The writing is juvenile, the band's attitude towards other music is insulting, every album sounds more or less the same, and there's an argument to be made that their fame partially stems largely from a Canadian law requiring Canadian music to make up a certain percentage of radio time. According to sources[0], their new album is getting outsold by Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit's new album, they're a fairly straight country act, so I'm not sure I'm even willing to take Nickelback's popularity as a given in 2017.
Like the other commenter said, Foo Fighters would have made a better example. Maybe Coldplay. Chili Peppers. Look, I understand that art is subjective, but at the end of the day, some art is less subjective than others. Nickelback deserves their spot in the pantheon of groups who get shit on whenever you mention them.
[0]https://headlineplanet.com/home/2017/06/20/nickelbacks-feed-...