[Coffee]

I agree with a lot of what MrWookie said. Most people who refer to many bands as sellouts are typically people who are trying to be emo or misanthropic because they think it makes them look cool to say that Nirvana sold out, Metallica sold out, etc.

However, sudden radical shifts in musical direction that seem to be done in order to bolster sales are what really selling out means. The only examples that really come to mind are people like Stevie Wonder(from Songs in the Key of Life to "I Just Called to Say I Love You"???...wtf?) or Michael Bolton, who was in Blackjack and toured with Ozzy Osbourne before he became the infamous "no-talent ass-clown who became famous and started winning Grammys".