Artists whose best tracks almost NEVER get played on the radio

Don't know if this category has been done before but it occurred to me when I heard the Clash's "London Calling" on the radio for the ONE MILLIONTH TIME. For my money, that is one of the most annoying tracks they have done -- and is one of the worst tracks on the London Calling album. Yet, I almost never hear better tracks off that album such as Death or Glory, White Man in Hammersmith Palais, and the Card Cheat. Same with the songs on Combat Radio; I mean, does anyone REALLY want to hear Rock the Casbah anymore? Is there any other artist whose most annoying songs get played so more often on the radio than their best songs? Actually, Springsteen might be another one.

Springsteen in "not annoying songs in his catalogue" shocker.

Oops, sorry about that, White Man is obviously not on London Calling, though you get my point.

Oops, sorry about that, White Man is obviously not on London Calling, though you get my point.

Chakka Khan?

Madness.

due to overexposure on the radio i cringe at the big hits ('not fucking baggy trousers again'), and like so many people, forget about the excellence hidden away on the albums.

In the case of Madness, there are some fantastic non-singles on the "Rise And Fall" album. Obviously you don't hear "Rise And Fall", "Primrose Hill" or "Tiptoes" particularly often on radio.

I guess Genesis and Yes are obvious picks, although they might have gotten some underground FM play in the early 70s.

Steely Dan

Do It Again & FM are probably their most played songs on FM radio (at least in NYC area), and I wouldn't put either in their top 20.

I don't know if Genesis really counts. Their singles are actually pretty good and although the Gabriel era was much better, besides "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" they don't really have any radio-friendly singles. As for Yes, if you are talking about "Owner of a Lonely Heart" sure, b/c Yes only really stuck to that sound for two albums. "Roundabout" and "I've Seen All Good People" are two of their best songs.

My picks:
Devo - obviously
Thomas Dolby - same thing. "She Blinded Me With Science" is a good tune but it doesn't represent the guy at all and doesn't really reveal the fact that he made one of technopop's greatest albums. His later, more mature stuff is surprisingly thoughtful as well.
Ween - not as though they've really had hits, but the few that they've had are nowhere near what this group is capable of
XTC - fairly obvious but the two singles that got some attention - "Nigel" and "Dear God" are not exactly their best (well, the former is a great tune but the latter kind of sucks). They should have had twenty hits, not just a few minor ones.

this is 90% of artists I really like and own albums of. Otherwise I just wait til the 1 or 2 songs I like of someone's gets played on the radio!

Squeeze, at least in the US. You'd never know that anyone but Paul Carrack ever sang for the band, or that they ever recorded more than one song.

Thin Lizzy

Los Lobos. According to the radio, the only song they ever recorded was "La Bamba"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTPh9NZdpHU