Sometimes it’s hard being a music fan. You remember that line at the end of Almost Famous about loving some silly little piece of music so much it hurts? It’s like that.

Except, sometimes a band or artist who made that silly piece of music that changed your life stops making music that does… that. For lack of better phrasing, they stop being good.

Sure, their early albums are still gold and you’ll always go out to see them live, but listening to their new records is a matter of diminishing returns. Here are a few of those bands.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine