10 Great Albums By Artists People Hate

10. The State - Nickelback

This might seem like an oxymoron, but Nickelback might actually have been a pretty damn good rock band once upon a time. As much as their brand of butt rock has become the punching bag for a new generation of rock fans, there was a time when Chad Kroeger's monster showed some real promise for being a worthwhile rock and roll band. If you want to see that version of the band, we have to travel back to a time when songs like How You Remind Me never existed.

Before they had even signed with a major label, their first album the State was something a lot more gritty than what many people imagine Nickelback to be these days. While their foot is still firmly planted in the world of post grunge, you can tell that they're taking cues from some of the more interesting bands from around that time, including some softer moments that can give you flashbacks to bands like Days of the New.

This entire project feels like a band that hasn't fully formed yet, but with the right amount of polish and a few more years of experience honing their craft, could turn into something massive. Though we did end up getting way too much polish and some of the most wretched choruses that the rock world had ever known, it pays to go back to this record to just remind yourself of what could have been.