Future Rock Legends

Kalshi 8 is 100% right

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:35pm

YES

This is how you do it! What an awesome class of inductees!

Posted by maryslovechild on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:36pm

We have eighteen inductees this class. Excellent

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:38pm

Is Paul McGuigan not getting in with Oasis?

Posted by Tyler on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:43pm

Holy shit what a class!

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:43pm

Who got inducted because there showing weather stuff here and no one is updating stuff

Posted by Joshua Hamilton on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:43pm

Wah! Gram parsons, Celia Cruz, Phil Collins, Ed Sullivan. Mille fois bravo!

Posted by Denis on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:46pm

Pat sounds really bad. Can not believe 22 inductees, how long will the induction be?

Posted by pat on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:46pm

Mc Lyte? Come on.

I say Iron Maiden and Oasis are no shows.

Celia Cruz -> Look for a Latin act every year from here on out. And they have to be excellence or influence.

Need record producers every year. Still plenty missing. Mutt Lange is most deserving for commerical success.

Posted by Jim C. on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:48pm

Has Iron Maiden finally earned induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Because that's all I care about!

Posted by Johnny on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:48pm

HOLY SH-

The single best Rock Hall class of all time

That is insanely good

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:52pm

Gram Parsons

Central Florida is being represented in the Rock Hall!

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:52pm

Calling 80s-90s rappers early influence is just ridiculous!

THE 2026 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Phil Collins
Billy Idol & Steve Stevens
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
Luther Vandross
Sade
Oasis
Wu-Tang Clan

Celia Cruz (Early Influence)
Fela_Kuti (Early Influence)
Queen Latifah (Early Influence)
MC Lyte (Early Influence)
Gram Parsons (Early Influence)
Linda Creed (Musical Excellence)
Arif Mardin (Musical Excellence)
Jimmy Miller (Musical Excellence)
Rick Rubin (Musical Excellence)
Ed Sullivan (Non-Performer)

Posted by Roy on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:54pm

So, what's the full list? Kalshi 8 + Gram Parsons + Celia Cruz + Ed Sullivan + (presumably) Queen Latifah + ?????

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:54pm

A repeat of 2019 class, dominated by British acts

Only 2 American acts

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:55pm

LOL. Seeing it now. On this page. Heh. Wow!

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:55pm

Who gives our Sonic Youth, the Replacements influence?

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:56pm

I was too harsh on richie

But sorry, Iron Maiden, JDNO, two of the acts are too "indie"/"metal" are now voted in as performer inductees

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 19:57pm

Linda Creed should have gone in with Thom Bell - would have made it all easier.

Certainly nobody had Arif Mardin on their cheat sheets, nor was I really familiar with Jimmy Miller's overall legacy (he was just a name that popped up from time to time). That's what this institution is all about - learning a lot of history you didn't know.

They wisely used the side categories more correctly this time but Queen Latifah still feels like a cop out. Should have had her on a ballot or two first. Performer count this election is 8 + Queen Latifah + previous nominees Fela Kuti and Gram Parsons so it's about 11 but I'd say 10 since Fela Kuti always should have just been an Influence candidate. Regardless, more good chipping away at the backlog!

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:00pm

I don't want to say told you so that JD/NO could make it in Performers, I am just so immensely happy you were all wrong.
That was my top bucket list inductee and honestly so happy an indie label act finally got its roses

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:02pm

With Gram Parsons in as Early Influence, all of the Rolling Stone Top 100 has been inducted.

Dr. Dre is in with NWA.

Posted by Dr. W on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:02pm

One of the worst nom selections of all time has seemingly birthed one of the best inductee lineups EVER??? HOW

Is this real? This has not been broadcast or widely reported yet to my knowlege, WHATS GOING ON????

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:02pm

Mariah will be back, maybe they just give her a rest next year and maybe it has nothing to do with the "humiliation" of Beyonce potentially preceding her. I think Lauryn Hill also performed fine. Hopefully none of the others come back. P!nk is too soon, Buckley was going to be a very uphill case to make, New Edition is terrible and Etheridge/Crowes are just Boomer dinosaur rock of minimal influence.

So, we should get a lot of new blood next time!

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:02pm

A brilliant list of 2026 inductees!

Posted by Tony on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:03pm

Yes, we are all richie when comes to JDNO

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:03pm

Is Paul McGuigan not getting in with Oasis?

Posted by Tyler on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:05pm

If Mariah Carey has that many industry enemies?

I don't think it is genre problem, just many voters can't stand her, have bias against her...

Real problem: Has Mariah Carey really been close to finish line in three years?

She should be in and it is crime voters have problem against her, but I think it is better to give her some rest...

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:07pm

Does anyone know where this list came from? I havnt seen anyone else report on this yet

Posted by Colton on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:07pm

Not In Rock Hall Revisited/Projected And Totally Worthy And Missed Our Radar:

Linda Creed
Arif Mardin
MC Lyte
Luther Vandross

Also Not In, Has Considerable Resume But There's Plenty Of Producers That Can Match That, IMO:

Jimmy Miller

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:10pm

will m,

It really goes to show how top heavy this year's ballot was. There was also fears that the voters would pass over Iron Maiden and Joy Divison/New Order again. Making it a requirement to vote for 7 I think helped some of the inductees.

Posted by Garrick on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:11pm

Colton,

So far, only Billy Idol has been officially announced on American Idol.

Posted by Garrick on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:13pm

And its all confirmed as real!!!

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:14pm

American Idol confirmed it

Just want to say using one of the few band pictures for the Sade announcement on American Idol was so nice. So often they are just portrayed as a solo artist and that backing band does not get enough credit

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:15pm

Should be pointed out that Arif Mardin produced Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) for Phil Collins.

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:18pm

Very impressive class!

Also looks like they've cleared the ground for virtually every female rap pioneer (outside of Roxanne Shante) to get in.

So as far as Mariah goes, I was right. She becomes the first female nominee since Patti Smith to get nominated three consecutive years and failed to get in (Patti eventually got in on her seventh attempt). It's likely she'll continue to get a nomination but I rather they wait. Obviously she has deference against her at the current time.

Posted by Timothy Pernell on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:19pm

Idol took forever, but a class of a lifetime? It's kinda up there with those first couple classes in the 80s.

And several way over due, like Ed Sullivan, Rick Rubin, Arif Mardin and a few correctly placed previous noms (Fela Kuti, Gram Parsons).

And I have no complaints on anyone in this list. There might be hope that the Hall has listened to fans some what finally.

Posted by TheCorriynial on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:27pm

I'm sad that Lauryn missed but w this lineup it's hard to complain.

Also MAIDEN!!! METAL TRULY REALLY CAN GET IN ON THE BALLOT

So many lanes cleared this bodes well for many of my favs in the future, Billy clears the new wave zone, Maiden leaves Motörhead as the next obvious metal choice, Gram parsons was an all time snub, Phil Collins for the double inductee legend slot, I imagine Diana Ross comes next but then she has to compete with Mariah.

The black crowes plug the 90s backlog but never fear oasis is here!

Posted by Will m on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:31pm

It says musical influence on the Rock Hall website. Why is FRL calling them early influence?

Posted by Roy on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:35pm

18 inductees in the rock and roll hall of fame never would of happened when jann wenner was leading it and 2 of 3 years that you get 8 main inductees that is awesome at least some of the 80s logjam is eased a bit 90s not so much yet but oasis and wu tang clan get inducted maybe next year we will get some 1970s artist back as nominees

Posted by Joshua Hamilton on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:38pm

Whoever got the voting committee to change to dropping committee members this is the best thing to happen to the Hall in ages

First time I felt there is hope of righting this ship

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:43pm

An outstanding class of inductees. Give it a solid A. Iron Maiden finally inducted!!!! Hope they play some songs at the Induction ceremony. Billy Idol 1 of my 80's FAVS inducted. Should rip through 3 or 4 songs with Steve Stevens. Mony, Mony, Rebel Yell, White Wedding, perhaps. Phil Collins was a lock by many in the early nominations and when the RRHOF Nominees were announced. It was Collins time for sure. Surprised Mariah Carey cannot earn induction. Plenty of hit songs and records sold. She's also having longevity into her later 50's too. Gram Parsons finally enters through the side category Early Influence. It bodes well for an Emmylou Harris nomination and induction in 2027. I could see Emmylou Harris & Keith Richards as joint presenters for Gram Parsons. JD/NO also finally earns induction. That should open it up for The Smiths as Depeche Mode, The Cure, JD/NO now all inducted. I thought INXS would earn induction but it might take them a few Nominations now. They were up against some strong competition. Should be interesting with Oasis inducted now...Where will the RRHOF go with the popular and successful 1990's rock bands. Alice In Chains, Smashing Pumpkins, Stone Temple Pilots, Tool, should all be in the mix. Jane's Addiction might earn induction through Side Category. Also, the 1990's women singers/musicians logjam will have to be addressed. Alanis Morissette, Britney Spears, Fiona Apple, Mariah Carey, Tori Amos, etc. I think Alanis could be nominated next. Like seeing Ed Sullivan finally earn induction in Non-Performer. Queen Latifah like Salt N Pepa last year a little surprising inducted through the side category before earning a
nomination. Good chance some of the Nominees who did not earn induction will return next year. KING

Posted by KING on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:43pm

Again, it's really irritating that there's no protector of indie and 90s rock to get more of them on the ballot or inducted through side categories, yet here's some more B-list Hip Hop women and Philly Soul related stuff (come on, Questlove, we know you're behind this).

Speaking of Philly Soul, Linda Creed was behind so many of The Stylistics' hits that it seems inevitable that they'll either be on the ballot soon or have been vociferously argued for by the aforementioned Questlove.

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:43pm

Mariah Carey is the first nominee to not get inducted on her 3rd try since DEVO and the New York Dolls in 2022

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:50pm

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1421040433122657

Peter Hook already confirmed he is showing up

Also that Oasis shirt is sick lol.

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:53pm

Interesting that one of the three "Influenced" on the Rock Hall's website for Linda Creed is...Alicia Keys.

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:54pm

Pearl Bailey REALLY didn't make music related to Rock and Roll but it's worth pointing out that her connection to Ed Sullivan and his social activism (and her many appearances on his show) led the Hall to list her as one of Ed's three "influences"...just worth pointing out that she could be a potential inductee in the future (hopefully not though, but it would sort of be in-line with Harry Belafonte but more...Broadway)

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 20:58pm

I was confused on Parsons inclusion at first as this is a very rock heavy class till i realized, he satisfies a singer songwriter lane, a nod to 60s heads, country fans, he is filling a lane that was otherwise not fufilled in this lineup

Posted by Will M on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 21:07pm

My initial set of predictions definitely didn't have Luther Vandross and Iron Maiden but then after the clear outpouring of support for the former and the leak about the latter - well, they're definitely in. Of course, Kalshi came along to spoil the Performers class, so I have really no idea who I would have dropped from my Top 8. Had INXS been the one to go, I'd have gone 8-for-8 just on my own and I think that's reflective of the voters getting it really right this time. This DOES feel like the eight most important names (Mariah being ninth, imo).

But let this be a listen, insider trading will always give you the answer! We've known the inductees for two weeks in the Performer class. What a blessing!

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 21:09pm

Jimmy Miller is a good olive branch to the Classic Rock crowd

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 21:09pm

Reactions:
This year's nominees were an extremely pop focused ballot, and the HOF voters seemed to rebel against that a bit by voting in most of the more guitar rock acts, except Black Crowes (who even Rock fans readily admit aren't a very important candidate for induction) and INXS (not a big surprise since the voters tend to wait on most MTV era stars and make them wait until two or three nominations to get in)

Mariah Carey - the 11th best selling artist in world history is passed over for a third time. It will be interesting to see what happens next year given that Beyoncé will become eligible. Do they try her again up against Beyoncé, or do they sit Mariah out for a year? I can't really imagine them not nominating Beyoncé; it would cause a pretty big social media storm

New Edition becomes the third winner of the fan vote to get snubbed for induction

While the nominating committee struck out again on getting a Latin act voted in, the insider side committees covered that lane by selecting Celia Cruz. The Queen Of Salsa!

The inclusion of Queen Latifah via the side door is kind of odd. She has the icon status to have had a damn good shot at induction via the main voters but has never been nominated.
MC Lyte makes total sense. One of the earliest female rap stars, but kind of forgotten by pop culture. Queen Latifah has definitely *not* been forgotten!

This will be another ceremony where there will be more tribute performers than inductee performers.
Phil Collins is so frail that it's very unlikely he can even attend, much less perform.
Iron Maiden has made it clear that they don't care about the award.
Only Peter Hook from Joy Division seems at all interested in this award.
Sade Adu is a total recluse, at best she might send a thank you video like Kate Bush did.
Luther Vandross is dead.
Billy Idol will definitely perform. Oasis seems like they will. Wu-Tang probably will as well.
Maybe Queen Latifah might help fill time as well, but they don't often offer performance spots to the Influence inductees.

Rick Rubin makes sense, but putting him in without also acknowledging Russell Simmons could get some racial pushback, then again Simmons has the recent "me too" type of controversy going against him.

I'm thrilled to finally get Gram Parsons and Fela Kuti in, two excellent selections. Hopefully this leads to The Meters getting that treatment next year!

I'm very happy to be wrong about JD/NO not getting in again; it's renewed my faith a bit in the main voting body that they finally gave them a much deserved nod rather than forcing the HOF to use a side door for them.

Bummed that The Wailers once again did not get the Musical Excellence selection, and that neither Devo nor B-52s got selected for Excellence of Influence.

Posted by shrek on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 21:11pm

Jimmy Miller also satifies the more classic of classic rock fans

Linda Creed is a nod to underrepresented soul here,

And wow theyre moving huge on the rap backlog w Latifah Lyte and Rubin.

I can totally see next year having Lauryn and EBAR on the bill, Lauryn gets in and EBAR get the sidedoor. We still are yet to have 2 main ballot rap acts (To my memory at least, I could be wrong)

Posted by Will M on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 21:12pm

Mariah Carey is the first nominee since Krim become NomCom president didn't get in on her 3rd or more nomination

And yes I am pumped about JD/NO

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:16pm

Mariah Carey is the first nominee since Krim become NomCom president didn't get in on her 3rd or more nomination

And yes I am pumped about JD/NO

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:16pm

Remaining acts that been nominated for the past several years but haven't gotten in

2020:Rufus,Thin Lizzy and Motorhead

2021:DEVO and New York Dills

2022:Beck,DEVO and New York Dolls

2023:All are in

2024:Mariah,Jane's Addiction,Eric B and Rakim,Sinead O Connor and Lenny Kravitz

2025:Phish and Mana

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:20pm

They added a 10th member for Wu-Tang Clan

Posted by Roy on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:24pm

Most are deserving, but I need to blast the RRHOF for snubbing Mariah Carey. What is their issue with mainstream pop? It took way too long to get Whitney and Janet in, and they are tiptoeing around mainstream charts. Make no mistake, a good chunk of 90s rock and rap have gone in, but they absolutely hate the girls. Putting Salt N Pepa in a side cat, along with Latifah and MC Lyte this year...it shows it's still a man's world on this nom com. Think of all the ladies that were nominated and didn't get in...Melissa Etheridge, Pink, Shakira and Mariah. Sade did get in, but her band is mostly male. I'm not saying in any way this is a misogynistic group, but with the dearth of rock and rock adjacent acts, it seems like there was some bias towards the rockists and the old guard here. Were it not for the rap and R&B contingent, this would make the mullet wearing basement dwellers crow in victory

Posted by K-Dawg on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:38pm

Suprised the oasis lineup hasn't been corrected yet, its missing Guigsy and alan white

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 22:42pm

Already thinking about next year, my current biggest snub list includes

Motorhead
Replacements
New York Dolls
Devo
Alice in Chains
Weezer
King Crimson
Dio
Jethro Tull
B52s
Blue Oyster Cult
Gordon Lightfoot

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 23:01pm

Is it farfetched to call 2026 one of the Hall's greatest classes of the 21st century? Freaking Gram Parsons and Fela Kuti ON TOP OF the Kalshi 8? I think not.


Let's go!!! 3 of my top 5 snubs, including 1 and 2, are now in!

Posted by Mason on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 23:05pm

Lauryn and Mariah should've made the cut. But I get it, I'm not upsetting considering the inductees are all deserving. But I'm not really feeling the side door categories. I get that being sidedoored isn't the same as being inducted as a performer but when you're getting the same treatment it does make things weird. Especially with some of these names never making the nominees ballot. Sure you could argue MC Lyte and Queen as early influences but seeing someone like Mariah who debuted around that same era and Lauryn Hill who's way way more influential in music feels odd. I get that the hall believes that they're deserving of getting in as performers but there also needs to be likeminded voters because this looks bad. Otherwise it's a fun and unique class.

Posted by Naz P on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 23:18pm

6/49 are female. And the women that did make are mostly weak candidates.

Any female act / band that sold 20+ million records -> automatic nomination. They need half the nominees female at this point to get more in. Also, try the Carpenters at this point. Why not?

The biggest snubs are Linkin Park and Coldplay by far.

Legacy rock has tons of snubs -> start with the Guess Who.

Dio probably could be a musical excellence inductee to cover metal when it isn't nominated next year.

Posted by Jim C. on Monday, 04/13/2026 @ 23:19pm

1) I think we're gonna get a big 'ol The Birth of Hip Hop package focusing on Rick Rubin, MC Lyte and Queen Latifah. The latter's induction and skipping the ballot makes a lot more sense if she's being inducted in tandem with MC Lyte.

2) Having read Keith Richards' excellent autobiography, the Jimmy Miller and Gram Parsons segments may be back-to-back. Here's an AI pull-up on it:

Gram Parsons and The Rolling Stones

1968 Meeting: Parsons met Keith Richards and Mick Jagger in London in 1968 while the Byrds were touring.
Influence: Parsons is credited with introducing Keith Richards to country music, which influenced the Stones' sound on songs like "Dear Doctor," "Country Honk," and "Dead Flowers".

Nellcôte Sessions: Parsons spent substantial time with the Stones at Nellcôte in southern France in 1971 while they recorded Exile on Main St., though his presence became problematic due to extreme drug use.

"Wild Horses": Parsons and his band, the Flying Burrito Brothers, were granted permission to record "Wild Horses" before the Rolling Stones released it.

Gram Parsons and Jimmy Miller

Recording Intersection: Jimmy Miller produced the Rolling Stones during the time Parsons was in their inner circle (late 60s/early 70s).

Exile on Main St.: While Parsons was staying at Nellcôte during the Exile on Main St. sessions produced by Miller, reports indicate he was more of a disruptive visitor/influence on Richards than a formal contributor to the recordings.

Shared Scene: Both were present in the Stones' tight, chaotic circle during the recording of Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, and Exile on Main St..



So the packages can talk about Parsons in conjunction with the Stones (featuring footage of Richards) and then more new footage of Richards talking about Miller and how Keith and the band incorporated Parsons' influence into their work with Miller. Makes sense to me!

That's where they really dropped the ball with the whole Linda Creed thing. If she had been inducted with Thom Bell, it would have fit more seamlessly. Now they've got to tell the whole story of Philly Soul yet AGAIN. Should have been the two of them, Spinners, Soul Train all at once a couple years ago.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 00:03am

Phil Collins was the only member of the Top 11 80s Acts on The Billboard Hot 100 to not be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (and #12 is Country Hall of Famer Kenny Rogers). So that clears that up.

1. Michael Jackson
2. Prince
3. Madonna
4. Hall & Oates
5. George Michael
6. Billy Joel
7. Lionel Richie
8. Phil Collins
9. John Mellencamp
10. Elton John
11. Kool & The Gang

Remaining From Top 50:

13. Huey Lewis & The News
14. Sheena Easton
16. Pointer Sisters
18. Diana Ross *
25. Olivia Newton-John
27. Starship **
29. Air Supply
30. Kenny Loggins
34. REO Speedwagon
35. Billy Ocean
36. Survivor
40. Steve Winwood *
41. Gloria Estefan
42. Kim Carnes
46. Bryan Adams
47. Culture Club

* Solo performer inducted in Rock Hall with previous group

** Has members that were previously inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame as part of another band

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 00:23am

The top four from the 70s (which would round out the Top 13 from the 70s)

4. Carpenters
10. Olivia Newton-John *
12. John Denver
13. Diana Ross *

* Also in 1980s Top 50.

And interestingly, The Stylistics are #37 for the 1970s and now have their two primary songwriters inducted in the Rock Hall.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 00:26am

Here's a thought - maybe Iron Maiden had Blaze Bailey added to the induction list because he actually is somebody who would be happy to attend and to perform with some sort of all star band of Metal/Hard Rock musicians for the telecast.

Posted by Shrek on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 00:29am

Shrek

No, pretty sure it is Steve Harris's will to induct Blaze Bayley together... Steve Harris also invited Blaze to music festival held by Maiden. Looking like Maiden wants to include everyone in their journey

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 00:46am

How is it possible that Sade gets in but Mariah Carey does not?

Posted by Chris on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 01:19am

The combined one-two punch of JD-NO and Iron Maiden being inducted means the title of "biggest Rock Hall snub" can now go to practically anybody.

Who I'd Consider For Biggest Snub:

Beyonce/Kanye West - Newly eligible names that changed the course of 21st century music

Mariah Carey - Most commercially successful artist sitting out

Diana Ross - Checks all the boxes, waited forever

The Monkees - Not just the time waited but the commercial success/creativity was totally there. Having them sit out while Lovin' Spoonful, Rascals, Mamas and the Papas, etc. got in just creates a situation where you expect the Rock Hall to collapse in on itself.

Daft Punk - There's plenty of important electronic acts (and duos like Chemical Brothers) but this is definitely the big kahuna in terms of overall commercial impact and influence, thus, they'd arguably be THE name to induct in order to open the doors fully for a whole new subgenre: Electronic (Kraftwerk was a predecessor)

Coldplay - Massive stadium act that hits every possible quadrant for induction

The Smiths - You could also toss Pixies or Sonic Youth in here as well. The former two are massively streamed, the latter is massively influential/critically acclaimed. JD-NO never had much in the way of US hits but have had decades of critical reevaluation and blossoming streaming numbers, and thus, their induction opens the door for these type of acts - many of whom are far, far bigger concert and Spotify draws than most of the remaining would-be inductees.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 01:24am

Sade is more important than Mariah Carey and more critically respected. They created full on art and basically invented a subgenre all their own.

Mariah Carey made cheesy pop aimed at Wal-Mart shoppers, hence why a lot of voters don't take her seriously.

Don't get me wrong, I honestly believe she's one of the biggest snubs left on the board, but with this particular ballot, I would have never considered voting for her whereas, if I were a voter, I absolutely would have the previous year.

Sade, like Mary J. Blige, has gravitas. Mariah really doesn't. At the end of the day, it's a four-step voting process

1) Vote for the truly deserving names you like
2) Vote for the truly deserving names you aren't really a fan of
3) Vote for the not-so deserving names you like
4) Vote for what are the least objectionable names of what's left according to your own tastes or "objectivity"

And Mariah Carey totally fails at #1. Lots of voters just don't like her music, and it's understandable. Plenty rock history buffs/critics think Mariah Carey and New Edition and Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys are all absolute dreck and it's going to be pretty hard to convince any of us to toss a vote in that direction. So we get Mariah in and then I have to be predictably fear Britney on a ballot like five years from now? Yeah, I'm gonna pass.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 01:30am

Mariah will get her dues soon. There's barely anybody left that I consider super competitive at the top of the electability food chain.

Via my metric:

1. Kanye West - 5.50987
2. Beyonce - 5.50930
3. Diana Ross - 5.50000

4. Daft Punk - 4.50435

5. Mariah Carey - 4.43000
6. Beck - 4.41954
7. Dr. Dre - 4.40836

8. Coldplay - 4.30867
9. Weezer - 4.30823
10. The Monkees - 4.30434
11. Boston - 4.30425

12. Devo - 3.53644
13. Björk - 3.50965
14. Pixies - 3.50946
15. Smashing Pumpkins - 3.50880

16. Lauryn Hill/Fugees - 3.41713
17. De La Soul - 3.40837
18. Fiona Apple - 3.40804
19. Snoop Dogg - 3.40726
20. The B-52s - 3.40662
21. Alice in Chains - 3.40429

22. Harry Nilsson - 3.30580
23. Usher - 3.30256 - *
24. No Doubt - 3.30249 *

25. Sinead O'Connor - 3.21700
26. Alicia Keys - 3.20504
27. Donny Hathaway - 3.20317 *

28. Carpenters - 3.20295
29. Roberta Flack - 3.20279
30. Alanis Morissette - 3.20120
31. Patti LaBelle - 3.20053
32. Barry White - 3.20042

* Not an RHR/RHP inductee here on the FutureRockLegends website

My metric would predict ballot returns for Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill being likely for 2027 but I dunno how Beyonce, Alicia Keys and a bag full of black women having waited years for their first nomination (Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, TLC, Tracy Chapman, Pointer Sisters) will effect that calculus.


Inducted This Year From That Upper Group:

Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Queen Latifah, Oasis, Gram Parsons, Wu-Tang Clan

And Nearby:

Joy Division-New Order (top ranked candidate just outside that group), Sade, Luther Vandross

Admittedly Biffed It On:

Iron Maiden (Perhaps the problem was that my ranking system doesn't take into account clear lanes and/or I just failed to think it would matter at all for a metal act. Clearly, the lack of guitar band and/or classic rock competition really helped them.)

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 01:45am

I'm really liking how the 2026 class complements this top section of my list (#1-32). You can easily pull out other recent inductees in your head for each of these candidates as to why they should get in, even if sometimes it's not super obvious (like Carly Simon leading to a Carpenters induction, etc)

The only candidate that really gives me pause is Alanis Morissette. Just not quite sure there's anybody inducted recently that fits that kind of mold. She's a very unique case whereas I can even take the Kate Bush induction to work as a precursor for Bjork/Fiona Apple, etc.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 01:49am

Artists On My Metric That I Could See Getting Side Category Treatment And, Thus, Effectively Leading To "One More Performer" Being Inducted In 2027:

7. Dr. Dre - A Musical Influence or Excellence choice that would cover his production discography in addition to solo work

19. Snoop Dogg - I actually could see him struggling on the ballot. He's not really art central with a lot of classic albums and critical acclaim. He'd make for a solid Musical Excellence candidate given all the guest rap verses he's done, etc.

27/29/31/32. Donny Hathaway/Roberta Flack/Patti LaBelle/Barry White - See: Dionne Warwick, Chaka Khan, all this Philly Soul stuff

34. John Coltrane - If Miles could get the vote decades ago, he sure could now

War - R&B adjacent act that failed to get in multiple times on previous ballots

Gloria Estefan - Instead of waiting on the voters to usher in Latin music, you instead induct her as an "Influence" on modern Latin pop like Shakira/Selena, etc.

TLC - See: Salt N Pepa

Brian Eno - Musical Excellence to cover his outsider ambient music and production discography

Eric B. and Rakim - Obvious. And, no, they really aren't all that electable now or ever. Just nobody really cares. Their influence and public memory of them continues to wane every year we're removed from their peak.

Herbie Hancock - Self explanatory and the sort of jack-of-all-trades who is perfect for Musical Excellence or Musical Influence

Tom Jones - Could be considered to fit in to rock the same way that Jimmy Buffet did

Glen Campbell - Sort of Gram Parsons-y

Loretta Lynn/Emmylou Harris - Female Gram Parsons

Connie Francis - Her music and time in the spotlight feels like one hundred years ago. Could just toss her in as Influence and wink at Gen Z for making one of her songs hit the Hot 100 recently.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 02:01am

I'll post the updated metric soon - eleven names were cleared out via these 8 inductees and Fela/Latifah/Parsons. New Edition and Jeff Buckley weren't on my metric at the time of nominations whereas the other 15 were.

New total count is going to be 121 artists. Vast majority have pretty low chances of induction though. Seeing about 65 of those names with a decent shot if on the ballot.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 02:13am

Billy Idol on Hall of Fame Induction: 'You Couldn't Have Dreamed It Better'

https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/billy-idol-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-93615/

This is a really strong class this year. Phil Collins finally got in as a solo artist.

He's a fantastic musician. I worked with him once in a charity [production of the Who's] Tommy that we did [in 1989]. He was Uncle Ernie. I was Cousin Kevin. He's fantastic. I just worked with his son [Nic]. He was on the road with us with his band [The Effect]. I also love Joy Division and Oasis. These are fantastic bands.

It's crazy that Joy Division/New Order are also just getting in. They changed the world.

They really did. A big reason I started doing the "Dancing With Myself"-type music was listening to people like Joy Division, sort of straightening the grooves out. That whole time period was really exciting for us because every day something fresh or exciting was happening or there would be a new band that were killer. Manchester and London were really alive, and other places in England. It was exciting to watch it all grow, and then carry on into the Eighties. Watching it the last 50 years, being a part of it, is pretty incredible.

Iron Maiden really deserve it too.

They've been around as long as I have, if not longer.

There's the Wu-Tang Clan too. Some people say hip-hop shouldn't be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which has never made sense to me.

If anyone has a rock & roll attitude, it's the Wu-Tang. [Laughs]. FXXXin' hell. [Laughs]

There's Sade and Luther Vandross.
Sade is a fantastic artist. The same goes for Luther Vandross. He worked with David Bowie and everybody. He's a part of the lexicon of the music we were listening to. It has a lot to do with attitude and a lot to do with, "Did you have an effect on the culture?" I think most of these artists, in one way or another, did.

