10 Biggest Love/Hate Albums In Rock Music History

Teen sisters Helen, Betty and Dorothy Wiggin released just one studio album, 1969's Philosophy Of The World, which sold a handful of copies upon initial release. In the years since, The Shaggs have amassed a fan-base which is striking for its list of notable musicians. Frank Zappa allegedly declared the sisters, “better than The Beatles.” Music critic Lester Bangs called the album “a masterpiece,” and Kurt Cobain cited Philosophy Of The World as one of his all-time favourites.

It's more than fair to say that praise for The Shaggs is far from universal. The controversy arises from the fact that, on a first listen (or second, or third), the album sounds wholly off-kilter. It's clear the sisters are out of time and out of tune. You could almost believe that they are each playing a different song at the same moment.

So the question arises: is this a deliberate, experimental masterpiece, or simply three untrained musicians giving it their all, but unable to execute the simplest of passages? There is a third answer: that The Shaggs fall into the latter category, yet somehow stumbled onto a winning formula. Debate continues to this day.