The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame voting ends on April 15th and they will officially announce the class of 2024 by the end of the month. Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees in the Performer category will be:

1. Kool & the Gang: The overwhelming support for Kool & the Gang from voters who have made their ballots public is unprecedented. The Rock Hall is probably kicking itself for waiting so long to nominate such a wildly successful band that crossed multiple genres and decades, and is clearly beloved.
2. Cher: Despite her suspicious public protestations about the Hall of Fame before she was nominated, Cher will likely cooperate and walk in after finally making her first ballot.
3. Foreigner: There's never been a public campaign like the one organized by Mark Ronson in support of his stepfather (Mick Jones). The band was eager to embrace the endorsements of Hall of Famers like Paul McCartney, Slash, Dave Grohl, and Chad Smith, and also heavily promoted the Fan Vote.
4. Peter Frampton: There was an outpouring of love when Frampton performed with Sheryl Crow at the 2023 induction ceremony, which vaulted him onto this year's ballot. Frampton's career peak in the 1970s was in the sweet spot for a significant chunk of voters who were coming of age during that time.
5. A Tribe Called Quest: The Rock Hall seems to want Tribe to get inducted before they can move on to other equally deserving hip hop artists such as Wu Tang and OutKast. Expect ATCQ to make the cut this year to open up future ballots for others.
6. Sinead O'Connor: As unfortunate as it was that it took her death to get the Nominating Committee's attention, the career reflection that followed gives Hall of Fame voters a unique opportunity to cement that legacy.
7. Lenny Kravitz: Like Sheryl Crow last year, Kravitz has countless friends in the industry that he can count on for votes. As a musical chameleon, he appeals to multiple demographics.

Additional Notes and Open Questions:

• The Rock Hall's rule change to allow voters to select seven artists instead of just five has been a massive improvement. Listening to voters work through their ballots on the Who Cares About the Rock Hall? podcast has shown that much of the pretzel logic voting of past years is gone. We're glad the Rock Hall finally took our suggestion ;)
• It's going to be fascinating to see how the increase to seven picks will impact the voting. The expansion could lead to some unexpected results.
• Allowing voters choose seven artists implies they will induct seven names from the ballot, but they haven't explicitly said they will do that. After inducting seven in 2022 and 2023, anything less than that will be a disappointment given the giant backlog.
• What about Ozzy? Despite his icon status, voters may look another way because 1) he's already an inductee with Black Sabbath, and 2) metal doesn't get much respect from the Rock Hall's voters.
• Dave Matthews Band dominated the official Fan Vote, and if they get passed over again, they'll cement their position as the number one populist snub.
• Is Mariah Carey too big to fail? It will be a tough pill to swallow for a star of her magnitude to miss out on a career achievement like this, but for whatever reason, voter support appears to be soft.
• Lenny Kravitz has had a quiet a year. He's already performed two career-spanning medleys at the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Festival and the 2023 People's Choice Awards, where he picked up a Music Icon Award. Just last month he was honored by his daughter and Denzel Washington when getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. After all of that, a Rock Hall induction may seem redundant.
• The public health issues of Ozzy, Peter Frampton, and key members of Foreigner, could certainly motivate voters to cast their votes for them this year.
• What do our readers think is going to happen? The results from our own prediction poll:





• The 2024 induction ceremony will be back in Cleveland this fall and will likely sell out quickly, no matter who gets inducted. Last year the Rock Hall was forced to lower their exorbitant ticket prices after demand was soft for the Brooklyn ceremony.
• Paul McCartney has appeared at two of the last three Cleveland ceremonies. Maybe he'll be back again this year?

Foreigner's a lock. https://t.co/TcTupbD4Dp

— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) February 27, 2024

• The Rock Hall's "Fans Ballot" winners were Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne, Cher, Lenny Kravitz, and Kool & the Gang. Historically fan vote winners have been inducted slightly more than 50% of the time, so it's no guarantee of induction (last year only one artist from the top five made it in).
• Lastly, a quick plug for our other websites which, like this site, focus on the greatest of all-time in their respective categories: Future Country Legends, Future Hip Hop Legends, and Future Football Legends. If you're into best-of lists and Halls of Fame, you'll find a lot to like over there.


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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will officially announce the class of 2023 on Wednesday, May 3rd. Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees in the Performer category will be:

1. Willie Nelson: The only certainty in this year's hyper-competitive ballot is that Willie Nelson is getting inducted. Once you nominate a legend like Willie who has a resume longer than most Hall of Famers, you simply have to put him in.
2. Missy Elliott: Hosting the ceremony in New York in hip hop's 50th anniversary year provides a great opportunity to induct Missy Elliott, one of hip hop's true innovators.
3. George Michael: The Voting Committee historically marks their ballots in favor of artists who haven't previously been nominated. Roughly 2/3 of inductees get in the first time they appear on a ballot.
4. Warren Zevon: The catalyst for Zevon's appearance on the ballot was a letter from Billy Joel advocating for his induction. Joel likely didn't stop his lobbying once he was nominated, and he's been joined in the effort by David Letterman.
5. Sheryl Crow: After being the presenter at previous induction ceremonies, this year it will be Sheryl Crow's turn to be on the receiving end of the honor.
6. Cyndi Lauper: After the recent inductions of The Go-Go's and Duran Duran, the Rock Hall continues to dig deeper into the superstars of 1980s MTV. Cyndi Lauper's industry connections are a huge asset with their overlap with the Voting Committee.

Additional Notes:

• This year's ballot is stacked with deserving candidates and it's not hard to make a case how (almost) any of them could be inducted. It's painful to leave them off the list above.
• We incorrectly predicted Chaka Khan would be inducted in the Musical Excellence category last year, but it has to happen this year, right?
• Since 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop, we're predicting the Rock Hall will have a big segment of the ceremony devoted to the genre, including an Early Influence induction of DJ Kool Herc.
• If the induction class is at least 50% women, the Rock Hall will breathe a sigh of relief given the renewed criticism of the lack of women who have been honored.
• This is the second year of the public Ballot Tracker. The top five artists currently in the lead of known ballots are Kate Bush, Joy Division/New Order, Missy Elliott, The Spinners, and A Tribe Called Quest. Last year, the public ballots were not indicative of the actual results.
• The top five winners of the Fan Vote this year were George Michael, Cyndi Lauper, Warren Zevon, Iron Maiden, and Soundgarden. That's the second top-five finish for both Iron Maiden and Soundgarden, which bodes well for their future inductions, even if it will come in the form of Musical Excellence. Fela Kuti and Dave Matthews Band are the only other artists to finish in the top-five and haven't been inducted.
• There hasn't been an entire performer class of first year nominated artists (FYNs) since 2009.
• As mentioned above, the induction ceremony will be in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center, the site of the 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2019 events. The Rock Hall had previously promised Cleveland they could host every other year, but that deal seems to no longer exist. The upcoming construction at the museum will be enough of an excuse to quell any grumbling from the Cleveland contingent for a few years.

For sixteen years we have been conducting an unofficial poll on this site which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1679 ballots):

1. Kate Bush 54% (they appeared on 54% of the ballots)
2. Willie Nelson 50%
3. Iron Maiden 49%
4. Soundgarden 48%
5. Joy Division/New Order 48%
6. Cyndi Lauper 42%
7. George Michael 36%
8. Warren Zevon 30%
9. Sheryl Crow 30%
10. The White Stripes 27%
11. The Spinners 24%
12. Rage Against the Machine 22%
13. Missy Elliott 19%
14. A Tribe Called Quest 19%

A bit early for any definitive predictions, but it's really difficult to imagine a scenario where a least six of these don't get into the Rock Hall this year:
-Willie Nelson
-Sheryl Crow
-Warren Zevon
-Missy Elliott
-The White Stripes
-George Michael
-Cyndi Lauper

— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) February 24, 2023

Looking at the wide array of 246 performer inductees and comparing it to the long list of those who aren't in, it's possible to draw some general conclusions about what it takes to get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall doesn't list any official criteria, but the three primary traits of performer inductees tend to fall into these broad categories:

• Popularity
• Critical Acclaim
• Industry Connections

History has shown that artists who do well in at least two out of the three categories have a solid chance at making the Hall of Fame, and those who check all three boxes likely get in on the first ballot. This is why having massive record sales and radio hits (aka "Popularity") on their own isn't typically enough to break through (e.g. Huey Lewis & the News, Styx, Backstreet Boys, etc.), while the same is true of Critically Acclaimed artists who never fully entered the mainstream (e.g. Can, Hüsker Dü, PJ Harvey). The Industry Connections category can take many shapes, such as having your record executive or manager on the Rock Hall Nominating Committee, but it can broadly be thought of as artists who often show up at awards shows or special events, and play the showbiz game (e.g. John Legend, Alicia Keys, Green Day, Gary Clark, Jr.). Having those industry relationships is often the missing piece of the puzzle that helps separate artists from their musical peers in the eyes of the Hall of Fame.

It should be noted here that there are dozens of artists who satisfy two or three of these categories that aren't in the Hall of Fame yet, but should be considered qualified.

It wasn't long ago that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was criticized for being self-centered and run by elitist critics when it would repeatedly nominate artists like Patti Smith or The Stooges while ignoring (or outright disparaging) populist artists like KISS or Chicago. While there was unquestionably an element of truth to that reputation, the overall list of inductees was fairly balanced between popular and critical favorites.

Over the last decade, there has been a noticeable shift in the Rock Hall's stance towards critically maligned but popular artists, as more and more famous snubs finally broke through with a nomination and then were quickly inducted.

Continuing that trend, take a look at the performers nominated in 2022 and how they best fit in the diagram above (bold artists were inducted):

• C/P/I (1st Ballot): Eminem
• P/I: Lionel Richie, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Dolly Parton*, Duran Duran
• I/C: Beck
• C/P: A Tribe Called Quest, Judas Priest, Rage Against the Machine
• P only: Pat Benatar, Dionne Warwick
• C only: Devo, Kate Bush, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls

* - Dolly is critically acclaimed in Country music circles, but generally not considered by the Pop/Rock critics, which are relevant here.

The only common denominator among the winners is Popularity. When evaluating such a musically diverse ballot, voters heavily gravitated towards the most iconic names, most of whom are deeply entrenched in the music industry. Any artist without household name recognition, a significant Billboard chart presence, or couldn't plausibly appear at the American Music Awards were passed over again.

To be fair, the Nominating Committee has tried to create well-balanced ballots, but it has become incredibly predictable to see that the Voting Committee now favors shiny stars over influential pioneers. The Rock Hall's "solution" to this problem is to use their special categories to induct handpick a few artists who can't get past the voters (like Judas Priest, Kraftwerk and LL Cool J), rather than addressing the systemic deficiencies in their ballot construction or voter demographics.

While some may see lack of balance unsettling, those in charge at the Rock Hall and HBO (its induction ceremony broadcast partner) almost certainly see this populist direction as a feature rather than a bug (especially with their new interest in the superstars of Country to choose from). Now that the precedent has been set for the amount of star power expected on stage at induction ceremonies, there's no turning back now.

With the 2022 inductees scheduled to be announced on Tuesday, we're proud to introduce a brand new website, Future Country Legends, dedicated to providing insight into the Country Music Hall of Fame induction process and highlighting the next generation of legends.

There are a number of similarities between the current state of the conversation around the Country Music Hall of Fame and how people discussed the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 when Future Rock Legends was founded:

1. No comprehensive listing of eligibility dates for artists.
2. Incomplete information publicly available about those already inducted into the Hall of Fame, including induction categories.
3. A secretive and misunderstood selection process.
4. A lack of a dedicated forum to discuss Hall of Famers and future candidates.
5. Questions surrounding the purity of genre and what should or shouldn't be included.
6. An under-the-radar private induction ceremony.

All of those elements about Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have changed significantly in 16 years with the rise of social media and a resources like Future Rock Legends which has documented every high and low of the institution.

Nashville's Country Music Hall of Fame keeps a relatively low profile relative to its peers, rarely getting embroiled in controversy, but also standing apart from the national consciousness. Future Country Legends aims to shine a light on the Hall of Fame and dig deeper into who gets inducted and why others don't.