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 03:52am

For the very first time ever JD/NO officially acknowledge the Rock Hall.

Nothing more than inductee images on their socials without text, but that they posted about it at all is notable

https://www.instagram.com/neworderofficial/p/DXGZqnCDD6i/

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 04:17am

2023 ballot is the first ballot for a long time that every nominees have been included.

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 04:33am

The only thing that would have made this class better is a Mariah induction.

It is GLARING. I think they sit her out next year for Beyoncé and then try again in 2028.

My strategy would probably to clear the lane for her again and nominate a very worthy Britney Spears alongside her. Probably a bigger "anti-Christ" to voters, who can get her foot in the door with at least a nomination. Maybe add long-shots that are also worthy like the Shangri-Las, Lil Kim, Mary Wells, Hole for that ballot. Mariah looks pretty attractive to vote for, while not diluting the worthiness of the female nominees.

Posted by Matt on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 04:56am

You all aren't right, now new edition had the most votes but you all cheated.

Posted by Lashawn Y Muhammad on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 05:17am

Lashawn Y Muhammad

New Edition had most fan vote but fell short because lacking of votes from official voters

Fan vote only counts for 1/1200...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 05:56am

Now that Oasis finally cleared the hurdle, what 90s bands are we seeing next?

Amongst previous noms,
Beck, nominated once 2022
Sinead and Lenny nomianted once each 2024
Phish nominated once 2025
Jeff Buckley and Melissa Ethridge nominated once 2026
The Black Crowes nominated twice 2025 and 2026.

Most of these werent the most obvious slam dunks and mostly not the real 90s heavy hitters.

I think Beck is due for a second go around soon where I think he would go in, but theres also AIC Weezer Smashing Pumpkins Pavement and many of the 80s alt holdovers like Pixies and Janes (Nominated twice in 2017 and 2024)

Posted by Will M on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 06:52am

There was certainly a big space for RNB this year with Sade and Luther, although they are both 80s quiet storm acts, I wonder if we're done done with the old school soul trend that had The Spinners and Kool inducted back to back years, Im still hoping for War to get their next shot

Posted by Will M on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 07:00am

The trend of previous noms, like long distant ones in the case of gram parsons has me genuinely wondering if theyre looking at old nom lists for AME inductees, or if theyre choosing at random with no correlation, cause most every year its been happening

Posted by Will m on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 07:02am

Expect NY Dolls to be early influenced soon

Not sure about Devo, will they get fourth nomination

Most importantly, will Mariah gets fourth or ME/MI next year? She is Influence to 00s pop star though, but still find it a little far fetched to include her in side doors

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 07:43am

Lauryn Hill is the easily the biggest women in hip hop not inducted now. The Hall has her as an essential women in music for the 90s, and she appeared under Sade, MC Lyte and QL's influenced section. I believe she came close enough this year and will be back next year. The question is who joins her on the ballot, Beyonce being on could either help (might pull from the same demo and she influenced Beyonce which voters might take into consideration) or hurt her. I do think there's a strong chance she's get nominated jointly with the Fugees. A couple of anonymous voters mentioned that the Hall should consider it, it was mentioned a few years ago by Billboard when Hill made their list of the next few women who belonged in the Hall, and there were rumors that they would combine them before the ballot was released. With Joy Division/New Order inducted, I think there's a very very strong chance it happens and if it does it will be a slam dunk ticket (even if both acts deserve separate inductions).

I expect to see at least one big late 70s or 80s R&B name join them on the ballot - Roberta Flack, Donny Hathaway, Patti Labelle, Diana Ross, Rick James or Barry White.

I think Coldplay will return, Kanye is too controversial to make it especially with ABC/Disney hosting the show. Hopefully Alanis Morisette finally makes an appearance. I think the Hall offered Jeff Buckley as a more rock oriented to pick to someone with a small discography like Hill but it would make more sense to go with The Smiths, especially with Oasis inducted now. INXS will return too. I could also see Beck and Lenny, maybe even Phish unless they performed horribly despite winning the fan vote. Selena or Gloria Estefan are also obvious to come up soon.

I could see Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne or Nas joining Hill. But I think there's clearly a reason the committee excluded Snoop from their West Coast induction era. Lil Wayne feels a little early and Nas is slightly hurt by the fact that he reached his greatest commercial success with Hill and has noted her as an influence. But also I wouldn't be surprised if The Clipse made it either.

Maybe Alicia Keys, The Strokes or The Black Keys get their first nom.

Posted by Naz P on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 08:21am

Think good chance one or two of Styx, Boston or Bryan Adams will be nominated next year. This year they were snubbed because rock hall wants three three timers in and don't want another automatic spot filled with these three

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 08:43am

New Edition won the fan vote, but not getting inducted the same year as one of their idols, Phil Collins.

Phil Collins is the only second time inductee this year.

Mariah Carey and Luther Vandross did a remake of Endless Love by Lionel Richie and Diana Ross, but only Luther Vandross is being inducted this year.

Any other connections between the 2026 nominees you know of?

INXS didn't make it!

No induction for Wings this year!

Posted by Roy on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 08:46am

According to Total Music Awards (on the poptimist end) the top ten biggest snubs are
1. B-52s
2. Mariah Carey
3. Smashing Pumpkins
4. Diana Ross
5. Coldplay
6. The Smiths
7. Weezer
8. Garth Brooks
9. Tommy James & the Shondells
10. Snoop Dogg

According to NotInHallOfFame (on the rocktimist end) the top ten biggest snubs are
1. The Smiths
2. Jethro Tull
3. Pixies
4. King Crimson
5. Coldplay
6. Motorhead
7. Dick Dale
8. The Monkees
9. Sonic Youth
10. John Coltrane

Accoeding to Axios Cleveland (a middle ground opinion) the top ten biggest snubs are
1. Sonic Youth
2. Chic
3. John Coltrane
4. Mariah Carey
5. Eric B. & Rakim
6. New York Dolls
7. The Smiths
8. Motorhead
9. Brian Eno
10. The Replacements

With all of them evaluated (with inducted artists removed) I would say The Smiths are now the #1 biggest snubs. They appear #1 on many lists I have seen and appear on all three lists here, one at #1, and actually top 10 on every list I could find beyond these. Only JD/NO and Maidan were beating them before this year

The other collective biggest snubs are Mariah Carey (close to the top of all but the rocktimist lists), Coldplay (near the top of both the rocktimist and the optimist lists), Motörhead (on two of the three), Sonic Youth (two of the three including a #1 spot) and John Coltrane (on two of the three, also really close to making the top one; it was 11th). I will boost someone who can make both poptimist and rocktimist lists

So as of this induction I would say the current top 5 biggest snubs are
1. The Smiths
2. Coldplay
3. Mariah Carey
4. Sonic Youth
5. John Coltrane
If 6.: Motörhead

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 09:24am

Nick's prospects project list is probably the best one out there and many have said that over the years.

From his list, this is the top 10 after this year's class was announced -

01. Mariah Carey
02. Coldplay
03. The B-52's
04. Diana Ross
05. Jethro Tull
06. Beck
07. The Monkees
08. Dr. Dre
09. Smashing Pumpkins
10. Snoop Dogg

Posted by David on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 09:41am

Really think rock hall should try Smiths again next year, and great chance they will follow JDNO and be voted in

But we know Morrissey...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 09:49am

Mike Oldfield would be an excellent musical influence candidate. He really helped new age subgenre. Plus, people know Tubular Bells and that album helped found Virgin Records. Hall and Oates covered "Family Man" to being a bigger hit. He retired and likely wouldn't show up so it is very unlikely he gets nominated.

Sonic Youth have no hits. "Kool Thing" is dated and their closest. They sold nothing (a million would be pushing it), they will never perform or even get all members to show up after the divorce. There is really limited value in an induction. They really are critical darlings without much of a fanbase. At least, Pixies have 10m Spotify listeners and a massive song in "Where is my mind". Plus, a very successful reunion tour under their belts.

Motorhead had "Ace of Spades" and that's it. The general public knows nothing else sans maybe the WWE themes they did. They have a weak case. Some of Lemmy's best work was the Ozzy stuff he helped write.

Still, I do think if an artist ever gets nominated, they are almost guaranteed to get inducted. They don't really give up and I guess it is a way to save face. You don't want to nominate a ton of artists that never get in -> looks like the nominee committee has no idea what they are doing. Mariah Carey is going in eventually. Devo is not dead.

Posted by Jim C. on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 09:55am

When Salt n Pepa get in though Early Influence last time I thought

"Oh this is how Queen Latifah gets in too right?"

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 09:59am

I would say with Iron Maiden getting in, I see Motorhead getting in easily with next nomination

Remember Lemmy is well respected in white boomers... More well respected than Iron Maiden....

I do think they will be "classic rock" to rock voters...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:02am

Sonic Youth should be considered for early influence due to their impact on the sound of 90s alternative music. The Replacements should also be recognized as an early influence because they had a huge impact on the development of pop-punk and pop alternative rock. They were obviously the biggest influence on the Goo Goo Dolls.

Jane's Addiction should be included as influence as well, given their influence on the sound of many major 90s acts with heavy guitar sounds, including grunge and alternative metal bands. Additionally, Perry Farrell created a major alternative/indie music festival, which is a big plus.

Pixies should be tried for the performer category, along with the Smiths. I could also see Devo getting in if they are nominated for a fourth time. With JDNO voting in, it makes things much easier. The B-52s, INXS, Tears for Fears, and Pet Shop Boys should be next in line for nomination.

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:09am

I strongly think Devo should be nominated for a 4th and final time

I think the shift in the Rock Hall since their last nomination (more than 5 inductees per nomination period, the range going to 80s/90s making them maybe the oldest act nominated, having to vote 7 so rock heads do not have much options) would greatly benefit Devo and they very much can get inducted. With this ballot in place of JD/NO I think they would be inducted.

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:17am

Kalshi 8 is right

So we look the timeline on Kalshi

Iron Maiden and Wu Tang Clan looked like were notified way before than other five inductees (had huge boost in mid March), so looked like great chance IM and WuTang were #2 and #3... Phil Collins was #1

Other performer inductees were #4-#8 with no particular order

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:17am

https://youtu.be/kRyHXx1bQ7g?si=PTJQsdBinDQpCUng

"I'm Heartbroken" Method Man Heated New Edition Was NOT Inducted Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame!

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:42am

Here is an opinion: now is the best time ever for metal and 80s indie/alternative to get inducted.

With less boomers on the committee and less boomer rock choices to pick that makes these acts among the oldest on the ballot, which voters lean towards. However, the voters are still not changed yet from the old days, and now they must vote for 7 acts. Which means they run out of boomer rock options and go for oldest or most "rock" oriented which they would not pick otherwise. So boomer rock is a solid lock every time it appears (Phil Collins probably had a substantial lead ahead of #2 vote getter) but now metal and 80s alternative are suddenly good options. So these options get in and Maiden who struggled before even seemed to be confirmed weeks before voting ended. And this is only going to be for a limited time until the voting base ages out to being more aligned with pop and 90s/2000s

So right now is the single best time every to get them in. They should strongly consider nominating acts like Smiths, Pixies, Motörhead, Megadeth, Slayer before the voting base eventually gets swapped for one that is pop heavy. Some here might not be inductable but now is the best chances to do so

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:46am

Gram Parsons is from Winter Haven so I am glad to see Central Florida representation

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 10:49am

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXHg-EglL_9/?igsh=MXV2aGN6NDJ6aHZqYw==

Tom Morello lobbied hard for Fela Kuti, Wu Tang Clan and Iron Maiden

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 11:05am

Not surprising

Morello is big into those revolutionary musicians like Fela Kuti

Though ironically enough Celia Cruz was pretty anti Castro and Che

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 11:10am

"Beyonce/Kanye West - Newly eligible names that changed the course of 21st century music"

Those aren't snubs anyway since they're first-year eligibles, right? Beyonce will get in immediately while people won't want to vote for Kanye if he makes the ballot due to his public Nazi statements. I'm sure you'll counter with Michael Jackson but he didn't get on the ballot immediately either and his shit was certainly in the public zeitgeist when he became eligible or else he probably would have...

"Via my metric"

Just curious how you calculated this.

"Iron Maiden (Perhaps the problem was that my ranking system doesn't take into account clear lanes and/or I just failed to think it would matter at all for a metal act. Clearly, the lack of guitar band and/or classic rock competition really helped them.)"

I think the problem here is that you used some critical acclaim ranking to reflect musical importance and the problem there is that those don't always track. There are certain artists who critics overrate just because their narrative makes a good story (like for instance: GNR, Oasis, Coldplay, Weezer, Foo Fighters... not saying they aren't very important but I don't think they were as important as their critical acclaim rankings make them look.) While there are certain subgenres critics don't like and therefore the important acts in those subgenres don't get as much respect as they should (prog, metal, country, anything smacking of "red state culture" generally - the number of people who called John Mellencamp the worst-ever inductee really bothered me at the time, adult contemporary - was shocked to see how unacclaimed Vandross was by critics and that's obviously also Carey and The Carpenters' problem, post-'70s R&B generally, pre-'90s rap generally). I would say you're not going to get accurate reads on actual importance based on any of these subgenres by looking at critical rankings when critics didn't like that stuff to begin with. It also seemed like there was a racial disparity on some of this too. Black people in general seemed to be much less dismissive of adult contemporary than white people (which is why Phil Collins actually had more influence on R&B than rock).

With Maiden specifically, one of the oddities about '80s metal was when I saw that Def Leppard was actually more acclaimed than Judas Priest on acclaimedmusic.net. You wouldn't think so since they're not more important, but I can see their power-poppy glam throwbacks being more appealing to critics and obviously on Hysteria they (or more accurately Mutt Lange) threw in some weird electronica elements, which probably appealed to critics more than it actually did to metal audiences... The problem is I don't know how you would actually measure importance or influence when it comes to artists in genres that critics overrate/underrate, or artists who it seems like critics overrate just because they have a fun narrative arc (GNR/Oasis/Foo Fighters or whoever...)

"The only candidate that really gives me pause is Alanis Morissette. Just not quite sure there's anybody inducted recently that fits that kind of mold. She's a very unique case whereas I can even take the Kate Bush induction to work as a precursor for Bjork/Fiona Apple, etc."

Cyndi Lauper is a dead-on one-to-one, right? Multiple successful albums but only one classic album with like five radio hits that people still care about today and then maybe two songs people care about after that? Both could be viewed as the watering down of more daring feminist music, etc...? It did take Lauper multiple ballots though even though she has a longevity advantage over Morissette, so based on that Alanis's chances might not be great. The Hall doesn't seem to like one-album wonders:- Sex Pistols took five ballots, Hill/Buckley just got rejected, Boston has never been nominated. Boston is in fact basically exactly the same case as Lauper/Morissette except for the lack of feminist content although I would say their one classic album altered things SONICALLY more despite being less important CULTURALLY.

"New Edition and Jeff Buckley weren't on my metric at the time of nominations whereas the other 15 were."

Would you feel any differently about New Edition if the Bobby Brown and Bell Biv DeVoe stuff was considered part of it? Both those artists seemed to be more popular and better-respected than New Edition itself was and I think nominating New Edition was just a neat way of including all that in one fell swoop kind of like Wu-Tang Clan and I'm sure they considered The Fugees as part of Lauryn Hill's nomination too. I'm pretty sure a lot of people were voting for them based in part on Bobby Brown/Bell Biv DeVoe stuff and I think most of the people who voted for them admitted it. Would that alter your thinking on any of these artists? Also, how would you have felt if it was Boyz II Men instead of New Edition (that IS probably who they should've gone with if they were looking in that direction...)?

Posted by Sean on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 11:30am

Is Ed Sullivan now one of the earliest born Rock Hall inductees?

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 11:45am

Tears for Fears are becoming a lock. "Everybody wants to rule the world" is stronger than ever. It is in tons of movies and TV shows. Add in, The Tipping Point getting decent critical acclaim, they are very likely within next 3 years.

Posted by Jim C. on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 11:54am

I dont know what's more tragic, those shredding the inductees for not making their microscopic view of what rock and roll is, or those aged boomers who scream out a hundred bands in all caps who they think belong because they heard a song of theirs on the local classic rock station

Posted by K-Dawg on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 12:38pm

Ed Sullivan passes up Jesse Stone as the oldest non-performing member of the HOF, he's two months older than Stone (September 1901 vs November 1901)

Overall, Ed Sullivan is the tenth oldest member, with the nine ahead of him all being "Early Influence" selections.

Oldest member is Jelly Roll Morton, born in 1885, 16 years before Sullivan.

Jelly roll Morton 1885
Ma Rainey 1886
Leadbelly 1888 or 1889 (disputed)
Charley Patton 1891
Bessie Smith 1892
Elizabeth Cotten 1893
Jimmy Yancey 1895
Jimmie Rodgers 1897
Louis Armstrong August 1901
Ed Sullivan September 1901
Jesse Stone November 1901

Posted by Shrek on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 12:42pm

Guest G, great list of the top snubs! I think we're going to see Daft Punk start making those "biggest snubs" list more often the further we get out and people realize how under-represented electronic music is by that institution.

Now that The Smiths have a massive streaming audience and would hypothetically sell out stadiums in seconds for a Marr-Morrisssey reunion tour (which will never happen), they really fit that perfect box of having an influential, acclaimed discography and commercial appeal. They're a fitting consensus #1.


David, everyone from Nick's new Prospects Top Ten (or at least what his top ten is now via these new inductees) are in my upper echelon as well. There's a lot of consensus between us as I had 87 of the acts from his Top 100 on my list (which at the time barely stretched past 100). Jethro Tull being so high definitely makes me have to rethink things given this induction of Iron Maiden. Motorhead needs to climb and so does anybody else that can now fit the "new" classic rock mold of whatever's remaining. Clearly, meat-and-potatoes 90s rock like Etheridge, Kravitz and the Crowes doesn't cut the mustard and I have my doubts about 80s similars such as Don Henley.

A name that really stands out to me going through my list is The Buzzcocks who I have in the Top 40. They were super influential/acclaimed and also commercially successful in the UK and have a handful of very recognizable songs to a lot of guitar band-types. You chuck them onto a ballot full of pablum (Crowes, Etheridge, Kravitz) and heavy poptimism (Carey) and a lot of these critics/inductees looking for guitar rock will happily hand them a vote. They fit in just fine with The Clash, The Ramones, etc. and have more of a foothold with American audiences than a band like The Jam.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 12:57pm

Sean, I really dug your write-up in response to the metric. Here's how it works:

I eyeball the act's overall induction chances (getting on the ballot AND getting inducted) and assign a simple 1-5 score. There's rarely any 5s at this stage of the game. So, Mariah Carey is definitely one of the rare "4 star" candidates. She's clearly competitive and has enough of a resume/support to get in but just hasn't managed yet. On paper, she'd arguably be the frontrunner in recent cycles but there's clearly a few factors that get in her way and possibly give her a low ceiling.

The bottom of my list is full of acts that I can see on the Hall's radar (and likely can be nominated) but are either a bit too obscure in the indie canon or, worse, are just considered someone more with mainstream commercial success credentials that won't really move the needle with the voters in 2027 (such as Blink-182, Don Henley, etc.) I'm going to need to make some big alterations right now though. I had, for example, The Smiths topping the "1 star" category but it's clear that the Joy Division-New Order induction and the vacuum that's open due to a lack of classic rock is really going to help a lot of these acts. The Smiths were fine as they were sitting at about #65 before I'll adjust it (and that means they would have been a contender to be inducted anyway at present) but now they'll be a stronger one.

The rest of the score happens to be my tiebreakers. I figure an act with overall influence/critical acclaim/previous nominations has a better shot in the main than someone else in their general ballpark of induction chances. First decimal is about their impact on rock history among these potentials (scale of 1-5). Second decimal is number of previous nominations. Third is a final "tiebreaker" based on their inverse ranking in the top 1000 of AcclaimedMusic.Net

So many acts of the remaining eligible pool only score a 1 or a 2 out of five for the first part of their score because that's just basically where we're at in the grand scheme of things. They either have more of a flawed case due to a less influential impact and/or shorter career and/or not as much commercial success as the usual inductees and/or not enough friends in high places at the Rock Hall. It's what makes these modern ballots a lot more competitive.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:11pm

It's looking like about half the acts I have listed in the 1-star range are going to jump up to 2-stars based on recent inductions (Maiden, JD-NO, Sade and Vandross having the biggest effect). Gonna be very crowded in that middle territory. Big moves for indie and indie-adjacent acts as the ones with more name-ID/institutional support will definitely move up a category.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:15pm

Massive jump for The Smiths and The Replacements who now are the top acts outside of my upper echelon in the metric. Y'all are right about the Rock Hall needing to give The Smiths a chance in 2027 because they're highly electable at this point.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:19pm

Anyone else know the song title of Blue Monday is a reference to the book Goodbye Blue Monday/Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut?

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:24pm

Jethro Tull is the highest climber at all. I'm moving them from the 2-star to the 3-star category which means they're in the upper echelon. There's zero chance Tull isn't inducted on any future ballot (and, for that matter, Boston).

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:28pm

K-Dawg,

Classic rock acts had consistent radio play for 50 years. They might not be that relevant today -> it doesn't take away the likely billions of impressions (multi-million plays is likely for a big hit on rock radio with 50-250K listening). Modern acts can't compare. Even lower-tier acts like J. Geils Band probably achieved a staggering amount of impressions. Centerfold was a staple for 30 years.

Radio's death is really underestimated (I heart radio consolidation) and that's why everything is way more niche now. You can have big streaming hits and be unknown to the general public. There is no monoculture. Teddy Swims is a perfect example -> long running Billboard hit -> virtually no prescence on recent Grammys and other award shows.

Posted by Jim C. on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 13:35pm

This is one of the better classes they've had in years. Id have replaced Billy Idol with Mariah Carey tho.

Posted by David on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 14:56pm

Sean, you're right about Cyndi Lauper's induction setting the precedent for Alanis and I've even cited that before around here but just forgot about it. I think you're a bit underrating Boston's discography as the second and third albums were massive sellers and provided their own classic rock staples. That band massively shaped the trajectory of both AOR and Classic Rock music in the 80's thanks to their sound - they're more important than either Cyndi or Alanis and more than just the one album. Although I have argued in the past that Boston COULD be inducted into a hypothetical Albums category (similar to the now deceased Singles category) that would also include Cyndi, Alanis, Lauryn, Television, etc.

I see the New Edition nomination as definitely being all encompassing (so it includes the various offshoot artists). Without taking that into account, they're basically a bottom of the barrel nominee thanks to New Edition's generally terrible, forgettable discography. Likewise, I do take into account that the Lauryn Hill nomination should regard her work with Fugees just as the Janis Joplin nomination was clearly meant to be all-encompassing as well (same for the Steve Winwood nomination before they actually got Traffic in like a year later).

I don't think Boyz II Men is worthy either and I think New Edition is a stronger case overall thanks to the aforementioned offshoots. Both scare me as the induction of either opens the door for boy bands (just as we've had the obvious slippery slope of Janet > Whitney > Mariah > Britney). Thankfully, the voters will likely put up a wall in front of any of it that happening.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 15:45pm

Proud to unveil my newly re-worked/completed Rock Hall Futures list. Glen Campbell also makes the upper echelon as we all know he'd get immediate induction, but I imagine a side category induction is more likely.

I'll take any suggestions in regards to moving names up or down or names that should be added!

1. Kanye West - 5.50987
2. Beyonce - 5.50930
3. Diana Ross - 5.50441

4. Daft Punk - 4.50435

5. Mariah Carey - 4.43182
6. Beck - 4.41954
7. Dr. Dre - 4.40836

8. Coldplay - 4.30867
9. Weezer - 4.30823
10. The Monkees - 4.30434
11. Boston - 4.30425

12. Devo - 3.53644
13. Björk - 3.50965
14. Pixies - 3.50946
15. Smashing Pumpkins - 3.50880

16. Lauryn Hill/Fugees - 3.41713
17. De La Soul - 3.40837
18. Fiona Apple - 3.40804
19. Snoop Dogg - 3.40726
20. The B-52s - 3.40662
21. Alice in Chains - 3.40429

22. Harry Nilsson - 3.30580
23. Glen Campbell - 3.30414
24. Usher - 3.30256 - *
25. No Doubt - 3.30249 *

26. Sinead O'Connor - 3.21700
27. Jethro Tull - 3.20645
28. Alicia Keys - 3.20504
29. Donny Hathaway - 3.20317 *
30. Carpenters - 3.20295
31. Roberta Flack - 3.20279
32. Alanis Morissette - 3.20120
33. Patti Labelle - 3.20053
34. Barry White - 3.20042
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
34. The Smiths - 1.52972
35. The Replacements - 1.51832
36. Sonic Youth - 2.50943
37. Nick Drake - 2.50898
38. The Strokes - 2.50893
39. John Coltrane - 2.50461
40. Black Flag - 2.50490

41. Chic - 2.49271
42. Jane's Addiction - 2.42212
43. Thin Lizzy - 2.41677
44. PJ Harvey - 2.40960
45. Big Star - 2.40843
46. Herbie Hancock - 2.40809
47. Nas - 2.40665
48. Siouxsie & the Banshees - 2.40532
49. Tool - 2.40513
50. Wilco - 2.40436
51. Pet Shop Boys - 2.40382
52. The Buzzcocks - 2.40175
53. Bikini Kill - 2.40000
Selena - 2.40000 *

55. War - 2.33321
56. Motörhead - 2.31709
57. INXS - 2.31400
58. Shakira - 2.31000 *
59. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - 2.30975
60. Love - 2.30802
61. Nas - 2.30665
62. Tori Amos - 2.30626
63. Tears for Fears - 2.30524
64. Britney Spears - 2.30443 *

65. Pavement - 2.30903
66. D'angelo - 2.30808 *
67. Lucinda Williams - 2.30714
68. Blue Öyster Cult - 2.30417
69. John Prine - 2.30237 *
70. Rick James - 2.30202 *

71-75. Gloria Estefan - 2.30000
Ice-T - 2.30000
Justin Timberlake - 2.30753 *
Linkin Park - 2.30000
Tommy James & The Shondells - 2.30000

76. P!nk - 2.21000 *
Melissa Etheridge - 2.21000 *
New Edition - 2.21000
79. TLC - 2.20646
80. Loretta Lynn - 2.20514
81. Tracy Chapman - 2.20506
82. Emmylou Harris - 2.20398
83. The Bangles - 2.20178 - *
84-87. The Guess Who - 2.20000
Jim Croce - 2.20000
John Mayer - 2.20000 - *
Mötley Crüe - 2.20000

88-90. Pointer Sisters - 2.10000
Styx - 2.10000 - *
Three Dog Night - 2.1000

91. Brian Eno - 1.50918
92. King Crimson - 1.50814

93. New York Dolls - 1.43689
94. Eric B. & Rakim - 1.42758
95. The National - 1.40895 - *
96. Flaming Lips - 1.40891
97. Captain Beefheart - 1.40872
98. Sleater-Kinney - 1.40831
99. Gang of Four - 1.40729 *

100. Rufus with Chaka Khan - 1.34
101. Jeff Buckley - 1.31806 *
102. Phish - 1.31000 *
103. LCD Soundsystem - 1.30950
104. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - 1.30813 *
105. Aaliyah - 1.30455 *
106. Ben E. King - 1.30446 *
107. Destiny's Child - 1.30412 *
108. Cranberries - 1.30107 *
109-111. The Commodores - 1.30000
My Chemical Romance - 1.30000 *
Stone Temple Pilots - 1.3000

112. The Black Crowes - 1.22 *
114-115. Los Lobos - 1.21 *
Sting - 1.21 *
115. Black Keys - 1.20639 *
116. Supertramp - 1.20543 *
117. Meat Loaf - 1.20450 *
118. Sarah McLachlan - 1.20226 *
119. Don Henley - 1.20080 - *
120-124. Blink-182 - 1.20 - *
Connie Francis - 1.20000
Maroon 5 - 1.20000 *
Scorpions - 1.20000 *
Tom Jones - 1.20000 *

126. Lenny Kravitz - 1.11349 *
127. Bryan Adams - 1.10063 *
128. Kenny Loggins - 1.1000 *

* Not an RHR/RHP inductee here on the FutureRockLegends website but someone I predict may be on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot soon.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 15:50pm

Fixed the numbering errors and the messed-up scores for The Replacements and The Smiths. Still comes out to 128 artists.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 15:56pm

My god is the 2.3____ area crowded.

Pavement is actually #61 and Justin Timberlake is actually #72.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:07pm

Gonna pull Ben E. King off from the list, actually. I'd heard his name come up one of those podcast discussions and if I feel the Hall has moved on from nominating acts like Mary Wells and The Marvelettes that he's probably out of the running too. I was likely thinking along the lines of Chubby Checker (major act from that post-Elvis/pre-Beatles interim period).

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:11pm

And just noticed Nas is on the list twice, lol. Gonna keep him at 2.3 instead of 2.4. He's kind of mid-way between the A-list and B-list of Hip Hop importance.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:14pm

Ed Sullivan getting in kinda makes Frank Sinatra getting in as Musical/Early Influence more possible and stronger

Both while not really licking Rock n Roll did a lot of help desegregate Popular Music

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:19pm

Added Peter Tosh and the 2.3s were a total mess. I'll refrain from posting any more changes to my list but will gladly take any contributions.

