Which Musical Act Does Your State Dislike?

Rob Slater on February 28, 2014

Earlier in the week, we posted a study done by The Echo Nest where they determined each state’s most distinctive artist, obviously setting every comment section ablaze in the days that followed. Now, Randal Cooper has harnessed that negativity into a new study–your state’s least favorite band.

Cooper compiled similar data from streaming services and crowned the artists that came in last as the winner, or loser, in this case. He broke it up into three separate maps, the first (above) is limited to the Top 50 artists on Spotify. As you can see, some in the East aren’t quite down with sister act HAIM just yet, and Alaska isn’t keen on something called on a John “Meyer.” Everyone hates R. Kelly, and Texas, Nevada and New Mexico (despite their Breaking Bad notoriety) are dead to me given their dislike for Bon Iver.

The second map includes the Top 100 artists on Spotify, broadening the results ever so slightly. Most states still hate R. Kelly, SEC country isn’t big on Dylan, Bowie, Floyd or The Stones, and the Northeast (instead of picking on Luke Bryan) has moved on to disliking fellow country acts Blake Shelton, Florida/Georgia Line and Jason Aldean. Take a look below. Also, as a Floridian, I apologize for our Head and the Heart dislike.

The final study took into account the Top 200 artists on Spotify, and delivered some of the most diverse results, obviously. The South once again loses, with bands like LCD Soundsystem, Phosphorescent and The Talking Heads coming in last. Four states, Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Arizona don’t listen to a whole lot of Grateful Dead, and the Northeast stays hating on country, this time picking on George Strait.

Wilco finds itself on the list for the first time, with Hawaiians and Nevadans not digging Tweedy and crew. Take a look at the final results.