We're looking forward to starting this journey, not knowing exactly where it will lead us. We hope you enjoy the site, and if you do, please spread the word to other like-minded fans.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will officially announce the members of its 2022 induction class on May 4th. Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees in the Performer category will be:

1. Eminem: Assuming Eminem gets inducted this year, that will make five first-ballot hip hop artists in the last 10 years (Public Enemy, 2Pac, Biggie, Jay-Z, Eminem), compared to four first-ballot rock bands (Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters). The tide has shifted.
2. Duran Duran: This year's runaway Fan Vote winners should get in right away after waiting 15 years for the Rock Hall to give them an opportunity on the ballot.
3. Pat Benatar: After missing out in 2020, Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo are back on the ballot and out on tour this summer. A Rock Hall induction should help sell a few more tickets.
4. Judas Priest: In recent years, a number of artists have been inducted in the third year on the ballot, including Todd Rundgren, Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Cars, and Janet Jackson. Judas Priest is hoping that voters looking for rock artists on the ballot will gravitate towards them on their third nomination.
5. Dionne Warwick: In 2021, Warwick was nominated for the first time on a ballot stacked with artists who were already Hall of Famers like Tina Turner, Carole King, and Dave Grohl. With the uncertainty around Dolly Parton's status, this year's path is significantly clearer.
6. Lionel Richie: It's pretty well established at this point that the Rock Hall likes to have big recognizable names at their induction ceremonies, whether it is the inductees or the presenters. Richie is one of a handful of icons who the Rock Hall has missed, but seems intent on correcting. (Look for names like Willie Nelson, Diana Ross, Gloria Estefan, and Cher to be next in line).
7. Dolly Parton: Speaking of icons, the whole kerfuffle around her nomination will be a minor footnote by the time the inductees get honored in Los Angeles in November. The Rock Hall won't pass up a chance to get Dolly on stage while they have the chance.

Additional Notes:

• The last time there were seven performer inductees was 2019. Seems warranted again this year.
• Check out our public Ballot Tracker to get a glimpse at the ballots of over 40 voters.
• Even with endless possibilities in the Special Categories, look for the reasonably predictable inductions of Chaka Khan in Musical Excellence (seven nominations is enough) and the MC5 in Early Influence (as a parting gift to MC5-champion Jon Landau, who is expected to be stepping down as chairman of the Nominating Committee soon).
• A couple hours after the Fan Vote opened, the five artists at the top of the standings were Duran Duran (3rd), Eminem (5th), Pat Benatar (1st), Eurythmics (4th), and Dolly Parton (2nd). Nearly three months and five million more votes later, the same artists were still in the top five, just in a different order. So much wasted time and energy (not to mention creating animosity between rival fanbases).
• For other perspectives and predictions for the class of 2022, look through our Twitter page where you will find retweets of other Rock Hall experts.

For fifteen years we have been conducting an unofficial poll on this site which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1538 ballots):

1. Duran Duran 67% (they appeared on 67% of the ballots)
2. Pat Benatar 58%
3. Judas Priest 51%
4. Eurythmics 42%
5. Carly Simon 39%
6. Dolly Parton 38%
7. Eminem 37%
8. Lionel Richie 30%
9. Rage Against the Machine 23%
10. Beck 22%
11. Kate Bush 19%
12. Dionne Warwick 19%
13. Devo 17%
14. A Tribe Called Quest 14%
15. New York Dolls 9%
16. MC5 9%
17. Fela Kuti 5%

If you follow the annual Baseball Hall of Fame inductions even a little bit, you are probably aware of the public Vote Tracker, started in 2013 by Ryan Thibodaux. The tracker collects all ballots that are shared publicly (or anonymously sent) and records them in a spreadsheet that anyone can access. The Vote Tracker has not only been invaluable in predicting who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but has elevated the discourse among the fans who really care about who gets honored in Cooperstown.

That leads us to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an institution that could benefit from more transparency in its process. Each year, Rock Hall voters are faced with a ballot that is stacked top-to-bottom with worthy artists, but are required to select no more than five names. Voters assume that their peers will likely be supporting superstar Artist X, so instead throw a choice to niche-genre Artist Y, who theoretically needs the support more. The Fan Vote results can become the only data point a voter has to reference, which is not a fair representation of voter sentiment or Hall of Fame worthiness. It turns the process into a strategic guessing game, but one with gigantic stakes.

As a way to help voters with this task, we're introducing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker, where we will track any ballots that get shared in a public forum (Twitter, Instagram, blogs, podcasts, etc). We're also offering voters the chance to participate anonymously by emailing a photo of their official ballots to futurerocklegends [at] gmail.com so it can tracked in the totals without the public exposure. The current Rock Hall Fan Vote leaders will of course also be recorded as a ballot.

There will be some understandable trepidation among voters about sharing their choices, but they should take comfort that many music writers have been posting their ballots online for years. (One of the benefits of these stacked ballots is that literally any combination of five artists is easily defensible.) To manage expectations, we don't believe this will be a meaningful sample size to predict the will of 1000+ voters, but let's have some fun and give it a try this year. We're grateful for anyone willing to help!

Click here to access the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker

Special thanks to @NotMrTibbs and the Baseball Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker team for the inspiration!

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will officially announce its 2021 induction class on Wednesday, May 12th. Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees will be:

1. Jay-Z: Transcendent hip-hop stars have been able to break through with the voting committee in recent years, with Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac getting inducted in the first eligible years. Jay-Z should follow suit and set the stage for next year when Eminem becomes eligible.
2. Tina Turner: There's an opportunity for three people to join the multiple inductees club, and few are more deserving than the Queen of Rock & Roll. Turner is the first choice in the fan vote, and she should easily walk in now that she has finally been nominated for her post-Ike career.
3. Carole King: It's not hyperbole to say that Carole King is one of America's most decorated artists. From Grammy Lifetime Achievement awards to Kennedy Center Honors, King is universally acclaimed. She will now add the honor of being a two-time Rock Hall inductee.
4. Foo Fighters: Speaking of American institutions, Dave Grohl has established himself as the 21st century torch bearer for rock and roll. He likely has half the Rock Hall voters in his phone contacts, so he shouldn't have any difficulty finding support for his band's induction. Grohl would join John Lennon as the only artists to be inducted twice in their first eligible years.
5. The Go-Go's: For years, the Go-Go's have been vocal about their exclusion from the Rock Hall, arguing their exclusion was due to politics and sexism. After their nomination, they've quickly changed their tune and have embraced the honor and heavily promoted the fan vote. They are "all-in" on this year's nomination, so it seems clear they will get inducted on their first nomination after ridiculously having to wait 15 years just to get an opportunity.
6. New York Dolls: On the Who Cares About the Rock Hall? podcast, many of the voters that Joe and Kristen spoke to voiced their immediate support of the New York Dolls. After getting nominated in 2001 and then forgotten for the next 20 years, it took the death of Sylvain Sylvain to get the Nominating Committee's attention again. Voters seem to not want to miss their chance to induct them this time.

Additional Notes:

• Last year's live induction broadcast never came to be, but the Rock Hall planned for just six performer inductees with that in mind, and three were posthumous inductions. Smaller induction classes might be the norm moving forward as television time constraints wag the dog. Over the last couple of decades, the Rock Hall has averaged about 5.5 performer inductees per year.
• The Rock Hall has a pattern of inducting an "Early Influence" artist every three years, with the last being Sister Rosetta Tharpe in 2018. Look for one more to be selected this year.
• With regards to the special categories, the Rock Hall has gradually lost interest in them, averaging over four per year in the early days, to now below two. There are still dozens of worthy candidates that fall into these categories, but the Rock Hall refuses to make it a priority.

• Fela Kuti's strong showing of second place in the Rock Hall's fan vote was a surprise given his limited name recognition in the U.S., but social media promotion from influential Nigerian accounts gave him a massive boost. If they had promoted the fan vote a few more days in the last few weeks, they very likely could have gotten first place.
• Devo's nomination was embraced by the city of Akron and the Goodyear corporation, with both staging promotions for the band.
• There hasn't been an all-FYN (inducted in the first year nominated) class since 2009. FYNs typically make up roughly 60% of inductees.
• If Grohl, King and Turner get inducted, they will join the exclusive list of Multiple Inductees.
• For other perspectives and predictions for the class of 2021, look through our Twitter page where you will find retweets of other Rock Hall experts.
• If you enjoy Future Rock Legends, consider checking out our new site Future Football Legends!

For fourteen years we have been conducting an unofficial poll on this site which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1680 ballots):

1. Tina Turner 68% (she appeared on 68% of the ballots)
2. Carole King 55%
3. The Go-Go's 50%
4. Iron Maiden 42%
5. Foo Fighters 41%
6. Dionne Warwick 35%
7. Kate Bush 33%
8. Rage Against the Machine 28%
9. Jay-Z 27%
10. Todd Rundgren 26%
11. Chaka Khan 21%
12. LL Cool J 19%
13. Devo 17%
14. New York Dolls 16%
15. Fela Kuti 11%
16. Mary J. Blige 10%

Spin is marking its 35th anniversary with a series of features and lists, including a ranking of the 35 "most influential artists of the past 35 years." Seventeen of the artists have already been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, including 15 of the top 20. The remaining artists will likely be in the Rock Hall conversation for the next 20+ years.

Here is Spin's ranking, with the eligibility year listed for non-Rock Hall artists:

1. Nirvana
2. Prince
3. Madonna
4. N.W.A
5. Nine Inch Nails
6. 2Pac
7. Run-DMC
8. R.E.M.
9. Public Enemy
10. Rage Against the Machine (2018)
11. Guns N' Roses
12. Beastie Boys
13. Dr. Dre (2018)
14. U2
15. Pearl Jam
16. The Neptunes (2029)
17. Notorious B.I.G.
18. Tori Amos (2017)
19. Michael Jackson
20. Jane's Addiction (2013)
21. Outkast (2019)
22. Radiohead
23. Kanye West (2029)
24. Jay-Z (2021)
25. Eminem (2022)
26. Beyoncé (2029)
27. Ricky Martin (2017)
28. Lady Gaga (2034)
29. Tyler, the Creator (2035)
30. Spice Girls (2022)
31. Bikini Kill (2017)
32. Drake (2035)
33. Billie Eilish (2042)
34. Sublime (2018)
35. No Doubt (2018)

Of the eligible artists, only Rage Against the Machine and Jane's Addiction have appeared on a Rock Hall ballot. The others are still waiting to get an opportunity from the voters.

Is being influential enough to get you into the Hall of Fame on its own? Probably not. It usually takes an additional mix of commercial success, critical acclaim, and industry connections to get you over the top. Fortunately for many of these artists, they can score on multiple fronts.

Journalism professor and former pop music critic Evelyn McDonnell is one of the most vocal advocates for properly recognizing the importance of women's contributions to rock music. Her essays regarding the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's deficiencies in that area have led to a heightened awareness in the media and public that just 7.7% of inductees are women.

In 2018, McDonnell released her edited collection of essays, Women Who Rock, which celebrated the careers of over 100 artists, 30% of whom are already in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. While many of the remaining women highlighted in the book are clearly worthy of the Hall of Fame, most of those eligible haven't even been nominated due to the Rock Hall's flawed induction system.

Will this list predict who the next women inductees will be? The only three women who have been inducted by the Rock Hall since publication were featured in the book, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, and Whitney Houston.

