Top 3 Most Overrated Artists contest in R&R.

i submit that to qualify as overrated, you have to be a real critic's pet, which would exclude some of the aforementioned nominees (bonjovi, kiss, etc.). my own candidates:
u2--as seth rogen immortally opined with respect to steely dan (who i quite like), they gargle my balls. noone who trumpets his own sincerity should wear sunglasses indoors
eric clapton--much beloved on these pages, but nothing he's done since layla has grabbed me. and layla was all the way back in '70
tom waits--seems like a lovely guy, but the appeal of the hipster-growl thing completely escapes me. his numerous records earn hyperbolic critical praise, tho i don't know anyone who actually listems to 'em

Lindisfarne, great reply, thank you, I mistakenly thought you named the boy Ronnie! This thread is amusing, predictable, and funny. Paul Simon said it, one mans ceiling is another mans floor. Where's the beef I say? There is no accounting for taste, and I could write a sociology paper on the responses to the initial posting. If I were a sociologist. I'm not.

The Beatles.

In what way are the Dead over rated?

So someone doesn't like the Stones and someone doesn't like the Beatles. So what? History has already judged them to be great.