Metallica -- It should come as no surprise that Metallica was voted in the first time they appeared on the ballot. Future Rock Hall has given Metallica the highest induction chances of any artist ever since its inception even though there are very few heavy metal bands in the Hall of Fame.

Jeff Beck -- Voters clearly responded to a true guitar hero on the ballot even though most probably couldn't name a single song from his solo career. Beck is now a two time inductee since he was already in the Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds.

Run-DMC -- Run-DMC are hip-hop artists who have truly transcended their genre, as evidenced by their appearance on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Immortals of Rock and Roll. Their induction shows that the Voting Committee is still willing to induct hip-hop artists even after they rejected Afrika Bambaataa and the Beastie Boys last year (who were perhaps nominated a little too soon).

Little Anthony & the Imperials -- As an artist that had been passed over by the Nominating Committee for too long, the voters took the opportunity to induct them as soon as they had the chance.

Bobby Womack -- Womack's induction was certainly the least predictable of the five, but as a Cleveland native, the Rock Hall will enjoy having a local story to promote for the hometown induction ceremony on April 4th.

Wanda Jackson -- It seems clear now that Jackson was not one of the top five vote getters from the nine nominees, but the Hall of Fame took the opportunity to induct her anyway by placing her in the Early Influence category. If her induction was going to be guaranteed this year, why did the Rock Hall bother to nominate her as a performer anyway, taking up a valuable slot on the ballot?

Here are the nominated artists who didn't get inducted this year:

The Stooges -- Seven times nominated, seven times on the outside looking in. Hopes were high this year after their show-stealing performance at the 2008 Rock Hall induction ceremony.

Chic -- Similar to The Stooges, Chic have been on the ballot multiple times without getting over the top (in their case five nominations). Chic will find its way into the Hall eventually. No artist has ever been nominated this many times and not gotten in at some point down the road (Update: except Chuck Willis).

War -- This was the first time the funk group ever made the final ballot even though they had been on the radar of the Nominating Committee for some time. Their future chances will be clearer if they can make it back on to the final ballot within the next couple of years.