Revised 2.3 section in correct ranking order:

55. War - 2.33321
56. Motörhead - 2.31709
57. INXS - 2.31400
58. Shakira - 2.31000 *
59. Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - 2.30975
60. Pavement - 2.30903
61. D'angelo - 2.30808 *
62. Love - 2.30802
63. Justin Timberlake - 2.30753 *
64. Lucinda Williams - 2.30714
65. Nas - 2.30665
66. Tori Amos - 2.30626
67. Tears for Fears - 2.30524
68. Britney Spears - 2.30443 *
69. Blue Öyster Cult - 2.30417
70. John Prine - 2.30237 *
71. Rick James - 2.30202 *
72. Peter Tosh - 2.30140
73-76. Gloria Estefan - 2.30000
Ice-T - 2.30000
Linkin Park - 2.30000
Tommy James & The Shondells - 2.30000

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:25pm

For the time being it looks like there's gonna be no Jimmy Buffett or Judas Priest like inductions in the Musical Excellence catagory

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:33pm

Usher and Chris Brown are going out on a 33-date stadium tour this summer. Usher really is a considerable candidate going forward and playing stadiums surely helps a lot of these acts be considered (Oasis, Shakira, etc.)

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:43pm

If only he wasn't touring with Chris Brown

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 16:54pm

My way too early crack at the 2027 ballot

Previously nominated
INXS
The Smiths
Motorhead
Shakira
The Black Crowes
Lenny Kravitz
Sting

New nominees
Beyoncé
Justin Timberlake
Coldplay
Styx
The Smashing Pumpkins
Diana Ross
Fugees featuring Layurn Hill
No Doubt
Daft Punk
The Monkees

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 17:16pm

Actually I will say Layurn Hill returning and De La Soul as new nominees

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 17:25pm

"I think you're a bit underrating Boston's discography as the second and third albums were massive sellers and provided their own classic rock staples. That band massively shaped the trajectory of both AOR and Classic Rock music in the 80's thanks to their sound - they're more important than either Cyndi or Alanis and more than just the one album."

I'm a Boston fan. They were my favorite band as a kid listening to classic rock radio in the late '90s/early 2000s (didn't get into alternative really until later) and I agree they had more sonic influence. It's hard to come up with specific artists Lauper influenced. Easier for Morissette as she was probably the main root of all that Avril Lavigne/P!nk/Kelly Clarkson stuff, but aside from that, she mostly seemed to influence one-hit wonders like Meredith Brooks and Natalie Imbruglia. And I know that Boston's debut was the moment when hard rock pivoted from blues-based to the slick arena productions although I'd definitely say Queen and Heart played a part in that also. They're obviously the reason Styx switched from prog, Journey switched from jazz fusion, REO Speedwagon switched from bar band boogie, etc... I get that.

It just seems like now that we have an MTV guy at the helm, image has become paramount and influence on culture matters more than actual influence on music. A lot of the recent inductees like Cher, Idol, Lauper, etc... seemed to have larger cultural impacts than musical impacts and I think that's where we're at now and that is not where Boston shines. They didn't make videos or appear on album covers. It is getting glaring that Heart, Journey, Bad Company, Foreigner, Benatar, and Bon Jovi (not hair metal: just Springsteen meets Journey) all made it from arena rock besides the more obvious Queen, Rush, and Van Halen and they're still out though. Agree with that.

Yeah, I heard three Don't Look Back songs and two Third Stage songs (strangely not "Amanda") regularly on classic rock stations. But it feels like to the general public it's just the debut + "Don't Look Back" + "Amanda" while for Cyndi it's just the debut + "True Colors" and for Alanis it's Jagged Little Pill + "Uninvited" + "Thank U". I guess I'm thinking like the Hall as an outpost of MTV at the moment and that's why I'm a little down on Boston because MTV music is what ultimately displaced arena rock...

"I don't think Boyz II Men is worthy either and I think New Edition is a stronger case overall thanks to the aforementioned offshoots. Both scare me as the induction of either opens the door for boy bands (just as we've had the obvious slippery slope of Janet > Whitney > Mariah > Britney)."

Yeah, I get it. I think people will be more likely to want to vote for Boyz II Men because they wrote a larger percentage of their own songs, they ended up outselling all the better Motown groups, and they probably have less boy band stink on them than the others, but New Edition was at least on the ground floor of new jack swing and Boyz II Men was late to their style, almost like an R&B version of The Black Crowes.

And you know some representative of TRL pop is going to make it. I'm gonna guess it'll just be Britney, Max Martin, and eventually Robyn (who you could say INVENTED TRL pop before making her more interesting material later). I feel like nobody is going to want to vote for Justin Timberlake: boomers and Gen X because of his boy band roots, and millennials because they view him as the villain in ruining Britney and Janet's careers, when it was actually Britney's father and Les Moonves who did that, but whatever...

Posted by Sean on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 19:46pm

I just want to see annual interview to John Sykes about this year's induction process

It will probably be published in early May I think

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 21:21pm

Where's Ritchie? He's been radio silent since the inductees were announced.

Posted by Garrick on Tuesday, 04/14/2026 @ 21:34pm

early prediction for 2027 nominees without further thinking:

return:
Lenny Kravitz (2024)
Lauryn Hill (& Fugees) (2026)
Motorhead (2020)
INXS (2026)
New Edition (2026)
Beck (2022)

newly nominated:
Gloria Estefan
the B-52's
Styx
Bryan Adams
No Doubt
Coldplay
Beyonce
D'Angelo

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 04:21am

D'Angelo -> Patti Labelle

Add Pixies

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 04:23am

69 acts that deserve a mention

Nick drake
Fiona Apple
Sonic youth
B-52's
Donny Hathaway
Bjork
Alice In Chains
John Denver
The smiths
Moterhead
Peter Paul and Mary
Tori Amos
Pixies
Jethro Tull
Emmelyu Harris
Beck
Boston
Linkin park
Tracy Chapman
Sting
Patti labelle
Garbage
Pet shop boys
Marvettes
Megadeath
John Coltrane
Alanis morissette
King crimson/robert fripp as ME
Erykah badu
Protocol harum
Jeff Buckley
Jane's addiction
Roberta flack
Monkees
Mariah Cary
Diana Ross
America
Fugees and laryn hill (together?)
Massive attack
Alicia Keyes
Thin lizzy
Sarah McLachlan
Bryan Adams
Jim Croce
TLC
D'Angelo
Emerson lake Palmer
Daft punk
The carpenters
Devo
Garth brooks
P.J. Harvey
Mary wells
Tears for fears
Insx
De la soul
Lenny Kravitz
Chic
Usher
Sinead O'Connor
Mötley Crüe
Smashing pumpkins
Patsy cline
The bangals
Kanye west
Beyoncé
Coldplay
No doubt
Don Henley

A lot of forgotten influential solo artists in line

Posted by Mikhail on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 05:37am

Technically, Kanye West would be the inarguable #1 snub if he isn't inducted next year. Has a case for being the most important musical artist of the century, even. Again, none of what he's done or said is going to apply to him the way it seems to for Morrissey because a lot of black artists get away with practically anything. I'm fully expecting the nominating committee to place him on the ballot and would imagine his case is so good that a lot of voters will check his box anyway.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:05am

Things To Change On The Rock Hall Projected Page:

- Sidemen inductee Neil "Spyder" Giraldo should be in Blue and it should link to Pat Benatar's page.

- The Neptunes should link to their FutureRockLegends page, not a Wiki search

Understandable why Clarence Clemons and Bootsy Collins would be seen as separate entities but Neil Giraldo was definitely inducted as himself and for the work he's done, just as a side category induction for Steve Stevens should link to Billy Idol.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:19am

More:

- Ed Sullivan should be in Blue on the Rock Hall Revisited page and it should link to his page, not the Wiki search.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:26am

Has Morrissey really done anything as bad as Kanye? Kanye made songs called "Heil Hitler" and hung out with white supremicists like Nick Fuentes. There's also all anti-Semitic stuff which would turn off all the Jewish voters.

The nominations committee can easily brush him aside and make Beyoncé the headliner for 2027.

Posted by Garrick on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:31am

Again, Kanye's black. The rules just don't apply. You look at an N.W.A. member assaulting women or New Edition's Bobby Brown or Michael Jackson or, yes, Kanye and you'll see that it just doesn't matter among the community. I don't believe at all that the Rock Hall should have a morality test for induction, just pointing out that someone like Billy Corgan rubbing people the wrong way but not doing anything particularly morally objectionable will hurt his chances on getting on the ballot whereas actual crimes and/or widely viewed as despicable behavior doesn't matter when it comes to black musicians. See: the aforementioned Chris Brown about to do a stadium tour with Usher

Morrissey said a few comments, some of which may have been interpreted a bit wrongly and he's suffering the price with the critical establishment, even if he's a bigger concert draw than he's been in quite some time in the US, if not ever, thanks to the Smiths' streaming surge.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:37am

I do not count the upcoming eligibles as snubs just yet because they have not had a chance to even be nominated so they cannot be "snubbed". So until then I still consider Smiths the biggest snub

When Kanye is not nominated he will become the #1 snub, because if he did not have the last 5 years he would be FYE without second thought. That is unless Beyoncé is not nominated which will be a debate, which is unthinkble but then again almost everyone thought Alicia Keys was getting nominated.

I do not think Kanye will be nominated for awhile. I cannot see the committee wanting to bring him up or be known to vote for him in that circle when those actions are against everything those people picking the nominees are for. Other acts will be more appealing especially when another top level contender is eligible the same year. If that subsides he will be brought up

Daft Punk is one I think if they will reach the highest tier of snubs the longer they are held out, in the immediate of only having 5 years of eligibility when acts like Coldplay are snubs it does not reach the top just yet. But if this goes on for 10-15 years they easily might become the biggest snubs

Posted by GuestG on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:38am

We at least have last year's round as evidence against two candidates who I consider top tier in electability: Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill whereas the only other names from that chunky that were given a recent shot on the ballot were Sinead O'Connor and Devo. The Hall has inducted roughly 30 "Performers" since Sinead was last on the ballot and nearly 50 for Devo. That's a lot of watering down of the ballots and a shift in the electorate (new voters joining the rolls, old voters leaving).

I can honestly pick a name like Bjork or De La Soul or Daft Punk from that shortlist of just over 30 names and know that they're basically all-but guaranteed to be inducted the first time they're on a ballot. If Sade can get in, so can Bjork, easily. If OutKast can make world-changing records and then hit commercial gold and become inductees, so can the similar trajectory of Daft Punk. Tribe and Wu-Tang? How about De La Soul?

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 07:46am

I also do not agree people are exempt from bad actions as there is always a bridge too far for anyone.

Diddy is never being nominated lol. Chris Brown is also never being nominated. Michael Jackson took years to be nominated off allegations. Fugees are being left out just as Pras went to prison. Even the non-significant mention of Diane Ross in the files might have spooked her off the ballot this year even as she was considered

The neo-nazism of Kanye is a bridge too far. It is not like Morrissey's weird nationalism and comments (which I do not think are keeping them out as much as indie struggled overall when nominated in the 2010s, including them twice, and only now they might get in) but full blown stuff. That is something in the immediate term no one is going to vote for even with that resume

Posted by GuestG on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 08:33am

Afrika Bambaataa is also never getting nominated again because of the child sexual abuse allegations.

Posted by Garrick on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 08:52am

I do think Bambatta can get in through a side category now that he's dead, they'd just REALLY have to shove him under the rug lmao

Posted by Will M on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 09:57am

Its very fitting that 2023 is the first year since 2004 to have every nominated artist eventually make it in the hall. One of the best lists of noms they ever had. Also worth noting that 2004 was completed only this year with the induction of Gram Parsons.

Also worth noting that inevitable eventual Early influence inductees the New York Dolls will complete 2001 when they finally get in. The NYDs are gonna be my prediction for side categories every year until it happens just like big mama thornton was.

Posted by Will m on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 10:05am

With Fela Kuti and Iron Maiden now in

New York Dolls and DEVO are all that is left when it comes to remaining nominees from 2021

Posted by Alec T on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 10:24am

The past noninees in John Sykes era that still haven't got in (since 2020):

2020: Thin Lizzy, Motorhead
2021: Devo, NY Dolls
2022: Beck, Devo, NY Dolls

In Rick Krim era (since 2023):

2023: None
2024: Sinead O Connor, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, EBAR, Janes Addiction
2025: Phish, the Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Mana
2026: Shakira, Mariah Carey, Lauryn Hill, New Edition, INXS, Jeff Buckley, Melissa, Pink, the Black Crowes

Which class will have all noninees included in the end? We finished all the 2023 class now with induction of IM and JDNO

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 10:39am

For 2020 you can also put Rufus

Posted by Alec T on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 12:43pm

I wonder serval years later, with less white old rock voters, how will the rock hall voting pool become?

More and more pop (like Grammy)

Or more and more "hipster" (like pitchfork/rate your music/acclaimed music)

Both are possible to be honest, depend on who will take in charge of committee after John Sykes and Rick Krim stepping down (which will happen in 10 years)

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 13:00pm

Omar, I can see it being both. The younger voters aren't going to care about radio play or Platinum albums and they'll be generally more knowledgeable about music history since everything's been there with the click of a button for the last twenty years.

GuestG, the Grammys still have nominated Kanye West post-awful statements (albeit not super recently if I remember correctly). Pitchfork recently reviewed his big live show comeback in Los Angeles, yet they'll outright stop reviewing the work of other "canceled" artists. Again, the rules don't apply to Kanye. Chris Brown wasn't finished with a sexual assault lawsuit (that he ended up settling) and Pitchfork reviewed his album back in 2020. Again, the morality rules don't apply to black musicians.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:15pm

Kanye got nominated for a Grammy last year. And because he can blame all his shenanigans on being bipolar or whatever in an act of contrition coming conveniently right before he made $33 million on two SoFi Stadium shows, he'll get a free chance to erase all the damage via the mental health excuse.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:27pm

Casper,

What are your early predictions for the 2026 nominees?.

Posted by richie on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:28pm

Casper,

Oops, I meant to say 2027 nominees.

Posted by richie on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:29pm

Regarding Kalshi, that website and its bettors aren't some Rock Hall prediction gods, it just happened to have somebody(s) with the Performer inductee list essentially committing insider trading.

To have another leak next year we need:

1) Kalshi to bother putting up the market. I assume they will.

2) Someone working at the Rock Hall to bet thousands of dollars on Yes/No contracts.

Without an insider betting large sums, we won't really have any leaks and Kalshi will be a blind market. The only thing the general bettors got right (and prior to the insider trading) was that Phil Collins and Wu-Tang Clan were heavily favored. Every other bet was just a blind bet whereas the insider(s) spent far more $ and brazenly knew the list already.

One thing is for sure, just as stock traders use apps like AutoPilot to conduct the same trades as members of Congress like Nancy Pelosi (whose husband is the greatest known stock trader in human history, lol - he beats the best hedge funds in the market 3x over annually), I sure as heck am going to throw thousands of dollars to copy this person(s) next year and earn that free money.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:33pm

Also, the insider got lucky that there were a lot of preset bots in the Rock Hall market to sell them all those contracts. Had they not been around, there's no chance any human would have been taking the opposite bet on all these nominees for such significant sums of money (everybody else was just messing around with $20 bets for fun). Likewise, I wouldn't have made hundreds on Idol/Sade shares the day of without those bots and i thank GuestG for the photo find confirming things.

So, next year, we're technically going to need bots in the market just like they usually are in the market. I think Kalshi (or some other betting site) having a Rock Hall market and bots showing up is very, very likely. What I'm not certain about is the insider trader(s) still working at the Rock Hall. But hey, these insider(s) are basically getting a salary worth an extra ~10-20K a year thanks to their insider knowlege and I imagine our trader(s) will be even more prepared next year, setting aside tens of thousands of dollars well before they have that info.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 14:39pm

I'll toss out nominee predictions for next year, Richie, but keep in mind I'm not better at it than anybody else here. It's just a shot-in-the-dark for any of us but we have past trends to go off of (previous nominees + an educated guess as to who the most important/likely artists are to get a nomination).

Beyonce

Beck - I think this kind of replaces Melissa Etheridge and The Black Crowes. Beck engaged in all sorts of diverse styles over his career, but he also put out Sea Change and Morning Phase which appeal to those Boomer-rock types. The latter won Album of the Year.

Daft Punk - I predict this one often but there's key reasons why they want to rip the band-aid off EDM, particularly because it was like half the acts at Coachella this year. It's one of the most consistent big live draws there is in the concert industry.

Boston - I can't believe that classic rock is officially done for. Jethro Tull is also a possibility - either would sail in with ease.
.
Devo and The Smiths - Either goes right in and I'm not sure there's enough people in the room to be adamantly begging for Pixies (or, when it comes to 90s rock, Smashing Pumpkins). I think putting these kind of 80's names on the ballot means they'll rest INXS.

Alice In Chains - They're due and the Hall just inducted hard rock via Iron Maiden.

Lauryn Hill - They'll rest Mariah Carey for a year due to Beyonce gobbling up the pop diva sentiment and I imagine Hill was rather close to induction.

Bjork - Sold out arena tours and collaborations with Rosalia, etc. keeps her in the public eye. Can easily get in.

De La Soul - I can see enough people in the room being nauseated at Kanye (for now) and then going with these seemingly slam dunk inductees.

At this point, that would be 10 inductees but I think Hill will miss out and the voters won't quite understand Alice in Chains. Things get worse for the above names if acts like Diana Ross or Coldplay start showing up.

I'll add six more to make it 15:

Selena
Lucinda Williams
Sinead O'Connor
Coldplay
Weezer
Motörhead


I think the Hall goes with 9 inductees. The aforementioned 8 + Coldplay.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:07pm

Casper,

What are your early predictions for the 2027 nominees?.

Posted by richie on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:09pm

Also, don't sleep on The Strokes for the 2027 ballot. They're festival headliners and are going to be doing a massive tour this year. The electorate is definitely there for them (see: White Stripes) and they have endless industry love.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:10pm

My above predictions are probably too light on the 80s mainstream/R&B and regarding the latter genre, there should be another black R&B artist with a big name (Patti or Barry) showing up, I imagine, now that Luther got in. Patti makes more sense because she's alive whereas Barry, Roberta, Donny, Rick are all dead.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:12pm

I think it's still going to be awhile before they get to The Strokes unfortunately

Posted by Alec T on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:15pm

While there isn't much of a compelling reason to assume why Diana Ross makes the ballot NOW instead of at any point in the last twenty-five years, I feel the Phil Collins induction kind of lines up with how her solo career is (unfairly) viewed. She was a big artist in the 80s and engaged in schmaltz for a lot of her biggest hits, even if a lot of critics and the general public forget she was basically putting out Chic albums at one point.

Ross' lack of an appearance on a ballot really is one of the most perplexing omissions in the history of the institution and aside from the occasional first-year eligible like Beyonce, she remains the most "inductable" name in any given year. Has all the commercial/artistic success necessary for entry (multiple times over) and is aged enough that people would like to give her the trophy before she passes (just like Phil Collins).

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:18pm

Roberta flack should've gone in years ago

Posted by K-Dawg on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 15:57pm

The failure of getting Mariah Carey getting in shouldn't effect Alicia Keys and Beyonce getting in

Posted by Alec T on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 19:57pm

Which acts do you think have the biggest beneficiary of the acts getting in this year for 2026 (Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross, Wu-Tang Clan, Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons) next year for 2027?.

Posted by richie on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 20:24pm

Hello there!

This is a class for the ages. 18 inductees (19 if we consider Joy Division and New Order as separate classes, and 20 if we consider Steve Stevens as a separate class), which is the most of any one year since 1987. Phil Collins now going in as the newest member of the Clyde McPhatter club, and in highly rare company with a group having at least 2 people in it get inducted on their own merits. 5 out of the 7 artists I voted for in the fan vote getting inducted: Phil Collins, Joy Division/New Order, Wu-Tang Clan, Sade and Iron Maiden. (Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill were the 2 that did not go in yet.) The influences inductees continuing with the trend of hip-hop/R&B pioneers and legendary African American female artists. Including the big surprise induction of the year in MC Lyte, someone that I had not even thought about on my radar and yet fits in perfectly. Along with important Musical Excellence winners including Rick Rubin, and one more important figure in the history of The Beatles getting inducted in Ed Sullivan. As well, 13 (or 14) of the inductees are already in the Revisited/Projected Rock Hall of Fame Project. Although I think Luther Vandross has a chance at being the 14th in the class to achieve the double this year.

With that said, I was hoping to see Mariah Carey and Lauryn Hill go in this year. Perhaps next year they may have a decent chance, even with the knowledge that Beyonce and Kanye West (Ye) and Arcade Fire become eligible. The RRHOF still needs to catch up on inducting more female artists, and perhaps even have a majority of the inductees in one year be female. We at Revisited/Projected have done such a thing a few times in recent years, including last year in which 6 out of the 7 Performer inductees are women or in the case of Linkin Park have a woman as part of the band (and yes, I do think Emily Armstrong has done enough to merit inclusion). I will say that 3 of the 5 Influences inductees (Celia Cruz, Queen Latifah and MC Lyte) are female and are also of African descent. So that helps. Now, I quite possibly do not have a prediction as to who gets nominated next year as of this time. I suppose I will get an idea when the new Revisited/Projected Rock Hall Project class is inducted by October. Even so, the RRHOF needs at least equal female and minority representation each year to that of what is usually a majority of white men getting inducted.

One more thing to mention. I suppose for me the artist I am most pleased seeing inducted is Phil Collins. It has certainly been a long time coming and really has only gained traction once Collins got inducted into the Revisited/Projected Rock Hall of Fame Project 2 years ago. We knew it would be easier for Peter Gabriel to get inducted into the RRHOF and Revisited/Projected almost immediately after Genesis got inducted, yet for Phil it took a while longer. But now it is finally rectified, and with him still alive to see this happen. This, for me, is part of a longer-term project to hopefully have all 5 Genesis members get inducted into both Revisited/Projected and the Rock Hall on their own accord. A tall order to be sure, and I note that when I nominated Steve Hackett last year in the Classic Rock nomination, only 2 FRL members including myself voted for Hackett. There will be a long way to go yet hope springs eternal.

As for who shows up, I think Billy Idol, Steve Stevens, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte definitely perform. Oasis might show up and would be headliners to perform. Iron Maiden has more of a likelihood of having the living 8 show up and maybe even perform, if the last-minute addition of Blaze Bayley has anything to do with it. Peter Hook has opened up to the idea of reuniting with Bernard Sumner, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Morris to celebrate Joy Division and New Order being inducted, and despite past animosities I think the living 4 show up and maybe even perform. No idea how the Wu-Tang Clan tributes will go, and who might show up. It is times like these where we wonder what ODB would do. Sade is someone who I don't think shows up but does give an acknowledgement of some kind. Phil Collins probably shows up but does not perform or at least does some videotaped message to thank everyone. Rick Rubin shows up and accepts. The family of Luther Vandross honors him and a multi-artist tribute is performed. Same with the families of Celia Cruz, Gram Parsons and Fela Kuti (I am sure Femi Kuti gives his dad's acceptance speech). No clue on how Arif Mardin or Jimmy Miller get honored or by whom (maybe Judith Miller makes a speech for Jimmy Miller?). Ed Sullivan will get a video tribute at the least. And I think Linda Creed's family makes some type of speech. So, I think will be more tributes than actual performance. It is what it is.

Getting ready though for the really big shoe:),

Lax43

Posted by Lax43 on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 20:41pm

Wow what a class! Probably the best in a while.

Already made early predictions for next year lol so might as well share it.

Returning:
DEVO (4)
The Black Crowes (3)
Beck (2)
Ms. Lauryn Hill (2)
Sting (2)
Motörhead (2)

Newcomers:
Coldplay
The Strokes
Beyoncé
Jethro Tull
Tears For Fears
Diana Ross
Dr. Dre
Selena
John Mayer

The Class:
Beyoncé
Coldplay
Dr. Dre
DEVO
The Black Crowes
Ms. Lauryn Hill
Jethro Tull

Posted by Plebeian on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 22:10pm

Plebeian,

You forgot an 8th inductee for next year for 2027, Who do you see being an 8th inductee next year for 2027?.

Posted by richie on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 22:17pm

Good to see ya Plebeian!

It's way too early for me to start prying around the edges of 2027, but I think they opened a can of worms with INXS. You got JD/NO and Maiden in, so since they've already been nommed, it will stand to reason they're probably close to being next. The B52's and maybe the Smiths are the only other new wave juggernauts still floating around from the early 80s. I don't know that T4F really gets looked at yet, although Songs From the Big Chair is probably one of the best albums of the 80s.

I'm still digesting everything since it seems like the trend of following genres every year has been blown sky high. Now that Oasis is in though...what are they waiting for on the Pumpkins? If they can put in a group where the brothers fight, we can finally get an acknowledgment even tho Billy and D'arcy probably will never talk to each other again.

It's def intriguing tho

Posted by K-Dawg on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 23:02pm

Diana Ross 80s comeback was good, but it frizzled out quickly and commercially was a bomb. Eaten Alive with writing credits from Barry Gibb and Michael Jackson sold like 300k. It was shockingly bad. "Missing You" was a #5 hit less than a year before. I wouldn't induct Diana Ross a second time. Plus, I hate her lip-synching at every concert.

Lauryn Hill getting nominated / possibly inducted before Roberta Flack is wrong. Lauryn Hill's cover is her 2nd or 3rd biggest song. She should just go in with The Fugees. I do think she barely makes the cut as being HOF worthy.

Bryan Adams has to be likely. I expect Tool as a filler pick (potential for a strong fan vote) as a payback for Maynard doing the Ozzy tribute. Also, checks the Metal act.

If the Black Crowes appear on the ballot again, there are the new J. Geils Band. J. Geils Band had bigger hits, but Crowes probably beat them with depth of material. Both are not horrible, but there are plenty of quality acts I'd rank way above either.

Boyz II Men had an all-time run on Billboard from 1992-1995. They had 3 hits last 13+ weeks at number 1. Not discounting them at all.

Posted by Jim C. on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 23:12pm

Now that the inductees have been announced, the next question will be who will be the presenters for each artist.

Posted by Tony on Wednesday, 04/15/2026 @ 23:53pm

Tony,

My guesses are:

Peter Gabriel - Phil Collins

Miley Cyrus - Billy Idol

Tom Morello - Iron Maiden

Trent Reznor or Danny Brown - Joy Division/New Order

Chris Martin or Paul Weller - Oasis

Alicia Keys - Sade

Usher - Luther Vandross

Chuck D - Wu-Tang Clan

Missy Elliott - Queen Latifah or MC Lyte

LL Cool J - Rick Rubin

Other honorees will only have tribute video packages

Posted by Pink Zeppelin on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 02:02am

Jim C

What do Lauryn and Roberta have to do with one another? If that's the case Alicia Keys should have to wait for Lauryn. Lauryn's version of Killing Me Softly was miles bigger than Roberta's version and is more widely remembered, Lauryn proved that during her Grammy tribute to Roberta Flack. The crowd didn't get energetic until she performed her version of Killing Me Softly.

While I do think it's gonna be an uphill battle for her solo ticket. Saying she barely makes the cut is insane. This is someone who's Album has literally hit every marker an album could hit and then some. Her album was ranked the greatest album ever. Her album will always keep her in the conversation when it comes to important music so therefore the person who created it should also have their legacy honored. She's influenced way more than people even realize. And nearly every 21st century artist has mentioned her as an inspiration, you could name a name and I guarantee that you could find an article of them citing her as an inspiration. Not to mention what she contributed to hip hop alone is HOF worthy. Hip hop was big but it wasn't a standard household genre like it is today. And for some reason people forget Lauryn's role in that. When Tupac and Biggie died the media HATED hip hop, it was deemed violent, that also applied to gangsta rap artists like Snoop and Dre. Nas wasn't mainstream, OutKast and Tribe weren't commercial juggernauts than came Lauryn & The Fugees, who acted as a conscious counter to that ideology. And they actually sold records, The Score actually broke the record for best selling hip hop album ever and then Lauryn came out and sold another 20 million plus with The Miseducation. No other rapper besides Eminem has done that twice, in fact if you remove Eminem's albums in general. The Score and The Miseducation would be the best selling hip hop albums worldwide. Mind you this is a women in a male dominated industry. They toured Globally, they went to Germany, the UK, Japan. No other rappers were doing that, there's articles to prove it. Then when The Miseducation came out both Hill and Hip hop were praised in the media. Resulting in hip hop having its best year up into that point in 1999. Time magazine put her on the cover with a cover story about hip hop which was never done before. Rappers weren't singing before her, now they all do. Her rap/singing combo actually resulted in a lot of changes. Billboard changed the name of their R&b and Rap charts and combined them to R&B/Hip hop and cited her as a reason for that change and didn't mention any other names. MTV created the VMA for Best Hip Hop video because they felt Best Rap Video didn't fit artists like Lauryn Hill. I'm so sick of seeing Lauryn Hill slander it's ridiculous. So what she has a small discography so does Jimi Hendrix, so does The Smiths, so does Janis Joplin, so does Biggie, so does Jeff Buckley and many other artists.