Here is the full list of women from the book (linked artists are not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame; Hall of Famers noted with their year of induction):

• Bessie Smith (1989)
• Sister Rosetta Tharpe (2018)
• Mahalia Jackson (1997)
• Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton
• Wanda Jackson (2009)
• Patsy Cline
• Nina Simone (2018)
• Odetta
• Joan Baez (2017)
• Carole King (1990 as Non-Performer)
• Celia Cruz
• Tina Turner (1991 with Ike Turner)
• Aretha Franklin (1987)
• Darlene Love (2011)
• Ronnie Spector (2007 with The Ronettes)
• Diana Ross (1988 with The Supremes)
• Dusty Springfield (1999)
• Marianne Faithfull
• Grace Slick (1996 with Jeffeson Airplane)
• Laura Nyro (2012)
• Janis Joplin (1995)
• Carol Kaye
• Cher
• Dolly Parton
• Mavis Staples (1999 with The Staples Singers)
• Joni Mitchell (1997)
• The GTO's
• Yoko Ono
• Patti LaBelle
• Linda Ronstadt (2014)
• Karen Carpenter
• June Millington
• Bonnie Raitt (2000)
• Betty Davis
• Suzi Quatro
• Chaka Khan
• Emmylou Harris
• Stevie Nicks (2019 solo and 1998 with Fleetwood Mac)
• Donna Summer (2013)
• Patti Smith (2007)
• Heart (2013)
• Debbie Harry (2006 with Blondie)
• Joan Jett (2015)
• Grace Jones
• Poly Styrene
• Siouxsie Sioux
• Kate Bush
• Alice Bag
• Chrissie Hynde (2005 with The Pretenders)
• Exene Cervenka
• Poison Ivy
• ESG
• The Go-Go's
• Laurie Anderson
• Diamanda Galás
• Cyndi Lauper
• Madonna (2008)
• Kim Gordon
• k.d. lang
• Whitney Houston (2020)
• Janet Jackson (2019)
• Salt-N-Pepa
• Sinéad O'Connor
• Angélique Kidjo
• Lucinda Williams
• L7
• Selena
• Queen Latifah
• Ani DiFranco
• Kathleen Hanna
• Courtney Love
• Liz Phair
• TLC
• Tori Amos
• PJ Harvey
• Gwen Stefani
• Björk
• Lauryn Hill
• Aaliyah
• Shirley Manson
• Sleater-Kinney
• Fiona Apple
• Missy Elliott
• Erykah Badu
• Neko Case
• Dixie Chicks
• Beyoncé
• Tegan and Sara
• Peaches
• Sharon Jones
• Laura Jane Grace
• Amy Winehouse
• M.I.A.
• Rihanna
• Ana Tijoux
• Taylor Swift
• Adele
• Janelle Monáe
• Lady Gaga
• Santigold
• Nicki Minaj
• Pussy Riot
• Brittany Howard

It should be noted that McDonnell's book is not meant to be a comprehensive list of women who are worthy of induction, because there are many others who should be considered.

Even though there haven’t been any polls of official voters, since 2013, there have been two different fan polls to look for clues:

1. The Rock Hall’s official Fan Vote: This poll reflects the will of the unwashed masses. It generally skews towards artists that are regulars on classic rock radio and ones with rabid fan bases who are willing to vote everyday regardless of how little the fan vote counts. Hip hop, R&B, funk and other non-traditional “rock” artists generally perform poorly in this poll. Notably, fans can select between one and five artists with each vote (many strategically vote for a single artist daily, so results tend to be top heavy).
2. The Future Rock Legends Poll: This poll (and site) generally favors objective and knowledgeable music fans who are students of the Rock Hall itself, not just their particular favorite artists. While still primarily rock-focused, contemporary artists, and hip hop and R&B artists tend to perform better than with the Rock Hall’s fan voters. The poll requires voters to select five artists, so the results are more evenly distributed. Unlike the Rock Hall’s poll, which allows daily voting, the FRL poll only permits one ballot submission per voter.

So which of these two polls best reflects the demographics of the official 1000+ voters? Which poll aligns with the results the Rock Hall voters have produced? We’ll focus on the top five results of both polls. Since the class of 2013, if you finished in the top five of the Rock Hall vote, you had a 71% chance of being inducted that year. Finishing in the top five of the FRL poll, gave you a 63% chance of being inducted. But what if an artist finished in the top five of both polls? Since 2013, that’s happened 21 times, and 76% of those artists were inducted that year, including 100% (!!!) of the artists in the last four years.*

So... who finished in the top five of both polls this year? Three artists: Pat Benatar, the Doobie Brothers, and Judas Priest.

Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees of the Rock Hall class of 2020 will be:

1. Pat Benatar: Nearly all inductions these days can be categorized as “overdue,” because the Rock Hall perpetuates a system where the backlog gets longer every year. So the fact that has taken 20 years for Pat Benatar to show up on a ballot is an indictment of the institution, not the artist.
2. The Doobie Brothers: Ever since signing on with Rock Hall Board member Irving Azoff’s management company, this induction has been in the works. Their string of radio-friendly hits and the promise of a Michael McDonald reunion performance makes them a lock, and should also provide a dance-friendly segment to the induction ceremony.
3. Judas Priest: Rob Halford and company were disappointed when they didn’t get inducted two years ago. Reports of them not performing well with voters didn’t bode well for their return to the ballot so soon. The Nominating Committee had other ideas, and decided to give them another shot this year. Plenty of Hall of Famers didn’t get in on their first try (Aerosmith, Queen, Pink Floyd, David Bowie), so Judas Priest will be in good company when they make it in.
4. T. Rex: If last year’s induction class proved anything, it was the power of the British voting bloc. Every band that made it in last year was from across the pond, adding even more voters who know the unique impact that T. Rex had in that country. Marc Bolan is one of those names that people have been lauding around here for 13+ years, and usually when that type of genius gets nominated, they get inducted immediately.
5. Nine Inch Nails: When the nominees were announced in October, nominating committee member Alan Light discussed the importance of artists staying relevant to get the attention of voters and used the NIN sample on “Old Town Road” as a great example. Since that time, Trent Reznor’s work on the critically acclaimed Watchmen score has only bolstered his case as one of the top 100 artists ever.
6. Notorious B.I.G.: Alan Light felt that there was a clear opportunity for Biggie Smalls to be inducted in his first eligible year, so the Nominating Committee opted to keep him as the only hip hop artist on the ballot so there would be no vote-splitting in that genre. That strategy worked well in 2017 when Tupac was inducted as the sole hip hop nominee on a large ballot. The Nominating Committee is doing everything it can to keep the hip hop lane clear: next year, Jay-Z becomes eligible. The following year it will be Eminem. After that comes Missy Elliott. Unless the Nominating Committee decides to widen the hip hop highway, they need to keep traffic moving, and they can’t afford to not get Biggie in this year. A single lane for hip hop has already kept LL Cool J, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan, De La Soul, and Eric B. & Rakim (among many others) stuck in traffic, a problem the Rock Hall faces in nearly every genre of music.

Additional Notes:

• Like Erockracy and Iconic Rock Talk Show, we’ll take Alan Light and Joel Peresman’s suggestion seriously that Kraftwerk could be honored this year as an Early Influence inductee, because it might be the only viable path to getting them in the Rock Hall, even if they have to change the meaning of the category.
• It’s true that every Rock Hall fan vote winner has been inducted, so why not Dave Matthews Band this year? They are certainly a worthy nominee and should get inducted eventually, but their relatively tepid first place finish in the fan poll (compared to previous first place finishers) combined with a poor showing in our own poll, gives us enough pause to think they won’t make it this year. Could it happen? Absolutely. Dave Matthews is extremely well connected and has made a lot of money for the music industry, and that can never be discounted.
• The Rock Hall’s decision to extend voting an additional month effectively killed off any momentum they had from the nominations. Hopefully they won’t do that again.
• There is more uncertainty than usual with this year’s induction class. HBO’s live broadcast of the ceremony could potentially pressure the Rock Hall to induct a smaller class than usual to keep the event under four hours. On the other hand, the Museum is celebrating its 25th anniversary, so perhaps there is something special in the works. We’ll find out which way things go on January 15th when the inductees are announced.
• * - In the last four years, there were 10 artists who finished in the top five of the Rock Hall and FRL polls: The Cure, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Moody Blues, Dire Straits, The Cars, E.L.O., Pearl Jam, Chicago, and Deep Purple.
• If you like this type of analysis, we humbly request you consider supporting Future Rock Legends by purchasing a shirt in our store at Teespring. For the next two weeks, you can get a 20% discount on anything by using the Promo Code FRL20 at checkout (just $20 for a classic shirt).

As noted above, for thirteen years we have been conducting an unofficial poll on this site which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1873 ballots):

1. Pat Benatar 59% (she appeared on 59% of the ballots)
2. The Doobie Brothers 52%
3. Whitney Houston 42%
4. Judas Priest 34%
5. Nine Inch Nails 34%
6. Motörhead 33%
7. Depeche Mode 33%
8. Soundgarden 32%
9. Thin Lizzy 31%
10. T. Rex 30%
11. Kraftwerk 30%
12. Notorious B.I.G. 29%
13. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan 20%
14. Dave Matthews Band 15%
15. Todd Rundgren 15%
16. MC5 11%

Why do certain Rock Hall nominees get inducted and others don’t? These annual prediction posts try to make sense of the Rock Hall Voting Committee’s tendencies. Over the years we’ve justified our predictions by discussing:

• The need for an exciting HBO broadcast
• The propensity of the voters to induct their peers over younger artists
• The correlation between the fan vote and the inductees
• The voters’ preferences for fresh names on the ballot

One thing that doesn’t really get discussed is who is actually most worthy of induction. It really doesn’t matter as much as it should.

Future Rock Legends predicts the five inductees of the Rock Hall class of 2019 will be:

• Def Leppard: No surprise here. The winner of the Rock Hall’s fan poll has been inducted every year so far, and this year will be no exception. Def Leppard are first-time nominees and unquestionably “rock,” which matters to a not-insignificant portion of the voting pool (many voters dismiss half the ballot each year because the artists don’t fit their narrow definition of “rock and roll”). Their performance will be a major highlight of the induction ceremony.
• Stevie Nicks: The Rock Hall is certainly aware of its issues of women being underrepresented in Cleveland. A Stevie Nicks induction would give them a positive story to tell this year, as she would become the first woman to be a multiple inductee.
• Todd Rundgren: For Rundgren’s fans, this nomination has been a long time coming, and his strong showing in the fan poll is proof that he has a lot of passionate support. We’re betting that includes enough members of the Voting Committee and they will be eager to induct him now that he has finally made the ballot.
• The Zombies: After three previous turns on the ballot, the Nominating Committee has given The Zombies a clear lane for induction this year. Paul Shaffer has made it his mission to get them in, so even if they strike out, they will keep coming back again.
• Radiohead: Perhaps last year’s ridiculous snub woke up the voters enough to realize they shouldn’t assume anyone is getting in, no matter how obvious it seems.
• (If there are six inductees) John Prine: This year’s most surprising nominee could waltz right into the Hall on his first try. Prine’s lengthy career has touched multiple generations of voters, giving him an edge over those who had a briefer impact.

Inductees will be officially announced next week, a day or two after voting closes on December 10th.

For twelve years we have been conducting an unofficial poll which requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1163 ballots):

1. The Cure 50% (half of our voters had them on their ballot of five)
2. Radiohead 48%
3. Janet Jackson 45%
4. Kraftwerk 39%
5. Def Leppard 39%
6. The Zombies 39%
7. Roxy Music 38%
8. Stevie Nicks 37%
9. Todd Rundgren 35%
10. MC5 29%
11. LL Cool J 25%
12. Devo 23%
13. Rage Against the Machine 22%
14. Rufus with Chaka Khan 16%
15. John Prine 14%

And they aren’t alone. Since 2013, 58% of inductees have finished in the top five of the fan vote. The Rock Hall has also leaned heavily on artists who are nominated for the first time, with 62% of inductees getting in immediately (including five out of six last year).

So, there is some correlation between the fan vote winners and the inductees, as well as those who are fresh names on the ballot. The official fan poll winners were: Bon Jovi (2nd nomination), The Moody Blues (1st nomination), Dire Straits (1st nomination), The Cars (3rd nomination) and Judas Priest (1st nomination).

