The Biggest Rock Hall Snubs

There are many great artists who have been overlooked by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The vast majority of these artists have never been nominated for induction. Each year, the final ballot of performers is selected by the Rock Hall Nominating Committee, then sent to the larger Voting Committee for election.

Here are the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's biggest snubs:

ArtistYears Snubbed# of Years Nominated
A Tribe Called Quest103
Afrika Bambaataa191
Alice In Chains90
Aphex Twin80
The B-52's210
Bad Brains171
Bad Company250
Barry White360
Bauhaus200
Beck61
Belle & Sebastian30
Big Star270
Billy Idol180
Björk220
Black Flag210
Blue Öyster Cult270
Blur90
Brian Eno250
The Buzzcocks220
Can310
Captain Beefheart330
The Carpenters300
The Chemical Brothers40
Cher341
Chic2211
Coldplay20
The Commodores250
Connie Francis410
Cyndi Lauper161
Daft Punk50
The Damned230
Dave Matthews Band62
De La Soul110
The Dead Kennedys200
Devo223
Diana Ross290
Dick Dale370
Echo and the Bunnymen200
Emerson, Lake & Palmer290
Eric B. & Rakim132
Faith No More140
Fiona Apple30
The Flaming Lips150
Foreigner221
Fugazi110
Gloria Estefan120
Gram Parsons323
The Guess Who340
Harry Nilsson320
Hüsker Dü180
Ice-T170
INXS190
Iron Maiden202
The Jam220
Jan & Dean390
Jane's Addiction122
The Jesus and Mary Chain150
Jethro Tull310
Jim Croce330
Johnny Burnette and the Rock N Roll Trio430
Joy Division/New Order211
King Crimson300
Kool & the Gang301
Love330
Mariah Carey91
The Marvelettes382
Mary J. Blige72
Mary Wells381
Massive Attack110
MC5336
Megadeth140
The Monkees330
Mötley Crüe180
Motörhead221
My Bloody Valentine140
Nas70
Neu!270
New Order180
New York Dolls263
Nick Cave150
Nick Drake300
Oasis51
The Offspring110
Outkast60
Ozzy Osbourne191
Pantera160
Pavement100
Pet Shop Boys150
Peter, Paul & Mary370
Pixies120
PJ Harvey80
The Pointer Sisters260
Procol Harum321
Queen Latifah100
Queens of the Stone Age20
The Replacements181
Roberta Flack300
Rufus with Chaka Khan264
The Runaways230
Sade151
Scott Walker330
Silver Apples310
Siouxsie & the Banshees210
Slayer160
Sleater-Kinney50
Smashing Pumpkins90
The Smiths162
Sonic Youth170
The Sonics340
Soundgarden132
Sparks280
The Specials200
Steppenwolf311
Stone Roses140
Stone Temple Pilots70
Suicide220
System of a Down20
Television240
Thin Lizzy291
Three Dog Night300
TLC70
Tommy James & the Shondells330
Tool70
Toots & the Maytals370
Tori Amos80
War283
Warren Zevon301
Weezer50
"Weird Al" Yankovic200
The White Stripes21
Wilco50
Wire220
Wu-Tang Clan70
X210
XTC220

The artists listed above are currently eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and were selected by Future Rock Legends commenters on the Rock Hall Revisited and the Rock Hall Projected pages.


Backing Groups

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has inducted only the lead performer of certain notable groups, with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles being the most famous example. (Update: In 2012, the Rock Hall inducted The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, and The Miracles, so they have been removed from the list below. The E Street Band was inducted in 2014.) Here are a list of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers with (arguably) snubbed backing groups. Rock Hall Monitors has a comprehensive look at this issue.

Bob Marley & The Wailers
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Dion & The Belmonts
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Janis Joplin and Big Brother and the Holding Company
Patti Smith Group
Paul McCartney & Wings

Influences

Here are some additional notable candidates who deserve consideration for the Rock Hall because of their influence on the rock era.

