25 Most Overrated in America

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AP | Getty Images

What's All the Buzz About?

These days, with just about anything, it all seems to be about the buzz and the hype. But which products, people and places aren't all they are cracked up to be? The bloggers at WalletPop have some pretty strong feelings on the subject.

Click through our gallery to see WalletPop's list of what's most overrated in America.

First Up: Crocs

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Kevork Djansezian, AP

American Idol

Why It's Overrated:Every season there is more of the same -- sweet virginal types with no real talent (Kevin Covais), sexy types with no talent (Antonella Barbra), rockers (Bo Bice), wildcards (Sanjaya Malakar) and vapid blondes (Kristy Lee Cook). People with real talent such as Melinda Dolittle and Jennifer Hudson stand little chance of prevailing.

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Next: Merlot

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

AOL | Getty Images

Crocs

Why They're Overrated:A year ago, even President Bush was wearing Crocs. Now, knockoffs are everywhere, and this WalletPop blogger has had wet feet one too many times.

Read the Full Post

Next: American Idol

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Business Wire / AP

Merlot

Why It's Overrated:Merlot blends well with superior grapes such as cabernet sauvignon to make great wines such as Chateau Lafite Rothschild. As a varietal, however, this blogger finds the reasonably priced bottles lack complexity and depth, while the cheapest remind him of unsweetened cranberry juice.

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Next: Jonas Bros.

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

K. Winter, Getty Images

The Jonas Brothers

Why They're Overrated:Sure the boys have some talent, but are they the next Beatles, as some have claimed lately? Not by a long shot. This blogger thinks they lack the star quality of other Disney teen sensations and certainly can't hold a candle to the Fab Four.

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Next: Disney World

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Disney World

Why It's Overrated:Standing in line in Mickey's gulag, baking under the brutal Florida sun for another whirl on the teacups or another ride with Mr. Toad, this blogger began to doubt the promise that a visit to Disney World was really the pinnacle of human experience.

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Next: Buying Foreclosed Homes

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Cassandra Shie, AOL

Buying Foreclosed Homes

Why It's Overrated:Buying a foreclosed home isn't like shopping Sunday open houses. The homes often go up to bid without inspection, clear title or even vacancy; squatters could be cooking meth even as the gavel falls. The family who lost the house may even still be living there, forcing you, Simon Legree, to evict them.

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Next: Platinum

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Tiffany and Co., AP

Platinum

Why It's Overrated:Sure, platinum wearers get a certain kick in knowing the ring on their finger is made from the same material as the pollution control gizmo in their car. For a 69% savings, though, this blogger suggests choosing white gold for your diamond ring, and using the savings to splurge on a pair of knockout earrings.

Read the Full Post

Next: iPhone 3G

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Courtesy of Apple

iPhone 3G

Why It's Overrated:One WalletPop blogger writes "It's hard to imagine how callers got by without the ability to do those cool iPhone tasks for all those years. Oh wait, I forgot -- the same tasks that the iPhone can do, Windows Mobile users have been doing for years."

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Next: High-Tech Strollers

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Shannon Stapleton, AP

High-Tech Strollers

Why They're Overrated:Why buy expensive high tech strollers? The wheels still fall off at the same rate; the covers get dirty and ripped no matter how strong the material. After a year or even a couple of months, all strollers smell a little funky, no matter how much money paid for them.

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Next: Social Networking

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Chris Jackson, Getty Images

Social Networking

Why It's Overrated:Although "social networking" is a hot buzzword right now, critics claim that the premise discourages actual relationships in favor of the quick fix. In other words, real, face-to-face relationships take time to develop, are messy, and require some actual work.

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Next: Summer Vacation

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Summer Vacation

Why It's Overrated:Thank goodness it's over. Every June it's the same thing: parents' tightly-honed schedules come crashing down around their ears, and chaos reigns supreme for the next three months. For kids, summer vacation may be a delight, but for busy parents, it can be quite overrated.

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Next: Charlotte, N.C.

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Charlotte, N.C.

Why It's Overrated:While Charlotte's housing prices may seem like a breath of fresh air to Yankees giving up on what the Northeast has to offer, this NASCAR-fueled boomtown may be headed for a wreck in the near future. Three of the major employers (Wachovia, Bank of America and Lowe's) have been hurt by the credit crisis and housing crunch. Property crime is up 3.8 percent and violent crime is up 2.3 percent in the past year.

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Next: Home Ownership

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Home Ownership

Why It's Overrated:In the midst of record foreclosures, and plummeting home values leaving people upside down on their mortgages (i.e. they owe more than the home is currently worth), the American Dream has turned into the American Nightmare for too many families.

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Next: Donald Trump

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Getty Images

Donald Trump

Why He's Overrated:Trump's ability to make money is entirely dependent on the public's perception of him as a billionaire. He charges $1.5 million per speaking appearance at Learning Annex events and, according to Forbes, other builders pay him seven-figure sums to affix his name to their properties.