Maybe she shouldn't be in the Hall twice, but she should be in the Hall. And if it's not gonna be twice it should be Lauryn Hill & The Fugees to honor her full contributions. She also clearly did well enough on this years ballot for the Hall not to side door her in. They could've chosen her for ME if they thought she would continue to struggle but after the votes they clearly decided they should keep trying her as a performer and that Lyte and Queen (who won't be tried on the ballot) should be inducted before her, which is why she's named as an influenced act for both of them.

Also you can forget about Boyz ll Men, it takes more than commercial success to be HOF worthy. I can't think of many modern acts who've been influenced by their brand of R&B. I do think they are worthy of being discussed when talking about Male vocal groups/boy bands so therefore they should be considered. The problem is they have too many enemies in the industry. Even if they make the ballot (which they will because of Questlove) they might struggle. If people's personal life and their standing in the industry didn't matter Mariah Sinead and Lauryn would all be in the Hall rn and Kanye would be nominated next year. But it doesn't work like that and that's partially why Diana Ross solo is gonna be an uphill battle. Her 70s/80s peers don't like her. I do think the committee will nominate her regardless but it's still up to the voters.

Posted by Naz P on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 04:42am

Naz,

I think that Boyz II Men actually have a good case. They are the blueprint for 90s to early 00s R and B groups. There were a slew of acts after them that tried to emulate what they started. Whatever is holding Mariah out is doing the same to them. And, big hits do matter, because that's what the people remember. It is part popularity contest, part contribution. So I respectfully disagree with that assessment

Posted by K-Dawg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 07:37am

Pink Zeppelin.
These would be excellent presenters.

Posted by Tony on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 08:35am

I want Billy Corgan to be the presenter for New Order and then Pumpkins nominated in 2027

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 08:49am

Early predictions for 2027 nominees:

Returnees:
Lenny Kravitz - I think they'll bring him back up again since the Black Crowes are proving to be a bit of a headache
DEVO - the JD/NO induction will help them out a lot
INXS - I can see them coming back next year and possibly getting in this time
The Smiths - yeah Morrissey but that shouldn't hold anything against them, regardless they were a great band
Motorhead - unless they go with Megadeth (which they should anyway)
Thin Lizzy - not sure how strong their chances are but they are influential
Lauryn Hill - she's coming back

New additions:
Megadeth
Tracy Chapman
The B-52's
Diana Ross (IF they don't nominate Beyonce right away that is)
Patti LaBelle
Alicia Keys (same)
Nas
Sonic Youth
Selena

All I can think of at the moment...

Posted by Timothy Pernell on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 08:52am

All the RRHOF inductees (so far) that have performed The Star Spangled Banner live:
Aretha Franklin (1987 inductee) - Super Bowl XL 2006, Detroit Lions Thanksgiving 2016 game
Marvin Gaye (1987 inductee) - 1983 NBA All-Star Game
Diana Ross (1988 inductee as a Supreme) - Super Bowl XVI 1982
Jimi Hendrix (1992 inductee) - Woodstock 1969
Gladys Knight (1996 inductee with the Pips) - Super Bowl LIII 2019
Billy Joel (1999 inductee) - Super Bowl XXIII 1989, Super Bowl XLI 2007
Neil Diamond (2011 inductee) - Rose Bowl XXI 1987
Whitney Houston (2020 inductee) - Super Bowl XXV 1991
Cher (2024 inductee) - Super Bowl XXXIII 1999
Luther Vandross (2026 inductee) - Super Bowl XXXI 1997

----
So that makes Luther the tenth RRHOF inductee to have perform the SSB at a public event (AFAWK anyway).

Posted by Timothy Pernell on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 09:04am

K-Dawg

It's not that I don't want to see them in the Hall. I just think that it's gonna be hard for them because of their reputation in the industry. A lot of their peers have said they were horrible in the 90s.
Songwriter Kandi said her worst encounter was with them
Brandy just released a memoir that stated that she was underage while dating a member.
TLC accused them of disrespecting and discrediting Babyface's role in their production. And that's just a small portion of stories that have come out about them.

Posted by Naz P on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 09:04am

Tony,

My thoughts for who should and will induct artists at the ceremony:

Phil Collins
Who should: Sam Smith
Who will: Justin Timberlake

Billy Idol
Who should: Billie Joe Armstrong
Who will: Miley Cyrus

Iron Maiden
Who should: Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains
Who will: James Hetfield of Metallica

Joy Division/New Order
Who should: Moby
Who will: Julian Casablancas of The Strokes or Brandon Flowers of The Killers

Oasis
Who should: Rosé of BlackPink (recently covered their song; would be a fun way to show the extent of their influence)
Who will: Chris Martin

Sade
Who should: Alicia Keys
Who will: Alicia Keys

Luther Vandross
Who should: Frank Ocean
Who will: Patti Labelle or Usher

Wu-Tang Clan
Who should: Redman
Who will: Tyler The Creator

Queen Latifah
Who should: Will Smith
Who will: Megan Thee Stallion

MC Lyte
Who should: Lauryn Hill
Who will: Rapsody or Da Brat

Rick Rubin
Who should: Rev Run of Run DMC or Missy Elliott
Who will: LL Cool J

Celia Cruz
Who should: Bad Bunny or Wyclef Jean
Who will: Karol G or JLo

Posted by Naz P on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 09:13am

Killing me softly won Grammy of the Year and hit #1. When you cover a big hit, you can't claim success. Lauryn Hill has 2 strong albums and one dud album (the first Fugees album). She has decent streaming numbers and strong critical acclaim (critics have gone a little overboard naming miseducation best album ever). Lauryn Hill has less than 1000 concerts overall. Across the whole spectrum, she is a weaker HOFer. Having consistent touring success can't be discounted.

Miley Cyrus inducting Billy Idol is a good call. Also, Avril Lavigne could get it (but Miley is way more likely to be an eventual HOFer).

A rock artist could easily induct Rick Rubin as well. He's produced tons of albums.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 09:51am

Jim C is kind of dick to be honest

Posted by . on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 09:57am

Naz P
Very good presenters.

Posted by Tony on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:02am

Did Questlove forgot to support Replacements and Sonic Youth

He promised he would fight for them?

Posted by . on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:16am

Emmylou Harris should be the one to induct or accept the award on behalf of Gram Parsons

I wonder if the Country Hall is next…

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:18am

I'll play :)

Phil Collins
Who should: Peter Gabriel
Who will: Peter Gabriel or Ringo Starr

Billy Idol
Who should: Brian Setzer
Who will: Ryan Seacrest

Iron Maiden
Who should: Rob Halford
Who will: Rob Zombie

Joy Division/New Order
Who should: Robert Smith
Who will: The Black Keys

Oasis
Who should: Nobody
Who will: Robbie Williams

Sade
Who should: Erykah Badu or Hope Sandoval
Who will: SZA

Luther Vandross
Who should: Billy Ocean
Who will: Brian McKnight

Wu-Tang Clan
Who should: Nas
Who will: Donald Glover

Queen Latifah
Who should: Missy Elliot
Who will: Megan Thee Stallion

MC Lyte
Who should: Mary J. Blige
Who will: Jay-Z

Rick Rubin
Who should: Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz & Michael "Mike D" Diamond
Who will: Flavor Flav

Celia Cruz
Who should: Gloria Estefan
Who will: Jennifer Lopez

Posted by dmg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:21am

Peter Hook will be with the Gallaghers at a Stone Roses tribute in May

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:42am

Unless the band comes and asks for a specific inductor I will be surprised if anyone inducts JD/NO besides Bono, given both bands were the single biggest influence on U2 up to Pop and he has to be the most famous person who ever met Ian Curtis

Posted by GuestG on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 10:51am

I'll Play :) Pt. 2

Ed Sullivan
Who should: Paul McCartney
Who will: Paul McCartney

Gram Parsons
Who should: Emmylou Harris
Who will: Jeff Tweedy

Fela Kuti
Who should: George Clinton
Who will: Tom Morello

Linda Creed
Who should: Dionne Warwick or Smokey Robinson
Who will: Nobody

Arif Mardin
Who should: Cher
Who will: Nobody

Jimmy Miller
Who should: Steve Winwood
Who will: Nobody

Posted by dmg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 11:06am

Seal could do Fela Kuti

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 11:15am

I would say probably except for Rick Rubin, MC Lyte and Queen Latifah, all other side categories inductees will only have 5 min video...No inductor, no performance.

And I would say great chance multiple side category inductees video will be cut and nowhere to be found in the edited version of ceremony by ABC...

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 11:20am

Still a little shocking with no induction of Wings

Given the "momentum", looked like a sure thing that would happen this round

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 11:23am

I think Oasis will show up, if Noel shows up, I think Liam will as well

Posted by Z on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 11:29am

Ed Sullivan happened instead

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 13:44pm

why would The Black Keys induct Joy Division and New Order when there is no detectable influence?

Posted by David on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 13:51pm

Because the Hall likes to throw popular people up there regardless

Posted by dmg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 14:04pm

After likes of JDNO, Oasis, Iron Maiden inducted, who should be the acts I hugely support for in future rounds?

Devo? INXS? The Smiths? The B-52s? De La Soul? Pixies? The Smashing Pumpkins? Alice in Chains?

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 16:34pm

This was good year, I was hoping for Pink to get in but I'm not surprised wasn't inducted. Pop-rock is a band-aid I don't think their ready to rip off yet. Even though Pop-rock was and continues to be the dominant rock genre in music, many old school rock fans don't recognize it as rock music, a lot of them call Pink just a pop artist.

Kelly Clarkson & Avril Lavigne become eligible in 2027, like Pink, both played a major roll in making Pop-rock as big as it is today, both may get nominated next year but they likely won't get in because of the Pop-rock label (That said, Kelly did lean into Hard rock & Alt-rock at times) Pop-rock artists will likely not get in until The Monkees get in.

Posted by TRR on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 16:55pm

I wonder what is the ranking order of acts that are not voted in this year

It will decide the possibility of these acts returning to next year ballot or ballots in the future

I am not sure who is #9-#11 this year... Could be any acts except for Jeff Buckley

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 17:05pm

I wouldn't be surprise if INXS and Lauryn Hill were 9 and 10 or vice versa

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 17:24pm

These are the acts that I think have the biggest beneficiary of this year's class next year for 2027:

Phil Collins: Sting, Diana Ross, Bryan Adams
Billy Idol: Bryan Adams, INXS, The B-52's, Tears For Fears, The Bangles, Pet Shop Boys, Huey Lewis & The News, Culture Club
Iron Maiden: Motorhead, Thin Lizzy, Motley Crue, Alice In Chains, Jane's Addiction, Scorpions, Megadeth
Joy Division/New Order: Devo, The B-52's, INXS, Tears For Fears, Pet Shop Boys, The Smiths, Pixies, The Replacements, Sonic Youth
Oasis: Coldplay, Beck, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice In Chains, Weezer, No Doubt, Jane's Addiction, Blink-182
Sade: D'Angelo, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey, TLC, Usher, New Edition, Boyz II Men, Aaliyah, Beyonce
Luther Vandross: Barry White, Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, War, The Pointer Sisters
Wu-Tang Clan (and Queen Latifah): De La Soul, Eric B. & Rakim, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Lauryn Hill, Nas

Posted by richie on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 17:55pm

Mary J Blige would work for Luther's induction or performance. She did a pretty good cover of "Never Too Much". Celine Dion would be excellent as well. Celine's cover of "Dance with my Father" was the best cover on So Amazing: An All Star Tribute.

Bono hasn't appeared at a ceremony in 20 years. So I think Billy Corgan gets the New Order induction.

Mick Jagger hasn't appeared since 2009, but Jimmy Miller should be inducted by a Rolling Stones member.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 19:27pm

https://x.com/i/status/2044940309466124701

"If you're nominated in the performing category, then you're not considered in one of the special committees [that year]. In future years, though, they could be considered for the special committee categories..."

The @rockhall's John Sykes talks categories and more to @billboard

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 20:21pm

And John Sykes seems to be very pissed about Mariah Carey missing again

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 20:28pm

The big read from this article is the move towards younger voters is intentional because he wants the voterbase who votes older to pretty much have to vote in all the 80s acts that were ignored for 20 years, and that he sees the next 5 years as getting in as many 80s snubs as possible in before the voterbase is shifted again to get in all the 90s acts that did not make it in at that point.

That and he will never stop until Mariah is in performers lol

Posted by GuestG on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 20:48pm

The 80s acts have been picked over again and again. There isn't much left that's even a multi hit wonder. They've left a lot of acts in the 70s still, and all but have ignored certain genres of the 90s. The rrhof acts like the 80s were more influential and innovative than any decade than almost even the decade where rock nroll really defined itself, the 60s.

Posted by K-Dawg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 21:30pm

Interesting that he says now that there is officially a rule that prevents a nominee from getting into a side category the same cycle like with Judas Priest,Sister Rosetta Tharpe and LL Cool J

Also like that the interviewer asked about Frank Sinatra getting honored though Musical/Early Influence (He should)

Posted by Alec T on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:00pm

question for the group in general:

At this point, since they've already bastardized the ME/MI awards with bypassing traditional noms for deserving acts like Kraftwerk, Judas Priest, LL Cool J, Salt N Pepa, Warren Zevon and others, does it lessen the impact if they induct the Monkees this way? I'm tired of pleading about it, I think at this point I would be happy to see them in any avenue we can get while Micky is still around

Posted by K-Dawg on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:21pm

The collaborator thing mentioned in the Billboard article is almost violated in this class. This is another wishy washy thing unevenly applied rule. Daryl Stuermer has been with Phil Collins and Genesis for 40+ years. Granted, Phil Collins is a huge name and they might not want to diminish him (he absolutely was primary songwriter). However, I do think Daryl contributed more than what the writing credits say.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:31pm

The majority of big 90s acts that would have been easy inductees have deceased singers (Cranberries, INXS, Stone Temple Pilots, Alice in Chains, Sublime). The longevity of 90s acts was way shorter than 70s and 80s bands.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:39pm

Steve Stevens contributes a lot to the sound of Billy Idol

but Phil Collins fully controls the sound of his own music

This is the difference

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:49pm

Seems that Tommy James, The Monkees, Styx, Boston were only "classic rock" acts mentioned in Gold Derby posts, looking like these four probably would be last classic rock acts rock hall wants to induct...

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 22:50pm

Omar,

This collaborator thing is wishy washy bs. I guess Billy Idol demanded recognition for Stevens to show up and perform.

If a solo act has the same backing band members for decades, you might as well induct them. They have inducted 3rd drummers that played on one album.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/16/2026 @ 23:00pm

Omar,

If that's the case, it's a bit sad. Kansas and BOC have good cases, and Jethro Tull and the Guess Who both are innovative enough to be included. How can you not at least get 'Akwalung" in?

Posted by K-Dawg on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 00:02am

K-Dawg

Well… never say never

Posted by Alec T on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 04:14am

2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees revealed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH1QL0_btQk

WINNERS & LOSERS: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2026 Inductees!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM6_i1KDuOo

Phil Collins, Iron Maiden & Billy Idol are Getting Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7vImxdcvIo

RANT - 2026 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4UMNmlvW1Y

My Thoughts On The 2026 Hall of Fame Inductees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o40pNoJyFm4

Posted by Roy on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 09:21am

As an excuse to induct Paul McCartney again and to get him in as a 3rd timer

I wonder if they nominate Wings

Posted by Alec T on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 09:41am

I don't think Paul McCartney was ever a member of Wings. It was Paul McCartney and Wings.

Posted by Roy on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 10:32am

Rod Evans was in a supergroup of sorts (Iron Butterfly, Johnny Winter, Deep Purple) called Captain Beyond. That first album is pretty great. Then Rod disappeared after their second record. But when you think Deep Purple, he doesn't register.

Just like inducting all the singers with Iron Maiden although it is Dickinson's band.

I favor inducting just the prime or core lineup. I would have excluded Hagar from Van Halen and would have inducted him later as a solo artist (Montrose, Solo, Van Halen, Chickenfoot, The Circle) - it is enough for an induction.

Posted by Jim C. on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 10:41am

Sammy Hagar was on multiple Van Halen multi platinum selling album

He definitely deserves to be included as Van Halen member for inclusion

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 10:56am

Still think FRL should rectify

"Fela_Kuti"

as

Fela Kuti

@FRL

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 10:57am

Rod Evans was inducted. Sammy Hagar was inducted. Nick Simper was not.

Posted by Roy on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 12:11pm

Tom Morello has better to fight for devo again

I believe Devo now has voting base to be included as performer with new voting rules and probably less boomer rock competitions.

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 13:50pm

I think Sammy Hagar receives a 2nd Induction for his music career totality. Combining Montrose, Solo Career, HSAS, Chickenfoot etc. Hagar in his late 70's now and still going strong. He's been a great ambassador for Rock music "The Red Rocker." Montrose has influenced several later rock bands. Powerful guitar work and strong songwriting. Montrose album has been inducted here FRL and a few songs off that album. Sammy had a few platinum and gold albums as a solo artist in the late 1970's and early 80's. It's been a remarkable music career spanning 55+ years. I've always been a Sammy Hagar fan and hope he earns a 2nd induction.
It's making me think of other possible 2x Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees. I've thought of a quick burst of 12 potential 2x Inductees. It's in no particular order.
1. John Fogerty
2. Joan Jett (The Runaways)
3. Steve Winwood
4. Annie Lennox
5. Eric Burdon (WAR)
6. Sting
7. Ben E. King
8. Robert Plant
9. Diana Ross
10. Lionel Richie (The Commodores)
11. Don Henley
12. Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow)

Some like Brian Setzer, DIO, or Steve Vai could receive a special award for their music career in totality.

KING

Posted by KING on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 14:08pm

Who are the guys that constantly pushing for Howard Stern

Are Howard Stern's buddies actually pushing for his induction?

He shouldn't even be a voter if I can choose

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 14:18pm

Sammy Hagar is worthy as a member of VH, although their music became more mainstream with him than DLR. But the success cannot be denied. I really don't see him solo (or with Montrose, etc.), it just doesn't rise above competency.

As far as the Runaways, I really hope we don't come to that. They were not a good band, only Lita could actually play. They are not critically acclaimed, had no hits, only one song of note, and that one, "Cherry Bomb" is mostly noteworthy for its double-entendre sung by a 16-year old. Joan Jett is absolutely deserving, and while I don't think Lita Ford is, she definitely influenced a lot of young female guitarists. Reality is most people never heard of the Runaways until Jett and Ford made it big. And I was in radio programming when their first album came out. I knew a number of young women inspired by Joan Jett, never by The Runaways.

There are so many deserving candidates that have been left out to this point that I hate to see inductions wasted on marginal candidates, or artists already included for other groups. Neil Young is of course an exception!

Posted by J C Souljah on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 15:57pm

J C Souljah,

What are your early predictions for the 2027 nominees/inductees (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 16:16pm

I wonder if Queen Latifah was floated around on by the NomCom and they just couldn't find a way to put her on the ballot so they just did Early/Musical Influence on here

Posted by Alec T on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 16:18pm

The constant Howard Stern promotion is bizarre. Nancy Wilson cares more about him getting in than Alice in Chains.

I don't really like multiple lead singers being inducted. Singers give bands identities and very few bands are equally successful with different singers. AC/DC and Van Halen are the exceptions. If Peter Gabriel didn't become a solo star, he possibly could have been left out from a Genesis induction. I do think critics overrate the Peter Gabriel Genesis albums slightly because Peter Gabriel became a star. They really had no hits besides "I know what I like" and only took off after "Follow you Follow me".

There is absolutely no way Queen Latifah could have gotten the votes. LL Cool J was a massive struggle and Queen Latifah has some parallels as a female version of him. Queen probably surpassed LL as an actor - they are much closer there than music.

Posted by Jim C. on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 17:24pm

Richie,
Good question. I think nominees include Mariah Carey, Sinead O'Connor, B-52's, Beyonce, Dr. Dre, Coldplay, Styx, Garth Brooks, LaBelle (or maybe just Patti), Ohio PLayers, Bjork, TLC,Smiths, Daft Punk, Coldplaly, War and Beck. I would guess Mariah, Beyonce, Coldplay, Styx, Dr. Dre, Garth Brooks, War and Daft Punk get in. But there are a lot of others, so I may revise my picks!

Posted by J C Souljah on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 19:35pm

J C Souljah,

You listed Coldplay twice in your early predictions for the 2027 nominees, so please replace one of the Coldplay's with another act. Thank You.

Posted by richie on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 19:48pm

Early predictions for 2027 nominees:

Beyonce, Pet Shop Boys, Snoop Dogg, an arena rock band (I'm thinking Boston or REO), New Edition, Connie Francis, The Strokes, Tracy Chapman, War, Alice in Chains, Garth Brooks, Shakira, INXS, Bryan Adams, Linkin Park, Barry White

Posted by The Towerman on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 23:16pm

With Mariah Carey failed, we can officially write "most nominated acts will be inducted as performer in rick krim era" off

If only one or two three/three+ timers, maybe could be this. But this year we have four, so three won and one lost...

I don't think next year will be a lot 3/3+ timers like this year.... Could we have a noninees ballot with only one timer and two timer next year?

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 23:35pm

Omar,

Seems the most Sykes tries to push Mariah, the more the committee and its voters double down in skipping over her.

It would be crazy if she goes without an induction until the eighth or ninth nomination (if it ever gets there).

Posted by Timothy Pernell on Friday, 04/17/2026 @ 23:47pm

Richie,

I meant to only list 16 nominees, so just remove the extra Coldplay.

Posted by J C Souljah on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 08:13am

The Towerman,

Out of your early predictions for the 2027 nominees, Which ones do you see being inducted (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 09:49am

I assume Mariah Carey, New Edition, INXS, Lauryn Hill have best chance to return to ballot soon, maybe Shakira as well

Feel it is too early for P!nk and Melissa Etheridge, Black Crowes and Jeff Buckley looks like either filler pick or pet project by certain committee member(s).

In Rick Krim era, 2026 returned 5 2025 noninees, 2025 returned 2 2024 noninees, 2024 returned 1 2023 noninees, 2023 returned 3 2022 noninees

Hard to really speculate how many of 2026 nominees will return to 2027 ballot.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 10:54am

Chic was so unfortunate, they were wrongly tried again and again in 00s and 20s and lost their window with Nile Rodgers ME induction

They would be surefire lock with current ballots and voting rules... But looking like they will be never inducted as of now.

It is unfair for them

If their first nomination happened in 20s, especially in Rick Krim era, they would make it in first ballot.

Nominated in wrong time hurted their chance.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 11:01am

Richie,

I'd say Beyonce and Snoop Dogg are the only guaranteed locks on my ballot, but Bryan Adams and Linkin Park have a good shot. I predicted acts who all have a good chance of getting in instead of adding obvious filler nominees, so any 7 could get in.

Posted by The Towerman on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 11:17am

https://www.instagram.com/p/DXC1MbOEu5P/?igsh=ZWp4bjI1dnJucWtp

Now find that Gram Parsons official account posted "huge suprise coming tomorrow, stay tuned" one day before announcement

It is really hard to search all the potential side category candidates before announcement. We would know Gram would be inducted in advance if we saw this before announcement...

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 11:18am

John Sykes said in a Billboard interview that the 80's are the big priority right now in terms of nominations/inductions and it will continue for the next five years and they have some younger voters now as of this year and the move toward younger voters is intentional because he wants the voter base who votes older to pretty much have to vote in all the 80's acts that have been ignored for 20 years and that he sees the next five years for getting in as many 80's snubs as possible in before the voter base is shifted again to get in all the 90's acts that did not make it in at that point.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 13:51pm

When it comes to Classic Rock acts I guess I can see King Crimson or Styx getting nominated then or have the Black Crowes return to be nominated

Posted by Alec T on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 14:12pm

P,

Gloria Estefan
The Smiths
The Replacements
Pet Shop Boys
Culture Club
The B-52's
Devo
INXS
Tears For Fears
The Bangles
Sonic Youth
Pixies
Huey Lewis & The News
Sting
Motley Crue
Motorhead
Bryan Adams
New Edition
The Pointer Sisters
Eric B. & Rakim
De La Soul

I would classify Jane's Addiction as more of a 90's act than an 80's act and Boston and Styx as more 70's acts than 80's acts.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 14:40pm

P,

I would classify Foreigner as more of a 70's act than an 80's act too.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 14:46pm

I think it's time to start a Veteran Performer category. Have it be a second ballot that the same voting block votes on, but the artists' first release must be at least 60 years ago.

With the voters and the nominating committee getting younger (just due to the passage of time), they may need another ballot to keep older artists from being forgotten. The Influences category isn't going to cut it.

Posted by dmg on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 15:22pm

Also in that Billboard interview, John Sykes mentioned that 50-60 artists are brought up each year in the nominating committee meeting and 16 nominees is now the new set number for nominations each year (Of course, There were 17 nominees this year).

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 16:31pm

Do you think they take a break from Classic Rock and as they try to get both Iron Maiden/Motorhead and Black Crowes in?

Like it or not they are going to keep nominating the Black Crowes till they get in as Preformers

Posted by Alec T on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 18:32pm

Sammy Hagar "The Red Rocker" needs to be inducted a 2nd time for his solo career, Montrose, and music career totality. It's the same with Steve Winwood. Can't induct Winwood for every group he was in but his totality of work. Going to be 80 in 2 years. His 80th birthday would be a great induction present. Steve Winwood simply 1 of the greatest musicians of all-time. Thinking about all his talents. Tenor strong voice. Outstanding Guitar work. Synthesizers and organ. Can do everything and modest superstar. Very appreciative and kind person. 1963 career started same as Cher. Both very young. All Winwood has seen in his music life. A history of rock music.
I would think The Bangles would benefit now after the recent inductees' class announcement. RRHOF looking for quality women music artists and The Bangles would make an excellent 1st time Nominee. I wonder if INXS fans would vote for The Bangles too if they were both on the ballot. I think INXS will return next year. Michael Hutchence 30th death year anniversary in 2027. I remember vividly hearing of Michael Hutchence passing. The same year as Princess Diana and Mother Theresa. It's not hyperbole to think INXS would have been 1 of the greatest rock groups had Hutchence not died young. INXS was still in their prime musically. Still in their 30's when Hutchence died. Many memorable songs! Devil Inside, Disappear, Need You Tonight, Never Tear Us Apart, New Sensation, Not Enough Time, One Thing etc. I think if a music artist or group has 12 good to outstanding songs....They usually will receive a nomination. It's 1 of the reason I believed Lenny Kravitz would be nominated. Should be nominated again soon.
KING

Posted by KING on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 19:11pm

Now that we are a bit past induction announcement, I wanted to go over the potentials for ceremony performances from the artists, from most certain to most unpredictable.

1. Luther Vandross - Deceased, will get a nice tribute.

2. Billy Idol - The guy went onto Idol to perform and announce his induction lol. Not only did he say he would show up before, he has shown up. He is 100% showing up and performing.

3. Wu-Tang - Has confirmed they are showing up and performing. Only question is how many inducted members are showing, though RZA is predicting all members will.

4. Iron Maiden - Has already confirmed they are not show up because they are playing in Australia. The only thing that does not put this absolute is if the non-current members namely Blaze Bayley and Dennis Stratton will show up and potentially do a performance on behalf. The other question is if they get a tribute performance at all or are Chubby Checkered.

5. Phil Collins - Surprisingly more unpredictable because of his health. Will he show up and give a speech? Will he give one final vocal performance? If he does not surely he will get a tribute, but his health will determine what happens.

6. Sade - Starting to get to the unpredictable. Sade has not performed since 2011, and have been dead silent even after getting inducted. Which is typical Sade, but they have had band activity post-2011. So will they show up to perform to the ceremony? Likely no, but they are the type to do whatever they want and not make a big fuss about it, so you might just see them show up unpredictably.

7. Joy Division/New Order - The chance for the wildest induction. The obvious storyline is Peter Hook and the rest of the band being estranged for close to 20 years. Hook has long confirmed he is showing up, but will the rest of the band bother to show because of that? If just Hook who would perform with him? Since the blood is so bad, if they do show up will they perform just once more, will they share a stage? Would we get the biggest drama in Rock Hall history?

8. Oasis - Oasis is Oasis. They are so unpredictable for anything that it makes them the most so for the Hall. Who knows if they will show, will be respectful or trash the Hall, what antics they might have. If McCarroll shows up that could make as funny of Rock Hall drama as New Order is looking to be.

Posted by GuestG on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 19:32pm

Alec T

Looking like Rick Krim and John Sykes both hugely support Black Crowes

I dont know how well they finished, near the finish line or near dead last, it will decide if they return in 2027 or have some rest

But yes looking like they will be given more chances as performer induction in the future, maybe not in 2027 but in future years

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 19:45pm

My take is rock hall takes break for "classic rock" to hopefully make four three timers (IM, JDNO, Oasis and Mariah) in, and 3/4 succeed.

And yes at least Jeff Buckley looks like a filler pick now, everyone in the room knew his chance was slim, but still nominated him anyway

Not very sure about the purpose of nominating black crowes

1. Just a reward for ceremony performance
2. Really want them to be included as they have most obvious "classic rock" sound in nomonees
3. Just use them as filler pick to take up spots and ensure rock hall's top priorities are included

Could go anyway about this.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 19:53pm

I wonder if well received Coachella performance from Devo will give them another chance either performer or early influence?

(From John Sykes, looking like rock hall will only use early influence as consolation price for performing artists now and musical excellence will only be for producers, songwriters and sidemen now)

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/18/2026 @ 20:08pm

Am I only one finds the "Early Influence" & "Non-Performer" categories are kind of frustrating because they don't go far back enough?