Amos MilburnBig Mama Thornton
Bing CrosbyBlind Lemon Jefferson
Buchanan & GoodmanCab Calloway
Celia CruzCharlie Parker
Chuck WillisCount Basie
Crew CutsDizzy Gillespie
Django ReinhardtDuke Ellington
Eddie LangElla Fitzgerald
Emmylou HarrisEsther Phillips
Fela KutiFrank Sinatra
George JonesGlenn Miller Orchestra
Herbie HancockIvory Joe Hunter
Jacques BrelJohn Cage
John ColtraneJohnny Ace
Karlheinz StockhausenLightnin' Hopkins
Lonnie DoneganLoretta Lynn
Memphis MinnieMerle Haggard
Mississippi John HurtOdetta
Patsy ClineRavi Shankar
Roy BrownSarah Vaughan
Scott JoplinScreamin' Jay Hawkins
Serge GainsbourgSon House
Sonny Boy Williamson IIThe Carter Family
The CloversThe Dominoes
The Four FreshmenThe Kingston Trio
The Mills BrothersThe Ravens
The WeaversThelonious Monk
Tom LehrerTownes Van Zandt
W.C. HandyWaylon Jennings
Wendy CarlosWynonie Harris

Country Artists

Here are the most likely Rock Hall candidates from the arists inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Merle HaggardPatsy Cline
Loretta LynnGeorge Jones
Garth BrooksGlen Campbell
Emmylou HarrisThe Carter Family
Kris KristoffersonWaylon Jennings
Roy AcuffCharlie Daniels

R&B Artists

Here are the most likely Rock Hall candidates from the arists inducted in the R&B Hall of Fame.

Dionne WarwickElla Fitzgerald
Ben E. KingCharlie Parker
Luther VandrossChubby Checker
AaliyahThe Marvelettes
Mary WellsThe Clovers
Barry WhiteThe Funk Brothers

After the 2018 inductees were announced, the Cleveland Plain Dealer staff (led by Troy Smith), put together a list of their 100 biggest Rock Hall snubs (Update: Artists honored subsequent to 2018 are noted with their induction year):
  1. Kraftwerk (2021)
  2. Janet Jackson (2019)
  3. Radiohead (2019)
  4. The Smiths
  5. Carole King (2021)
  6. Judas Priest (2022)
  7. King Crimson
  8. Roxy Music (2019)
  9. Nine Inch Nails (2020)
  10. John Coltrane
  11. Iron Maiden
  12. The Cure (2019)
  13. Whitney Houston (2020)
  14. Sonic Youth
  15. The New York Dolls
  16. Big Mama Thornton
  17. Chic
  18. T. Rex (2020)
  19. Warren Zevon
  20. Soundgarden
  21. Tina Turner (2021)
  22. Gram Parsons
  23. Link Wray
  24. Jethro Tull
  25. Mariah Carey
  26. Joy Division
  27. The Shangri-Las
  28. Rage Against the Machine
  29. The Replacements
  30. LL Cool J (2021)
  31. Pixies
  32. MC5
  33. Mary Wells
  34. Joe Tex
  35. Dr. Dre
  36. Chuck Willis
  37. Joe Cocker
  38. The Spinners
  39. Dick Dale
  40. Black Flag
  41. Depeche Mode (2020)
  42. Eric B. & Rakim
  43. Eddie "Guitar Slim" Jones
  44. Smashing Pumpkins
  45. Eurythmics (2022)
  46. Willie Nelson
  47. Def Leppard (2019)
  48. The Zombies (2019)
  49. Captain Beefheart
  50. Big Star
  1. Junior Walker & the All-Stars
  2. Connie Francis
  3. Peter Tosh
  4. Peter Frampton
  5. Wyonnie Harris
  6. Jane's Addiction
  7. The Marvelettes
  8. The Clovers
  9. Screamin' Jay Hawkins
  10. Procol Harum
  11. Motörhead
  12. New Order
  13. Jan and Dean
  14. Salt-N-Pepa
  15. Slayer
  16. The Runaways
  17. Ben E. King
  18. Pat Benatar (2022)
  19. Duran Duran (2022)
  20. De La Soul
  21. The B-52's
  22. Fugazi
  23. Lonnie Johnson
  24. Ozzy Osbourne
  25. A Tribe Called Quest
  26. Pavement
  27. Rufus with Chaka Khan
  28. Chubby Checker
  29. Sade
  30. The J.B.'s
  31. The Dominoes
  32. The J. Geils Band
  33. Afrika Bambaataa
  34. Devo
  35. Roy Brown
  36. Todd Rundgren (2021)
  37. Leroy Carr
  38. Peter Paul & Mary
  39. Pat Hare
  40. Ice Cube
  41. The Doobie Brothers (2020)
  42. Megadeth
  43. The Meters
  44. George Michael
  45. Rick James
  46. Alice In Chains
  47. Bad Company
  48. The Guess Who
  49. Billy Wright
  50. Phish