These are the songs that made our ears bleed this year. A special award goes to Whitney Houston for making a comeback in order to provide us with music to be annoyed to.

The interesting thing about this list to me is how many of the albums on it were made by fairly venerable bands. (I'm looking at you, U2. Bono's wrinkle-hiding sunglasses aren't fooling anyone.)

This is the definition of an alternative band: The Very Best originally got attention for offering a free mix tape online. I don't even care if their album is any good, after that. They still win.