Even the greatest artists aren’t immune to regret.
For every landmark album that defines a career, there are others the musicians themselves would rather sweep under the rug. Sometimes it’s a product of the times: chasing trends that didn’t suit them, succumbing to label pressure, or drowning in the excesses of fame. Other times it’s more personal – creative exhaustion, fractured relationships, or simply a sense that the spark was gone. The results can be fascinating in their own way, but to the artists, they often stand as reminders of missteps rather than triumphs.
Kraftwerk, for example, dismiss their early krautrock experiments as 'archaeology'. The Rolling Stones mocked their psychedelic detour as 'a disaster'. And Lou Reed? He didn’t mince words when he called Sally Can’t Dance 'a piece of shit'.
Yet these records tell their own story. They reveal the pressures of reinvention, the pitfalls of success, and the human side of genius. Here are 23 albums their creators have distanced themselves from –sometimes with embarrassment, sometimes with venom, but always with a fascinating honesty.
1. The Byrds: Byrdmaniax (1971)
A case where it all went wrong in the production studio. After the band finished recording, producer Terry Melcher added massive orchestral overdubs, brass, and gospel choirs without the band's consent. When the members finally heard the finished product, they were horrified. Roger McGuinn famously called it a 'Melcher-maniax' record rather than a Byrds record, and the band’s reputation took a hit from which the 70s iteration never truly recovered.
2. Pink Floyd: Ummagumma (1969)
The live half contains some of the best versions of early space-rock epics such as 'A Saucerful of Secrets' and 'Careful With That Axe, Eugene'. But the studio half of 1969's Ummagumma is a fragmented experiment that Pink Floyd quickly grew to regret. Tasked with creating individual solo pieces, the band members struggled to produce cohesive material without a collective vision. David Gilmour later dismissed his contributions as 'horrible', while Roger Waters called the project a 'total disaster'. By the mid-70s, the band had largely distanced themselves from its avant-garde indulgence, viewing it as a creative dead end.
3. Kraftwerk: Kraftwerk (1970) / Kraftwerk 2 (1972)
Long before Autobahn made them pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk dabbled in experimental krautrock jams complete with flutes, organs, and live drumming. Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider have since distanced themselves from these embryonic records, calling them part of the group’s 'archaeology'. Neither has been reissued as part of Kraftwerk’s official Catalogue, leaving them in a strange limbo: adored by collectors, but disowned by the band that made them.
4. Van Halen: Van Halen III (1998)
The lone album with Extreme’s Gary Cherone on vocals is the ultimate 'black sheep' of the Van Halen catalogue. Eddie Van Halen took total control, even playing bass on most tracks, resulting in a self-indulgent, muddy production that lacked the band’s signature 'party' energy. It is the only Van Halen album not to go platinum, and the band effectively wiped it from history immediately after the tour, never performing a single song from it once Cherone departed.
8. The Who: It's Hard (1982)
It’s Hard (1982) marked the end of The Who’s original studio journey with bassist John Entwistle, and it shows. The album carries the sound of a band running on fumes, going through the motions rather than pushing forward. Pete Townshend (far left, above) was battling addiction and profound doubts about the group’s future, and his ambivalence bleeds through the music.
While not without solid performances, the record lacks the urgency and fire of earlier triumphs. Townshend later admitted it was uninspired, the work of obligation rather than passion. For nearly 25 years, this weary farewell stood as The Who’s studio swan song.
6. Lou Reed: Sally Can’t Dance (1974)
Ironically, Lou Reed’s highest-charting solo album was the one he hated most. Thrown together under label pressure, Sally Can’t Dance felt lifeless to him. He later called it “a piece of shit from beginning to end,” a sentiment fans often echoed. Coming after the bleakly captivating Berlin and before the almost universally disliked Metal Machine Music, it seemed like the one record where Reed simply went through the motions – something he otherwise never did.