Like why is Emile Berliner not inducted as a non-performer, he invented the "gramophone record" and started one of the first major record labels. Why is Henry Burr not inducted as a early influence, he was one of the first superstars of recorded music, he also helped popularized radio while it was still in its infancy. Artists like Billy Murray, Arthur Collins, Len Spencer, Dan W. Quinn & Ada Jones are the reason the music industry exists, they laid the groundwork that rock music was built on. Sure, their largely forgotten and their music has aged extremity poorly but this is where everything started, all of the artists I named should be in the RHOF as early influence.

Posted by T.R on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 02:59am

Follower, are you around?

It's time to update your long and comprehensive list of who's kicking

Posted by K-Dawg on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 09:37am

We had 2 classic rock coded acts on the ballot Phil Collins and Black Crowes

For the time being I guess that is what they will be nominated

Classic rock coded acts like Motorhead,Sting and The Monkees

Posted by Alec T on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 11:21am

Pretty sure Smiths will be mentioned in 2027 nominating committee meeting

After JDNO, they look like most obvious choice

The problem is will they be successfully voted to be on the ballot?

I don't know why but rock hall seems to be lukewarm to B52s, John Sykes comment toward them is... interesting...

INXS returning to the ballot depends on how well did they finish. But yes looking like they will be priority for rock hall after induction of Billy Idol

Devo should be given one more time with new voting politics... They may follow JDNO to be voted in as main performer.

I would guess INXS, Devo, B52s and Smiths are most likely picks to follow JDNO and Billy Idol as of now.

Or will we have a ballot like 2024 with no new wave/post punk noninees?

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 11:30am

Tears for fears, Pet Shop Boys, Culture Club and Huey Lewis and the News may also be nominated, but my gut feeling is these four are less likely to be nominated than the four I mentioned.... Ot at least looking like they will more likely be nominated in 30s than in next five years...

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 11:33am

Forget about the Bangles

Could also be nominated in 2027

And this looks like slam dunk caused they are well liked by industry people....

Devo, Smiths, B52s, Bangles, INXS, most likely 5 for new wave/post punk noninees for 2027

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 11:39am

Even Eddie Trunk said that The Smiths are a glowing omission

I think what helps is that they have been off the ballot for a decade now and they would get a fresh look if nominated again

Posted by Alec T on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 11:39am

Still needs to mention HOFers like Joan Jett, Blondie and BILLY IDOL opened for Morrissey in his US shows. Morrissey has bigger draw in US than a lot HOFers in similar era

The problem is how many guys in the committee room can't stand Morrissey. Morrissey definitely has a lot of enemies in music industry...

But Smiths have to be included eventually, especially after JDNO induction.

Hopefully the nom com members voted Yes for JDNO would also vote Yes for Smiths in nom com meeting. And I now think Smiths have pretty good chance to be voted in as performer with current voting politics, especially they are also "guitar rock" acts and more relevant than JDNO

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 12:03pm

And Weeknd, Olivia Rodrigo both claimed to be influenced by Smiths

Their influence is way beyond the alternative/indie genre.

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 12:12pm

Here were the official standings in the 2026 ballot tracker and they were:

Wu-Tang Clan with 31 votes.
Joy Division/New Order with 30 votes.
Luther Vandross with 29 votes.
Sade with 28 votes
Mariah Carey with 23 votes.
Lauryn Hill with 18 votes.
Iron Maiden and Oasis with 17 votes.
Phil Collins and Billy Idol with 16 votes.
INXS and New Edition with 15 votes.
Shakira with 9 votes.
The Black Crowes with 8 votes.
Pink with 7 votes.
Jeff Buckley and Melissa Etheridge with 5 votes.

Posted by richie on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 12:33pm

Some old school rnb acts needed to be included: WAR, Robert Flack, Patti Labelle, Barry White, Pointer Sisters, Donny Hathaway, Rick James, could also argue for Teddy Pendergrass, he was probably the first black act to have five consecutive platinum album. Meters, JBs, Ashford & Simpson as Musicial Excellence. Could argue for Ohio Players as well

Probably need around 10 more old school rnb inductees to finish that page... Lots of them are still being snubbed

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 12:47pm

Johnny Marr has a lot of industry connections and friends. Johnny Marr is friends with Questlove and Dave Grohl for example so there could be committee support. There is industry support so they might vote Smiths. The trend is 80s and they might get a major boost from this and it is now feasible acts like them might get the support to get in, and Smiths have gotten even larger following since their last nomination. Voters might not know too much of Morrissey antics and just vote for the band work, and those who do might still vote for them anyway because they want to see Marr in the hall.

Marr might offset any negatives Morrissey might give off to voters and get them inducted if nominated again.

Posted by GuestG on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 14:49pm

GuestG,

What are your way-too-early predictions for the 2027 nominees?.

Posted by richie on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 14:57pm

Devo will be inducted next year. The Hall ceremony is returning to Cleveland for the expansion and it is rare to have a local act who can be inducted.

Either Devo gets enough votes to be nominated and likely makes it in given recent voting trends or they are picked for side category. But they are not waiting any longer for Devo

Posted by GuestG on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 15:18pm

Johnny Marr also collaborated with Parallel Williams, who is rock hall board member I think

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 16:57pm

Here is an interview with John Sykes on this year's class and the Hall's future: https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2026-rock-hall-inductions-chairman-john-sykes-q-and-a-1236224505/

Posted by George Crock on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 20:21pm

I read the Rolling Stone article and can reconfirm Howard Stern would be the objective worst inductee in Rock Hall history. Yes even worse than Springsteen's lawyer.

The big article trying to justify their position did not even make any true arguments for him. Yes, the Rock Hall can and has inducted djs, radio personalities and hosts, but they are for when they dealt with music and lead a huge impact on the trends music went. Not Howard Stern who abandoned playing music on his show a year after founding it to air more random segments and largely distanced himself from the other workings of the radio station. They say he found and made popular artists then refused to name them, surely not getting Beatles popular. That he interviews artists occasionally like any interviewer does not mean he has had any impact on them or on music.

Wow he is a big music fan? So am I, where is my Rock Hall induction lol

Whoa he is learning to play music himself? My nomination odds are increasing!

And that is the entire article. Literally no argument. With Springsteen's lawyer who is the objective worst inductee ever btw, I can at least name relation to the industry. I can say he worked in music his whole career and helped write deals to bring several artists to prominence. I cannot name a single thing Howard Stern did for or with music outside a few artists came on his show before and he aired on a radio station while separating himself from the music on said station. At that point induct Joe Rogen or something lmao. He has zero relation to music and would be the worst inductee because of that

Posted by GuestG on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 20:51pm

Which 2026 nominees do you think have the best chances at induction next year for 2027?.

Posted by richie on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 21:03pm

With Sade in, there are only four acts in VH1's 2010 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time list that are not in the Hall:

100 Alicia Keys
94 Mariah Carey
67 Coldplay
66 Justin Timberlake
52 Beyoncé

Posted by DC on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 22:50pm

Also interesting, Gram Parsons was the only artist on Rolling Stone's most recent 100 Greatest Artists list not in the Hall.

Posted by DC on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 22:54pm

I don't really think any of the leftover 2026 nominees have a great chance. 2027 is loaded with newly eligible acts that deserve nominations. This next class will really show where the Rock Hall's priorities are.

They could mostly avoid all the newly eligible for classic rock acts left from the 60-90s and just have Beyonce and a bunch of repeats that won't make it again. INXS might have been close, but really, the band hasn't had a cultural moment in a long time. They need an iconic TV or movie scene to help them get support (They will fail on second nom).

Alicia Keys, Strokes, Coldplay, Linkin Park, Usher, and more have been passed over. Add in about 10+ 2027 new artists that have to be nominated at some point, the Rock Hall logjam is getting worse. They need another 18 inductees next year as well.

I'd prioritize age, illness, and bands near the end or those that recently retired (Scorpions, REO Speedwagon (I would nominate them - 50m sales, a diamond album, 50 years touring, tons of radio play, 2 mega-hits), Garbage (probably not going to make it and they seem disenchanted with music business - maybe prospect of reunion would get them votes in 10 years), Tom Jones, Celine Dion, Barry Manilow, Guess Who, B-52s). I wouldn't nominate Diana Ross (her solo peak in early 80s was good but not nearly as popular as claimed - also, she hasn't done much since then) or Robert Plant (victim of his own success -> he has great solo songs (29 Palms is excellent -> no one cares) -> Zeppelin overshadows everything and Plant always returns and it is never enough - they'd make him do Zeppelin again for his solo induction) or Steve Winwood (he's already in -> but his resume is excellent -> still, you need to get first-timers in).

Posted by Jim C. on Sunday, 04/19/2026 @ 23:07pm

GuestG, Agree Bruce's lawyer is a miserable choice, but Irv Azoff is a close second. It seems if you make a lot of money for your clients they vote you in. Maybe I should list the ten worst choices. Ringo and Peter Frampton make the list, probably Stevie Nicks solo as well. In fairness you can make a case that she was the single most important FM member. And I really don't like the dual Carole King inductions. If we are honoring writing separately then Dylan, Lennon&McCartney and B&R Gibb should also be enshrined.

Oh and Bruce Johnston, Bob Welch and Leon Hughes should be added. They are far more important to their relative groups than Tom Constanten, Donna Godcheaux or Patty Scialfa.

Posted by J C Souljah on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 09:33am

The Smiths are my top 1 rock hall snub as of now

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 10:17am

JC

I dont have a problem with any additional members going in even if they werent part of the classic years, i tend to think the more the merrier.

Obviously tho Parsons shouldve gone in with the byrds, and so on

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 10:25am

Will M,

What are your early predictions for the 2027 nominees/inductees (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 10:37am

I think anybody that was on an album should be included in an induction. They were a part of the history after all.

Posted by Greg F on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 10:43am

JC

Carole King and her husband mostly wrote songs for other artists

That's the thing and why are in together

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 11:10am

To be honest, don't feel smiths not nominated in last ten years was mainly because Morrissey's behaviour

17, 18, 19, 20 rock hall tried Cure, Depeche

22 rock hall tried Duran Duran...

23-26 rock hall made JDNO as obvious priority and they were #1 priority on that line.

Probably the Smiths were just... simply forgotten to be nominated because rock hall turns to other obvious names...

If so, then great chance nom com will return and renominate them soon. We will see but Smiths will 100% be mentioned by at least one guy in nom com meeting.

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 11:15am

Greg F,

What are your early predictions for the 2027 nominees/inductees (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 11:28am

2027 nominees list needs to at least 60% female. The backlog of female singer-songwriters is getting ridiculous. I don't think overlap really matters - bring back all the 2026 women and add (Cranberries, No Doubt, Garbage, Alanis) for the female rock acts. Pair it with weaker male acts (Black Crowes, Beck, Phish, Tool, Lenny Kravitz) and then more women will get in.

Black Keys could work to induct Oasis. Noel cowrote a couple songs with them not that long ago. This would set up their eventual nomination.

Posted by Jim C. on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 11:47am

B52s should have a similar or even better voting base compared to JDNO

They definitely could be voted in now

Don't know why John Sykes seems think their chance of being voted in by general voters is slim

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 13:04pm

I don't any predictions Richie, it's too early for me. I might post predictions later in the year. I don't know if I'm going do predictions at all anyway.

Posted by Greg F on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 13:39pm

So, now that Maiden has finally gotten their due after over a decade, who takes that "heavy metal band deserves to be in" mantle?

i think Motorhead has the loudest base, but Pantera really is the next seminal band IMO

Posted by K-Dawg on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 13:42pm

What if rock hall repeats 2024 story, nominates zero new wave/post punk and metal acts in 2027 (you could argue Janes Addiction are alternative metal, but they are definitely less metal than... Soundgarden and RATM)

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 13:47pm

One thing rock hall did right is thankfully this year voting round only last for 1-1.5 month

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 13:52pm

No way Pantera gets nominated with the racism and ... salutes.

I think any hard rock / metal nominees will come from:

Scorpions
Motörhead
Mötley Crüe
Alice in Chains
Tool

Posted by dmg on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 15:22pm

the next metal nominees have to be motorhead, an obvious snub and previous nominee

Posted by will m on Monday, 04/20/2026 @ 20:35pm

I feel like Alice in Chains is the most likely metal band to be nominated next. They're the last of the big 4 of grunge, which gives them a narrative to be nominated.

Posted by The Towerman on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 06:41am

Alec T,

Correct about Carole King, but the same can be said about Lennon & McCartney and Barry & Robin Gibb. Which is why I listed them that way. Also when King was inducted as a songwriter, her recorded work was cited as well, along with specifically mentioning Tapestry. I get the distinction, but it shortchanges an artist like Dyan, who towers over her as a performer, recording artist and influence.

Posted by J C Souljah on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 10:09am

Shannon,

That is a very great list of who might be the 80s acts they will target for induction for the next 5 years. Want to add some additional names who might be inside or outside chance but I think will be looked at (some acts bleed into the 90s):

Eric B and Rakim will be inducted at some point, main category or not.

De La Soul will be a top priority name soon, perhaps as soon as next year

Living Colour has stuck around and might get consideration

If they are serious about getting boy bands in and not just stopping with New Edition for establishing the format and their solo careers, New Kids on the Block would come after they are inducted

My Bloody Valentine has remained popular and influential, has a top 75 all time album in Rolling Stones and is the definite inductee for a genre in shoegaze so they likely will get a look

Cocteau Twins have gotten huge and influential the past half decade, and I have seen them seriously predicted this year, so I think they reached the point of being a viable candidate

And of course, Weird Al is Weird Al

My personal opinion are those along with your list are who are the potential 80s candidates while they focus on the decade. Not all of them but maybe 15-20 of the names will find their way in via performers

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 11:31am

Some other possibilities from the 80s:

Anthrax
Black Flag
Dead Kennedys
A Flock of Seagulls
Don Henley
Ice-T
Kylie Minogue
Orchestral Manoeuvers in the Dark
The Psychedelic Furs
The Sugarhill Gang
UB40

Started in the 70s or earlier, but big in the 80s:

J. Geils Band
Golden Earring
Scorpions
Supertramp

Posted by dmg on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 11:49am

Oops! Forgot:

Madness
Fishbone
The Specials

Gotta get that ska in there!

Posted by dmg on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 11:51am

80's acts:
Bikini Kill
The Slits

The riot grrrl movement is overlooked, and is more important than, say, The Bangles
Also Fanny, the first successful women Rock&Roll band.

Posted by J C Souljah on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 12:12pm

Bikini Kill is 90s, but yes to both still!

Posted by dmg on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 12:15pm

Who should be the class of 2026 presenters for the 2026 induction class

Posted by Chris on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 12:26pm

Several more I think could be potential music excellence
Minor Threat
Minutemen
Dinosaur Jr
Talk Talk (could also see nominated in performers down the line, not brought up enough in Rock Hall discussion)

I think a selection of Shannon's list along with DLS and EB&R is likely who we will be seeing nominated the next 5 years. Some names clearly higher than others and the "focus" will only be on 20-25 acts really because after that they will have a far higher 90s backlog of better candidates

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 12:30pm

Looking like New Order won't appear in ceremony

It will be only Peter Hook and tribute guest performer as of now


https://x.com/i/status/2046597642226999309

Consequently, Hook isn't expecting any kissing and making up or playing nice together come Nov. 14.

"What they did in 2011 was, frankly, disgusting, and I can't forgive it … so I won't be borrowing their ball, shall we say, for any kind of game," explains Hook, who's "speaking with" ceremony producers about performing at the event. "I still do think it's a travesty they use the New Order name when they are not New Order. They haven't said they're going; I have no idea, to be honest. I am gonna go, definitely. I'm looking forward to it."

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 13:36pm

Ronnie James Dio will get in, helped by his 80s hits.
Twisted Sister has an image and Dee Snider is still visible and audible.

Posted by Casaubon on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 13:36pm

GuestG,

Which acts from Shannon's list of 80's acts (INXS, New Edition, Gloria Estefan, Bryan Adams, Devo, The B-52's, Motorhead, Sting, The Smiths, Pixies, Jane's Addiction, Styx, Boston, The Bangles, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, Tears For Fears, Culture Club, Pet Shop Boys, Huey Lewis & The News, The Pointer Sisters, Motley Crue, Toto, Rick James, Tracy Chapman, Bad Brains, Slayer, Kenny Loggins, Rick Springfield, Robert Palmer, Husker Du, Fugazi, Siouxsie & The Banshees and Megadeth) along with Eric B. & Rakim and De La Soul do you see likely being nominated in the next five years?.

Posted by richie on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 13:55pm

This interview with Peter Hook is more interesting, giving more details

And Billy Corgan was not available to appear in ceremony to induct JDNO as of now

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/peter-hook-new-order-truce-reunion-rock-hall-1235551291/

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 14:45pm

My prediction of who will induct who

Phil Collins:Justin Timberlake

Billy Idol:Billie Joe Armstrong

Wu Tang Clan:Dave Chappelle

Luther Vandross:SZA or Kendrick Lamar

Iron Maiden:James Hettfield

Oasis:Chris Martin

Joy Division/New Order:Brandon Flowers

Fela Kuti:Seal

Gram Parsons:Emmylou Harris

Queen Latifah:Missy Elliot

MC Lyte:Ice Spice

Rick Rubin: Ad-Rock

Ed Sullivan:Paul McCartney

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 14:49pm

Shannon, I agree that politics and ticket sales favor the Bangles, but I guess I still tilt at windmills. And dmg, yeah Bikini Kill were 90's but close, and Slits were started in 70's so I averaged them out!

Posted by J C Souljah on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 15:07pm

Another interview to Peter Hook

https://www.vulture.com/article/new-order-reunion-interview-rock-hall.html

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 15:50pm

Here's what I think will happen

The current lineup of New Order will preform and then accept the award and make their speeches

Then there will be a Joy Division Peter Hook tribute and then he accepts the award and makes his speech

Separate performances and speeches

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 17:33pm

Do both Liam and Noel Gallagher attend?

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 18:03pm

I think Emmylou Harris appears ready for induction 2027 Class. Most likely as a Performer but possibly the Special Award Early Influence. She's long overdue and will turn 80 years old just before the 2027 Class Inductee announcement. She probably will be presenting the late Gram Parsons in the 2026 ceremony. Her music career was just starting when Gram passed away. A strong music relationship and friendship. Must have been incredibly difficult. I remember when Willie Nelson earned induction when he turned 90 years old. Emmylou Harris would receive votes from all over the music spectrum. I think she would be inducted when placed on the ballot. I'd also like to see Tom Jones inducted in 2027 while he's still alive. Incredible Longevity. He's 1 of the very few artists that seems to be loved and respected from a large swath of the population. Young and old. Rich and poor etc. I've never heard anyone exclaim that they hated Tom Jones or his music. Neil Diamond a RRHOF is 1 that has that broad appeal. Time for my 1st early 20 Nominations for 2026-2027 now that the 2026 Induction class has been announced.
Quick KING 20 early Nominees for 2026-2027.
1. Alice In Chains
2. Bryan Adams
3. INXS
4. Diana Ross
5. The Bangles
6. Smashing Pumpkins
7. Mariah Carey
8. Scorpions
9. TLC
10. Megadeth
11. Blue Oyster Cult
12. WAR
13. The Smiths
14. Beck
15. Coldplay
16. Styx
17. Melissa Etheridge
18. Dr. Dre
19. Emmylou Harris
20. Steve Winwood

Thinking about Special Awards, DEVO and J. Geils Band could receive Early Influence in 2027. J. Geils Band has exhausted their Nominations most likely. Couldn't get enough votes. They could give DEVO 1 more chance on the ballot. I think DEVO will be inducted in 2027.

KING

Posted by KING on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 18:14pm

Well hopefully something happens O

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 22:22pm

I think there is a reason ABC suddenly said they will only publish the edited version for ceremony.

Because situation of multiple inductees this year could make ceremony totally messy...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/21/2026 @ 22:48pm

Smashing Pumpkins are headlining the Darker Waves festival in California the same day as the ceremony, hence why Billy Corgan can't induct JD-NO. I think the Pumpkins will probably tour the MCIS album in full this fall (just a guess).

Solution to get all of New Order to show up is have their friend Bono induct them and promise to sing "Love Will Tear Us Apart"…Boom, New Order reunion.

Provided Bono's schedule is free, of course.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 00:38am

RIP Dave Mason

Posted by will m on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 07:36am

EJ - You don't see Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, or Don Henley at least getting a nod? Or Ice-T? And Sugarhill Gang should get an Influence nod at some point I've been hoping.

I would replace my OMD and Flock of Seagulls mentions with Simple Minds, but I wouldn't be surprised about any of the others.

Where's your glorious and impervious list?

Posted by dmg on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 09:30am

The B-52s and Devo appeared in last year's Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Concert, so it may not be just a coincidence. The industry is supporting them, right?

They should be next, along with INXS, after the induction of New Order and Billy Idol.

Unless the Rock Hall surprises us with nominations for acts like The Bangles, Culture Club, or Tears for Fears next year, I don't see it happening so soon. But the Rock Hall may make a mess of it.

Probably one or two of these three will be nominated in 2027. Hopefully Devo will be included next year, since the ceremony will be in their hometown.

I'm not sure about The Smiths. I don't know the exact reason they were suddenly forgotten. Maybe the committee pivoted to other acts (The Cure, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Joy Division/New Order) and accidentally forgot them, or they have enemies in the committee room because of Morrissey.

Posted by O on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 10:08am

Or rock hall for no reason to nominate zero new wave/post punk and metal acts, just like 2024 ballot...

I don't see it, because most obvious remaining 80s snubs are new wave/post punk/early alternative/metal... Most obvious rnb/pop/rap 80s acts, are already included.

If they want more 80s acts, they have to nominate metal/alternative/new wave/post punk acts, right?

Posted by O on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 10:13am

FRL - Any chance someone could remove the underscore from Fela Kuti's name in the list? I know it's not a huge deal, buuut...

Posted by dmg on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 13:50pm

50 Biggest Artists In The World (Daily Spotify Streams via KWORB.NET)

1. Justin Bieber *
2. Bad Bunny
3. BTS
4. Drake
5. Taylor Swift
6. Bruno Mars
7. The Weeknd
8. Fuerza Regida
9. Kanye West
10. Rihanna
11. Arijit Singh
12. Peso Pluma
13. Sabrina Carpenter
14. Ariana Grande
15. Travis Scott
16. Billie Eilish
17. Olivia Dean
18. Junior H
19. Don Toliver
20. Lana Del Rey
21. Tito Double P
22. Nicki Minaj
23. Anuel AA
24. Linkin Park
25. Future
26. Eminem
27. Pritam
28. Kendrick Lamar
29. Morgan Wallen
30. Chris Brown
31. Benjamin Blumchen
32. Michael Jackson
33. Rauw Alejandro
34. Coldplay
35. Lady Gaga
36. J Balvin
37. David Guetta
38. Omar Courtz
39. Harry Styles
40. Olivia Rodrigo
41. Karol G *
42. Ozuna
43. Tame Impala
44. Ella Langley
45. SZA
46. Ed Sheeran
47. Daddy Yankee
48. Shakira
49. Katy Perry
50. Lil Wayne


* Inflated totals due to recent headlining Coachella performances.

Michael Jackson's numbers are also likely inflated due to the biopic releasing soon.

- Linkin Park is absolutely HUGE with Gen Z/Gen Alpha, hence the massive streaming numbers. We really need to consider them a contender for the Rock Hall ballot soon.

- It's an absolute travesty that we haven't inducted Drake, Lana Del Rey and Lil Wayne in Rock Hall Projected. There's no excuse.

- Tame Impala is just so, so, so popular. We'd have to consider the case for him to be LCD Soundsystem on steroids. He's certainly going to figure into the discussion going forward. You can't NOT be super influential with these kind of streaming numbers.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:31pm

And the Rock Hall will just have egg on its face if they try and just ignore Kanye West - one of the biggest artists in the world this century and arguably its most influential.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:33pm

Casper

Despite streaming number, Tame Impala does not look like surefire HOFer tbh..

Same with Arctic Monkeys, who also has huge streaming number

But don't feel these two are that mainstream or popular... From streaming number, they should be first ballot hall of famer. From eye test, they won't be and they are not on that level...

If the streaming number is misleading?

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:48pm

Some more key names the Hall should (or will) consider soon with absolutely massive daily streaming numbers:

70. Arctic Monkeys
147. Justin Timberlake
155. Britney Spears
158. Snoop Dogg *
194. Daft Punk *
213. System of a Down *
229. Deftones

Oasis is at 243. So the above artists are BIGGER than Oasis on streaming.

244. Timbaland * - side category
254. Pharrell Williams * - side category for Neptunes
275. The Smiths *
284. Alicia Keys *
315. The Strokes *
323. The Killers *
324. Dr. Dre *
395. Weezer *
464. Amy Winehouse
470. The Cranberries
492. blink-182
520. John Mayer
549. The Offspring *
655. Alice in Chains *
735. Scorpions
804. Tears for Fears *
883. Lenny Kravitz
914. Pantera *
975. Lauryn Hill *


* Rock Hall Revisited/Projected inductee


It should be noted that Radiohead is #82 in daily streams. It took decades but with the change in how music is consumed and ho people find artists, Radiohead became one of the biggest bands of all time when freed from the corporate controlled radio/MTV environs.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:50pm

Omar, streaming numbers are literally the definition of mainstream at this point. Tame Impala headlines festivals and sells out arenas at high ticket prices in minutes.

Even in the US (they're bigger in the UK/Europe), Arctic Monkeys play arenas - sometimes multiple shows in the same city.

This is the new definition of "sales" and "hits" - these are the biggest names in the world, flat out.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:53pm

So while the Hall leaves off a name on the ballot like The Smiths that could sell out stadiums around the world in mere seconds for $$$ ticket prices, they put on the ballot names that play theaters (Black Crowes, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Etheridge) because the backwards-looking nominating committee just remembers what was popular in the 90's (and even then, ignores much, much bigger acts like Smashing Pumpkins in order to satisfy their own biases).

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:57pm

For what it's worth, Kravitz is a bit of a step-up. He isn't big enough to do big amphitheaters with 8,000 people but can play to about 5,000 given his residency dates in Vegas. And, obviously, the streaming numbers are strong for him.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 14:59pm

Even if you take away "Iris" the rest of the Goo Goo Dolls' catalog earns enough daily streams to put them at ~1225 in the entire world - above the vast majority of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts and acts that debuted prior to the 21st century. In other words, there's enough respect for the rest of their catalog among fans that we could see a bit of a sea change in how they're viewed artistically/critically.

For my money, their only essential release is What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce. It provides a reverse career run-through of remixed tracks from the beginning through the best album cuts from Dizzy Up The Girl. Basically a Best Of without the singles from Dizzy Up The Girl ("Iris", "Slide" etc.). You can track it down online on YouTube and international versions included "Name" and a discarded remix for the single "Long Way Down" was later released on a rarities comp. Together, that project has basically all of the best material from that band including the better half of their two pretty good albums (Superstar Car Wash and A Boy Named Goo).

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 15:10pm

The Cranberries' case is a bit more lopsided in my opinion. They're a three hit wonder ("Linger" and "Zombie" and "Dreams") and the rest of the catalog puts them at about 1635. Still respectable though.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 15:13pm

Interestingly, the Goo Goo Dolls three compilations don't really overlap with any repeats. They released Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 that includes a new version of the song "Name" (and, again, "Name" wasn't on the US versions of the aforementioned first compilation) and then a follow-up comp called Vol. 2 (probably should be called Vol. 3) that collects songs that weren't on either What I Learned OR Greatest Hits. You can effectively use Vol. 2 as a solid followup to What I Learned and just disregard the band's money-making foray into MOR entirely that's presented on Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 15:20pm

Alec T

What I think is likes of Arctic Monkey and Tame Impala, their audience definitely is different than audiences from "mainstream pop stars" like Taylor Swift, Kanye West, Adele...

If Smiths make reunion, they will definitely become arena touring act in America... Not sure if they will reach stadium level in US

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 16:37pm

Sorry, it is Casper

My bad, I see it wrong

Posted by omar on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 16:38pm

Omar, with the pent-up demand and overall streaming numbers close to Oasis, The Smiths would undoubtedly sell out stadiums including in the United States. The band last did a full live show on December 12, 1986. That's forty years of waiting for their fans.

Morrissey attempted to recently give-in (after decades of offers and pressure) and book a tour of him and Johnny Marr as The Smiths but Marr has outright refused to ever make that happen going forward. Meanwhile, Morrissey is at peak demand as a live act, possibly ever, thanks to The Smiths' streaming surge.

Posted by Casper on Wednesday, 04/22/2026 @ 18:30pm

My guesses are only Peter Hook showed up for New Order and no performance.

Sade does not show up with guest musicians perform 3 songs

Oasis Noel Gallagher at least will show up. If only him, no performance. If both brothers appear, three songs performance.

Iron Maiden does not show up and just has a video. Previous members sit under the stage, no acceptance for the award on the stage, like Spinners

Phil won't show up with three song tribute performance, same with Luther

Billy Idol, Wu Tang will show up and perform.

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 04:30am

EJ, I know politics cannot be ignored, but Don Henley's solo career is superior to that of Stevie Nicks. And I agree Henley is pretty unlikely.

