I also hate record companies a lot. They screwed Alien Ant Farm (Dreamworks) and AAF actually released their 3rd album on the internet called 3rd dreaft, but thankfully, it was released as "up in the attic".
But a record being delayed is annoying, but Halo 2 was delayed for one year and that game is freaking amazing (I know that's a videogame, but still) Although, the record may have been delayed because the artist didn't like how it was mixed and such. I know that's the deal with Smash Mouth right now, they did release the single, but the CD isn't done because the band didn't like how certain volume levels were on the version they got, so its not 100% yet.
But my major complaint about record companies is that they will drop an artist if they don't go platinium. Do you know how many independent artists would kill to sell a million records? With expectations like that, I'd rather be an independent artist my whole life. It makes you humble.