Band with highest success/talent ratio?

The Archies?

Betty carried the band IMHO.

She could really whack that tambourine!

Rolling Stones is an interesting choice, but based on their 60s and 70s output, I think their talent is prodigious. So they've slacked off for a few decades? There's always the 2020s!

How you could ever think that Aerosmith's music is terrible is ridiculous.Aerosmith is absolutely America's greatest rock n roll band.Toys in the Attic is one of the most complete album's ever.In my opinion it is the best album of all time.Aerosmith has an incredible catalogue of albums and hits spanning many decades.
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry are right up there with some of the best ever rock n roll songwriter's.
Most every song they ever covered (Come Together,Baby Please Don't Go,Roadrunner,Train Kept a Rollin',etc.)was done better than the original version.
Steven Tyler is the best frontman ever.He turns 63 this week and can perform like no other.Plays drums,harmonica,piano,etc. like no other frontman can.Oh yeah, and he has incredible vocal range.
Columbia records released Aerosmith's debut album and Springsteen's debut album on the same day in 1973.For every dollar they put into Aerosmith they put a hundred into Springsteen.Although Columbia hit the jackpot with both a couple of year's later(Born to Run and Toys in the Attic),Aerosmith's debut was much better with hits like Dream On,Mama Kin,One Way Street,Movin' Out and a great cover of Walkin' the Dog.The best thing to come from Springsteen's debut was Blinded by the Light which was made most famous by Manfred Mann (#1) five years later.No offence,Springsteen is a favourite of mine.Just making my point that Aerosmith had to work hard touring,and recording.
Yeah they did self destruct,but later recovered and returned with more success than ever.

Well, by most measures, Michael Jackson's "Thriller" is the top-selling album of all time. Was he talented? Sure, he was quite talented. But if the question is about success vs. talent, I'd have to think that the King of Pop deserves consideration for a prominent place on that list.

Tocchet, it's that recovery "with more success than ever" than lands them on my list. What was their last great song? Janie's got a Gun? Hardly... It was Walk this Way, approximately, a good decade before their newfound success.
I agree with you about Sprinsteen. I've often felt Springsteen is for people who don't like music but feel the need to tell people something when asked what kind of music they like.
BTW This whole thread is going to be very subjective. I can't stand Aerosmith (after 1980) or Kiss. Maybe you can't stand Radiohead. That doesn't mean either of us is wrong. Just different tastes.
I thought it would be interesting to see who other people thought were undeserving of wild success, and it has been so far.
Keep 'em coming!