Posted by J C Souljah on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 09:43am

Hi EJ,

No worries!

When it comes to hardcore, there are really three acts for consideration: Bad Brains, Black Flag, and Dead Kennedys. D.O.A. is another that I'd like to see support for, but they don't have anywhere near the recognition of those three. Of the three, even though they've been nominated before, I feel like Bad Brains is the weakest. Don't get me wrong - I would RATHER Bad Brains get inducted over the other two, but Black Flag feels like the strongest of the three just due to overall recognition via stylistic influence, Henry Rollins, and even their very famous logo. Bad Brains might have sway over Dave Grohl, but the voters would be more likely to support Black Flag, in my opinion.

For Anthrax, there are three "Big Four of Thrash" bands left: Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer. Slayer, while they get a lot of support here on the forums and among Rock Hall watchers, might still be a bit extreme for the nominating committee and voters. (Though the thought of performing Raining Blood at the ceremony with a bunch of old guys getting drenched in fake blood raining from the ceiling is entertaining.) Megadeth is the other option, and they would be my personal choice among the three; however, Anthrax has had the hip-hop crossover appeal since they worked with Public Enemy. Their collaboration and style helped form "rap-metal" and had critical influence on artists like Rage Against the Machine (and Tom Morello), Limp Bizkit, Biohazard, and Body Count.

Don Henley is one of the biggest band-member-gone-solo artists there are. It isn't a "replacement" for Sting; I still think Sting is more likely just due to face recognition. Being in movies helps! But after that? It has to be Henley or Winwood. Having said that, I will probably change my support to Steve Winwood just based on output and previous nomination. But that doesn't mean Don Henley is a "weak" choice; quite the contrary. His albums and singles are very recognizeable, and are still played on multiple radio formats. And I agree with JC that his output is superior to Nicks'.

Posted by dmg on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 10:01am

"You can't NOT be super influential with these kind of streaming numbers."

I don't know. There's some weird stuff on that list. The one that stands out to me is Benjamin Blumchen. And I doubt you're ever going to support Justin Bieber, Chris Brown, Morgan Wallen, David Guetta, Ed Sheeran, Katy Perry, etc... no matter how big they got. The difference is that Tame Impala was critically acclaimed and looking at that probably narrows down that list a lot.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 10:30am

"Don Henley is one of the biggest band-member-gone-solo artists there are. It isn't a 'replacement' for Sting; I still think Sting is more likely just due to face recognition. Being in movies helps! But after that? It has to be Henley or Winwood. Having said that, I will probably change my support to Steve Winwood just based on output and previous nomination. But that doesn't mean Don Henley is a 'weak' choice; quite the contrary. His albums and singles are very recognizeable, and are still played on multiple radio formats. And I agree with JC that his output is superior to Nicks'."

I actually like his solo career more than The Eagles, but with these sort of artists, what they seem to be looking for is how big of a cultural icon you are and how iconic your image is regardless of the quality of the music, as befitting an MTV regime. That is something Nicks, Cher, Parton, Nelson, Turner, Lauper, Idol, Collins, even Kravitz all had and Henley doesn't. Henley has a bland personality with a touch of douchebag, putting him in more or less the same cultural space as Bryan Adams, and that's why I think the Hall isn't going to want to nominate him. I can see why somebody might think that after Collins who also comes out of that milieu, but Collins had influence on black and indie artists and I don't think Henley ever had that (maybe the War on Drugs a little bit). They also continue to not like any artist whose primary genre is adult contemporary (although this seems to be changing a bit after Carly Simon and Lionel Richie especially) and you could put him there. If the next double inductee is him over Diana Ross or Dre, it would be annoying. Sting, less annoying because his solo career had more of a unique vibe even if it was also adult contemporary/the watering down of New Age.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 10:44am

Oh right, and Collins, Sade, and Vandross were big wins for adult contemporary also, but most of the Collins songs that people respect didn't fit that mold (sure, some exceptions like "Take Me Home"), Sade had much more innovative music, and Vandross certainly had a more iconic voice.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 10:47am

"I would say most 80e American underground acts chances are near zero. Replacements stand the best chance among the US 80s underground rock acts as their most obvious influence to modern popular rock and indie music."

Yep. This is what happens when the administration switches from an institution linked to a magazine of criticism than an institution linked to MTV and iHeartMedia. MTV icons' chances like George Michael and Cyndi Lauper and Lionel Richie and Billy Idol and Phil Collins will certainly skyrocket while the chances of anyone they didn't play will plummet. I'm sure they did play The Replacements and The Pixies but not ENOUGH for nomination, and they'll skip them for the '90s bands they did play. John Sykes said in an interview that he signed The Counting Crows and Stone Temple Pilots as an A&R guy, and cross-promoted his own work hard (they were the first two bands he played when he took over VH1). Expect both of them to be nominated sooner than they should.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 10:51am

Maybe you think Spotify numbers SHOULD matter as a measure of current relevance/popularity, but I think it is pretty obvious that they clearly DON'T. The Hall has never cared what the kids think and only cares about whether the current members in charge like an artist's music, which is why all these '70s throwbacks like Etheridge, Kravitz, DMB, Phish, etc... get nominated over more innovative and CURRENTLY popular '90s artists, and again, why I think you can also expect Counting Crows soon for the same reasons. Even Hootie and the Blowfish wouldn't surprise me at this point tbh. These acts aren't currently relevant even if Hootie somehow got a top 40 hit out of a country remix of one of their songs, but they hearken back to the kind of music the boomers in charge like.

Also, there's the whole record industry aspect of this. With all the record industry bigwigs controlling everything, I think it's still clear they do not like streaming. It may have democratized music listening for the fans, but it made a lot less money for the suits at the record companies and they still run things. So as a result, that contingent is still going to care about charts and sales and how much they made from artists in the past than their current relevance (obviously, some artists will meet both criteria and those will be quickly ushered in).

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:03am

"Bryan Adams is more likely than Don Henley solo tbh
Similar music style with far more success"

Agreed. He will probably be nominated first and like Foreigner and Frampton, he worked with and was respected with so many more big names than he honestly should have been and I think he will get in when he gets on the ballot. It doesn't matter that Henley was a significantly better singer and lyricist, and there are probably 100 guys who deserve it over both of them.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:06am

"JD/NO included in this year though, they were definitely not played on mtv heavily. They were even industry outsider, finally used 22 years and three tries to be voted in."

Yeah, I'm not saying there isn't still a critical contingent. There are tons of critics who are still a part of thi thing. Just that they have much less influence on what happens than they used to have.

"Finally, I feel these most obvious early alternative indie giants like Smiths, Pixies, Replacements, Sonic Youth will have to be included one way or another, and other underground influential rock figures, they will be snubbed."

Totally agree and they're many of the biggest snubs. Just explaining why they were much more likely to get nominated under Wenner than under Sykes whose administration does seem to care more about image than substance, at least relative to the previous regime.

"Pretty sure INXS will be pushed, early new wave heroes that is big mtv act like Devo, B52s will get more looks, and then big mtv acts like Culture Club, Tears for Fears and Pet Shop Boys will be looked at."

Devo, B-52's, Tears for Fears, Pet Shop Boys would certainly be consistent with artists an MTV regime would really go for. Culture Club will never be nominated.

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:09am

I wasn't really for Billy Idol getting in, as may have been noticed since I've never predicted him as a nominee or inductee. He gets the rockist vote for 3 songs (Rebel Yell, White Wedding and the tediously overplayed Mony Mony), and while he had some good deeper cuts, he just didn't stand out for me as anyone more innovative or popular. He was just there.

That being said, his induction does open the door for someone I'm on the fence about, Bryan Adams. Bryan had a much bigger catalog of hits, was more popular, a sex symbol, and did have innovations. He could arguably be nominated on the grounds of "Summer of 69", "Run to You" and "Everything I Do I Do It for You" by itself, but his style, unique voice, and what always comes off to me as a "tortured voice", line him up as a probable shoo-in next year, should trends follow

Posted by K-Dawg on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:19am

"a sex symbol, and did have innovations"

Citation needed on both of those. Never heard either of those claimed before. He was one of many people who combined the working-class aesthetics (not the substance) of Springsteen with the arena rock of Journey, and that WAS a pretty big radio rock movement admittedly. Pseudo-hair metal Bon Jovi was the biggest of these acts and Adams was second, and there were a zillion people filling out this space (Eddie Money, The Outfield, The Hooters, Richard Marx and Michael Bolton on their rare rock songs, etc...) He is obviously the biggest remaining of those not inducted, but who did he even really influence except Marx and Bolton? He watered down Mellencamp, who himself watered down Springsteen. But at least Mellencamp's daring move into an Americana direction and slightly away from the rock mainstream in the mid-to-late '80s had influence on alt-country and shit. Any influence Adams had pretty much dies after grunge, right?

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:28am

"We have seen B/C level of acts that fit John Sykes vision nominated or will be nominated, and only A level "outsider" acts will be considered... It is crime..."

He hasn't gotten Bryan Adams on yet, who I know everybody considers his equivalent to what the J. Geils Band was for Wenner. The difference seems to be that ONLY Sykes is pushing for Adams and that isn't enough while Geils fit the sensibilities of several people on that era's nominating committee (Little Steven, etc...)

Posted by Sean on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 11:29am

Darius Rucker has a pretty good country career. But you cannot nominate or induct Hootie and the Blowfish. They had a 3 year run at most. The second album cratered very quickly and they were forgotten / disappeared from MTV. Their cd was a yard sale staple.

Culture Club actually has decent stats (solid record sales, decent worldwide success, one 10-15 million selling album, a couple million plus selling singles, 6.7m Spotify monthly listeners). They were not a strong touring act / draw. Boy George was a media personality and did a fair amount of reality TV. The Crying Game movie / song was pretty iconic. Respectable nominee. Outranks B-52s.

Bryan Adams had more Billboard success than all the grunge bands combined. Grunge never ruled the charts (Nirvana knocking off Michael Jackson for one week was just a blip). Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Madonna, and other pop acts dominated.

The Replacements were banned from SNL and basically banned from all media. They have less than zero cultural relevance. They were not a strong tour act (even there quasi-comeback did nothing) and have under a million Spotify listeners today.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 12:44pm

Jim C.,

Tom Waits shouldn't be nominated because he's been an inductee for 13 years...

Posted by Steve Z on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 13:08pm

Anyone want to predict next ten years class?

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 14:10pm

Or the next 70-80 perfomer inductees? (With consolidation side category inductees)

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 14:27pm

The Replacements are so important and influential -> no one cares. High ratings on rateyourmusic mean nothing. Same with Husker Du, Minutemen, XTC, and many more. How can you be influential when no one buys your records or listens? Yes, I want to copy the Replacements and make no money. You can't rewrite history and act like people really cared or even noticed them at the time.

Violent Femmes (a two song band) double their Spotify numbers.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 14:54pm

2027: Lenny Kravitz, Devo, Lauryn Hill, Styx, Bryan Adams, Beyonce, Coldplay

2028: Mariah Carey, INXS, Motorhead, Boston, EBAR, Gloria Estefan, New Edition

2029: Alicia Keys, the B52s, De La Soul, Linkin Park, the Black Crowes, Beck, Shakira

2030: Alice in Chains, Kanye West TLC, the Killers, Alanis Morissette, Jane's Addiction, Usher

2031: Taylor Swift, the Smiths, D'Angelo, Nas, Pixes, Tool, Bjork

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 16:15pm

Change tool to Sting

Posted by omar on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 16:20pm

Within the next 5 to 10 years, Rick Krim & John Sykes will likely be leaving the RHOF (Sykes is 70 & I'm unsure how old Krim is) and this is when things get interesting.

The younger generation is a lot more open to genres like metal (sub-genres like Atmospheric-Black-Metal, Symphonic-metal, Folk-metal & Blackgaze are vary popular with the newer generations) and they often listen to music written in other languages (some of biggest names in rock today are Japanese bands like Babymetal, Wagakki Band, Band-Maid, Lovebites & Gacharic Spin) my and other younger generations are come from era that had the internet to show us music that mainstream radio don't play, to learn about artists popular in other countries and lets us easily try genres of music for free. There is going to be a major shift in who gets inducted when they leave.

Posted by Tim on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 17:16pm

O,

You are low IQ. You can't tell a troll comment from a real one.

Sales matter. This is supposed to be the pinnacle of music. A 100m selling artist has more influence than a band that sold 500K. Narratives have been created to elevate marginal acts. Velvet Underground had no real impact when they actually were a band. Their reunion was a flop in 93. There is a huge gulf between getting critical praise and actually generating sales and a fanbase.

The Beatles were all the inspiration most 70s acts needed. VU grew into a legend from music critics constantly reappraising them higher and higher. Andy Warhol also massively helped elevate their status.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 19:05pm

What original 1967 critics actually said:
Because numerical review scores (like Pitchfork or Metacritic-style ratings) did not exist in 1967, the best record of its reception comes from period newspaper and magazine commentary. Surviving contemporary reactions show:

Richard Goldstein (New York World Journal‑Tribune) described the album's sound as "a savage series of atonal thrusts and electronic feedback" and criticized its sadomasochistic and free‑association lyrical imagery. This was not praise — it reflected the discomfort many critics felt toward the album's abrasive style.

Many publications refused to advertise the album, and radio stations avoided playing it due to its explicit themes (drug use, prostitution, S&M). This contributed to its poor early reception.

The album sold poorly — roughly 10,000–30,000 copies in its first years, reinforcing that it was not warmly received by critics or the public.

Posted by Jim C. on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 19:30pm

Sorry everyone, I wanted to keep the inductees a secret from myself until I had a meeting with some of my family members.

One of the many people who can claim to be the 5th Beatle, Dave Mason of Traffic, has passed. He played one of the horn parts on Penny Lane.

2004 went from half-living and half-dead to majority dead, now that 10 of its inductees are dead. 8 remain.

2026 now has the second most inducted members with 51, behind only 2012's 70. 39 of the inductees are still alive.

So far Dave Mason, Bill "Bass" Nelson, Bob Weir, Perry Bamonte, Jimmy Cliff, and Steve Cropper have died since the most recent ceremony.

Living members of classes where a majority or half of the inductees are dead:

1986: All are dead.
1987: 2/26 (Smokey Robinson and Mike Stroller)
1988: 7/25 (Berry Gordy Jr., Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, Bob Dylan, Al Jardine, and Mike Love)
1989: 8/28 (Dion, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Williams)
1990: 12/30 (Bob Gaudio, Frankie Vali, Mick Avory, Dave Davies, Ray Davies, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Carole King, Brian Holland, and Edward Holland Jr.)
1991: 3/21 (Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, and Fred Cash)
1992: 7/30 (Booker T. Jones, Ernie Isley, Ronald Isley, Eric Clapton, Jim McCarty, Jimmy Page and Paul Samwell-Smith)
1994: 8/29 (Eric Burdon, Allen Price, John Steel, Elton John, Tom Constanten, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Rod Stewart)
1995: 11/25 (Al Green, Jai "Jaimoe" Johanny Johanson, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Rosalind Ashford, Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves, Martha Reeves, Annette Sterling, and Neil Young)
1996: 12/27 (Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Shirley Alton Reeves, Beverly Lee, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker.)
1997: 17/39 (Barry Gibb, Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Michael "Mickey" Hampton, Grady Thomas, Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere, and Gene Cornish)
1999: 4/22 (Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Mavis Staples)
2000: 13/28 (Bonnie Raitt, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Verdine White, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Steve Boone, Joe Butler, John Sebastian, and Clive Davis)
2001: 12/26 (James Burton, Everyone from Aerosmith, Paul Simon, John Deacon, Brian May, Roger Taylor [Queen], Donald Fagan, and Chris Blackwell.)
2002: 10/20 (Brenda Lee, Marky Ramone, Everyone from Talking Heads, Ron Blair, Mike Campbell, Stan Lynch, and Benmont Tench.)
2004: 8/18 (Bob Seger, Verne Allison, Michael "Mickey" McGill, Jackson Browne, Steve Winwood, Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Jann S. Wenner)
2008: 6/16 (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, John Mellencamp, Madonna, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff)
2012: 25/70 (Bobby Jones, Billy Davis, Lawson Smith, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Mike D, Ad-Rock, Donovan, Everyone from Guns 'N' Roses, Flea, John Frusciante, Jack Irons, Anthony Kiedis, Josh Klinghoffer, Cliff Martinez, Chad Smith, Kenny Jones, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and Glyn Johns.)
2024: 22/44 (Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, Jarobi White, Cher, Carter Beauford, Jeff Coffin, Stefan Lessard, Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Rashawn Ross, Boyd Tinsley, Arthur "Buddy" Strong, Ed Gagliardi, Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, Mick Jones [Foreigner], Rick Wills, Robert "Kool" Bell, James "J.T." Taylor, Mary J. Blige, Peter Frampton, Suzanne de Passe, and Dionne Warwick)

Dead members of each class where a majority or half of the inductees are alive:

1993: 15/29 (Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Tom Fogerty, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison, Etta James, Sherman Garnes, Frankie Lymon, Joe Negroni, Ruth Brown, Cynthia Robinson, Sly Stone, Dick Clark, Milt Gabler, and Dinah Washington.)
1998: 17/30 (Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie, Gene Vincint, Lloyd Price, Denny Doherty, Mama Cass Elliot, John Phillips, David Brown, Allan Toussaint, and Jelly Roll Morton)
2002: 10/20 (Chet Atkins, Gene Pitney, Issac Hayes, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tommy Ramone, Howie Epstein, Tom Petty, and Jim Stewart.)
2003: 16/24 (Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer, Steve Douglas, Bon Scott, Malcom Young, Joe Strummer, Bobby Hatfield, and Mo Ostin)
2005: 11/17 (William Powell, Percy Sledge, Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott, Frank Barsalona, and Seymour Stein.)
2006: 15/28 (Ozzy Osbourne, Clem Burke, Miles Davis, Sid Vicious, everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd other than Artimus Pyle, and Jerry Moss)
2007: 15/19 (Cowboy, Ronnie Spector, Estelle Bennett, and Eddie Van Halen)
2009: 14/21 (Bill Black, DJ Fontana, Bobby Womack, Jeff Beck, Tracy Lord, Cliff Burton, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell)
2010: 20/30 (Eric Haydock, Jimmy Cliff, Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jesse Stone, Mort Shuman, and Otis Blackwell.)
2011: 8/12 (Glen Buxton, Dr. John, Leon Russell, and Art Rupe)
2013: 14/18 (Albert King, Donna Summer, Neil Peart, and Quincy Jones)
2014: 19/24 (Ace Frehley, Kurt Cobain, Brian Epstein, Clarence Clemons, and Danny Federici)
2015: 15/27 (Bill Withers, Lee Crystal, Lou Reed, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Billy Davenport, Sam Lay, Stevie Ray Vaughn and everyone from The "5" Royals.)
2016: 21/25 (Terry Kath, Jon Lord, Eazy-E, and Bert Berns)
2017: 24/28 (Tupac Shakur, Richard Tandy, Alan White, and Chris Squire)
2018: 15/25 (Alec John Such, Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Graeme Edge, Denny Lane, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, Nina Simmone, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
2019: 32/36 (Perry Bamonte, Steve Clark, Graham Simpson, and Paul Atkinson)
2020: 14/23 (Michael Hossack, Keith Knudson, John Hartman, Andy Fletcher, The Notorious B.I.G., Marc Bolan, Steve Currie, Mickey Finn, and Whitney Houston)
2021: 14/22 (Taylor Hawkins, Tina Turner, Billy Preston, Randy Rhodes, Florian Schneider, Gil Scott-Heron, Charlie Patton, and Clarence Avant)
2022: 23/28 (Sylvia Robinson, Les Binks, Dave Holland, Harry Belafonte, and Elizabeth Cotten)
2023: 12/21 (George Michael, Everyone from the Spinners, Don Cornelius, and Link Wray.)
2024: 22/44 (Phife Dawg, Leroi More, Ed Gagliardi, Ian McDonald, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes "Charles" Smith, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Ricky Westfield, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Buffet, everyone from MC5, Norman Whitfield, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and Big Mama Thorton)
2025: 16/23 (Boz Burrell, Mick Ralphs, Joe Cocker, Chris Cornell, Nicky Hopkins, Thom Bell, and Warren Zevon)
2026: 39/51 (Clive Burr, Paul Di'Anno, Ian Curtis, Luther Vandross, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ed Sullivan, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller, Linda Creed, Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, and Gram Parsons)

Posted by Follower on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 19:49pm

Omar,

Are you seriously asking citation for Bryan Adams being a sex symbol? He was hugely adored by women in the 80s into the 90s, and his song "Everything I Do" from Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves was humongous. I don't know how old you are, but I was into my teen years into the 90s, and there was no bigger name for teeny bop girls.

His influence...I don't know. I think "Summer of 69" is such a remembered song. He had that voice that was reminiscent in ways of Springsteen. He fully checks more boxes than a Don Henley. Don had some great hits, but none of them shattered Billboard the way Bryan Adams did. What's his biggest hit, "Boys of Summer"? Or "Dirty Laundry"? Solid standards for classic rock/adult contemporary, but neither turned the 80s or 90s on its ear. His best vocal performances to this day are "Hotel California" and "Life in the Fast Lane", with Eagles.

Posted by K-Dawg on Thursday, 04/23/2026 @ 23:39pm

K-Dawg

It was not me asking you about Bryan Adams, it was Casper

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 01:43am

My bad Omar. It was "Sean", is that a new name for Casper?

My statement is the same. He was most definitely a very big name for many females in the late 80s and early 90s. Any misconception on who it was def is my bad.

Posted by K-Dawg on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 04:32am

K-Dawg

I also did see wrongly, it was Sea, not Casper

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 05:33am

Sean

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 05:36am

Thin Lizzy and Motorhead will be automatic induction if they are nominated with current voting polity, problem is will people in nom com agree to put them on the ballot

I could envision Motorhead gets one more nomination and Thin Lizzy only chance is Tom Morello fights for them in early influence now for their pioneering twin guitar sound

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 09:55am

For newer generations (such as Gen Z), casual listeners may not be very different from casual listeners of older generations. Most casual listeners simply follow chart hits and have relatively limited music knowledge.

However, future younger-generation music voters are different. They are usually passionate and dedicated core music fans with broader musical perspectives, and they are strongly influenced by Pitchfork and Rate Your Music. Because of that, some "niche" artists and works carry major importance to them.

Many older core listeners have long dominated Rock Hall voting, but their musical perspective has often been narrower.

Rock Hall voting has always been driven by core listeners, regardless of generation. Casual listeners generally have little influence.

Pitchfork and Rate Your Music will definitely have an impact in the future, but probably around ten years from now. They already strongly influence younger generations of core music fans. And the people most likely to become future Rock Hall voters are these core listeners, casual listeners were and will not be major force in rock hall voting.

So when John Sykes (and Rick Krim) step aside, figures like Dave Grohl, Questlove, and Tom Morello, who seem "young" and "cool" today, will eventually become the new old guard. At that point, the committee may lean more toward hipster tastes. The annual nominee lists may then reflect both Pitchfork / Rate Your Music influence and streaming-chart popularity.

Remember when John Sykes said that "more younger voters supported acts that would have had no chance five years ago." He was likely referring to Joy Division / New Order. They were voted in over many commercially bigger names because they are highly influential among younger core listeners.

Acts like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins could have far better chances ten years from now. Even Billie Eilish has mentioned listening to My Bloody Valentine. Younger core music listeners, who are much more likely to participate in Rock Hall voting than younger casual listeners, are more hipster-minded than many people think.

And John Sykes understands this. He already said that the next five years would focus on correcting overlooked snubs from the 1980s. After that, he may pass the torch to the next generation, who may then push for 1990s artists and more niche legends admired by younger generations of core listeners.

Posted by omar on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 10:29am

Omar

A lot of what you are saying will start when Zillennial's (a cusp generation) get in. This is the generation I'm from and we're vary much influenced by the internet; sites like Pitchfork & Rate Your Music had a role in what music we listen to. BandCamp & SoundCloud played a major role in our music tastes, and sites that make it easy to fall into rabbit holes such as Wikipedia & YouTube has led us to artists we never knew about.

Nowadays, Metal is a lot less underground and no one bats an eye when they hear Non-English music these days (it even gets played on some English radio stations)

It's about to get interesting at the RHOF.

Posted by Tim on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 16:50pm

" and Velvet Underground had no influence, because they sold nothing and no one wants to copy their sound to sell nothing. no one cares."

Whoever made that comment truly doesn't understand music history or refuse to learn at all.

When other inductees including David Bowie, Patti Smith, Kraftwerk, T. Rex, Roxy Music, U2, R.E.M, Joy Division/New Order, The Cure, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, NIN, Green Day, Oasis & The White Stripes all cited VU as inspiration, it means they actually have influence. Sales doesn't indicate influence, it indicates popularity.

So not only that comment is wrong, it's also idiotic so just shut up.

Posted by Pink Zeppelin on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 17:36pm

Also Ramones, Sex Pistols, Talking Heads & Blondie.

Posted by Pink Zeppelin on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 17:40pm

Don Henley should certainly be on people's radar as a potential nominee. I basically have him just outside of the Top 100 artists on the board for "inductability" (I.e. making the ballot and getting the votes). His solo career has a lot of great material and some massively popular albums, I'd definitely take it over The Eagles but prefer Nicks' solo stuff.

Would a Henley induction be ridiculous though and reek of Boomerism? Why, yes it would.

Would it be preferable to Sting? Eh, not really. Sting has a longer run of critically acclaimed albums and was a little more "out there" creatively (although Henley's stuff took plenty of chances). Anyway, nobody should rule out Henley, Sting and Winwood as they were MTV regulars in the 80's. But this, I dunno, ten year remaining window is the last time when anybody on the nom com and/or voting body will care enough to bother.

Posted by Casper on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 18:35pm

Velvet Underground were a bunch of amateurs playing music badly. Couldn't even tune up correctly or keep time. They were a negative influence -> Sex Pistols with a bassist who couldn't play at all. Listen to Sister Ray for the full 17 minutes -> it's torture.

Cranberries are trending. Put them on your radar for 2027 or near future:
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/cranberries-linger-love-story-1235552746/

Posted by Jim C. on Friday, 04/24/2026 @ 20:55pm

From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sister_Ray):

Rock critic Lester Bangs wrote in 1970, "The early Velvets had the good sense to realize that whatever your capabilities, music with a simple base structure was the best. Thus, 'Sister Ray' evolved from a most basic funk riff seventeen minutes into stark sound structures of incredible complexity."
...
"Sister Ray" was recorded in one take. The band agreed to accept whatever faults occurred during recording, resulting in over 17 minutes of improvised material.

Well, that's art.

It's the same lame argument over and over. Only sales and streams count, not the influence and inspiration for other artists. That's plain rubbish.

Posted by MichaelEU on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 01:51am

MichaelEU,

"It's the same lame argument over and over. Only sales and streams count, not the influence and inspiration for other artists. That's plain rubbish."

Well people who are constantly listening to generic top 40 on the regular basis are the ones who will make that stupid argument. They'll rather prefer quantity over quality which is ridiculous.

Posted by Pink Zeppelin on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 05:31am

Public ballot tracker always had hipster tendency

And I have said in previous posts that new young voters (who are usually younger core listeners) are also more likely to be hipsters and influenced by pitchfork/rate your music and

No suprise that 2026 is the first time that public ballot tracker and final inductees list align very well.

So good for Mariah, if not for Sade, she may be voted in as performer in 2026. Now think she will be voted in next time, her public ballot tracker performance is strong in 2026

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 09:20am

This 5-10 years window will be the last time period if rock hall wants to include some boomer favourites.

Styx, Boston, Bryan Adams, Sting, ..., this will be the last chances for you. Otherwise you will be forgotten.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 09:36am

Here are the official standings in the 2026 ballot tracker and they are:

Wu-Tang Clan with 31 votes.
Joy Division/New Order with 30 votes.
Luther Vandross with 29 votes.
Sade with 27 votes.
Mariah Carey with 23 votes.
Lauryn Hill with 18 votes.
Iron Maiden and Oasis with 17 votes.
Phil Collins and Billy Idol with 16 votes.
INXS and New Edition with 15 votes.
Shakira with 9 votes.
The Black Crowes with 8 votes.
Pink with 7 votes.
Jeff Buckley and Melissa Etheridge with 5 votes.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 10:16am

I can't believe 3 dog night are not on the list.
They out sold the Beatles at one point.
Only Danny still alive and he's aging.
Would be nice for at least one to be alive for the presentation.
Come on RR HOF!!!!!

Posted by Dana cole on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 10:47am

Richie

I expect Mariah and Lauryn will be voted in next time unless they are nominated with icon figures like Roberta Flack, Diana Ross, Patti Labelle again...

Look like these two are strongest modern "urban" music candidates now

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 11:35am

To put the whole "ten year window" thing into perspective, ten years from now, it will be 2036. By the time public ballots are due that year, the Strokes' debut album will be a few months from turning 35 years old. A 25 year old that really dug their music back in 2001 will now be 50 years old. The median Hall voter will effectively have been teenagers in the 90s or at least young enough (20s/30s) to really know about and consider that music as it was happening. Year by year, The Strokes are becoming one of the biggest names left on the board and we just inducted The White Stripes two years ago for comparison.