Future Rock Legends predicts the inductees of the Rock Hall class of 2018 will be:

• Bon Jovi: Jann Wenner’s dislike of the band has probably been one of the main reasons they haven’t gotten in yet, but his influence seems to be waning, and the momentum is strong this year. Don’t be surprised if a big summer tour follows their induction with Richie Sambora back in the fold.
• The Moody Blues: If it weren’t for Bon Jovi, The Moody Blues would have been the big story this year. Their fans have been nagging the Rock Hall for years about the snub. Voters should vote them in quickly now that they have the chance.
• Radiohead: Yes, their disinterest could hurt their chances of induction this year, but Level 3 or 4 Hall of Famers don’t come around very often. The Rock Hall will look hopelessly foolish and out of touch to an entire generation if they don’t get in (as if they don’t already).
• Dire Straits: Like Jeff Lynne and E.L.O. last year, voters will jump at the chance to induct Mark Knopfler.
• Judas Priest: The Rock Hall undeniably needs more metal, and Judas Priest are more than happy to be inducted. Unlike Radiohead, they even left a gap in their tour schedule for the induction ceremony.
• Nina Simone: Women getting inducted is rare, but a black woman hasn’t been inducted since Donna Summer in 2013.

Since this is a Cleveland Induction Ceremony, the Early Influence category should be resurrected. We’ll predict they’ll again pull from the performer ballot and induct both Link Wray and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

Inductees will be officially announced on Wednesday, December 13th.

The Rock Hall Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, April 14 at Public Hall in Cleveland.

For eleven years we have been conducting our own unofficial poll here which, unlike the official Rock Hall poll, requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1084 ballots):

1. The Moody Blues 53%
2. The Cars 51%
3. Radiohead 44%
4. Dire Straits 39%
5. Bon Jovi 38%
6. Nina Simone 34%
7. Eurythmics 31%
8. Judas Priest 31%
9. Depeche Mode 29%
10. The Zombies 26%
11. Kate Bush 25%
12. Rage Against the Machine 20%
13. MC5 15%
14. Sister Rosetta Tharpe 15%
15. Link Wray 14%
16. LL Cool J 14%
17. The J. Geils Band 13%
18. The Meters 6%
19. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan 5%

In recent years it has been difficult for “younger” artists who aren’t transcendent first ballot-types to get inducted. Titans of the 80s and 90s such as Nine Inch Nails, the Cure, the Replacements, the Smiths, Janet Jackson and LL Cool J have all made appearances on the ballot, but haven’t been welcomed into the Rock Hall yet. Voters have been far more likely to induct their peers of the 1960s than their musical progeny.

Future Rock Legends predicts the five inductees of the Rock Hall class of 2017 will be:

• Pearl Jam - A true first ballot Hall of Famer. This has been a foregone conclusion for over 20 years, back when Eddie Vedder performed with the Doors on the Rock Hall stage.
• Electric Light Orchestra - Jeff Lynne is the only member of the Traveling Wilburys who isn’t in the Hall of Fame, but only because E.L.O. had never been nominated until this year. Given his career and the respect he holds in the industry, he should coast into Cleveland now that he’s finally been given the opportunity.
• Joan Baez - Like Cat Stevens and Leonard Cohen before her, Baez will likely be inducted after finally debuting on the ballot (eligible for 31 years!). Also if Baez gets in, there’s the potential to get a certain Nobel laureate back to the induction ceremony.
• Journey - Sure, the fan poll winner has been inducted every time, but that doesn’t mean that it is guaranteed. However, Journey fits in nicely with last year’s AOR-friendly class and should have enough megahits to get the nod. Fans hoping for a Steve Perry reunion at the induction ceremony should remember the Rock Hall has an abysmal record negotiating these things.
• Chic - The Rock Hall nominated 19 artists this year, the most since 1990. We’re guessing that Chic could benefit from a diluted ballot, where it will only takes about 1/3 of the voters to get an artist into the top five.

A quick note about some of the other artists on the ballot... Tupac is one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists, but like Nine Inch Nails, the generation gap might be too big to overcome this year... The Rock Hall voters have previously rejected Kraftwerk, Janet Jackson, MC5, The Cars, Yes, The Zombies, Chaka Khan, Joe Tex and The J. Geils Band. Given that they gravitate towards the fresher names on the ballot, it will be tough for one of these artists to get over the top... It’s truly remarkable that Bad Brains was nominated this year, but don’t expect to see them back on the ballot anytime soon... If there happen to be six performer inductees, we’ll predict the J. Geils Band will slip in... By pulling artists off of the Performer ballot and inducting them in other categories (Freddie King, Wanda Jackson), the Rock Hall has previously demonstrated their lack of respect for the process. Keep an eye out for what they might do in the other categories this year.

For ten years we have been conducting our own unofficial poll here which, unlike the official Rock Hall poll, requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 2166 ballots):

1. Kraftwerk 41%
2. Depeche Mode 41%
3. E.L.O. 38%
4. Pearl Jam 37%
5. Janet Jackson 35%
6. MC5 31%
7. Bad Brains 31%
8. The Cars 30%
9. Chic 29%
10. 2Pac 28%
11. Yes 28%
12. Joan Baez 24%
13. Journey 24%
14. The Zombies 20%
15. Jane’s Addiction 13%
16. Steppenwolf 13%
17. Chaka Khan 13%
18. Joe Tex 12%
19. The J. Geils Band 11%

For the record, the top five in the official Rock Hall fan poll were Journey, E.L.O., Yes, Pearl Jam and The Cars.

The Rock Hall Induction Ceremony will take place on Friday, April 7 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Because the “hard rock” genre definition seems pretty loose here, 34 of the 100 are Rock & Roll Hall of Famers (Update: As of 2017, 36 have been inducted). Apparently, the difficulty for the remaining artists is just getting on the ballot. Only five of the remaining 66 artists have ever been nominated: Nine Inch Nails, MC5, New York Dolls, Bon Jovi and Yes (Update: Yes was inducted in 2017).

Although the Rock Hall doesn’t primarily focus on hard rock, in the last four induction years Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, Green Day, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, KISS, Nirvana, Rush and Heart have all been inducted. Just give them another 30 years to induct the rest.

Here is the full list (linked artists are not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame):

1. Led Zeppelin
2. Black Sabbath
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. AC/DC
5. Metallica
6. Nirvana
7. Van Halen
8. The Who
9. Gun N' Roses
10. KISS
11. Aerosmith
12. The Sex Pistols
13. Queen
14. Soundgarden
15. Pink Floyd
16. Cream
17. Ramones
18. Ozzy Osbourne
19. The Clash
20. Alice Cooper
21. Pearl Jam 
22. Deep Purple
23. Judas Priest
24. Iron Maiden
25. Cheap Trick
26. Motörhead
27. Iggy Pop
28. Rush
29. Mötley Crüe
30. Red Hot Chili Peppers
31. Def Leppard
32. The Doors
33. Rage Against The Machine
34. Alice In Chains
35. Jane's Addiction
36. Frank Zappa
37. The Yardbirds
38. MC5
39. Neil Young & Crazy Horse
40. Stone Temple Pilots
41. Ted Nugent
42. The Kinks
43. Nine Inch Nails
44. ZZ Top
45. Pantera
46. Scorpions
47. Rollins Band
48. Janis Joplin
49. Smashing Pumpkins
50. Slayer
51. Thin Lizzy
52. Faith No More
53. Korn
54. Sonic Youth
55. Blue Öyster Cult
56. White Zombie
57. Heart
58. Anthrax
59. Bad Company
60. New York Dolls
61. Jethro Tull
62. Ministry
63. Boston
64. Steppenwolf
65. The Cult
66. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts 
67. The Rolling Stones
68. Hüsker Dü
69. Megadeth
70. Living Colour
71. Lynyrd Skynyrd
72. Foo Fighters
73. Twisted Sister
74. Pat Benatar
75. Spinal Tap 
76. Bon Jovi
77. Hole
78. Marilyn Manson
79. Ratt
80. Green Day
81. Pixies
82. Queensrÿche
83. King's X
84. UFO
85. Whitesnake
86. Foreigner
87. King Crimson
88. Tool
89. Lita Ford
90. Rainbow
91. Danzig
92. The Black Crowes
93. Lenny Kravitz
94. Yes
95. Fugazi
96. Meat Loaf
97. Primus
98. Mountain
99. Bad Brains
100. Quiet Riot

Instead of trying to forecast who the voters selected, let’s examine this from the standpoint of a television production (as Rock Hall Nominating Committee member Dave Marsh recently put it, “that tail wags that dog every year”). With that in mind, Future Rock Legends predicts the following five artists will be 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees:

• N.W.A - This is N.W.A’s fourth consecutive nomination, and the second straight year they have been the only hip hop artist on the ballot. The film based on their career, Straight Outta Compton, was a huge hit (fifth largest August opening weekend ever) and their stock will never be hotter than it is right now.
• Janet Jackson - Speaking of artists who have had a good year, Janet Jackson has enjoyed a career resurgence after releasing a critically acclaimed album and launching an arena tour. Janet also happened to finish first in our unofficial Rock Hall poll, appearing on 48% of voters ballots.
• Chicago - The Rock Hall hasn’t set the date or the venue for the 2016 induction ceremony, except to say it will be in New York in April. Chicago is touring this spring, and are scheduled to wrap up that leg of their tour at Madison Square Garden on April 18th. Hmmm... (a side note to this: Yes is beginning a UK tour on April 27th. Chic is potentially playing Coachella this year April 15-17 and 22-24. Chicago is on tour in early April. Steve Miller Band is touring extensively next year, but is on a break for all of April. If you don’t think the Rock Hall and HBO consider this stuff, you’re crazy. Never forget it’s a show to raise money for the non-profit Rock Hall Foundation. They aren’t going to induct an artist who can’t make it because they’re on tour, if they have other options available. Disinterested artists like Deep Purple are also hard to induct if the Rock Hall isn’t sure if they will show up for the ceremony.)
• Steve Miller - At the induction ceremony, the Rock Hall likes to pair up an inductee with another rock star or two for the performances (think Miley Cyrus / Joan Jett, Chris Martin / Peter Gabriel, Stevie Wonder / Bill Withers). Perhaps Ace Frehley can finally perform on the Rock Hall stage and join Steve Miller for a performance of “The Joker.”
• Nine Inch Nails - One of the truisms of our site is that every artist on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time is in the Rock Hall or will be when they become eligible (except for Gram Parsons -- it seems the Rock Hall forgot he hasn’t been inducted yet). Nine Inch Nails is #94 and should be inducted.
• If there are six inductees, Chic is our pick.

We conduct our own unofficial poll here which, unlike the official Rock Hall poll, requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 2253 ballots):

1. Janet Jackson 48%
2. Chicago 46%
3. N.W.A 45%
4. Deep Purple 44%
5. Nine Inch Nails 39%
6. Chic 33%
7. The Cars 33%
8. Yes 33%
9. Steve Miller 32%
10. Cheap Trick 32%
11. The Smiths 32%
12. The Spinners 27%
13. Chaka Khan 27%
14. Los Lobos 19%
15. The J.B.’s 9%

For the record, the top five in the corrupted official Rock Hall fan poll were Chicago, Yes, The Cars, Deep Purple and Steve Miller. Rock Hall, please get it together next year. This year’s poll was an embarrassment. Also, try not to brag about the phony inflated vote totals.

One final prediction: the venue for the induction ceremony hasn’t been announced yet, but we’ll predict it will be at Radio City Music Hall this time. Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden would be difficult to book since the NHL and NBA playoffs begin in mid-April. (How long do these venues need to hold those dates? Until the teams are officially eliminated from the postseason?)

In 2011, Rolling Stone released their list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All-Time, created by musicians and other experts*. (Rolling Stone originally released a list in 2003 that was just David Fricke’s picks, which is less instructive for this exercise.)

As with the other Rolling Stone lists, there are a large number of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers represented here. Just 29 of the guitarists are not in the Hall of Fame. Since this list was created four years ago, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Freddy King, John Frusciante, Slash, Alex Lifeson, Mike Bloomfield, and Kurt Cobain have been inducted, and Link Wray, Deep Purple and the Smiths have been nominated. That’s a pretty good run. We’ll see if it continues this year.

