Vote

Most egregiously repulsive pianist: Lang Lang. Most nauseating tenor: Luciano Pavarotti. Most abhorrent conductor: Christian Thielemann. May-they-rest-in-peace-and-their-records-be-buried-with-them: Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Kempff, and Herbert von Karajan. High on the "rather-go-deaf-than-listen-to-this" list: Anna Netrebko, James Levine, Roberto Alagna, Edda Moser, and Cheryl Studer. Most-insufferable-when-conducted-by-her-husband: Elina Garanca. Musician-who-should-get-the-Nobel-Peace-Prize-every-year-if-he-promises-never-to-record-again: Daniel Barenboim. Most-stunningly-beautiful-and-intelligent-artist-who-should-just-leave-the-piano-alone-and-I'd-marry-her-on-the-spot (if only to make sure she never touches the piano again): Hélène Grimaud. Gottlieb-Theodor-Pilz-Award for the conductor most deservingly abstaining (or being restrained) from recording: Johannes Schlaefli.

Even though I'm Canadian, I would have to say Celine Dion. I really don't see what the big deal is about her. What has she really done that's so great? Oh, maybe marrying her manager who could pass for her grandfather.

Why would I go out my way to avoid collecting something I didn't care for in the first place? It would be just ignored without much thought or effort. However, I do ignore rap/hip-hop and actually listen to real music.

Techno/rap/hip-hop/esoteric ethnic/"elevator" music.

I avoid Billy Joel like the plague! However, I saw the picture of Barry Manilow for this vote and I actually do have a lot of his music. He makes me cry!

I just can't get into U2. It is said that you can only make one first impression, and the first time I saw and heard U2, they were being billed by Rolling Stone as the best new band in the world. When I finally heard them, I didn't like the song, their sound, or their look, and still don't, with the exception of "Desire."

Artist avoidance. Oh yeah—starting with Elvis (the dead one).

Shirley Horn

The Rolling Stones, Dire Straits, The Sex Pistols.

Easy: Burt Bacharach.

Just about any of the ones that started performing about, say, 1990. Of course, prior to that, being discriminating in choice of music naturally excludes a number of the usual suspects.

ghetto musac

Too many to list here.

Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow, Waldo De Los Rios(?), Andre Rieu....

Bread

Riccardo Muti: He seems to go out of his way to get everything wrong.

Ted Nugent

Eva Cassidy. Does that make me a bad person?

Oh yeah. Bob Seger, Eddie Money, Thin Lizzie, Rush, Boston, Kansas, Alabama, and Rhode Island. All the butt-rockers like Poison, Ratt, Warrant, Cinderella, Skid Row and Motley Crue (just awful stuff!). Nick Gilder (thanks for the perv song, "Hot Child In The City"—rhymes with "shitty") and his fellow one-hit non-wonders Christopher Cross and Al Stewart make me retch. Foxy Brown, Bobby Brown, Bananarama, Paula Abdul, Toni Basil, Cutting Crew, Kajagoogoo, and .38 Special. This list could go on and on, so I'll stop now before I cop a bad attitude.

Styx, Kansas, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, and about 85% of anything that gets filed under '80s music.

The entire genre known as "classic rock": Aerosmith, The Who, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead, Black Sabbath, Steve Miller, Yes, etc. "They're dead, Jim!"

Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Johnny Mathis.

Ummm...too many to mention. Really--some bands/artists are so bad they could never even make it into the "guilty pleasures" bin. Celine Dion and Barry Manilow both come to mind.

Their numbers are legion, though to call them artists... Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Glen Campbell, Kris Kristofferson oh help I can't stop Peter Frampton aaaaaaah

Bob Dylan, Elvis Presly, Johnny Mathis.