Point being, it's not just Boomer music but Gen X music from the 80s that also has a rapidly shortening window. Right now, the Nom Com's age and preferences coupled with that of the voting body heavily favors the 1980s and helps make up for the Rock Hall totally whiffing on that decade. But that bias is soon going to shift to the even-more-neglected 1990s and beyond. And quickly.

Going through the Snubs list, I'd say Devo and The B-52's are really the oldest act remaining that fits the Nom Com/voting body profile and, conveniently, can still perform. The only older acts with a good shot at getting in are widely beloved black R&B/soul stars (Diana Ross, Roberta Flack, Patti LaBelle, Barry White) and possibly a handful of classic rock-adjacent acts that will benefit from the vacuum created by the lack of Boomer-favored guitar rock on future ballots (Boston, Thin Lizzy, Motörhead). As the nom com continues its generational shift, I see no reason why somebody younger is suddenly going to toss out The Monkees, Harry Nilsson or Nick Drake after the older nom com members refused to put them on a ballot in decades past. What certainly DOES need to happen is for the remaining Boomer-centric members of that committee to retire ASAP and quit nominating rock revivalist duds like Kravitz, Etheridge and The Black Crowes. There's clearly enough members still in that board room to put in these dumb protest candidates that are completely undeserving.

For now, the Hall has tossed out as many commercially spectacular 80's acts as they could to make up for lost time, but the numbers have rapidly dwindled. They're soon going to be faced with no other alternative (pun intended) than to put up Pixies and The Replacements against Alice in Chains and Smashing Pumpkins. In fact, looking at the snubs list, INXS is literally the most plausible commercial 80s superstars remaining. That's right, INXS. Only comparable names would be Diana Ross in the early 80's, The B-52's around the late 80's/early 90's and Mötley Crüe who I just can't ever see enough people in that board room taking seriously as a ballot option. They might as well just chuck INXS on the next ballot because it's pretty hard to conceive of them not getting in unless the Rock Hall goes hog wild on the mega-stars of 90s alternative (Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains and, in the following decade, Coldplay) and, thus, clogs the ballot.

This is also why The Smiths have an incredible case at this point. They're basically the most streamed Hall-eligible act from the 1980's (and their entire career WAS in the 1980s). The Smiths are no longer some no name-ID ballot name, they're one of the superstars.

The Hall might as well try again with Mariah Carey. My theory is that she has gained respect/ground with the voters but probably got a lower percentage of the vote in 2026 than in 2025 thanks to all the off-ramps on the ballot for voters to look at (Sade, Lauryn Hill, Luther Vandross, New Edition). All the Hall has to do is give Mariah Carey a clear lane in 2027 (aside from Beyonce) and then she has a shot. Beyonce's just going to be an out-of-sight, out-of-mind candidate where a lot of people will just blindly check the box like they did with Phil Collins. That's not going to affect Mariah's chances because she's competing with the B-list options.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 12:16pm

You have to wonder how many Nom Com people are strategically savvy with helping their own pet picks. For example, if I wanted to induct Sade, my fear would be that one induction slot disappears for every guitar-based act that the classic rock/guitar band inductees favor gets on the ballot. Thus, it would be in that person's best interest to deny votes in that board room for Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, etc. and instead throw away votes on names like Melissa Etheridge that they know aren't actually going to be competitive on the ballot. There's a good 20-or-so names that can effectively get automatic induction at this point and I can't help but think a lot of voters are "afraid" of them appearing on the ballot because it will harm their own pet picks.

As someone into game-theory type shows like Survivor, I darn sure know that P!nk/New Edition/Jeff Buckley/Melissa Etheridge/Black Crowes were basically all canon-fodder with a scant chance at actual induction. Most Hall-watchers quickly realized this as well. You take them out of the equation and then it became about a 60% chance for everybody else on the ballot to get in (maybe more like 50% once you take into account Phil Collins, Wu-Tang Clan and, perhaps, Luther Vandross).

So, we may very well keep seeing some ridiculous, completely uncompetitive names continue to make the ballot in future years because of this kind of ballot-rigging. Likewise, someone like OutKast may have had to wait extra long because Questlove and Toure were afraid they'd take away votes from LL Cool J, Tribe, etc.

Personally, I think the Hall should put as many of the populist names on the ballot ASAP. There's no point in, say, Beck having to be humiliated and fail on a few more ballots because Weezer and the like haven't been inducted yet. Let's get the big arena/stadium names out of the way so then Beck and Bjork are basically the most commercial names left standing and can get in immediately on, say, a 2030 ballot.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 12:33pm

Am I the only one who feels like the 2026 class is kind of a "final verdict" class? It feels like they cleared a lot of the most obvious snubs, which makes it seem like the most important picks have already been made, like the Rock Hall has reached its grand finale.

Posted by Jason on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 12:42pm

Taking into account the classic rock vacuum and the newfound voter base for indie rock, King Crimson jumps from #93 to #43 in my Hall eligibles ranking while The Strokes, The Smiths, Thin Lizzy, Motörhead and INXS are now in my inner tier. I also demoted Kanye West a point due to his, erm, "shenanigans":


1. Beyonce - 5.50930
2. Diana Ross - 5.50441

3. Kanye West - 4.50987
4. Daft Punk - 4.50435

5. Mariah Carey - 4.43182
6. Beck - 4.41954
7. Dr. Dre - 4.40836

8. Coldplay - 4.30867
9. Weezer - 4.30823
10. The Monkees - 4.30434
11. Boston - 4.30425

12. Devo - 3.53644
13. The Smiths - 3.52972
14. Björk - 3.50965
15. Pixies - 3.50946
16. Smashing Pumpkins - 3.50880

17. Lauryn Hill/Fugees - 3.41713
18. Thin Lizzy - 3.41677
19. De La Soul - 3.40837
20. Fiona Apple - 3.40804
21. Snoop Dogg - 3.40726
22. The B-52s - 3.40662
23. Alice in Chains - 3.40429

24. Motörhead - 3.31709
25. INXS - 3.31400
26. The Strokes - 3.50893
27. Harry Nilsson - 3.30580
28. Glen Campbell - 3.30414
29. Usher - 3.30256 - *
30. No Doubt - 3.30249 *

31. Sinead O'Connor - 3.21700
32. Jethro Tull - 3.20645
33. Alicia Keys - 3.20504
34. Donny Hathaway - 3.20317 *
35. Carpenters - 3.20295
36. Roberta Flack - 3.20279
37. Alanis Morissette - 3.20120
38. Patti Labelle - 3.20053
39. Barry White - 3.20042

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 12:54pm

Casper

Also, hip-hop is quickly running out of obvious pre-2000 candidates.

With the 2026 class, the Rock Hall already moved on two of the clearest names: Wu-Tang Clan and Lauryn Hill both with all of strong commercial success, major name recognition, and huge critical acclaim.

Then you have Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, and 50 Cent, who are huge stars but maybe not viewed as highly from a pure artistic standpoint.

The next 1990s rap act that should be nominated, aside from Lauryn Hill, is Nas. His run of seven consecutive platinum albums, plus having one of the greatest rap albums ever in Illmatic, should make him a very obvious choice. But I'm not sure why the Rock Hall doesn't seem to value him that highly.

Dr. Dre is also very deserving, but I feel the Rock Hall may prioritize other rap acts who have never been inducted first, then give Dre his second induction maybe ten years later after adding several more hip-hop acts.

De La Soul and Eric B. & Rakim are probably the only two 1980s rap acts that might realistically be considered for Performer induction, but to be honest they are a bit niche in mainstream terms.

I feel The Roots will be FYN purely because Questlove knows everyone. But even then, it still feels like there should be at least ten rap acts inducted before them.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 12:57pm

If Dr. Dre has not been inducted as member of NWA, I would predict Dr. Dre as next year hip hop nominee (and inductee). He is so obvious pick for hip hop inclusion. But still feel rock hall isn't ready for including a hip hop second time inductee this soon

Of course rock hall could decide they could make history next year to get first second time hip hop inductee, I won't bet on it but if it happens, I won't be surprised.

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:06pm

Toure just "blah blah blah" Iron Maiden, Joy Division and Oasis when reading inductees list...


https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXIRFYUj5vq/?igsh=MXg4aDV0MWtldWEwag==

Posted by O on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:20pm

If it ain't black, Toure don't want any part in it. He's probably still annoyed he had to vote for INXS in order to fill out his ballot and that it couldn't be all black.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:27pm

I mean, really, the audacity of voting for New Edition and not JD-NO and/or Iron Maiden is just plain childish. This is the man who acted like inducting LL Cool J was his life mission, lol.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:28pm

Omar, total agreement with you on Hip Hop. Nas is somewhere around #50 for me. I think De La Soul easily gets in once on a ballot given that Tribe will have been inducted years prior.

Posted by Casper on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:30pm

Which 2026 nominees do you think have the best chances at induction next year for 2027?.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 13:48pm

richie

Lauryn Hill has the best chance returning in 2027 to my view

Posted by omar on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 14:06pm

Omar,

What are your current predictions for the 2027 nominees/inductees (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 14:08pm

I feel like it has to be INXS

Posted by Alec T on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 14:49pm

Toure is the opposite of Eddie Trunk but more race specific lol

He is a straight up loser.

Posted by Timothy Pernell on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 14:58pm

"As the nom com continues its generational shift, I see no reason why somebody younger is suddenly going to toss out The Monkees, Harry Nilsson or Nick Drake after the older nom com members refused to put them on a ballot in decades past."

I mean they just inducted Chubby Checker so I think that would give The Monkees a good shot, except that they were probably pissed off about Checker's behavior. And I could totally see Nilsson and Drake getting in Musical Excellence after they just did that for Warren Zevon, but they probably wouldn't try them on the ballot at this point.

"What certainly DOES need to happen is for the remaining Boomer-centric members of that committee to retire ASAP and quit nominating rock revivalist duds like Kravitz, Etheridge and The Black Crowes."

But it's not the boomers who are nominating them! We basically know that Sheryl Crow nominated Etheridge and Karen Glauber nominated The Black Crowes. And sure, they are TECHNICALLY boomers if you say the age range for boomers ends in 1964, but they are culturally Gen-Xers. I think these aren't the acts boomers would want and the boomer voters are actually shooting them down. The more commercially oriented classic rockers would want like Boston, Styx, The Guess Who, and Motley Crue, while the artier-minded ones would want King Crimson, Jethro Tull, Harry Nilsson, Thin Lizzy... I think boomers would eat up any of those guys now (maybe not Crimson or Crue who the boomers found too obscure/loathsome respectively) but these acts that are being nominated like Idol, Kravitz, Phish, DMB, Etheridge all seem like Gen-X revivalists, who the core boomers would not prefer to vote for over their pet faves, although Idol managed ENOUGH of a coalition between the commercially and critically-minded voters to bridge that gap.

It's annoying that these are the people Crow and Glauber are fighting for. Liz Phair sang on "Soak Up the Sun" and that would be a much more interesting idea. Glauber previously nominated Todd Rundgren so you'd think she'd want to go for somebody more out there like Nilsson. But maybe it is just about personal connections.

"You have to wonder how many Nom Com people are strategically savvy with helping their own pet picks. For example, if I wanted to induct Sade, my fear would be that one induction slot disappears for every guitar-based act that the classic rock/guitar band inductees favor gets on the ballot. Thus, it would be in that person's best interest to deny votes in that board room for Smashing Pumpkins, Alice in Chains, etc. and instead throw away votes on names like Melissa Etheridge that they know aren't actually going to be competitive on the ballot. There's a good 20-or-so names that can effectively get automatic induction at this point and I can't help but think a lot of voters are 'afraid' of them appearing on the ballot because it will harm their own pet picks."

Absolutely. I've said this a lot. The reason the first-time white nominees were so blah this time while the black artists except fr New Edition were so strong is because occasionally, the NomCom seems to be so sick of any classic rock artists getting rushed in that they wanted to FORCE people to vote for R&B artists (and also probably JD/NO and Maiden for their importance and Oasis for the marketing potential). And this is probably why they're letting Gen X'ers push these mediocre names relevant to their generation but not really anyone else's who aren't the rock artists the boomers want to vote for. You're blaming the wrong generation! And I think they decided to ignore '90s rock bands other than Oasis to make sure Oasis got in after they'd been rejected before.

Posted by Sean on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 15:17pm

I think we will see more open voters about Boston or Styx

They have little to no songs with "Meatheaded" lyrics

Posted by Alec T on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 16:08pm

The committee is getting younger but the voters are not at the same speed. Even some of the voters from the 60s era are still here. Ultimately that leads to a trend where they are voting for the oldest acts on the ballot as they can most relate or actually know them the most. So we are in the era where any 60s/70s (pre-punk) era artist is a lock if on the ballot unless they are unelectable for various reasons, or without them the oldest acts get in, which are the 80s. Eventually the committee and voting base will get younger faces and this will go to the 90s, which is why Skyes says the next 5 years is for the 80s.

We are moving towards long-term critical regard and longevity as voting indicators, which does not always correlate with contemporary popularity and chart success. We are seeing the shift live. Iron Maidan and Jd/No who struggled a few years ago and might have been unelectable absolutely cleared the ballot with the changes. Wu-Tang Clan had a very similar resume to ATCQ, who took three tries not long ago. Wu-Tang Clan cleared the ballot the first time as a top three vote-getter. When is the last time an artist who had zero top 40 hits got inducted on their first try?

Omar got what I was going for. Acts like My Bloody Valentine and Cocteau Twins could very reasonably be nominated in the next 5 years, but they will not be inducted now. However, as the voting base gets younger these acts have a legit chance to get in as Performers in a decade. Not far different from how when Smiths and Replacements were nominated 10 years ago they had zero chance, but now is looking increasingly likely if they are nominated they can get in. Even someone like Jeff Buckley who probably was last place this year, in 10 years he is increasingly popular/influential with younger generations so he could actually make it as Performers surprisingly.

So Wu-Tang, Iron Maidan, Jd/No are a good look at what trends are happening and where things will go.

Posted by GuestG on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 19:35pm

On the whole Billboard chart argument that is going around.

Saying as someone of a newer gen, I am being honest, historic sales and chart success no one cares about lol. Spotify listens marginally as an indicator and I will explain why.

The thing is there is something called payola which greatly alters what played on radio and ultimately what sold, as it was part of the advertisement from a label. You do not get top sales unless you are pushed hard by a major record label or you lucked into it. That level of sales, radio airplay, Billboard charts are based off what a record company pushed at the time to want you to hear.

Things are different now. Wide access to music means we can listen to close to everything that released and funnel out what is actually holding up and influential instead of guessing with it. Sales at the time are irrelevant, something that was good but was not a top performer can be huge now, while slop that was pushed but has no longevity after the marketing push is finished will die out.

Spotify has some relevance to it and be an indicator, but remember in the algorithm/botted world they are not an absolute since they can be fudged. Which again, might go into payola

The monoculture largely does not exist anymore, so how do you make criteria of who is Hall worthy? Other considerations will be taken now besides sales to do so. Influence, longevity, critical regard will eventually be the criteria for most

Posted by GuestG on Saturday, 04/25/2026 @ 20:04pm

For what it's worth, Toure got absolutely roasted by EVERYONE in his comments for that awful video. Nobody agrees with him. The only sensible part of his video was where he understood the New Edition snub "because they were only black famous"

In regards to acts having to wait on the sidelines because people felt their own pet picks would lose an induction slot, Bad Company seems like the most egregious wait time. Once the Hall started inducting all of these classic and progressive rock snubs (most of them the very first time they hit the ballot), it felt like Bad Company was left waiting for years (perhaps, ugh, Foreigner too) because they were a guaranteed inductee. Boston might be facing the same problem. Phil Collins might have faced the same predicament and the committee only budged now in order to honor him before he dies. Likewise, perhaps Questlove's pointless obsession with inducting the marginal Chaka Khan as a Performer (definitely "black famous") may have very well kept Diana Ross off the ballot for years because he (and others) knew it would make it harder for Chaka.

One of these days, this is all going to blow up in the Nom Com's face when a bunch of them throw away votes on Henley or Sting and they end up inducted anyway. I've got them ranked as unlikely but plausible.

Posted by Casper on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 00:59am

I have no idea who Toure is but I hate racists and if a racist (as that video proves) has a vote in an accepting hall that is disappointing. The Hall should be informed of this

If he has a vote that needs to be revoked immediately

Posted by GuestG on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 05:46am

Rock hall is still dominated by boomer acts; there are approximately only around 50 Gen X/Gen Y acts (this year all 8 are Gen X musicians). All others are boomers.

So still need to induct a ton of 80s/90s acts to make balance

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 08:21am

Don't know the exact reason, but this circle looks like it has brought enthusiasm back. The 2025 circle discussion didn't have many people, but the 2026 circle is far more engaged and has more users participating.

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 08:38am

Toure isn't on the Nominating Committee anymore but has endless posts sticking up for Kanye and saying it's fine to listen to his new album, attend his shows, etc.

Point being, if the same sentiment exists among just ONE member of that Nom Com, then that Nom Com member will almost certainly be going to bat for Kanye West next year.

Posted by Casper on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 12:47pm

I'm thinking about New Edition. In their next nomination, they will probably win the fan vote again.

Assuming they do win the fan vote next time:

Will they become the first fan vote winners to miss induction two or more times, or will they be included the second time like Dave Matthews Band?
It would be awkward for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not to induct a fan vote winner twice. Would that be a new record for the Rock Hall?

Posted by omar on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 13:12pm

Interesting fact: Sugar Ray is probably the only band Howard Stern helped. They actually recorded one of Howard's original songs and then this helped them get another chance at making a record (the band was going nowhere and changing their sound), which had their eventual breakthrough hit, "Fly". Sugar Ray isn't a HOF band so this is really a footnote.

Posted by Jim C. on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 14:05pm

The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame was meant a first to be a concert and a television event

Though I am sure that quickly changed though cause Paul Rodgers said around the 80s that he was ask about Bad Company being in the Rock Hall and he rejected it saying that "Rock n Roll doesn't belong in a museum"

Posted by Alec T on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 16:14pm

https://ew.com/last-original-ronettes-member-dies-nedra-talley-ross-was-80-11958934

RIP Nedra Talley Ross.

Posted by George on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 17:59pm

RIP Nedra Talley

Posted by Will m on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 19:54pm

I do not think New Edition will win the fan vote next time they show up on the ballot, unless they also have a concert tour at the same time again and promote it at their concerts. That is why they won this year.

However, I do think New Edition will make it in eventually. It was a tough ballot because R&B was crowded with Sade, Vandross, and also Lauryn Hill, Mariah Carey, and a number of adjacent acts, all of which drown them out in al lmetrics. But they are important and influential act for a whole genre so they will eventually get the votes when they are the clear 80s R&B choice.

In my opinion also they should be the last of the boy bands inducted even if they will try further. They are the final connecting lineage from The Teenagers to Jackson 5 to New Edition creating the modern boy band who everyone after took off from. But other did not innovate as it got way to corporate made to have a rock attitude. Acts like Boyz II Men, New Kids on the Block, Take That, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys are not Hall of Fame acts. Only one I can see being a Hall of Fame act is BTS in 20 years for breaking KPOP into something seriously followed and successful (Psy was first but taken as a one-hit meme song) and arguably starting the entire Korean Wave this decade.

Posted by GuestG on Sunday, 04/26/2026 @ 20:34pm

Welcome to the Every Member is Dead Club, The Ronettes.

2007 is still a very alive class-only Cowboy and Eddie Van Halen are also dead.

So far Needra Talley, Dave Mason, Bill "Bass" Nelson, Bob Weir, Perry Bamonte, Jimmy Cliff, and Steve Cropper have died since the most recent ceremony.

Living members of classes where a majority or half of the inductees are dead:

1986: All are dead.
1987: 2/26 (Smokey Robinson and Mike Stroller)
1988: 7/25 (Berry Gordy Jr., Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Ringo Star, Bob Dylan, Al Jardine, and Mike Love)
1989: 8/28 (Dion, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood, Bill Wyman, Stevie Wonder, and Otis Williams)
1990: 12/30 (Bob Gaudio, Frankie Vali, Mick Avory, Dave Davies, Ray Davies, Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Carole King, Brian Holland, and Edward Holland Jr.)
1991: 3/21 (Chris Hillman, Roger McGuinn, and Fred Cash)
1992: 7/30 (Booker T. Jones, Ernie Isley, Ronald Isley, Eric Clapton, Jim McCarty, Jimmy Page and Paul Samwell-Smith)
1994: 8/29 (Eric Burdon, Allen Price, John Steel, Elton John, Tom Constanten, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, and Rod Stewart)
1995: 11/25 (Al Green, Jai "Jaimoe" Johanny Johanson, John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, Rosalind Ashford, Betty Kelly, Lois Reeves, Martha Reeves, Annette Sterling, and Neil Young)
1996: 12/27 (Gladys Knight, Merald "Bubba" Knight, Jack Casady, Jorma Kaukonen, Grace Slick, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, Shirley Alton Reeves, Beverly Lee, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker.)
1997: 17/39 (Barry Gibb, Richie Furay, Stephen Stills, Neil Young, Graham Nash, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Joni Mitchell, Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Michael "Mickey" Hampton, Grady Thomas, Eddie Brigati, Felix Cavaliere, and Gene Cornish)
1999: 4/22 (Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and Mavis Staples)
2000: 13/28 (Bonnie Raitt, Philip Bailey, Larry Dunn, Johnny Graham, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay, Verdine White, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Steve Boone, Joe Butler, John Sebastian, and Clive Davis)
2001: 12/26 (James Burton, Everyone from Aerosmith, Paul Simon, John Deacon, Brian May, Roger Taylor [Queen], Donald Fagan, and Chris Blackwell.)
2002: 10/20 (Brenda Lee, Marky Ramone, Everyone from Talking Heads, Ron Blair, Mike Campbell, Stan Lynch, and Benmont Tench.)
2004: 8/18 (Bob Seger, Verne Allison, Michael "Mickey" McGill, Jackson Browne, Steve Winwood, Frank Beard, Billy Gibbons, and Jann S. Wenner)
2008: 6/16 (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, John Mellencamp, Madonna, Kenny Gamble, and Leon Huff)
2012: 25/70 (Bobby Jones, Billy Davis, Lawson Smith, Claudette Rogers Robinson, Mike D, Ad-Rock, Donovan, Everyone from Guns 'N' Roses, Flea, John Frusciante, Jack Irons, Anthony Kiedis, Josh Klinghoffer, Cliff Martinez, Chad Smith, Kenny Jones, Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and Glyn Johns.)
2024: 22/44 (Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Q-Tip, Jarobi White, Cher, Carter Beauford, Jeff Coffin, Stefan Lessard, Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds, Rashawn Ross, Boyd Tinsley, Arthur "Buddy" Strong, Ed Gagliardi, Lou Gramm, Al Greenwood, Mick Jones [Foreigner], Rick Wills, Robert "Kool" Bell, James "J.T." Taylor, Mary J. Blige, Peter Frampton, Suzanne de Passe, and Dionne Warwick)

Dead members of each class where a majority or half of the inductees are alive:

1993: 15/29 (Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce, Tom Fogerty, Ray Manzarek, Jim Morrison, Etta James, Sherman Garnes, Frankie Lymon, Joe Negroni, Ruth Brown, Cynthia Robinson, Sly Stone, Dick Clark, Milt Gabler, and Dinah Washington.)
1998: 17/30 (Glenn Frey, Randy Meisner, Peter Green, Danny Kirwan, Christine McVie, Gene Vincint, Lloyd Price, Denny Doherty, Mama Cass Elliot, John Phillips, David Brown, Allan Toussaint, and Jelly Roll Morton)
2002: 10/20 (Chet Atkins, Gene Pitney, Issac Hayes, Joey Ramone, Johnny Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone, Tommy Ramone, Howie Epstein, Tom Petty, and Jim Stewart.)
2003: 16/24 (Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer, Steve Douglas, Bon Scott, Malcom Young, Joe Strummer, Bobby Hatfield, and Mo Ostin)
2005: 11/17 (William Powell, Percy Sledge, Pete Farndon, James Honeyman-Scott, Frank Barsalona, and Seymour Stein.)
2006: 15/28 (Ozzy Osbourne, Clem Burke, Miles Davis, Sid Vicious, everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd other than Artimus Pyle, and Jerry Moss)
2007: 14/19 (Cowboy, The Ronettes, and Eddie Van Halen)
2009: 14/21 (Bill Black, DJ Fontana, Bobby Womack, Jeff Beck, Tracy Lord, Cliff Burton, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell)
2010: 20/30 (Eric Haydock, Jimmy Cliff, Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton, Scott Asheton, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jesse Stone, Mort Shuman, and Otis Blackwell.)
2011: 8/12 (Glen Buxton, Dr. John, Leon Russell, and Art Rupe)
2013: 14/18 (Albert King, Donna Summer, Neil Peart, and Quincy Jones)
2014: 19/24 (Ace Frehley, Kurt Cobain, Brian Epstein, Clarence Clemons, and Danny Federici)
2015: 15/27 (Bill Withers, Lee Crystal, Lou Reed, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Billy Davenport, Sam Lay, Stevie Ray Vaughn and everyone from The "5" Royals.)
2016: 21/25 (Terry Kath, Jon Lord, Eazy-E, and Bert Berns)
2017: 24/28 (Tupac Shakur, Richard Tandy, Alan White, and Chris Squire)
2018: 15/25 (Alec John Such, Ric Ocasek, Benjamin Orr, Graeme Edge, Denny Lane, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, Nina Simmone, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe)
2019: 32/36 (Perry Bamonte, Steve Clark, Graham Simpson, and Paul Atkinson)
2020: 14/23 (Michael Hossack, Keith Knudson, John Hartman, Andy Fletcher, The Notorious B.I.G., Marc Bolan, Steve Currie, Mickey Finn, and Whitney Houston)
2021: 14/22 (Taylor Hawkins, Tina Turner, Billy Preston, Randy Rhodes, Florian Schneider, Gil Scott-Heron, Charlie Patton, and Clarence Avant)
2022: 23/28 (Sylvia Robinson, Les Binks, Dave Holland, Harry Belafonte, and Elizabeth Cotten)
2023: 12/21 (George Michael, Everyone from the Spinners, Don Cornelius, and Link Wray.)
2024: 22/44 (Phife Dawg, Leroi More, Ed Gagliardi, Ian McDonald, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert "Spike" Mickens, Claydes "Charles" Smith, Dennis "Dee Tee" Thomas, Ricky Westfield, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimmy Buffet, everyone from MC5, Norman Whitfield, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and Big Mama Thorton)
2025: 16/23 (Boz Burrell, Mick Ralphs, Joe Cocker, Chris Cornell, Nicky Hopkins, Thom Bell, and Warren Zevon)
2026: 39/51 (Clive Burr, Paul Di'Anno, Ian Curtis, Luther Vandross, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Ed Sullivan, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller, Linda Creed, Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, and Gram Parsons)

Posted by Follower on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 03:40am

If the post from Gold Derby is true, then following are the names discussed this year.

https://www.goldderby.com/topic/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-2026/page/2/

Alice in Chains
Alicia Keys
The Bangles
Billy Idol (inducted)
Boston
Bryan Adams
Coldplay
Diana Ross
George Thorogood
Gloria Estefan (or Miami Sound Machine)
INXS (nominated)
Iron Maiden (inducted)
Joy Division/New Order (inducted)
Lenny Kravitz
Linkin Park
Mariah Carey (nominated)
The Monkees
New Edition (nominated)
Oasis (inducted)
Phil Collins (inducted)
Sinead O'Connor
Styx
Tommy James and the Shondells
Wings

Among them, who have good chance to be nominated next year?

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 12:18pm

George Thorogood looks like a perfect filler pick for me, don't be surprised if he is voted by committee to be nominated on ballot

This looks like another Black Crowes for inclusion chance

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 12:23pm

Guest G and others who are mentioning New Edition,

I don't think NE is getting nominated because of their collective body of work. They are getting nominated in much the same reason as Wu-Tang and part of the reason (although they established their lore in both areas) NWA a few years back. It's to put in big names...be it Method Man, ODB and Ghosftace Killah, among others, to Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Dre, to Bobby Brown, Ralph Tresvant, Johnny Gill, and Bel Biv Devoe. Every member of that group found the same or greater success after their run.

That being said, Boyz II Men (if you want to consider them a boy band), NKOTB, and right into the 90s with N Sync and Backstreet...it's a sliding time scale. After the boomers and gatekeepers for their definition of influence are gone, how is the RRHOF going to handle the popular "pop music" chartbusters of the 90s and 00s? Mariah has been on the list forever, and we've talked about the Boyz a bit, but with the aforementioned boy bands, plus Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears..these are names among others, that have cases that can be made. Everyone has a barrier, but it's gonna get broken down.

Posted by K-Dawg on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 13:30pm

K-Dawg

Though Wu Tang Clan is bigger than any individual members

While you can argue Bobby Brown is bigger deal than New Edition

And I believe Dr. Dre will be double inductee eventually. There will be a push to have a hip hop double inductee for rock hall. Ice Cube solo for rrhof inclusion? Not sure

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 13:38pm

Omar,

True, Wu-Tang does have its own merit. Still helps to recognize Method Man and ODB. The names will sell tickets.