The full list (linked artists are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame):

1. Jimi Hendrix
2. Eric Clapton
3. Jimmy Page
4. Keith Richards
5. Jeff Beck
6. B.B. King
7. Chuck Berry
8. Eddie Van Halen
9. Duane Allman
10. Pete Townshend
11. George Harrison
12. Stevie Ray Vaughan
13. Albert King
14. David Gilmour
15. Freddy King
16. Derek Trucks
17. Neil Young
18. Les Paul
19. James Burton
20. Carlos Santana
21. Chet Atkins
22. Frank Zappa
23. Buddy Guy
24. Angus Young
25. Tony Iommi
26. Brian May
27. Bo Diddley
28. Johnny Ramone
29. Scotty Moore
30. Elmore James
31. Ry Cooder
32. Billy Gibbons
33. Prince
34. Curtis Mayfield
35. John Lee Hooker
36. Randy Rhoads
37. Mick Taylor
38. The Edge
39. Steve Cropper
40. Tom Morello
41. Mick Ronson
42. Mike Bloomfield
43. Hubert Sumlin
44. Mark Knopfler
45. Link Wray
46. Jerry Garcia
47. Stephen Stills
48. Jonny Greenwood
49. Muddy Waters
50. Ritchie Blackmore
51. Johnny Marr
52. Clarence White
53. Otis Rush
54. Joe Walsh
55. John Lennon
56. Albert Collins
57. Rory Gallagher
58. Peter Green
59. Robbie Robertson
60. Ron Asheton
61. Dickie Betts
62. Robert Fripp
63. Johnny Winter
64. Duane Eddy 
65. Slash
66. Leslie West
67. T-Bone Walker
68. John Mclaughlin
69. Richard Thompson
70. Jack White
71. Robert Johnson
72. John Frusciante
73. Kurt Cobain
74. Dick Dale
75. Joni Mitchell
76. Robby Krieger
77. Willie Nelson
78. John Fahey
79. Mike Campbell
80. Buddy Holly
81. Lou Reed
82. Nels Cline
83. Eddie Hazel
84. Joe Perry
85. Andy Summers
86. J Mascis
87. James Hetfield
88. Carl Perkins
89. Bonnie Raitt
90. Tom Verlaine
91. Dave Davies
92. Dimebag Darrell
93. Paul Simon
94. Peter Buck
95. Roger McGuinn
96. Bruce Springsteen
97. Steve Jones
98. Alex Lifeson
99. Thurston Moore
100. Lindsey Buckingham

* - Here are the voters who created the list, which includes quite a few members of the Rock Hall’s Nominating Committee (highlighted with links): Trey Anastasio, Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys), Brian Bell (Weezer), Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple), Carl Broemel (My Morning Jacket), James Burton, Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), Gary Clark Jr., Billy Corgan, Steve Cropper, Dave Davies (The Kinks), Anthony DeCurtis (Contributing editor, Rolling Stone), Tom DeLonge (Blink-182), Rick Derringer, Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars), Elliot Easton (The Cars), Melissa Etheridge, Don Felder (The Eagles), David Fricke (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), Peter Guralnick (Author), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Warren Haynes (The Allman Brothers Band), Brian Hiatt (Senior writer, Rolling Stone), David Hidalgo (Los Lobos), Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Lenny Kravitz, Robby Krieger (The Doors), Jon Landau (Manager), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Nils Lofgren (The E Street Band), Mick Mars (Mötley Crüe), Doug Martsch (Built to Spill), J Mascis (Dinosaur Jr.), Brian May, Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), Roger McGuinn (The Byrds), Scotty Moore, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Tom Morello, Dave Mustaine (Megadeth), Brendan O’Brien (Producer), Joe Perry, Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Robbie Robertson, Rich Robinson (The Black Crowes), Carlos Santana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Marnie Stern, Stephen Stills, Andy Summers, Mick Taylor, Susan Tedeschi, Vieux Farka Touré, Derek Trucks, Eddie Van Halen, Joe Walsh, Nancy Wilson (Heart)

See Also:

• Using Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All-Time as a Predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Using Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Singers of All-Time as a Predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Using Rolling Stone's List of 100 "Immortals" as a Predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame



Comments

Of the 100 songwriters on the list, there are just 29 who are not yet in the Rock Hall, and many of these are primarily known for country music, so they are long shots for induction anyway (Parton, Haggard, Nelson, Lynn, Kristofferson, Prine, and Hall). Ten more aren’t eligible for induction yet, but will be strong candidates in the future.

Some of the eligible artists on the list who are not in the Hall of Fame who could show up on this year’s Performer ballot are Harry Nilsson, The Smiths, Lucinda Williams, Ashford and Simpson, Björk, and the Replacements.

The full list (linked artists are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame):

1. Bob Dylan
2. Paul McCartney
3. John Lennon
4. Chuck Berry
5. Smokey Robinson
6. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
7. Carole King/Carole King and Gerry Goffin
8. Paul Simon
9. Joni Mitchell
10. Stevie Wonder
11. Bob Marley
12. Brian Wilson
13. Hank Williams
14. Bruce Springsteen
15. Eddie Holland, Lamont Dozier and Brian Holland
16. Leonard Cohen
17. Neil Young
18. Prince
19. Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry
20. Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
21. Lou Reed
22. Van Morrison
23. Robert Johnson
24. Elvis Costello
25. Randy Newman
26. James Brown
27. Ray Davies
28. Woody Guthrie
29. Buddy Holly
30. Pete Townshend
31. Dolly Parton
32. Burt Bacharach and Hal David
33. Merle Haggard
34. Michael Jackson
35. Bono and the Edge
36. Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
37. Jackson Browne
38. Al Green
39. David Bowie
40. John Fogerty
41. Max Martin
42. Sly Stone
43. Johnny Cash
44. Jimmy Webb
45. Robbie Robertson
46. Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong
47. Neil Diamond
48. Elton John and Bernie Taupin
49. Don Henley and Glenn Frey
50. Billy Joel
51. Willie Dixon
52. The Notorious B.I.G.
53. Stevie Nicks
54. Kurt Cobain
55. Tom Waits
56. Madonna
57. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones
58. George Clinton
59. Tom Petty
60. Willie Nelson
61. Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman
62. Harry Nilsson
63. Chrissie Hynde
64. Bert Berns
65. George Harrison
66. Kenny Gamble and Leon A. Huff
67. Morrissey and Marr
68. Jay Z
69. James Taylor
70. Dan Penn
71. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen
72. Fats Domino and Dave Barthomolew
73. Radiohead
74. Patti Smith
75. Isaac Hayes and David Porter
76. Loretta Lynn
77. Allen Toussaint
78. Curtis Mayfield
79. Lucinda Williams
80. R. Kelly
81. Björk
82. Marvin Gaye
83. Nicholas Ashford and Valerie Simpson
84. Kanye West
85. R.E.M.
86. Sam Cooke
87. Kris Kristofferson
88. Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill
89. Felice and Boudleaux Bryant
90. Babyface
91. Eminem
92. Paul Westerberg
93. Billie Joe Armstrong
94. John Prine
95. The Bee Gees
96. Timbaland and Missy Elliott
97. Taylor Swift
98. Otis Blackwell
99. Tom T. Hall
100. Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson

• 1991: Jane’s Addiction, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Living Colour
• 1992: Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Ministry, Ice Cube
• 1993: Primus, Alice In Chains, Dinosaur Jr.
• 1994: Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys*, George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars*
• 1995: Sonic Youth, Hole, Cypress Hill
• 1996: Metallica*, Soundgarden, Ramones*
• 1997: The Prodigy, Tool, Snoop Dogg
• 1998-2002: No festivals
• 2003: Jane’s Addiction, Audioslave, Incubus
• 2004: Cancelled
• 2005: Pixies, Widespread Panic, Weezer
• 2006: Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Kanye West, Death Cab for Cutie
• 2007: Pearl Jam*, Daft Punk, Muse
• 2008: Radiohead*, Rage Against the Machine, Kanye West
• 2009: Depeche Mode*, Tool, The Killers
• 2010: Soundgarden, Green Day*, Lady Gaga
• 2011: Eminem, Foo Fighters*, Muse
• 2012: Red Hot Chili Peppers*, The Black Keys, Jack White
• 2013: The Cure*, Mumford & Sons, The Killers
• 2014: Eminem, Outkast, Kings of Leon
• 2015: Paul McCartney*, Metallica*, Florence + the Machine
• 2016: Radiohead*, Red Hot Chili Peppers*, LCD Soundsystem
• 2017: Muse, The Killers, Chance the Rapper, Arcade Fire
• 2018: Arctic Monkeys, Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, Jack White
• 2019: Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Twenty One Pilots, The Strokes
• 2020: Canceled
• 2021: Miley Cyrus, Tyler, The Creator, Post Malone, Foo Fighters*

The official fan poll voting also wrapped up on December 9th. The top five had been pretty well established for the last couple of weeks, so there were no last minute changes in the polls. The biggest surprise occurred after the poll closed and the Rock Hall posted the enormous final vote totals (which had not been revealed yet -- only the percentages).

1. Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble 31.04% (18,331,506 votes)
2. Nine Inch Nails 22.20% (13,114,449 votes)
3. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 15.08% (8,907,057 votes)
4. Bill Withers 6.49% (3,830,587 votes)
5. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band 6.25% (3,692,959 votes)
6. Lou Reed 5.29% (3,121,379 votes)
7. War 2.67% (1,575,036 votes)
8. Green Day 2.59% (1,527,135 votes)
9. Sting 1.75% (1,034,505 votes)
10. N.W.A 1.29% (761,395 votes)
11. Kraftwerk 1.15% (681,999 votes)
12. The Smiths 1.12% (662,229 votes)
13. The Spinners 1.12% (661,758 votes)
14. The Marvelettes 0.98% (580,523 votes)
15. Chic 0.98% (578,506 votes)

That’s a total of 59,060,935 votes! Last year, there were only 1,390,504 votes cast in the fan poll (which included KISS and Nirvana). This is what the voting looked like last year -- pretty consistent percentages throughout the voting process.

Now look at this year’s graph:

Those are tumultuous results given the high volume of votes! There are swings in the polls of hundreds of thousands of votes over short periods of time, well after the initial publicity of the poll has worn off.

Internet polls can be very unreliable and subject to votebots. The previous two years, the Rock Hall outsourced the fan poll to Polldaddy.com, who at least specializes in online polls. This year, the Rock Hall hasn’t disclosed who is running their poll or even the simple rules for voting (how often can you vote from a device? an IP address? is there a limit at all?). All we know is that the top five will get one extra vote each, thrown in the with the results from the greater Voting Committee that will determine the 2015 inductees.

We conduct our own unofficial poll here which, unlike the official Rock Hall poll, requires voters to select five artists on their ballot. The results (after 1309 ballots):

1. The Smiths 51%
2. Lou Reed 47%
3. Green Day 45%
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble 45%
5. Nine Inch Nails 43%
6. Kraftwerk 42%
7. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 33%
8. Bill Withers 31%
9. War 27%
10. N.W.A 26%
11. The Marvelettes 26%
12. Sting 23%
13. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band 23%
14. The Spinners 19%
15. Chic 19%

That is a whole lot of prelude to our predictions, but here are the six artists we predict will be inducted in 2015:

• Green Day: Don’t let their poor showing in the Rock Hall fan poll fool you. This band has been tracking as a first-ballot Hall of Famer since American Idiot was released ten years ago.
• Lou Reed: He was nominated in 2000 and 2001 but for some reason disappeared from the Rock Hall ballot until after he died late last year. He is clearly the sentimental favorite, but no less deserving.
• Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble: The image on our homepage has included Stevie Ray Vaughan since 2006, but this is the first time he has been nominated for induction. We’re betting the voters have been waiting for a chance to make him a Hall of Famer.
• Bill Withers: Although he has been out of the music game for a long time, he likely hits a sentimental sweet spot with the voters.
• Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor already has a large trophy case for his Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammys, which just proves the respect that he commands in the industry. He’s #94 on Rolling Stone’s Immortals list, which is full of Hall of Famers.
• Sting: While you’re on that Immortals page, check out who VH1 had as their #63 artist of all-time back in 1998... Sting! (Stevie Ray Vaughan was #70.) Sting has been in the news lately, with his Broadway musical and the recent Kennedy Center Honors.

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Chic or the Paul Butterfield Blues Band are the most likely candidates that will be proving us wrong. We’ll find out soon enough.

