What is the most disappointing album by a major artist?

Every record here followed something great, and that is the whole problem. A few were savaged on release; a couple only look bad standing next to what came before.

1

Eminem – Revival

The 2017 record that scored 50 on Metacritic, the lowest of Eminem's career.

2

Metallica & Lou Reed – Lulu

The 2011 Lou Reed collaboration that Metallica fans still treat as an outlier.

3

Guns N' Roses – Chinese Democracy

Fifteen years and a reported fortune in studio time for a 2008 album few revisit.

4

Metallica – St. Anger

The 2003 album remembered mostly for its snare drum sound.

5

Eminem – Encore

The 2004 follow-up to a historic run that even Eminem has publicly criticised.

6

The Clash – Cut the Crap

The Clash's 1985 final album, made without Mick Jones and later disowned by the band.

7

U2 – Songs of Innocence

The 2014 album pushed into half a billion iTunes libraries without being asked for.

8

Jay-Z – Kingdom Come

The 2006 comeback album Jay-Z himself has called his weakest.

9

Bob Dylan – Self Portrait

The 1970 double album that opened with a review asking what this even was.

10

Lady Gaga – Artpop

The 2013 album that followed a record-breaking run and was quickly overshadowed.

11

Kanye West – Jesus Is King

The 2019 gospel pivot that split even Kanye's most devoted listeners.

12

Christina Aguilera – Bionic

A 2010 electro-pop reinvention that stalled where her earlier albums soared.

13

Kesha – Warrior

The 2012 follow-up to a blockbuster debut, and a sharp commercial step down.