Plenty of local bands with international followings that I could never get excited about. Not because they aren't good bands - most of them are - but because either their genre doesn't do anything for me, or because the songwriting was weak.
Alice in Chains and Soundgarden are two that come to mind. Excellent bands, but they insist on writing their own material even though there just aren't any great songwriters in either band. Pearl Jam and Nirvana are two others. Both really good high-energy bands, but the grunge scene never did anything for me. Fleet Foxes were supposed to be a Big Thing but the material didn't grab me. Foo Fighters: you have to admire the musicianship, but self-indulgent jams are only fun for the musicians.
I'm on the fence about The Presidents of the United States. You know them from the theme song for "That 70's Show". Bonafide triple-platinum pop stars with clever lyrics, liberal politics and socially-relevant themes. I
should have liked 'em a lot more than I did. (What's that you say, they're still around? Huh. Who knew?)
And then there's the problem of killing off budding talent. There was this Jimi Hendrix guy who showed a lot of promise. If there'd been more good gigs in town maybe he wouldn't have gone off to London to meet his end. Then there was Kurt Cobain, a good lyricist with a hot wife and a monster hit record. Right at his peak, the wife has him murdered before he can divorce her and cut her out of the royalties. Worst of all, we're left with her dreadful band.