• 2018 Nominees - October 5, 2017
• 2017 Nominees - October 18, 2016
• 2016 Nominees - October 8, 2015
• 2015 Nominees - October 9, 2014
• 2014 Nominees - October 16, 2013
• 2013 Nominees - October 4, 2012
• 2012 Nominees - September 27, 2011
• 2011 Nominees - September 28, 2010
• 2010 Nominees - September 22, 2009
• 2009 Nominees - September 22, 2008
• 2008 Nominees - September 27, 2007
• 2007 Nominees - October 28, 2006

Keep an eye on our Twitter page to find all of the latest Rock Hall news and information.

• Nirvana: There has never been any doubt that this band would be a first ballot Hall of Famer. The only question that remains is who will sing during the performance at the Induction Ceremony.
• Kiss: In recent interviews, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley have changed their tone when talking about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selectors. This could be a sign that both the Rock Hall and the band have grown beyond their feud and are ready to finally make each other whole.
• Linda Ronstadt: The public proclamations of support from the Eagles earlier this year pushed the Nominating Committee to put Ronstadt on the ballot for the first time and it seems likely the voters won’t waste any time inducting her.
• Yes: The Rock Hall’s supposed prog bias has taken a couple of major hits in the last few years, first with Genesis getting inducted in 2010 and then Rush in 2013. Both bands were inducted the first time they appeared on the ballot. Now Yes has finally been nominated so the voters get a chance to induct them as well.
• Chic: Seven times Chic has been nominated and then failed to be inducted, so why should it be any different this year? Well, 2013 was an extraordinary year for Nile Rodgers (although he probably doesn’t have ordinary years), so there is a general feeling the time is finally right.
• The Zombies: 2008, The Dave Clark Five; 2010, The Hollies; 2012, The Small Faces / The Faces; 2014, The Zombies?

Over 1000 voters participated in the Future Rock Legends simulated Rock Hall ballot. Here is how they ended up:

1. Nirvana 80%
2. Deep Purple 62%
3. Kiss 47%
4. Peter Gabriel 42%
5. Yes 42%
6. Chic 34%
7. Hall & Oates 32%
8. N.W.A 30%
9. Linda Ronstadt 29%
10. Cat Stevens 27%
11. The Zombies 22%
12. Link Wray 16%
13. The Replacements 15%
14. LL Cool J 10%
15. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band 7%
16. The Meters 5%

Official voting closes December 10th at 5pm, and the inductees are typically announced about a week after that. Also watch for one or two inductees in the Non-Performer category to be named. The 2014 Induction Ceremony will be in April in New York and for the third year in a row, tickets will be available to the public (exact date and location TBD).

Follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest.

• Public Enemy: A top 50 artist in Rolling Stone’s list of Immortals? That’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, just like Nirvana will be next year.
• Donna Summer: When the most powerful person in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction process publicly regrets that Summer wasn’t inducted before she died, well, you can be sure she will get in this year.
• Randy Newman: He’s a Tony Award short of the EGOT, he’s obviously an industry pro, and he will fit right in at a Los Angeles induction ceremony.
• Chic: When you have been nominated seven times, it’s not a matter of if you’re getting inducted, it’s a matter of when.
• Rush: This is the seventh year of the Future Rock Legends induction poll, which mimics the voting on the Rock Hall ballot. Every year, the top vote-getter in our poll has been inducted, but we have never felt less confident that the results of our poll have any correlation to the results of the Voting Committee. But our bet is that the Rock Hall won’t give the middle finger to all of the fans by snubbing Rush in the same year they start an official fan poll that Rush absolutely dominated. (Deep Purple is the other overwhelming fan favorite in the polls, but it just doesn’t seem possible both Rush and Purple would be inducted in the same year.)
• Heart: They have been riding a wave of publicity over the past year or so. A Rock Hall induction would be the cherry on top.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is expected to announce the 2013 inductees the week of December 10th.

After over 2250 votes, the top five vote-getters in the Future Rock Legends poll this year were: Rush (on 80% of ballots), Deep Purple (78%), Heart (68%), Public Enemy (43%) and Donna Summer (38%). The rest: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (34%), Kraftwerk (30%), Albert King (24%), Randy Newman (24%), Procol Harum (23%), N.W.A (17%), The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (15%), The Marvelettes (11%), Chic (10%) and The Meters (6%).

And here are the results from the official Rock Hall fan poll where the top five become an actual ballot: Rush (24.7% of total votes), Deep Purple (16.7%), Heart (12.5%), Joan Jett (8.1%), Albert King (5.6%), Kraftwerk (4.81%), Public Enemy (4.77%), Donna Summer (4.65%), Procol Harum (3.6%), N.W.A (3.4%), Randy Newman (3.36%), Butterfield (2.4%), The Meters (2.2%), The Marvelettes (1.8%) and Chic (1%).

• Beastie Boys :: Chuck D
• Donovan :: Jeff Beck
• Guns N’ Roses :: Joe Perry
• Laura Nyro :: Carole King
• Red Hot Chili Peppers :: The Black Keys
• The Small Faces / The Faces :: Keith Richards
• Freddie King :: Eric Clapton

Let’s take a look at the festival’s past headliners to see if they will prove to be this generation’s Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. (* = already a Hall of Famer - updated in 2021)

• 1999: Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Tool
• 2000: No festival
• 2001: Jane’s Addiction
• 2002: Björk, Oasis
• 2003: Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Beastie Boys*
• 2004: Radiohead*, The Cure*
• 2005: Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails*
• 2006: Depeche Mode*, Tool
• 2007: Björk, Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Rage Against the Machine
• 2008: Jack Johnson, Prince*, Roger Waters*
• 2009: Paul McCartney*, The Killers, The Cure*
• 2010: Jay-Z*, Muse, Gorillaz
• 2011: Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, The Strokes
• 2012: The Black Keys, Radiohead*, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

Update:
• 2013: Blur, Stone Roses, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers*
• 2014: Outkast, Muse, Arcade Fire
• 2015: AC/DC*, Jack White, Drake
• 2016: LCD Soundsystem, Guns N’ Roses*, Calvin Harris
• 2017: Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Radiohead*
• 2018: The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Eminem
• 2019: Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, Ariana Grande
• 2020: Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, Frank Ocean (headliners announced, but event canceled)
• 2021: Canceled
• 2022: Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott
• 2023: Frank Ocean

There are definitely other big American festivals which will have a similar record -- Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo come to mind -- that we will analyze soon. (Update: See Lollapalooza)

The results of our poll, which simulates the actual Rock Hall ballot, show that fans would induct Guns N’ Roses (66% of ballots), Red Hot Chili Peppers (56%), The Cure (51%), Beastie Boys (50%), and Heart (47%). The artists left out this time would theoretically be Joan Jett (39%), Donovan (31%), The Small Faces/The Faces (30%), Donna Summer (25%), The Spinners (25%), Freddie King (24%), War (24%), Laura Nyro (14%), Eric B. & Rakim (9%), and Rufus with Chaka Khan (8%). The Future Rock Legends poll typically predicts three out of the five inductees.

So, taking into account the gray-haired tuxedo crowd, Future Rock Legends predicts the five performer inductees for the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class:

• The Spinners
• The Small Faces/The Faces
• Heart
• Freddie King
• Guns N’ Roses

The induction ceremony will be held in Cleveland’s Public Auditorium on April 14th, 2012. Follow Future Rock Legends on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Rock Hall news.

• Alice Cooper
• Beastie Boys
• Bon Jovi
• Neil Diamond
• Darlene Love
• Donna Summer

We're predicting that Tom Waits, Donovan, The J. Geils Band, Dr. John, Chic, Joe Tex, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro and Chuck Willis will all have to try again next year.

Over 1500 Future Rock Legends voters cast their ballots in the 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Alice Cooper (on 81% of ballots), Neil Diamond (67%), Beastie Boys (57%), Bon Jovi (53%), and Tom Waits (44%). [The last three years, FRL voters have accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2011 inductees on December 15th. Keep checking Future Rock Legends for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news. You can also follow us on Twitter.

Eddie Vedder inducting the Ramones in 2002

• The Stooges :: Patti Smith
• Genesis :: Chris Martin
• ABBA :: Elvis Costello
• Jimmy Cliff :: Mick Jones
• The Hollies :: Steven Van Zandt

• KISS: Yes, one of the biggest Rock Hall snubs will likely be rectified this year.
• The Hollies: After waiting 20 years to get nominated, Graham Nash's first band will probably get in on their first try.
• ABBA: One of the biggest bands in the world will get in this year. They were nominated in 2003, but the competition was stiffer then.
• Darlene Love: Only 19% of our voters put her on their ballots, but our voters probably didn't get personally lobbied by Bruce Springsteen. This feels similar to the Ronettes nomination in 2007.
• Genesis: If Genesis gets inducted, they will be the first prog rock act inducted since Pink Floyd in 1996.

We're predicting that the Red Hot Chili Peppers, LL Cool J, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, The Stooges, Jimmy Cliff, and The Chantels will all have to try again next year.

Over 2400 Future Rock Legends voters cast their ballots in the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Genesis (on 69% of ballots), ABBA (65%), KISS (63%), The Stooges (55%), and Red Hot Chili Peppers (55%). [The last two years, FRL voters have accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.]

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2010 inductees soon. Keep checking Future Rock Legends for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news. You can also follow us on Twitter.

For our purposes, we're excluding five-star reviews of reissues and compilations, which Rolling Stone hands out fairly regularly and generally are given to artists that are already determined to be "immortals." So let's find the five-star reviewed albums by artists before they were eligible for the Rock Hall. Here are the five-star reviewed albums by non-Rock and Roll Hall of Famers since 1986 (in reverse chronological order):

• Kanye West - Late Registration, 2005
• The White Stripes - Elephant, 2003
• Beck - Sea Change, 2002
• R.E.M. - Automatic for the People, 1992 (inducted in 2007)
• Metallica - Metallica, 1991 (inducted in 2009)
• Pixies - Doolittle, 1989
• N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton, 1988
• Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation, 1988
• U2 - The Joshua Tree, 1987 (inducted in 2005)
• Prince - Sign O the Times , 1987 (inducted in 2005)
• R.E.M. - Document, 1987 (inducted in 2007)
• Guns N' Roses - Appetite For Destruction, 1987
• The Smiths - The Queen is Dead, 1986
• Run-DMC - Raising Hell, 1986 (inducted in 2009)
• Paul Simon - Graceland, 1986 (inducted in 2001)

As you can tell, Rolling Stone is extremely judicious in handing out five star reviews, but when they do, they have a good track record of picking artists who eventually end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And of the artists who are not in yet, it's difficult to find any who won't likely end up enshrined in Cleveland someday. The only two artists on the list who are eligible and not in the Rock Hall are The Smiths (eligible since 2008) and Sonic Youth (eligible since 2007). Neither group has received much attention from the Nominating Committee yet, but that is likely to change in the coming years.

One other thing to note is that there is only one debut album on the list (Appetite for Destruction). Usually, the five-star reviewed album follows other notable work from the artist, so Rolling Stone isn't gambling its reputation on a previously unknown artist.

Major thanks go out to Erik J. Heels who has been tracking these five star reviews for many years now. We'll be sure to take note of any new five-star reviews in the future.

Update: We removed Pavement's Slanted & Enchanted from the list above. That album didn't get its five-star review until the reissue came out. Can anyone confirm the others were all from their initial review?

• Metallica :: Dave Grohl - for reasons we've already discussed.
• Jeff Beck :: John Mayer - a "new guitar god" to induct an old one.
• Run-DMC :: 50 Cent - he's executive producing a documentary about his mentor, Jam Master Jay. Another great choice would be Chuck D.
• Little Anthony & the Imperials :: Billy Joel - one of Little Anthony's advocates who is no stranger to the induction ceremony.
• Bobby Womack :: Tracy Chapman - from one Cleveland native to another.
• Wanda Jackson :: Elvis Costello - the man who may be most responsible for her induction.

Chic

Worthy of induction? Disco has been as if not more influential on the last thirty years of pop music than the more critically-beloved punk rock. And yet only one disco act is in the Hall of Fame: The Bee Gees. However awesome “Tragedy” and “Night Fever” are, the Brothers Gibb are white heterosexuals representing (and appropriating) a subculture rooted in blackness and gayness. And probably more than any disco act, Chic’s grooves were instrumental to hip-hop’s formative years.

