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

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