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Genesis: Calling All Stations. It was so bad it should count as three!

There are some, but I will refrain from mentioning any names. Madonna is noton the list, though. She is one of the exceedingly few entertainers that I still consistently enjoy, album afer album! Her music is immensely fun.

OK, I own them, and still kinda like them, but nobody's arguing these days with Metallica's downfall: Load, Re-Load, and the sonically awful St. Anger.

Even if they are "just kidding", the death metal band Venom: Welcome To Hell, Black Metal, and At War With Satan. Truly a travesty in lyrics, recording and attitude.

Well, if I actually tried to write them all up, there would be so much data going through your site that it would look like a denial of service attack.

Why bother? Isn't two in a row enough?

Anything by Rush since,oh I don't know, ever?

That would have to be U2's Zooropa, Pop, and All That You Can't Leave Behind. What happened to the creativity of U2 like on Joshua Tree, Unforgetable Fire, Rattle & Hum, War, etc?

Most of the albums ever put out by anyone. There is a tremendous amount of good music available, but even more bad stuff out there. I honestly think that trend started in the 1970s, when the record companies discovered what a massive cash cow rock could be. I think the shift away from singles contributed to this as well, since it is harder to make a great album than a great single.

sigh

I bet you're gonna get a lot of people saying it's those three "born again" records by Dylan.

Too many to count. Pick any consecutive albums by any rapper (except Public Enemy) or any new age dance/hip hop/ trance or whatever makes the charts these days. In the last two decades it seems to be getting easieer to release three or more piles of rubbish. Maybe getting a recording contract is taken too lightheartedly?

Paul McCartney was 0 for the '80s. Here is a string of five true losers from that period: McCartney II, Tug of War, Pipes of Peace, Give My Regards to Broadstreet, Press to Play.

Alice Cooper: Constrictor, Raise Your Fist and Yell, and Trash. A truly sad journey on how far the mighty can fall. Easy on Madonna: she is far more important than the Beatles.

Far too many to name :-)

All of Madoonna's, then a close second would be all of Kylie's.

How about any three by Donny Osmond? There are probably worse than that, but like most here, I wouldn't know because I don't even pay attention to the really bad stuff.

Any three by a whole lot of people. I don't know who they are because they are so bad!

Do the first three winners of American Idol count? If not then I go with the three Shaggs albums. If you can sell someone a high-end system to listen to today's pop music, you're my god.

I am not that familiar with the Milli Vanilli catalogue (thank God), but I have to imagine that they would have to be up there. The worst three albums from a formerly great band would have to be: Up, Reveal, and Around the Sun. Total crap. The Cure's last three albums are a close runner-up.

Why bother with crap? After all, this is Stereophile, correct?

Jennifer Lopez Britney Spears Ashley Simpson

Pretty easy...any three albums in whatever order by Alanis Morrisette.

Yoko Ono oh no! Take your pick of all of them: Fly, Approximately Infinite Universe, Feeling The Space.

If they are bad, I don't remember them.

Joshua Redman : Beyond, Passage of Time, and Elastic.

I choose the last three albums by Genesis. In contrast to Madonna or Brittney, it hurts a lot more when a band jumps the shark after producing such brilliance as The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. When, Peter Gabriel left, and then Steve Hackett, they at first had something to prove, but their albums got progressively worse. Phil Collins' pop skill provided modest amusement on Invisible Touch, but nothing could save We Can't Dance and Calling All Stations from execrable oblivion.

Any three consecutive or not releases in any order from Jandek! Each release sounded like he and any accompanists were meeting their instruments for the first time in the junior high recording closet at the local school. Horrid, clumsy, poorly rendered, stupid songs about failure. The guy's got a 25+ year career and about 40 really bad albums. Oh, the horror.

Any three consecutive releases by Bushwick Bill!

Have to go with a vote for Madonna, can't think of too many artists that have set music back farther, save for maybe any given boy band.