But will they be? In the Wennerist mindset, “disco sucks” is still a credible theory. Credible enough to shut Chic out yet again, in favor of less deserving contenders.

Hohman personally favors Metallica, Run-DMC, Chic, The Stooges and War, but thinks that the actual inductees will be the five that we have predicted. Read the whole post here.

• Metallica: It was shocking last year when Metallica wasn't nominated in their first eligible year because they have the highest induction chances percentage of any artist. This one is truly a no-brainer for the voting committee.
• Jeff Beck: Voters are also likely to respond to a legendary name who is appearing for the first time on the ballot.
• The Stooges: Is this finally the year The Stooges get in after losing out on the final ballot six previous times? Their performance at last year's induction ceremony should put them over the top.
• Run DMC: As hip-hop immortals they should be a sure thing, but last year's rejection of the Beastie Boys shows that voters may be taking it slow when it comes to hip-hop.
• Little Anthony and the Imperials: Nostalgia could play a factor in inducting this doo-wop group, especially since they are peers of many of the inductees who are part of the nominating committee.

Over 1700 Future Rock Hall voters cast their ballots in the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The top five vote getters are Metallica (on 79% of ballots), Jeff Beck (77%), The Stooges (75%), Run DMC (69%), and War (60%). [Last year, FRH voters accurately predicted three out of the five inductees.] The poll results are just one of the factors that go into Future Rock Hall's induction forecast, but there is agreement on four out of five nominees.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will announce the official 2009 inductees in January. Keep checking Future Rock Hall for all of the latest Rock & Roll Hall of Fame news.

A hefty 72 of the artists listed are Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. That leaves just 28 artists who are not yet in. Quite a few of these are primarily known as country singers (George Jones, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Patsy Clline), and generally wouldn't be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame anyway, although there have been exceptions (like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash). There are seven artists who aren't eligible yet, but a few of them are likely future inductees, like Nirvana, Radiohead and Guns N’ Roses.

Of the notable snubs on the list, Nina Simone ranks the highest, but many rock fans will likely point to Steve Perry's inclusion on this list as another reason for Journey's induction.

The full list:

1. Aretha Franklin
2. Ray Charles
3. Elvis Presley
4. Sam Cooke
5. John Lennon
6. Marvin Gaye
7. Bob Dylan
8. Otis Redding
9. Stevie Wonder
10. James Brown
11. Paul McCartney
12. Little Richard
13. Roy Orbison
14. Al Green
15. Robert Plant
16. Mick Jagger
17. Tina Turner
18. Freddie Mercury
19. Bob Marley
20. Smokey Robinson
21. Johnny Cash
22. Etta James
23. David Bowie
24. Van Morrison
25. Michael Jackson
26. Jackie Wilson
27. Hank Williams
28. Janis Joplin
29. Nina Simone *
30. Prince
31. Howlin' Wolf
32. Bono
33. Steve Winwood
34. Whitney Houston *
35. Dusty Springfield
36. Bruce Springsteen
37. Neil Young
38. Elton John
39. Jeff Buckley
40. Curtis Mayfield
41. Chuck Berry
42. Joni Mitchell
43. George Jones *
44. Bobby "Blue" Bland
45. Kurt Cobain * [inducted in 2014]
46. Patsy Cline *
47. Jim Morisson
48. Buddy Holly
49. Donny Hathaway *
50. Bonnie Raitt
51. Gladys Knight
52. Brian Wilson
53. Muddy Waters
54. Luther Vandross *
55. Paul Rodgers *
56. Mavis Staples
57. Eric Burdon **
58. Christina Aguilera *
59. Rod Stewart
60. Björk *
61. Roger Daltrey
62. Lou Reed
63. Dion
64. Axl Rose * [inducted in 2012]
65. David Ruffin
66. Thom Yorke *
67. Jerry Lee Lewis
68. Wilson Pickett
69. Ronnie Spector
70. Greg Allman
71. Toots Hibbert *
72. John Fogerty
73. Dolly Parton *
74. James Taylor
75. Iggy Pop ** [inducted in 2010]
76. Steve Perry *
77. Merle Haggard *
78. Sly Stone
79. Mariah Carey *
80. Frankie Valli
81. John Lee Hooker
82. Tom Waits *[inducted in 2011]
83. Patti Smith
84. Darlene Love * [inducted in 2011]
85. Sam Moore
86. Art Garfunkel
87. Don Henley
88. Willie Nelson *
89. Solomon Burke
90. The Everly Brothers
91. Levon Helm
92. Morrissey *
93. Annie Lennox *
94. Karen Carpenter *
95. Patti LaBelle *
96. B.B. King
97. Joe Cocker *
98. Stevie Nicks
99. Steven Tyler
100. Mary J. Blige *

* = not yet in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
** = nominated in 2009

Looking down the list at the artists who aren't eligible yet (indicated with an asterisk), there really aren't any slam dunks for induction, although a strong case could be made for a few of them. If ranking high on this list were important to the Rock Hall, then Janet Jackson (the highest ranking eligible artist) should have at least received some serious consideration by the Nominating Committee, but she has not. Clearly the Rock Hall is looking for other credentials in their Hall of Famers besides having a successful singles career.

As far as using this list as prediction tool, we wouldn't recommend it. It's unlikely that over the next 20 years that any more than a handful of the non-Hall of Famers listed below will be inducted.

The complete list follows, with links to the non-Hall of Famers:

1. The Beatles
2. Madonna
3. Elton John
4. Elvis Presley
5. Stevie Wonder
6. Mariah Carey *
7. Janet Jackson
8. Michael Jackson
9. Whitney Houston *
10. The Rolling Stones
11. Paul McCartney/Wings
12. Bee Gees
13. Chicago
14. The Supremes
15. Daryl Hall & John Oates
16. Prince
17. Rod Stewart
18. Olivia Newton-John
19. Aretha Franklin
20. Marvin Gaye
21. Usher *
22. Phil Collins
23. Billy Joel
24. Donna Summer
25. Diana Ross
26. Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
27. The Temptations
28. The Beach Boys
29. Lionel Richie
30. Neil Diamond
31. Carpenters
32. Boyz II Men *
33. The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
34. Connie Francis
35. Brenda Lee
36. Barbra Streisand
37. Kenny Rogers
38. Bryan Adams
39. Cher
40. George Michael *
41. Bobby Vinton
42. John Mellencamp
43. Three Dog Night
44. Huey Lewis & The News
45. Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine *
46. Bon Jovi
47. Ray Charles
48. Chubby Checker
49. Foreigner
50. Kool & The Gang
51. Ricky Nelson
52. Duran Duran
53. Commodores
54. Eagles
55. Paul Anka
56. TLC *
57. Barry Manilow
58. Dionne Warwick
59. Gladys Knight & The Pips
60. Heart
61. The Everly Brothers
62. R. Kelly *
63. Bobby Darin
64. James Brown
65. Paula Abdul *
66. Richard Marx *
67. Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship
68. Destiny's Child *
69. Linda Ronstadt
70. Celine Dion *
71. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles
72. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
73. Fleetwood Mac
74. Bruce Springsteen
75. The Pointer Sisters
76. John Denver
77. Four Tops
78. Tony Orlando & Dawn
79. The 5th Dimension
80. Alicia Keys *
81. Captain & Tennille
82. Andy Gibb
83. Air Supply
84. Nelly *
85. Roy Orbison
86. The Spinners
87. Queen
88. 50 Cent *
89. Dion
90. Aerosmith
91. Billy Ocean
92. Tommy James
93. Earth, Wind & Fire
94. Brook Benton
95. Michael Bolton
96. Styx
97. Toni Braxton *
98. Neil Sedaka
99. Herman's Hermits
100. Simon & Garfunkel

* = not yet eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

So, for example, if you're arguing that Neil Diamond should be inducted based on the number of hits he has had, you need to be prepared to induct everyone with a higher position on this list. If you can't do that, then it's unwise to use Billboard chart success as a sole reason for induction.

As far as using the list as a predictor for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, there are 45 artists who are Hall of Famers and 41 artists listed who are not. Of the non-Hall of Famers, only the Beastie Boys and Nirvana have two albums listed, and both are almost sure to be inducted in the future.

Other artists who are likely to be inducted after they become eligible are Guns N' Roses, Pearl Jam, Public Enemy, Beck and Jane's Addiction. Some of the artists who might be on the bubble are Modern Lovers, the Minutemen, Hole, Mary J. Blige and Pavement.

Some of the most popular snubbed artists are represented by Randy Newman, Kiss, Gram Parsons, Willie Nelson and The Replacements.

There are obviously a number of hip-hop albums listed, and most of those artists listed would seem to have a good chance at future induction.

The full list is below:

1. Madonna - The Immaculate Collection (Sire, 1990)
2. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill (Def Jams, 1986) [inducted in 2012]
3. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia, 1965)
4. Stevie Wonder - Innervisions (Tamla Motown, 1973)
5. Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction (Geffen, 1987) [inducted in 2012]
6. Ramones - Ramones (Sire, 1976)
7. Blondie - Parallel Lines (Chrysalis, 1978)
8. Chuck Berry - The Great Twenty-Eight (Chess, 1982)
9. Nirvana - Nevermind (DGC, 1991) [inducted in 2014]
10. Joni Mitchell - Blue (Reprise, 1971)
11. Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (Def Jams, 1988) [inducted in 2013]
12. Metallica - Metallica (Elektra, 1991) [inducted in 2009]
13. Michael Jackson - Off the Wall (Epic, 1979)
14. Beach Boys - Pet Sounds (Capitol, 1966)
15. Marvin Gaye - Let's Get It On (Tamla, 1973)
16. Ray Charles - Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (Rhino, 1962)
17. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (Verve, 1967)
18. Prince and the Revolution - Purple Rain (Warner Bros., 1984)
19. Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps (Reprise, 1979)
20. James Brown - Sex Machine (King, 1970)
21. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde (Columbia, 1966)
22. Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues Singers (Columbia, 1966)
23. R.E.M. - Murmur (IRS, 1983)
24. Parliament - Mothership Connection (Casablanca, 1975)
25. Notorious B.I.G. - Life After Death (Bad Boy/Arista, 1997)
26. Van Halen - Van Halen (Warner Bros., 1978)
27. Al Green - Call Me (Hi, 1973)
28. Aerosmith - Rocks (Columbia, 1976)
29. Beck - Odelay (DGC, 1996)
30. Little Richard - Grooviest 17 Original Hits! (Specialty, 1959)
31. Louis Armstrong - The Complete Hot Five and Hot Seven Recordings (Columbia Legacy, 2000)
32. Curtis Mayfield - Superfly (Curtom, 1972)
33. Hank Williams - 40 Greatest Hits (Mercury, 1978)
34. Steely Dan - Katy Lied (MCA, 1975)
35. The B-52's - The B-52's (Warner Bros., 1979)
36. Chic - Risqué (Atlantic, 1979)
37. Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique (Capitol, 1989) [inducted in 2012]
38. Aretha Franklin - I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (Atlantic, 1967)
39. Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions (RCA/BMG, 1976)
40. Hole - Live Through This (DGC, 1994)
41. Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (Reprise, 1968)
42. Patti Smith - Horses (Arista, 1975)
43. Sly & the Family Stone - There's a Riot Goin' On (Epic, 1971)
44. Dr. Dre - The Chronic (Death Row, 1992)
45. Pearl Jam - VS. (Epic, 1993)
46. Run-DMC - Raising Hell (Profile, 1986) [inducted in 2009]
47. Phil Spector - Back to Mono (1958–69) (ABKCO, 1991)
48. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (Columbia, 1959)
49. Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (Interscope, 1999)
50. Kiss - Destroyer (Casablanca, 1976) [inducted in 2014]
51. Joni Mitchell - Court and Spark (Asylum, 1974)
52. Randy Newman - 12 Songs (Reprise, 1970) [inducted in 2013]
53. A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory (Jive, 1991)
54. Frank Sinatra - In the Wee Small Hours (Capitol, 1955)
55. Bob Dylan - The Basement Tapes (Columbia, 1975)
56. Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire E(PIC, 1996)
57. Mary J. Blige - My Life (MCA, 1994)
58. Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Warner Bros., 1970)
59. Wu-Tang Clan - Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (Loud/RCA, 1993)
60. Paul Simon - Graceland (Warner Bros., 1986)
61. The Coasters - 50 Coastin' Classics (Rhino, 1992)
62. Bruce Springsteen - Darkness on the Edge of Town (Columbia, 1978)
63. Johnny Cash - At Folsom Prison (Columbia, 1968)
64. Gram Parsons - Grievous Angel (Reprise, 1974)
65. Billie Holiday - Lady in Satin (Columbia, 1958)
66. Modern Lovers - Modern Lovers (Berserkley, 1976)
67. Pavement - Slanted and Enchanted (Matador, 1992)
68. TLC - Crazysexycool (Laface, 1994)
69. Lynyrd Skynyrd - (Pronounced Leh-nerd Skin-nerd) (MCA, 1973)
70. Prince - Sign "O" the Times (Paisley Park, 1987)
71. L.L. Cool J - Radio (Def Jam, 1985)
72. Carpenters - The Singles 1969–1981 (A&M, 2000)
73. Pixies - Surfer Rosa (4AD, 1988)
74. Aretha Franklin - Lady Soul (Atlantic, 1968)
75. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (Columbia, 1998)
76. Muddy Waters - At Newport 1960 (Chess, 1960)
77. Jane's Addiction - Nothing's Shocking (Warner Bros., 1998)
78. Elvis Presley - From Elvis in Memphis (RCA, 1969)
79. Woody Guthrie - Dustbowl Ballads (Camden, 1964)
80. Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral (Nothing/Interscope, 1994)
81. Various Artists - Nuggets: 1965–1968 (Elektra, 1972)
82. De La Soul - 3 Feet High and Rising (Tommy Boy, 1989)
83. The Minutemen - Double Nickels on the Dime (SST, 1984)
84. Buddy Holly - Greatest Hits (MCA, 1995)
85. Willie Nelson - Red Headed Stranger (Columbia, 1975)
86. Neil Young - After the Gold Rush (Reprise, 1970)
87. R.E.M. - Automatic for the People (Warner Bros., 1992)
88. DJ Shadow - Endtroducing… (Mo'wax/FFRR, 1996)
89. Talking Heads - Remain in Light (Sire, 1980)
90. Weezer - Weezer (Geffen, 1994)
91. Eagles - Hotel California (Asylum, 1975)
92. Lucinda Williams - Lucinda Williams (Rough Trade, 1988)
93. Tori Amos - Under the Pink (Atlantic, 1994)
94. Nirvana - In Utero (DGC, 1993) [inducted in 2014]
95. Harry Nilsson - Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA, 1971)
96. Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause (Top Dog/Lava/Atlantic, 1998)
97. The Doors - The Doors (Elektra, 1967)
98. The Replacements - Let It Be (Twin Tone, 1984)
99. Stevie Wonder - Fulfillingness' First Finale (Tamla, 1974)
100. Otis Redding - Otis Blue — Otis Redding Sings Soul (Atlantic, 1965)

