The Shoddy Aughties: Best of the Decade's Worst Lists

Heads up, friends: This post is part of ENGINE’s decade-closing blogsplosion. Click here to witness the rest of the damage. The aughties!

It’s time for the exhaustive list of the Worst _____ of the Decade lists.

We try to be positive. But come on. When Pew concludes it was the worst decade in 50 years, and Time drops the 10 Worst Things about the Worst Decade Ever, it’s hard to forget this decade kicked off with Y2K — not just a fail fail, but the biggest fail fail ever — and has only gotten more and more bailouty and wardrobe malfunctionous since.

Would love to list nice things; just filling a void here. Kottke’s already got the best lists list covered. It has some worsts too, but isn’t nearly as horrific as what you’re about to endure Also, Fimoculous has the 2009 list of lists up and running — perfect for those getting the shakes at staring down the barrel of all ten years at once.

Our next entry in our series will be as pleasant as can be. But it’s darkest before the dawn. Wade into the shock and awful.

Worst 2000s Lists

• 9 Odd, Overreaching Decade Lists by the Atlantic

Worst Ads, Branding & Marketing

• 10 Worst Commercials by Inside TV
• 10 Worst Poker Commercials by Poker Listings
• 10 Worst Super Bowl Car Commercials by Cars.com
• 30 Freakiest Commercials by AdWeek
• Worst Ad Songs by Billboard

Via 10 Worst Green Brand Names by Fast Company

Worst Books, Magazines, & Newspapers

• 5 Worst Books by the Times
• 15 Worst Comics by Comics Alliance
• 100 Books I Regret Reading by Goodreads
• Top 10 Journalism Scandals by About.com

Via 30 Worst Women’s Magazine Covers by BuzzFeed

Worst in Business

• 5 Biggest Buyout Busts by FOX Business
• **NEW** 10 Dumbest Business Moments by CNN Money
• 10 Worst (and Best) Industries by Infectious Greed
• 10 Worst Business Moves by the New Haven Register
• 10 Worst Business Stories by Portfolio
• Top 5 Business Villains by the Washington Post
• Worst New Business Terms by Daily Finance

Via 15 Biggest PR Disasters by Business Insider

Worst Cars

• **NEW** 10 Ugliest Car Bottoms by CarsoBlog
• 10 Worst Auto Industry Events by Automopedia
• 10 Worst Cars by Cars.com
• 12 Biggest Busts by Autoblog
• 12 Biggest Flops by AOL Autos
• Worst 4x4s by Four Wheeler

Via 10 Worst Cars by Jalopnik

Worst Celebrities

• 8 Worst Celebrity Breakups by PopEater
• 10 Biggest Celebrity Scandals by ABC News
• **NEW** 10 Most Embarrassing Celebrity Moments by the Ampersand
• 10 Worst Celebrity Mugshots by About.com
• Top 10 Wardrobe Malfunctions by Associated Content
• **NEW** 20 Saddest Celebrity Breakups by BuzzFeed

Via 10 Worst WWE Heavyweight Champions by Bleacher Report

Worst Computers & Web Stuff

• 5 Worst Websites by Time
• Disappointing (and Great) Operating Systems by IT World
• Worst Internet Disasters by Pingdom
• Worst Microsoft Windows Flaws by CIO
• Worst Top Level Domain by Domain Gang

Allegedly a website, via 10 Ugliest Websites by WXYZ.com

Worst Design

• Worst Architecture by the Washington Post
• Worst Gardening Trends by About.com
• Worst Interior Design Trends by Associated Content
• 10 Worst Photoshop Disasters by Abduzeedo
• 10 Worst Sports Logos by AskMen
• Top 10 Crazy Things That Didn’t Get Built by Curbed
• Worst Things to Happen to Web Design by About.com

Via 12 Worst Web Design Trends by Web Hosting Help Guy

Worst Fashion

• 8 Worst Fashion Trends by the Punch
• 10 Worst Fashion Trends by SF Weekly
• 10 Worst Red Carpet Moments by AZ Central
• 11 Worst Fashion Trends by the Frisky
• **NEW** 20 Weirdest Celebrity Outfits by Glamour
• 35 Short-Lived Trends by New York Magazine
• 50 Worst Dresses by Marie Claire
• Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas by She Does the City
• Worst-Dressed by MTV
• Worst Outfits by Orange UK
• Worst Women’s Fashion Trends and 10 Worst Men’s Fashion Trends by About.com