It brings us to the other end of the spectrum which gets mentioned a lot too...backing bands for Bob Marley, Bob Seger, Steve Miller, Paul McCartney...and the most egregious thing they did, inducting Lionel Richie (not because he isn't deserving), but seemingly to skip over the Commodores. There's reasons the hall does the things they do. I'm still convinced Bad Company ONLY got inducted (I advocated for them for years, and it took far too long to get them in) because of Paul Rodgers and Mick Ralphs

Posted by K-Dawg on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 14:23pm

Hopefully, after the induction of Luther Vandross, the Rock Hall won't forget about old-school R&B.

70-80s old-school R&B and 80s early alternative/new wave are two genres that the Rock Hall is seriously lacking most before we can step into broader 90s candidates.

Posted by omar on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 14:56pm

Is Roxanne Shante the next female rapper to be inducted through Early/Musical Influence?

Posted by Alec T on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 17:43pm

Omar,

Have you figured out your predictions for the 2032-2036 inductees (If 8 inductees each year) yet?.

Posted by richie on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 19:23pm

George Thorogood is not a Black Crowes esque filler pick because George Thorogood would become immediately inducted if nominated, as with all 70s and before boomer classic rock. The remaining boomer voterbase would in a heartbeat vote really generic, forgettable, low resume acts like George Thorogood over the legit Hall acts they have been forced to induct recently because of the lack of boomer rock picks.

We are in an interesting scenario with them because the battle for these boomer acts is not to get enough general ballot votes, it is in getting by the committee. They are locks to get in if they can just get on that final list of 17, but getting on that list is slowly grasping away. With the 15 year committee limit the voterbase and backing for them mostly evaporated, so far only Phil Collins got past and that is because of his health, not even Paul Mccartney could get past. You can see the sharp contrast from last year vs this year with a huge chunk of that coalition being out. As they are taken out and new members are voted in it will become increasingly harder to not only get them in but also see them nominated, as members who value the 80s-2000s more will not think of coming back to these 60s/70s stragglers with questionable resumes at any point

So this year when Cliff Burnstein is gone that means two of the boomer acts that were nominated will not be nominated again next year and are effectively done. The voterbase who would pick them is dwindling The rest of them will mostly be out in 3 years. So for acts that were put into consideration this year like Boston, Styx, Monkees, George Thorogood, Tommy James and the Shondells, and Wings, this really is the last chance they have in the next 5 years just getting on the ballot while voters would pick them and some committee members would still support them. For a few of them it might already be too late.

Posted by GuestG on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 19:44pm

George Thorogood can't get the votes and he would really do nothing for the Hall -> would he be mentioned in the 30 sec read on the nightly news? Probably not. He suffers from the death of radio. He was a staple - "One Bourbon" was a popular cigarette break song. The death of radio helped kill off the evergreen popularity of rock acts (Boston, Jethro Tull, Ted Nugent, Kansas, Blue Oyster Cult). My previous local rock radio station actually replaced rock with baseball games and my new town doesn't even have a classic rock station. These bands have disappeared from the lives of newer generations (new kids don't even want to drive). Radio was a great feeder system for big rock acts. That's over.

Posted by Jim C. on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 22:10pm

NY Times just provided their 30 greatest living American songwriters. Some already inducted*, others maybe ideas on future non-performers, or performers helped by positive perception of their songwriting prowess.

Nile Rodgers*
Lucinda Williams
Stevie Wonder*
Jay-Z*
Paul Simon*
Taylor Swift
Brian & Eddie Holland*
Missy Elliott*
Lionel Richie*
Dolly Parton*
Young Thug
Diane Warren
Josh Osborne, Brandy Clark, Shane Mcanally
Fiona Apple
Babyface
Stephin Merritt
Romeo Santos
Carole King
OutKast*
Mariah Carey
Willie Nelson*
Kendrick Lamar
Valerie Simpson
Bob Dylan*
Lana Del Rey
The-Dream
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis*
Bad Bunny
Bruce Springsteen*
Smokey Robinson*

Posted by ChrisD on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 23:30pm

You forgot the * next to Carole King - a double inductee at that.

Hall definitely needs some mass induction of both outsider country men (Waylon Jennings, Townes Van Zandt, Kris Kristofferson) and women (Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Loretta Lynn) in the Musical Influence category to take care of all that which I bring up since Lucinda is on the aforementioned list.

Posted by Casper on Monday, 04/27/2026 @ 23:57pm

Changes To My Master List:

Pavement jumps to #49 for "Inductability" on my list. That's from moving them up from 3-stars in Influence to 4-stars. Their influence is constantly felt throughout the world of indie rock and they have certain recent interest surges (the Alex Ross Perry documentary/fiction hybrid film, their massive streaming numbers and their well-regarded, highly-attended current live shows). Pavement was mentioned by at least one of the Vulture Rock Hall voters in their "Who Should Be Inducted?" article recently as well. There's certainly a hunger for them and any hipster-leaning Nom Com members could certainly make a ballot appearance happen.

Added Cocteau Twins who will surely be inducted in the near future in Rock Hall Projected. Their brand of dream-pop/shoegaze really laid a bedrock for so many key indie acts to come, such as Beach House and they've now obtained a streaming presence ten-times what it was years prior thanks to TikTok and their music being a fit for Gen Z. I'm giving them a high influence score of 4 out of 5 but a low probability of nomination/induction via a 1 out of 5 so that places them just outside my Top 100.

The recent George Thorogood talk and the nominating committee's obsession with rock revivalism made me had to add him to the very bottom of my list. I could see him making the ballot and the voters, rightfully, taking him even less seriously than Melissa Etheridge and The Black Crowes (as his case is even weaker).

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 02:03am

My list and that of Nick Bambach and anybody else will likely soon be shedding virtually all of the pre-1980s names. This last Rock Hall ballot effectively had nobody who was predominantly from the 50s/60s/70s and we all only expect that to worsen. Should it happen for, say, two more ballots, then I would likely just move all of that stuff to a "frozen in time" ranked-list for the off-chance that one of those names randomly shows up down the road.

There's not even that many predominant 1980s acts remaining that have that special sauce of being on the Rock Hall's radar and being able to obtain the votes - ironically, most of them are the major indie acts that are still on the board like Sonic Youth, The Smiths, The Replacements and Pixies who now are some of the most "electable" rock bands waiting in the wings. Remove these from the equation (and their ilk like The B-52s, Devo, Siouxsie, etc.) and this is all you have that I could see getting on the ballot AND getting the votes:

The Bangles
Bryan Adams
Gloria Estefan
INXS
Mötley Crüe
Rick James
Sting
Tears for Fears

and three-leaners via Diana Ross (predominantly 70s), Motorhead (also key stuff in 1970s) and De La Soul (predominantly 90s).

In other words, aside from the newfound Electoral strength of indie (and rightfully so), the 1980s is basically done and dusted as well. The electable, non-indie rock adjacent names could very well be dealt with in a couple more ballots and, likewise, the lower-tier names that clog our futures lists (solo Sting, Don Henley, George Thorogood, Culture Club) would basically also be eliminated from contention in a few years once it's clear that the only non-indie rock names getting in will be from the 1990s and beyond.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 02:17am

The best hope for pre-1980s names lies not among classic rock but instead among 1970s R&B. Flack, LaBelle, Ross, Hathaway, White + potentially rectifying Rufus and Chic. We've seen acts like Kool & The Gang or The Spinners get inducted very recently via the ballot so these could very well end up there soon and that, logically, seems the best place to look for pre-1980s names.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 02:22am

Casper,

I would like to add Pet Shop Boys to 80s list that would also get votes.

The likes of Boston and Styx may be nominated in the recent 5 years and get votes to be immediately in first try, but if they fail to appear on the ballot in the next 5 years or so, they will be forgotten, no one will care about them in new committee...

For 70s rnb acts, I would like to say if Chic, Chaka Khan and Dionne Warwick were nominated in 2026 ballot, they would be shoe-in. So I think other 70s rnb famous names like WAR (who were nominated before), Teddy Pendergrass (first black act has five consecutive platinum selling album I think) if they are nominated on the ballot, they will be voted in as well...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 02:50am

I've seen Lonesome George and his Delaware Destroyers back in 1988. Played for 2 1/2 hours. Great set!

Posted by Paul in KY on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 06:20am

That is why Skyes mentioned 5 years for the 80s until the voterbase is swapped out again

Assume they get in about half 80s acts this year (this year was 75%) you are getting in 20 80s acts over the next 5 years. If they get 6/8 that is even more. That could cover close to all major, mainstream, currently inductable remaining snubs if the voterbase goes how they are expected to.

That will largely leave either nicher acts who may or may not have potential on the hall that can be returned to later, a few actual snubs the hall either ignored or hates for whatever reason, and acts like MBV who got massively popular and influential later and the voterbase for them will come once the 60s/70s voters are gone and younger voters are brought in. Point is by the end of the next era the 80s should be left where the 60s/70s are now where you only have questionable cases or future cases remaining

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 06:21am

Huey Lewis and the News should make it, but they have been defunct since 2018 and already lost a ton of steam as a band. It is almost 40 years since they peaked around 1988.

Toto should be considered (Africa is a mega-hit) plus all the sidemen work. Extremely important band.

Rick James should make it (he helped Eddie Murphy get a #1 hit), but since he's dead and problematic, I'm fine with excluding him.

I'm against Don Henley and Sting. Steve Winwood is a maybe. Robert Plant has a better catalog than all of them, but no one really cared much after 1988 (Now and Zen was probably his most successful album). Bryan Adams should make it.

I expect Tears for Fears to get in on first nomination. Only thing you can really complain about is that weren't a huge touring act for many years.

The Bangles are kind of forgotten. It might be a multi-ballot situation.

INXS has no steam, but they should make it after a couple more attempts.

I'd like Mike Oldfield, but he is a minor inclusion. Moonlight Shadow and Family Man were great. Plus, the fact he was successful at all is kind of remarkable. Tubular Bells is iconic.

Olivia Newton John ticks every metric. Grease keeps her evergreen and "Physical" was iconic and massive (Benson Boone just used it for one of his songs).

Posted by Jim C. on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 09:58am

Scorpions, Motley Crue, Dio, Megadeth, and Slayer are my 80s metal acts. Motorhead is a lesser choice, but I'm with them as well (Lemmy had interesting contributions outside of Motorhead that helps).

Anthrax isn't good enough.

Posted by Jim C. on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:05am

iNXS will get in next time unless they are nominated along multiple boomer rocker favourites and 90s rock titans...

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:26am

I think INXS would be voted in this year if one of JDNO or Idol not nominated tbh

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:35am

Looks likely Joy Division got most British voters and hipster voters this year, and probably get 25%-50% American voter votes (I don't think most black voters and pop voters would vote for them), and these votes put them right above bubble and make them get in as #7 or #8 my guess

Iron Maiden gets voters from most British voters and all rock voters, and easily get in, and finished top 8

Just my guess

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:41am

IM finished at least top 5, probably top 3, were notified almost two weeks before voting end

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:44am

I just knew and I kept telling people that JD/NO were going to be the next New Wave/Post Punk act to be put even though I saw DEVO,B52's and INXS on a ton of nominee predictions

Posted by Alec T on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:53am

Next will be who? Could be any of B52s, Devo, INXS, Bangles, Smiths, even maybe Pixies

Or could be 2024 again? With no new wave/post punk and no metal?

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 10:59am

If Black Crowes will voted in next time? I am not sure

Posted by Jason on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:15am

Yep. We can surmise that Phil Collins, Iron Maiden and Wu-Tang Clan were in the Top 3 and far ahead of anybody else based on the insider trader's Kalshi bets. The other five would be #4-8.

While it's possible that someone from #4-8 could have surpassed these three by the end, I very much doubt it.

1) The bets being placed on these artists (big surges for the latter two) means the gulf must have been pretty big between them and everyone else.

2) It seems like most public voters just tossed their ballot in immediately without much thought, meaning that there probably weren't that many outstanding ballots a few weeks before the deadline.

It should be pointed out that insider(s) ran up both Wu-Tang Clan and Iron Maiden to 99 cents weeks before the ballot deadline. I'm not sure if the same happened for Phil Collins. Therefore, it's possible Wu-Tang Clan/Maiden finished in first and second and Collins was just an obvious inductee that finished between #3-8.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:29am

Now, it's possible we had different insider(s), say, people in the wheelhouse of Wu-Tang Clan and Iron Maiden that knew they were inducted because of the advance notice given and they had nothing to do with the Kalshi insider trader who placed all those bets right after the deadline. In which case, it's possible that any of the other inductees ALSO were given advance notice and we just don't know that they were.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:31am

But we do know for certain is that some insider knew the Performer inductees by just after noon on the day of the ballot deadline and the massive bets begin accordingly.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:32am

But, if I remember correctly, the run-ups of Wu-Tang Clan and Maiden happened at the same time which then tells me that it was indeed a Hall insider who knew they'd both got in.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:33am

Also, there were some Wu-Tang bets placed late in the game (big amounts of money at a high price) that don't fit the profile of the Kalshi insider. For starters, why would he bet on Wu-Tang Clan when he could make money off other names? And the amount of shares bought also didn't jibe with his usual habits. This tells me that there was likely another insider circa a week before the announcement who personally knew that Wu-Tang were in and tossed some money on it. I think our bettor avoided Phil Collins and Wu-Tang Clan throughout the duration but did take advantage of the occasional cheap Iron Maiden shares that would pop up.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:35am

Looked like good chance Iron Maiden finished #14 in 2023, and three years later, they are #2/#3, what a change, who would expect it before

Posted by Jason on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:35am

Regarding INXS, they are absolutely one of the most inductable names left on the board. Their influence/popularity only faded in the US. In Australia, a Best Of compilation went on to be the 11th biggest album there of the 2010s and the biggest of that decade by an Australian act. They're in the Top 700 in all-time Spotify streams which puts them ahead of like at least 80% of Hall inductees, etc.

The only names on the Hall's radar that were as big as INXS in the 80's were Diana Ross (early 80's), Motley Crue and The B-52s (circa the late 80's/early 90s). That's basically it. They just had a super stacked ballot and it's pretty hard to imagine that they get unlucky next time and have 7 or more names ahead of them.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:46am

Omar, I'm in full agreement that Chic and any Chaka Khan iteration would be inducted on the ballot now. War would likely be super competitive.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 11:48am

I am reminded when the only real deviance from the better was with uncertainty on going between Sade and Mariah for about a day after voting ended, before going fully on Sade afterwards.

In my opinion Sade was last one in at 8th place. Mariah was likely 9th. Either they were debating getting in 9 or these two were close. OR they were debating Mariah side category, but that would not explain the refrain on Sade

Going by betting history and timing the likely top 8 were

1. Phil Collins
2-3. Iron Maiden/Wu-tang (undetermined order)
4-7. JD/NO, Oasis, Billy Idol, Luther (undetermined order)
8. Sade

9. Mariah (first one out)

Posted by GuestG on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 12:16pm

Looking like New Order won't appear at all and Peter Hook is talking about potential guest tribute performers

https://www.goldderby.com/music/2026/peter-hook-joy-division-ian-curtis-new-order-rock-hall-interview/

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 12:49pm

^ That Hooky interview is phenomenal. A must read.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 13:17pm

Eh, I wouldn't read too much into the Sade/Mariah thing. The bettor absolutely had the list of 8 in front of them. Just took them a little longer to get around to the bulk purchases of Sade YES and Mariah Carey NO. But the pricing evidence had given away that Sade was in the Top 8 that very night that I discovered this and I had listed the Kalshi 8 but later did say that there wasn't enough info on Mariah one way or the other (the only name, logically, that we didn't have confirmation on at that point). If I remember correctly, it wasn't even a question of whether Sade was in or not but whether Mariah Carey was the 9th inductee.

Also, I had discovered the Kalshi bettor on a Saturday and the ballot deadline was a Wednesday and then we got more info on the Sade/Mariah thing maybe circa Sunday. So the bettor did wait the better part of a week before giving us clarity on the issue, for what it's worth.

If I were to guess, I'd honestly pick Oasis as being #8. They failed twice prior to that despite all the flood of activity in their favor and I just get the feeling that their ceiling wasn't all that high because there's a lot of, frankly, misinformed American voters who don't really understand their entire case and, not coincidentally, were usually already in their 30s or older by the time Oasis broke big in America. So, to them, they're just a band with like three radio hits. Mariah Carey suffers from a similar situation - good floor, low ceiling. I feel the inductions of these sort of acts just depends on if the rest of the ballot randomly splits votes enough for them to land in 7th or 8th place. It will get there for Mariah, eventually.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 13:26pm

Key point being that I just don't think anybody who knows the objective case for an act like Mariah Carey or Oasis is really going to pause on voting for them because of other names on the ballot. I don't think they're competing with the other names so much as they're struggling with a large % of voters being inclined to not bother voting for them in the first place. So then they end up getting in when 46% or whatever is enough for them to slide in at 7th/8th place one year when in another year it's not.

That's why I think they should just put Mariah Carey on the next ballot despite Beyonce and/or Alicia Keys and/or Diana Ross. I don't think it matters at all. Practically nobody inclined to both like & respect Mariah Carey enough is thinking "oh, she's my 8th choice so I can't vote for her"...there's certainly some critics who voted for in the past who didn't this year because of the ballot's competitiveness but I just think it's the low ceiling that does her in. Nobody's going to be like "I'm going to vote for black pop diva Beyonce but I'm inclined to balance my ballot out a bunch with white guitar acts so Mariah can't get my vote"

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 13:30pm

In fact, a competitive ballot is probably what got Oasis in and what will probably lead to Mariah Carey getting in as well. The key isn't "tough competition" getting in the way. It's that nominees that are locks (like Collins, Wu-Tang Clan, and in retrospect, Iron Maiden) take away guaranteed slots for induction, thus lowering the odds for everybody else that is competitive. Mariah's not really hampered generally by other women and/or black artists being on the ballot, it's acts like Coldplay showing up.

So it's not that Beyonce is similar territory that it harms Mariah's chances. It's that Beyonce's a lock and that leaves one less spot open at the bottom.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 13:32pm

Whereas names like Billy Idol and INXS don't feel like they suffer from a low-ceiling and did, in fact, struggle due to how competitive the ballot happens to be.

Logically thinking about it more, I would imagine that Lauryn Hill is going to suffer from the same thing as Mariah. I think she has a good base of support (so high floor) but has a low-ceiling due to a lot of people not liking her, the small discography, etc. If we're talking about the woman who made what many consider to be the greatest album ever made and she's somehow not good enough for the 7th place vote on your ballot, what would ballot competitiveness have to do with it?

So, I'd say:

Getting In The Next Time On A Ballot: INXS

High Floor, Low Ceiling But Eventual Induction: Mariah Carey > Lauryn Hill

Candidate That Can Amp Up Support As Years Go By And Voting Base Gets Younger Generationally But Has Low Ceiling Now: P!nk > Shakira

Acts With A Low Ceiling That Are Either Rock Revivalists or "Just Black Famous": New Edition > Melissa Etheridge > Black Crowes


One thing that's really interesting is that we all let the shock of Boomer rock inductee(s) like Joe Cocker and rock revivalist inductee(s) like Sheryl Crow really mess with our priors going into this last election. On paper, any of us would have said that P!nk, Shakira, New Edition, Melissa Etheridge and Black Crowes weren't getting in because one of them really needs more time, one is a Spanish language act that the voters might not understand the importance of and that the other three have a much weaker than average case. Yet a lot of us looked at the list and figured everybody had at least some chance. But, P!nk/Shakira practically had a clear lane and failed and the Boomer rockists who had a ballot with very little to please them still said "no" to Melissa Etheridge and Black Crowes because even they felt those would be ridiculous inductees (they even whiffed on INXS). Going forward, we need to figure that names like George Thorogood and Don Henley probably are very unlikely to get in on a ballot as even the rockists have their limits.

And, of course, our priors have now shifted substantially on what constitutes electable hard rock (Motorhead and Thin Lizzy now both looking REAL good) and indie rock (just a plethora of names like Sonic Youth, Devo, Pixies and The Smiths that now can conceivably be inducted as soon as next year). R&B is also super strong provided enough people feel the person(s) whose credentials are being questioned was truly important to the art form. We've got everything from smooth quiet storm to Vandross's cheese to Kool & The Gang's dance-funk, etc. R&B is very, very viable just as those other two sub-genres (indie and hard rock) happen to be at the moment.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 13:43pm

I mean even more marginal names like Teddy Pendergrass ,Ohio Players (three consecutive platinum albums, pretty impressing for black rnb acts in 70s, and two US #1 hits), they may still have more than average chance to be voted in... 70s rnb acts that had any relevance would be very competitive now... Because they will have both black people and many white boomers vote for them...

Posted by O on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 14:05pm

looked like iron maiden were consensus pick from white rock Boomers in retrospect. And boomers chose Maiden over Melissa/Crowes, who actually had exact same sound to boomer rock acts, and maiden looked finished extremely poor in previous rounds, looked like many boomers don't care about them, but suddenly they are valued by white rock Boomers this year.

Alan Light said something like he is shocked that Maiden are voted in but Priest was ME with radio hits.

Posted by O on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 14:11pm

I am curious, if Sheryl Crow is nominated this year instead of 2023, will she still be voted in? I know she is far more obvious candidate than Melissa, but still...

Posted by O on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 14:17pm

So is what Rock and Roll Hall of Fame can probably do for Mariah Carey at this point simply keep nominating her and hope that one year her luck is good enough?

It feels like no matter how the ballot is structured, in 2025 she had almost no direct competition, while in 2024 and 2026 she was nominated alongside other R&B/pop acts, she always seems to near but under the bubble line.

Does that mean her only realistic path is keeping nominating again and again until one year her luck is good enough and she finally bubbles in?

Is she unlikely to ever become a "safely in," because there are probably a significant number of voters who simple won't vote for her regardless?

Posted by omar on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 14:26pm

I think that the 80's acts that are most likely to get in in the next five years are:

Bryan Adams
The B-52's
The Bangles
Tracy Chapman
Culture Club
De La Soul
Devo
Eric B. & Rakim
Gloria Estefan
INXS
Huey Lewis & The News
Motley Crue
Motorhead
New Edition
Pet Shop Boys
Pixies
The Replacements
The Smiths
Sonic Youth
Sting
Tears For Fears

Posted by richie on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 14:55pm

That's pretty much what I expect, Omar. If Mariah can have a year soon without too many locks hitting the ballot, it will give her a real strong shot. I'm inclined to believe Mariah finished 9th or 10th place this year (depending on what happened with INXS) albeit with a noticeable gap between those two and 8th place. Lauryn probably was 11th. My reasoning:

1) Support for her seemed to be a lot more muted than Mariah among public voters

2) Smaller discography

3) Draws from the same kind of well but with arguably a weaker case (a case that's certainly more Peak value than Career value)

12th through 15th would have been New Edition, Melissa Etheridge and The Black Crowes in any order. The latter two didn't do so well on the public ballot but surely had a lot of rockist support from the older, white Boomer voters that we weren't privvy to any information about.

Shakira had to be 16th. I think the vast majority of voters aren't aware of her two amazing, alt-rock adjacent 90's records that put her on the map as a global superstar. Instead, you can imagine them looking over the populist 21st century hits that they recognize and just shrugging their shoulders - all coupled with the fact that she predominantly records in Spanish and targets an audience that the Rock Hall doesn't cater to.

Jeff Buckley had to have been dead last. We're talking relatively no name-ID coupled with as short a career imaginable. He didn't even do very well among his best coalition - white indie minded critics, many of whom overwhelmingly voted for JD-NO.

I would guess none of the bottom five are back next year and that Lauryn gets crowded out of a ballot slot by Beyonce/Mariah. INXS and Mariah Carey return. Former automatically inducted unless the ballot is super-duper stacked (Beyonce, Coldplay, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Daft Punk, etc.), latter with a pretty good shot.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 16:01pm

EJ, it's just because of the shifting electorate and who has gotten in during the intervening years. Judas Priest would have outperformed Iron Maiden on the 2026 ballot and also automatically been an inductee.

The Hall has inducted 37 Performer inductees plus 8 names I would also consider Performers (Link Wray, Chaka Khan, Dionne Warwick, Jimmy Buffet, MC5, Salt n Pepa, Warren Zevon, Queen Latifah) since Priest was side-doored in 2022 (including the 2022 Performers since they represent superior competition JP no longer faces). That's 43 names Judas priest wouldn't have had to face up against on a hypothetical 2027 ballot.

Oasis was inducted this year. In 2024, they failed to get in against A Tribe Called Quest who failed to get in against all the 2022-2023 Performers. One of those 2023 Performers was Rage Against The Machine who failed to get in against the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 Performers, etc.

Ignoring first-time ballot inductees and the occasional "random surge" name like Kate Bush, we could effectively create a hierarchy of ballot names and it becomes clear that every year or two we generally step down another rung as far as the overall quality of the candidates happens to be.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 16:11pm

Casper,

What are your current predictions for the 2027 nominees/inductees (If 8 inductees)?.

Posted by richie on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 16:22pm

The logical conclusion is that Billy Idol, Oasis and JD-NO were weaker than their peers on the ballots last year but stronger than everybody who didn't get in this year. So if INXS gets in next year, then logically you could deduce that the ~9th place name from 2026 was stronger than everybody who wasn't inducted in 2027, etc.

Likewise, a name that repeats on a ballot from the previous year and then gets inducted must have been close the year prior. Logic would dictate that Billy Idol, Oasis and JD-NO finished ~8th-10th last year and Black Crowes/Mariah Carey ~11th/12th. And, of course, Mana and Phish at the back of the back.

Since Oasis came right back on the 2025 ballot after missing out in 2024 (whereas nobody else did other than Mariah Carey), it's highly probable that Oasis finished ~9th place in 2024 and Mariah Carey ~10th. Sade ~11th would make sense.

A Tribe Called Quest was almost certainly ~8th place in 2023 as they were the only one to return on the 2024 ballot and they did end up getting inducted.

Kate Bush and Rage would likely be ~8th/9th for 2022 and ~7th/8th for 2021. Kate must have been faring well to keep making the ballot although she almost certainly had a massive spike in votes in 2023. A Tribe Called Quest would have been ~10th for 2022.

Todd Rundgren was almost certainly ~7th for 2020.

For 2019, Rundgren was ~8th and Rage ~9th. We know this because Rundgren would be inducted in 2021, Rage in 2023. The rest that eventually got in were side-doored which means their ballot performance was likely garbage. Devo was almost certainly ~10th because they bothered to bring them back on two more ballots which demonstrates a strong showing.

2018: Radiohead/The Zombies are ~6-7th. Depeche Mode ~8th. Eurythmics ~9th (on their way to an eventual 1st place finish). Kate Bush ~10th.

2017: The Cars would be ~7th. Janet Jackson/The Zombies would be ~8th/9th. Depeche Mode is ~10th.

2016: Yes would be ~6th. The Cars would be ~7th. Janet Jackson is ~8th. Nine Inch Nails is ~9th. The gap between The Spinners and their next nomination is too long for me to guess was to where they finished.

2015: N.W.A. is ~7th. The Smiths/The Spinners are ~8th/9th.

I just personally believe that The Smiths would not have been on back-to-back ballots if they didn't perform solidly on the one prior. I totally disregard endless ballot attempts for acts that would later get side-doored because the side-door tells me that they weren't performing very well on the ballot in the first place. So Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, Kraftwerk, etc. almost certainly performed worse than the above names on most, if not all of these ballots.

2014: Paul Butterfield Blues Band is ~7th. N.W.A. is ~8th. Deep Purple is ~9th. Yes is ~10th. The Zombies are ~11th.

2013: Paul Butterfield Blues Band is ~7th. N.W.A. is ~8th. Deep Purple is ~9th. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts are ~10th.

2012: Donna Summer and Heart are ~7th/8th. Joan Jett & The Blackhearts are ~9th. Too much of a years-gap to make anything of how The Cure or The Spinners finished.

2011: Beastie Boys/Donovan/Laura Nyro are ~6-8th. Donna Summer is ~9th. Bon Jovi has too much of a years gap to take anything into consideration.

2010: Darlene Love was ~6th. Laura Nyro was ~7th. Red Hot Chili Peppers were ~8th. KISS was ~9th (I can infer this because they didn't immediately show up on the ballot again while these other names did and that LL Cool J and The Chantels never got the votes).

2009: The Stooges were ~6th.

2008: no good information to go off of

2007: The Dave Clark Five got 6th. We actually know this happened because of the controversy where a bunch of (presumably older) voters sent their ballots in after the deadline and DC5 would have been in had they sent them in on time (pushing OUT Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five). We can presume The Stooges ~7th since they would return on the next two ballots and be inducted.

2006: Patti Smith was ~6th. Dave Clark Five/Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five were ~7th/8th. John Mellencamp was ~9th. The Stooges were ~10th.

2005: Lynyrd Skynyrd/Patti Smith/Sex Pistols were ~6th-8th. Not enough information for the rest who didn't get in.

2004: Black Sabbath/John Mellencamp/Lynyrd Skynyrd/Patti Smith/Sex Pistols were ~8th-12th.

2003: Black Sabbath/The Dells/Lynyrd Skynyrd/Patti Smith/Sex Pistols/The Stooges were ~6-11th.

2002: AC/DC/Black Sabbath/The Dells/Jackson Browne/Lynyrd Skynyrd/Patti Smith/Sex Pistols were ~7th-13th.

That's as far back as I'll go for now but this holds up to scrutiny given that the committee takes a look at the previous year's results and you would expect a push for the candidacies that were really close.

Posted by Casper on Tuesday, 04/28/2026 @ 17:16pm