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Next: Financial Pros

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Professional Financial Advisors

Why They're Overrated:Professional financial help is like a swim coach who attaches himself to your back for the Olympic Trials. Study after study has shown that professionals are extremely unlikely to earn you better returns than you could achieve on your own by buying low-cost index mutual funds.

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Next: Prius

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Sven Nackstrand, AFP / Getty Images

Prius

Why It's Overrated:The price of a current Prius hovers somewhere around $25,000, pushing it out of the range of many consumers. By comparison, a used 1990s Geo Metro gets 38 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway, yet starts in the $2,000 range. For a fully refurbished model, purchasers can expect to pay $4,000-$5,000.

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Next: Low-Fat Food

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Cassandra Shie, AOL

Low-Fat Food

Why It's Overrated:Low-fat diets don't contribute in the least to weight loss or reduction in heart disease. To the contrary, diets low in animal fats and high in refined flours and sugars (read: the contents of my dorm kitchen) could be the cause of diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. The real mind-blower is that low-fat diets can make you fat.

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Next: Owning a Car

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Owning a Car

Why It's Overrated:In 27 months without a car, this blogger has saved thousands of dollars and become an entirely new person; happier, more balanced, and much more muscular. Though she spent decades of her life in love with American car culture, and then stumbled into the decision to give it up without much forethought, she learned that owning a car is highly overrated.

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Next: Blogs

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Blogs

Why They're Overrated:The blogosphere is choking on itself. Blogoreah is the result of well over 100 million blogs out there in the vast cyber wasteland. With new blogs being created about every three minutes and mainstream publishers putting out their own blogs, aren't we just about finished riding this wave?

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Next: High GPA in College

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

www.imagesource.com

A High GPA in College

Why It's Overrated:A 2006 survey by Collegegrad.com found that only 6% of employers think that a job candidate's GPA is the most important piece of information about an individual. The survey found that the interview and prior work experience were ranked higher than GPA when considering an applicant.

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Next: The Wii

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Nintendo, AP

The Nintendo Wii

Why It's Overrated:Playing the Wii is fun, and may have even inspired three kids in the U.S. to get off their couch and lose weight. However, the novelty of swinging around a Wii 'mote to play a game wears off about the time the last party guest heads home. For many, the Wii seems to get the majority of its use when they haul it to a friend's house or to their grandparents for Christmas.

Read the Full Post

Next: Angelina Jolie

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Anne-Christine Poujoulat, AFP / Getty Images

Angelina Jolie

Why She's Overrated:The media obviously writes about Ms. Jolie because they know that people are interested in her. Still, one WalletPop blogger wishes we could all agree to declare an Angelina Jolie d'tente for six months or a year. Then, when she reappeared, she'd be like a breath of fresh air.

Read the Full Post

Next: Two Shower Heads

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Cassandra Shie, AOL

Showers for Two

Why They're Overrated:There is no way that both people can adequately get submerged under the shower head to stay warm. In a standard shower, standing side to side is impossible, so one person must stand partially out of the spray to make room. Shivering while watching your partner enjoy the warm water can leave your heart cold.

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Next: Rachael Ray

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Amy Sussman, Getty Images

Rachael Ray

Why She's Overrated:Rachael Ray is a traitor. In addition to her product endorsements for cookware, grocery stores, and knives, she has made a lot of money shilling for Burger King and Dunkin' Donuts. What else could explain how the woman who won an Iron Chef cook off actually has the temerity to describe Dunkin' Donuts' coffee as "fantabulous?" when we all know it's mediocrastic?

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Next: Chipotle

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

Tim Boyle, Getty Images

Chipotle

Why It's Overrated:Eating in a Chipotle is like grabbing lunch in a high school metal shop. The hard surfaces create an echo chamber that turns table talk into a hearing test. The chairs and tables, welded into place like a bus station cafeteria, aren't conducive to the enjoyment of a 1,250-calorie burrito the size of a bed and breakfast pillow.

Read the Full Post

More on AOL: Cheapest People

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

More From AOL:
Cheapest Person I Know

Now that you've seen what WalletPop thinks is the most overrated in America, see if you think extreme penny-pinching is too. AOL users spilled the beans on the cheapest people in their lives. See what crazy things they do to save some coin.

Next Gallery:He's So Cheap He ...

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Best Places to Retire 2008
Best New Grocery Products
America's Best Colleges

1 of 27

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25 Most Overrated in America

What's All the Buzz About?

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

American Idol

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Crocs

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Merlot

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

The Jonas Brothers

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Disney World

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Buying Foreclosed Homes

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Platinum

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

iPhone 3G

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

High-Tech Strollers

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Social Networking

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Summer Vacation

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Charlotte, N.C.

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Home Ownership

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Donald Trump

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Professional Financial Advisors

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Prius

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Low-Fat Food

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Owning a Car

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Blogs

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

A High GPA in College

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

The Nintendo Wii

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Angelina Jolie

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Showers for Two

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Rachael Ray

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Chipotle

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

Here's What's NOT Overrated:

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