His singing voice is pretty polarizing I'd say, a lot of people don't like it.

I slot them right next to Imagine Dragons; commercial pop rock, all their shit sounds the same, it's scenery, I don't need to go watch em for two hours or buy an album but it doesn't bother me.

The hate is because they were the most visible "post grunge" Pearl Jam wannabe band, not that they were particularly awful among their peers. It's hard to exaggerate just how obnoxious alternative radio became in the late 90s when legitimately 75% of the plays were these manufactured poser bands. It's like clear channel took sadistic pleasure in making us listen to them skull fuck the corpse of Kurt Kobain for 22.8 hours of the day. That's basically what Nickelback was - not awful music, but rather the harbinger of the end times for independent radio and alternative rock.

Tney were produced. Like a hamburger patty. And sold. People will eat what they are served every day.