Via 10 Worst Hair Trends by the Frisky

Worst Food & Drink

• **NEW** 5 Grossest Food Stories by Minneapolis City Pages
• 9 Worst Restaurant Trends by the Baltimore Sun
• 10 Worst Dining Trends by the Chicago Tribue
• Worst Food Trends by Denver Westword

Featured in 10 Worst Fast Food Meals by Time. Image via flickr

Worst … General

• 10 Biggest Disappointments by Nerve
• Worst Comebacks by Houston Press
• Worst Disappointments by Techland
• 10 Worst Predictions by Newsweek
• 25 Most Overused Words and Phrases by the Frisky
• The People Who Ruined the Decade by the Guardian
• **NEW** Dumbest 911 Calls by Jimmy Kimmel Live
  
• Worst Parenting Trends and Worst Baby Name Trends by Parent Dish
• Worst Moments by TV Guide

Featured in 11 Worst Ideas by the Washington Post

Worst in Money

• 10 Worst (and Best) Mutual Funds by Forbes
• 10 Worst (and Best) S&P Components by Market Watch
• 25 Worst Performing Stocks by AOL Money
• Worst Fund Launches by Yahoo! Finance

Featured in 10 Worst Athletes to Ask for Financial Advice by Real Clear Sports

Worst Movies & Theater

• 4 Movies That Should Die with the Decade by NPR
• 5 Worst Musical Performances by Moviemaker
• 10 Worst Horror Movies by AMC’s Horror Hacker
• **NEW** 10 Most Culturally Poisonous Movies by Pajiba
• 10 Worst Movies by Complex
• 10 Worst Movies by SFGate
• 10 Worst Movies by Rotten Tomatoes [3 Strikes was excellent!!]
• 10 Worst Oscar Winners by HitFix
• 10 Worst Remakes by Movieline
• 10 Worst SciFi Blockbusters by AMC’s SciFi Scanner
• 10 Worst Superhero Movies by Techland
• 11 Most Disappointing Movies by 11 Points
• **NEW** 15 Best Bad Movies by the AV Club
• 15 Worst Movies by Film School Rejects
• 15 Worst Musicals by Everything Musicals
• 20 Worst Box Office Hits by Metromix
• 23 [I think] Worst Movies by the Huffington Post
• 35 Worst Straight-to-DVD Sequels by BuzzFeed
• 40 Worst Movies by Inside Movies
• 50 Worst (and some Best) Movies and 10 Worst (and Best) Movies Based on Novels by Metacritic
• 50 Worst Movies by Alternative Reel
• 50 Worst Oscar Snubs by Indiewire
• 375 Worst Actors and Directors by Mediaite
• Top 10 Science Fiction Disappointments by io9
• Worst Movie Posters by Jordan Gray

Via 10 Worst Hindi Movies by Greatbong

Worst Music

• 4 Musical Mistakes by NPR’s Monitor Mix
• 5 Worst (and Best) Reunions and 10 Most Over-Hyped Bands by Spinner
• 10 Overhyped Bands by Lizzyville
• 10 Worst Collaborations by the Daily Californian
• 10 Worst Country Singles by Country Universe
• 10 Worst Songs by Heavy
• 11 Most Embarrassing Songs by 11 Points
• 25 Worst Hip-hop Trends by About.com
• 50 Worst Songs by the Village Voice
• Hunt for the Worst Rapper of the Decade by… Actually, that’s the blog’s name.
• Worst Lyrics Tournament by the Village Voice [This game’s been a wrapped one.]
• Worst Metal Albums by Metal Rules

Via 25 Worst Album Covers (NSFW) by Gunaxin Media [Somehow, the nuclear reactors make less sense than the pigs that are immune to pig flu.]