7. Bob Dylan: Self Portrait (1970)
Famously greeted with the opening line of Greil Marcus’s review – 'What is this shit?' – Self Portrait baffled critics and fans alike. A patchwork of covers, instrumentals, and odd choices, Bob Dylan later admitted it was partly a deliberate act of sabotage, a way to dismantle his myth. For decades, he wrote it off as a 'joke'. Only the later Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait brought some critical rehabilitation, showing flashes of artistry in the rubble.
8. The Rolling Stones: Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
The Stones’ attempt to chase the psychedelic trend backfired. Despite a few strong moments, the album was cluttered and self-indulgent. Mick Jagger later described it as 'a bit of a disaster', while Keith Richards called it 'a load of crap'. In hindsight, it stands as a fascinating curio, showing what happens when the world’s greatest rock ’n’ roll band tried to out-Pepper The Beatles – and failed.
9. The Clash: Cut the Crap (1985)
Following the acrimonious firing of Mick Jones, Joe Strummer attempted to reclaim the band’s punk roots but became entangled in muddy, synth-heavy production. The result was a creative identity crisis that felt more like a demo than a Clash record. Strummer later admitted it was a mistake, and for decades, the band’s official retrospectives acted as if the album – and the 'Clash II' lineup –simply never existed.
10. Neil Young: Landing on Water (1986)
Neil Young’s ’80s experiments were divisive, from the vocoder-driven futurism of Trans (1982) to the retro rockabilly pastiche of Everybody’s Rockin’ (1983). Both records baffled listeners at the time, yet have since been reappraised for their eccentric charm and flashes of invention. Landing on Water (1986), however, has proven harder to redeem.
Born of label disputes and Young’s restless need to push forward, it buried his songwriting beneath brittle, synthetic production and clattering drum machines. Fans long accustomed to his raw immediacy felt alienated, while critics were left cold. Even Young himself later admitted it wasn’t his finest hour. Still, true to form, he defended his right to make it, seeing even failure as part of his creative freedom.
11. Metallica: Load (1996)
Load remains the ultimate 'culture shock' record. The band swapped thrash for bluesy hard rock, chopped their hair, and embraced an avant-garde aesthetic. While James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich have defended the music, they’ve acknowledged the era as a jarring pivot that alienated their 'Metal Militia' fanbase. Hetfield later admitted he wasn't fully onboard with the image shift, calling it a time of compromise within the band.
12. R.E.M.: Around the Sun (2004)
By their own admission, R.E.M. were exhausted and uninspired when making Around the Sun. The songs are flat, the production sluggish, and the band sounded disconnected. Peter Buck later said he never wanted to play anything from it live again. For a group once hailed as America’s greatest alternative band, this mid-2000s stumble became a symbol of how even legends can sound listless.
13. Radiohead: Pablo Honey (1993)
It effectively launched their career with the iconic single 'Creep' – but Radiohead have long been dismissive of their debut. Thom Yorke once called 'Creep' 'crap', and the band avoided playing much of the album live. Compared to the groundbreaking ambition of OK Computer or Kid A, Pablo Honey feels tentative and derivative. For Radiohead, it’s the awkward teenage photo they’d prefer to hide in the attic.
14. Fleetwood Mac: Time (1995)
The only Fleetwood Mac album to feature neither Lindsey Buckingham nor Stevie Nicks, Time is the 'forgotten' chapter. Christine McVie only participated because of contractual pressure, and the result was a soft-rock identity crisis. It was a commercial disaster that Mick Fleetwood later admitted was a 'murky mess', stating the band should have simply changed their name for that project. It remains the only studio album completely ignored in their modern retrospectives and 'best-of' tours.
15. Metallica: St. Anger (2003)
Created in the middle of personal and professional turmoil, St. Anger (2003) was less a conventional Metallica record than a cathartic purge. With James Hetfield in rehab, the band in therapy, and their very survival in question, the music reflects that instability – raw, furious, and unpolished to the point of abrasion. Its infamous 'tin-can' snare sound became a lightning rod, and the deliberate absence of guitar solos alienated long-time fans craving the precision of earlier work.
