her voice is wretched. Just because your sister is famous and you were on 'Seventh Heaven,' that does not mean you deserve a recording contract. Just stick to lip synching and dating Ryan Cabrera."
Sandye V. -- "It is tough since I don't listen to pop music unless I'm on hold and have no choice. But I'd have to go with Britney Spears because she is a lousy role model for all the little junior high girls who think it's OK to dress like hookers."
Mary Rae B. -- "Bob Dylan is the winner/loser. He's so awful, I didn't even think of him as being a 'singer.' There is no one who can make me flip the dial faster than Bob Dylan."
Shannon H. -- "Usher. Because of that annoying Yeah, Yeah song that you couldn't get out of your head all last summer. Because he is so damn full of himself. And because he cheated on Chili, that wasn't cool either."
Mike D. -- It's a toss-up between two good songwriters who can't sing a lick -- Bob Dylan, who has never realized that you don't sing out your nose, and Neil Diamond, who defines bland, with a capital BLA. Neither of these gents would survive the first round of American Idol.
Diane H. -- "I have always hated Janet Jackson. And this has nothing to do with the whole boob thing. She makes horrible, horrible music. I mean, it's not even good guilty pleasure music like Britney or Justin. It's just formulaic, indistinguishable crap and her voice isn't any good. I nearly drive my car off the road from the force of changing the channel when one of her songs comes on."
Ken B. -- "Mariah Carey. She shrieks like a dolphin in a tuna net."
Emily B. -- "Ashlee Simpson. She hurts my ears."
Erik H. (me!) -- "Gene Ween (aka Aaron Freeman) gets my 'worst singer' nod on the basis of one memorably unpleasant song, 1992's 'Push Th' Little Daisies.'
I realize Ween, also including guitarist Dean Ween (aka Mickey Melchiondo) operate almost as an 'anti-band' and that I should embrace their indie-informed, archly ironic take on the pop-music form.
I just can't do it!
Gene Ween's high-pitched warble makes my skin crawl. It is akin to 1,000 fingernails scraping against 1,000 chalkboards.
Maybe the Ween boys meant for their song to grate like an electric sander on a second-degree sunburn. If that is the case, they succeeded admirably."
Posted by Hello