Other than Sonic Youth, who do you think are the worst omissions? Smashing Pumpkins? Wilco? Soundgarden? Red Hot Chili Peppers? The Flaming Lips? The White Stripes? Devo? Let us know in the comments.

Back in 1998, VH1 asked 600 musicians to list what they felt were the greatest artists of all-time. As you might expect, the list included many artists who were already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the time, but it also includes a whopping 26 artists who weren't in the Hall, but have subsequently been inducted.

There are only twelve artists from the list who are not in the Rock Hall: Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Kiss, Stevie Ray Vaughan, John Coltrane, Tina Turner, Devo, Iggy Pop, T. Rex, Carole King and Tom Waits. (Sting, Tina Turner and Carole King are already Hall of Famers, but not as solo performers.) So, when the list was created, 62 of the 100 artists were already Hall of Famers, and of the 38 that weren't, 68% were inducted within ten years. That's a pretty good track record.

We would love to see a new poll of musicians which would rank the top artists since 1980, and see how well that would predict future Hall of Famers.

Here is the complete list:

1. The Beatles
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Jimi Hendrix
4. Led Zeppelin
5. Bob Dylan
6. James Brown
7. David Bowie
8. Elvis Presley
9. The Who
10. The Police *
11. Stevie Wonder
12. Ray Charles
13. The Beach Boys
14. Marvin Gaye
15. Eric Clapton *
16. John Lennon
17. Elton John
18. Prince *
19. Pink Floyd
20. The Doors
21. Aretha Franklin
22. Fleetwood Mac
23. The Eagles
24. Bob Marley
25. Van Morrison
26. Chuck Berry
27. Bruce Springsteen *
28. Sly & the Family Stone
29. U2 *
30. Neil Young
31. The Clash *
32. Joni Mitchell
33. Queen *
34. Buddy Holly
35. Otis Redding
36. Little Richard
37. Al Green
38. Elvis Costello *
39. Miles Davis *
40. Michael Jackson *
41. Janis Joplin
42. Nirvana #
43. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers *
44. The Jackson Five
45. Crosby, Stills & Nash
46. The Sex Pistols *
47. Creedence Clearwater Revival
48. Van Halen *
49. Roy Orbison
50. R.E.M. *
51. B.B. King
52. Cream
53. Peter Gabriel #
54. The Grateful Dead
55. The Byrds
56. The Kinks
57. Steely Dan *
58. Sam Cooke
59. Bo Diddley
60. Earth, Wind & Fire *
61. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles
62. Paul McCartney *
63. Sting ##
64. Frank Zappa
65. James Taylor *
66. Talking Heads *
67. Kiss #
68. The Allman Brothers
69. Pretenders *
70. Stevie Ray Vaughan #
71. Rod Stewart
72. Simon & Garfunkel
73. Muddy Waters
74. The Velvet Underground
75. Curtis Mayfield
76. The Bee Gees
77. John Coltrane #
78. Billy Joel *
79. Aerosmith *
80. Tina Turner ##
81. The Band
82. Devo #
83. Iggy Pop #
84. T. Rex #
85. Carole King ##
86. Madonna *
87. Santana
88. Ramones *
89. Johnny Cash
90. Tom Waits #
91. Gladys Knight & the Pips
92. The Temptations
93. The Four Tops
94. Diana Ross & the Supremes
95. Robert Johnson
96. Lynyrd Skynyrd *
97. Fats Domino
98. Traffic
99. Parliament/Funkadelic
100. Paul Simon *

* Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after 1998
# Still not a Hall of Famer; Nirvana is the only artist listed who is not yet eligible because of the 25 year rule
## A Hall of Famer, but not as a solo performer

Update: This list is now next to the "Immortals" list too.

On Dave Marsh's weekly Sirius XM show, "Kick Out The Jams", he picked 5 names he would be voting for on this year's ballot:  Chic, War, Jeff Beck, Stooges, and Run DMC.

Marsh also said that this year's ballot was "flawless" and made a remark about how he opposed the Beastie Boys getting into the Hall.

He also said that he wouldn't vote for Metallica because they are going to get in anyway. 

Four out of Marsh's five selections are currently leading Future Rock Hall's 2009 ballot, so he may have a chance to see many of his choices inducted in Cleveland on April 4, 2009.

Thanks, Tom. Check out Tom's top snubbed artists here.

Safe Bets: Metallica, Little Anthony and the Imperials, The Stooges

Too Close To Call: Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Chic

Long Shots: Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, War

Soeder's confidence in the induction of Little Anthony and the Imperials is a little surprising, given this is the first time they have been nominated in over 20 years of eligibility.

You can cast your own ballot here and weigh in on the nominations here.

The closest thing to the Madonnas, R.E.M.s, Van Halens and U2s that have starred at recent inductions is probably Bon Jovi.

Another leading prospect is the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, but the rest of the crop — including Cyndi Lauper, k.d. lang, Billy Bragg, and metal extremists Slayer — are more marginal prospects.

Which means the committee will need to turn to holdovers — those previously eligible artists who have yet to gain sufficient support. Among them are previous nominees Chic, Donna Summer and the Beastie Boys, all of whom must confront the "Is disco or rap really rock?" conundrum that regularly polarizes voters and fans.

• Arcade Fire -- Neon Bible
• Burial -- Untrue
• Feist -- The Reminder
• Justice -- †
• LCD Soundsystem -- Sound of Silver
• M.I.A. -- Kala
• Spoon -- Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
• Stars -- In our Bedroom After The War
• Wilco -- Sky Blue Sky
• Working for a Nuclear Free City -- Businessmen & Ghosts

1. Was Metallica ever regarded as the best artist in rock music? Did anybody, while Metallica was active, ever suggest that Metallica was the best artist in rock music?
2. Was Metallica ever the best artist in rock music in its genre?
3. Was Metallica ever considered the best at its instruments?
4. Did Metallica have an impact on a number of other bands?
5. Was Metallica good enough that it could play regularly after passing its prime?
6. Is Metallica the very best artist in history that is not in the Hall of Fame?
7. Are most bands who have a comparable recording history and impact in the Hall of Fame?
8. Is there any evidence to suggest that Metallica was significantly better or worse than is suggested by its statistical records?
9. Is Metallica the best artist in its genre that is eligible for the Hall of Fame?
10. How many #1 singles/gold records did Metallica have? Did Metallica ever win a Grammy award? If not, how many times was Metallica nominated?
11. How many Grammy-level songs/albums did Metallica have? For how long of a period did Metallica dominate the music scene? How many Rolling Stone covers did Metallica appear on? Did most of the bands with this sort of impact go into the Hall of Fame?
12. If Metallica were the best band at a concert, would it be likely that the concert would rock?
13. What impact did Metallica have on rock history? Was it responsible for any stylistic changes? Did it introduce any new equipment? Did it change history in any way?
14. Did the band uphold the standards of sportsmanship and character that the Hall of Fame, in its written guidelines, instructs us to consider?

Check out their analysis of Donna Summer (yes), Madonna (absolutely), Chic (no), Duran Duran (yes), John Mellencamp (bubble, but yes), The Replacements (yes), Depeche Mode (no), Phil Collins (no), and of course, Rush (no). You can browse all of those and more right here. Hopefully the actual Rock Hall voters give as much thought into their choices as these guys do.

Official Rock Hall ballots were due on Monday this week with the winners to be announced in January.

For the 2007 ballot, Future Rock Hall voters accurately predicted four out of the five inductees.

Cast your 2008 Rock Hall ballot here!

[T]he Rock Hall's future [is] as sketchy as a Detroit Avenue hooker on meth. The Hall's website claims that one of its goals is "to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll." But how will it measure that? By record sales? Innovation? Will there be quotas for gender and race, as well as genres like hip-hop and techno? Or is it just one big popularity contest?

Scene called and asked, but Rock Hall spokeswoman Margaret Thresher didn't have a response. "Good question," she said.

The answer is that without a concrete definition of rock, there is no science to make the induction process flawless. Outside of Nirvana, the next decade doesn't boast many safe picks. Even Madonna will be a controversial inductee, seeing as the pop diva never released a rock record in her entire career.

Then there are the guys who sold out arenas, only to end up on the cheesy VH1 rock docs -- the Poisons and New Kids on the Blocks of the world. No one would claim they were innovative or had any staying power (NKOTB didn't even rawk!). But they defined musical eras and sold gobs 'n' gobs of records (even though they now make up 90 percent of the stock at the Record Exchange).

How will this shadowy induction committee weigh those guys against, say, the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. -- artists that aren't household names and never graced the cover of Rolling Stone, but created whole new genres and birthed hundreds of new bands?

• Judas Priest - too scary
• Guns N' Roses - likely
• Captain Beefheart - too "out-there", but deserving
• Sting - too schmaltzy
• Black Flag - deserving, but too atonal
• Alanis Morissette - influential, but in a bad way
• Dr. Dre - probably with N.W.A., but not solo
• John Mayer - watered down Clapton
• Kraftwerk - should be in, but too German?
• Babyface - the 1990s' Phil Spector

Overall, the A.V. Club chose an excellent sample of artists to highlight, the majority of whom will likely be in the Rock Hall within 25 years.