This 1990s Country Hit Is Still One of Music’s Most Divisive Songs

Music history is full of songs that split listeners right down the middle. Some tracks become famous because they are technically brilliant, emotionally powerful, or culturally important. Others last because they are catchy, strange, overplayed, or so distinctive that people keep debating them decades later.

This 1990s country hit falls into that second category. It became widely recognizable and built a lasting reputation, but not everyone agrees on whether that reputation is deserved. History Computer looks back at why the song became so hard to ignore, how it fit into the country music landscape of the 1990s, and why it still stands as one of the most divisive hits of its era.

What qualifies as a bad song will be a subjective opinion for most listeners. I consider many songs terrible, but I try to avoid espousing opinions. That said, critics generally have a wider pool of knowledge. So, for the people associated with various publications, these may indeed be the worst songs they've ever heard.

Honestly, it just depends on the taste of the listener. These were all radio staples at one point or another, so I grew up hearing many of these. I wouldn't rank these as the worst songs of all time, but I also probably listen to many stuff other folks might consider destructive.

Active from 1989 to 1994, the group 4 Non Blondes and its song "What's Up" has been universally regarded as one of the worst songs people have ever listened to. Calling it everything from insipid to torture is spot on for this song, and it's one of Reddit's favorite songs to blame for the world's most significant issues.

Starship has a fascinating history as a band, beginning life in the 1960s as Jefferson Airplane. Many consider their 1985 hit, "We Built This City, " one of the worst songs ever. However, you could point to many kitschy 80s hits that are arguably cheesier.

Billy Ray Cyrus is the epitome of a one-hit wonder, flaming out early after his 1992 hit, "Achy Breaky Heart." Despite the fame this carried, Cyrus is often regarded as having one of the worst songs of all time.

I was shocked to see people disliked this song. Yes, "Everybody Have Fun Tonight", a 1986 hit single from Wang Chung, is regarded as one of the worst songs of all time. You could point to so many singles from the 1980s and get a similar corny but jovial feel.

Alright, I agree with this one. Limp Bizkit was a band that I was really into when they came out, but I was also 11 or 12 when "Rollin" hit the radio. In the 25 or so years since I would safely agree that this is possibly one of the worst songs ever.

Huey Lewis is one of my favorite songwriters of the 1980s. When delivering a message with pop backing, I put him up there with Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen. Oddly, some critics have voted his 1984 single, "The Heart of Rock & Roll, " one of the worst songs ever.

If you were a child in the early 1990s, you often heard this song. Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy" is perhaps the ultimate one-hit wonder. However, some critics consider it one of the worst songs ever made.

For a moment, forget what I said about music being subjective. This vanity hit from Eddie Murphy is everything wrong with the excesses of the 1980s. It's too kitschy, the vocals are lacking, and it rightly earns a top spot in the worst songs ever. Like this song, Eddie Murphy is arguably well past his prime.

I'm not a Friends fan, and that's okay. I safely recognize The Rembrandts didn't churn out one of the worst songs ever. Surprisingly, the theme song to the hit sitcom was a hit song of its own. It's catchy and memorable, and best of all, it's a decent song on its own.

Finishing off our list is a song that I will rightly argue isn't one of the worst songs of all time. "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel is many things, but horrible isn't one of them. Billy Joel has a catalog of incredible songs, and some clunkers, I would easily put this single in the former camp.