I often hear people talk about how evil Machiavelli's are, what do you think?

Personally I don't think such a view makes sense.

Machiavelli doesn't really tell how to do things morally, just how to do things effectively (he for instance says that being too benevolent will lead to a prince's downfall). I think one of the big reasons some people don't like his ideas is because they're comprised of unfortunate, yet realistic, truths.