Critics, meanwhile, were split between praising St. Anger's honesty and condemning its chaos. The band have since admitted the record polarized their audience, while Hetfield himself acknowledges he rarely revisits it, regarding it more as a gritty document of endurance and survival than a classic to celebrate.
16. George Harrison: Gone Troppo (1982)
By 1982, George Harrison was more interested in gardening and Formula 1 than the music business. Gone Troppo was a contractual obligation he barely bothered to promote. The breezy, synthesized pop felt aimless, and Harrison later described himself as being out of step with the industry's demands. He effectively vanished from the music scene for five years afterward, treating the album as a footnote to his disillusionment.
17. Queen: Hot Space (1982)
Inspired by the club scene, Queen pivoted to lean, synth-driven funk – a move that baffled their guitar-loving audience. While it produced the iconic 'Under Pressure', the rest of the album was met with hostility. Brian May has been candid about his frustration during the sessions, noting that the band’s democratic process led them down a path that sacrificed their signature heavy sound for a trend that didn't fit.
18. Black Sabbath: Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Recorded while Black Sabbath was fracturing under the weight of legal battles and substance abuse, this album saw Tony Iommi steering the group toward a more complex, experimental sound. While not fully disowned, it’s often recalled as a period of creative exhaustion. Drummer Bill Ward has noted it lacked the darkness of their early work, and the shift toward synthesizers and strings left the 'Godfathers of Metal' feeling unrecognizable.
19. David Bowie: Never Let Me Down (1987)
Even Bowie had off days. By his own admission, Never Let Me Down was the nadir of his ’80s output, weighed down by sterile production and overblown arrangements. Bowie grew so dissatisfied that in 2018 a new version, re-recorded with sympathetic musicians, was released as the album he 'wished' he had made. It stands as a reminder of how even visionaries can lose their way in commercial gloss.
20. Led Zeppelin: In Through the Out Door (1979)
Often regarded as the most divisive entry in their catalogue, In Through the Out Door signalled a fundamental shift in Led Zeppelin's internal power dynamic. With Jimmy Page and John Bonham struggling heavily with heroin and alcohol addiction, the creative reins were handed to John Paul Jones and Robert Plant. The result was a synth-heavy, pop-leaning record that traded heavy riffs for textures like the samba-infused 'Fool in the Rain'.
While a commercial success, Page later expressed deep dissatisfaction, calling the album 'a little soft' and lacking the band's signature 'edge'. He and Bonham had reportedly already planned a much 'harder', guitar-driven follow-up to reclaim their rock throne, but Bonham’s untimely death in 1980 turned this experimental departure into their final studio statement.
21. Yes: Union (1991)
Rick Wakeman famously dubbed this album Onion because it made him cry whenever he heard it. It was a forced marriage between two versions of the band, but the production became a nightmare of session musicians and 'musical padding'. Wakeman and Steve Howe have both been scathing about it, with Howe noting that the final product bore little resemblance to what the band actually recorded.
22. King Crimson: Lizard (1970)
Robert Fripp has a complicated relationship with his back catalogue, but he was particularly critical of King Crimson's third album for decades. He once described it as 'unlistenable' and 'unrefined', citing the lack of a cohesive band unit at the time (the lineup fell apart shortly after). While Fripp eventually 'forgave' the album during the remixing process in 2009, for 40 years he regarded it as a failed experiment.
23. Pantera – Metal Magic (1983) through Power Metal (1988)
Before they became the 'Cowboys from Hell', Pantera spent the 80s as a flamboyant glam-metal outfit in Texas. Across four albums (Metal Magic, Projects in the Jungle, I Am the Night, and Power Metal) the band leaned into spandex, hairspray, and Kiss-inspired hard rock. Once they discovered their signature 'groove metal' sound with 1990’s Cowboys from Hell, they effectively scrubbed their past from existence.
These records are never reissued, they aren't on streaming services, and they are omitted from official histories. To the band, the 'real' Pantera didn't exist until Vinnie Paul, Dimebag Darrell, and Rex Brown found their heavy, aggressive core with Phil Anselmo. They view these early recordings as "juvenile" artifacts of a band still searching for an identity.
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