Worst in Politics

• **NEW** 10 Most Embarrassing Political Moments by Heavy
• 10 Tactical Blunders by Newsweek
• 10 Worst Decisions by Daily Finance
• 10 Worst Things about the Bush Decade by Informed Comment
• 25 Most Embarrassing Moments by About.com
• Top 10 Political Scandals by ABC News

Via 12 Most Shocking Sex Scandals by the Huffington Post

Worst Products

• 10 Apple Duds by CIO
• 10 Gadget Flops by Fast Company

**NEW** 13 Most Useless Gadgets by the Huffington Post

• **NEW** 17 Dumbest Products by Inc
• 30 Biggest Flops by CNET
• 50 Worst Gadgets by Gizmodo
• **NEW** 50 Worst Gadgets by Silicon Alley Insider
• **NEW** Biggest Losers in Tech by Crunchgear
• Worst (and Best) Gadgets by Laptop Mag
• Worst Toys by Associated Content

Via 10 Worst Tech Products by CNET

Worst Science & Tech

• 10 Biggest Tech Failures by Time
• 21 Things that Became Obsolete by Silicon Alley Insider
• **NEW** 25 Biggest Tech Flops by ZDNet
• 87 Lamest Moments by Technologizer
• Top 5 Threats to Science-Based Medicine by Science-Based Medicine [Oh suuure, like Science-Based Medicine knows anything about science-based medicine.]
• The Worst (and Best) Tech by O’Reilly Radar

Featured in 10 Worst Moments in Science by Smithsonian Magazine

Worst in Sports

• **NEW** 8 Ugliest Soccer Players by Fastbreak Futbol
• 10 Biggest NFL Draft Busts and 10 Biggest Pro Football Flops by Shutdown Corner
• **NEW** 10 Dumbest Sports Comments by Sports Media Watch
• 10 Most Embarrassing Hockey Moments and 10 Most Brutal NHL Injuries by Puck Daddy
• 10 Worst Baseball Contracts and 10 Worst Playoff Disappointments by Big League Stew
• 10 Worst Boston College Moments by Eagle in Atlanta, 10 Worst Rutgers Football Moments by Protect R Turf, 10 Worst DC Sports Moments by the Washington Post
• 10 Worst Golf Chokes by Stracka [Written two weeks too early.]
• Worst Kits [AKA soccer uniforms] by ESPN
• 10 Worst Moments in English Football and Italian Football by Goal.com
• 10 Worst NBA Jerseys by Ball Don’t Lie
• 10 Worst NFL Coaching Hires, Saddest Franchises, 10 Biggest Betrayals, 10 Worst NFL Free Agent Signings, 5 Biggest Quarterback Busts, and 10 Biggest NBA Draft Blunders by the Scores Report
• 10 Worst New York Teams by the New York Post and 10 Worst New York Athletes by the New York Daily News
• 10 Worst Pro Sports Teams and 10 Worst NFL Games by Bleacher Report
• 10 Worst Sports Shows by Sports Media Watch
• 11 Worst NBA Teams by Simon on Sports
• 15 Worst Pitching Performances by Phillies Nation
• 17 Most Awkward Moments from NFL Drafts by Next Round [What’d Matt Ryan ever do to you guys?]
• Worst Chicago Cubs by Chicago Now, Worst Atlanta Braves by Chop n Change, **NEW** 10 Worst Boston Celtics by ESPN Boston, and Worst New York Yankees by Pinstripe Alley
• Top 10 D’oh! Moments by Randall Simon’s Sausages
• Worst NBA Team, Jerseys, Bust, and Draft Class by Slam
• Worst Team Draft Picks: Buffalo Bills by Buffalo Rumblings, Houston Rockets by the Dream Shake, Pittsburgh Pirates by Bucco Fans, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans by Music City Miracles

Via The Decade’s Worst NASCAR Paint Schemes by Fanhouse

Worst TV

• **NEW** 10 Biggest TV Blunders by Reuters
• 6 Worst Reality Shows and 10 Worst Comedy Cancellations by About.com
• 10 Worst TV Shows by Inside TV
• 10 Worst TV Shows by Metromix
• 11 Most Disappointing TV Shows by 11 Points
• 11 Worst TV Ideas by Film.com
• 12 Worst Game Show Blunders by About.com
• 15 Worst Science Fiction TV Shows by io9
• 15 Worst TV/Movie Bosses by Pop Syndicate

Featured in 10 Worst TV Shows by Complex

Worst Videogames

• Worst Game Design Fads by Sarcastic Gamer
• 5 Worst Games by Screw Attack
• 10 Worst First-Person Shooters by Joystick Division
• 10 Worst-Selling Sports Video Games by CBS Sports

Via 10 Worst Games by GameWad

That’s it! You survived the worst decade since the 1360s.

That wasn’t so bad after all!

Got more? Send them my way.