Not the strongest of cases across this bunch. Geils stands out, maybe The Meters, maybe The Cars.

I would vote for Dire Straits and J. Geils. Moody Blues might get some consideration, but i was never a fan. The Meters?? maybe.

The same thing probably would have happened to me, Pops.

meh

I'm kind of blown away that the Dire Straits aren't in already. They've been eligible for years.

I'm kind of blown away that the Dire Straits aren't in already. They've been eligible for years.

Same here, hope Mark Knopfler and the guys make it in, long overdue. Also rooting for The Moody Blues & The J. Geils Band.

Just noticed Judas Priest and Rufus with Chaka Khan! Wow! Very happy about this.

[Edited on 10/5/2017 by ArleneWeiss]

Seems like a weak slate of nominees, as a whole.

My SWAG prediction:

Bon Jovi
Dire Straits
The Meters
Judas Priest
The Cars

Maybe LL Cool J as my outlier/surprise selection instead of Priest or maybe the Meters.

If the site ever starts working I'll vote for Radiohead, Nina Simone and the Meters, and probably Rage. I don't know who would be #5. I know how important Rosetta Tharpe was, but I don't know her music. Kick Out the Jams is an intense record but that's the only MC5 stuff I've heard. Not that anyone's opinion counts other than Jann Wenner.

All of those names strike me as significant, but on a personal level, very few of them are ones who blow me away.

Bon Jovi - incredibly successful but in no way groundbreaking. I guess you could argue that they influenced the genre of pop metal.....I am not a fan.

Kate Bush - I never really got it.

The Cars - incredibly powerful first album and plenty of well-crafted hits. Remarkable guitarist. Very influential sound in 80s pop and alternative rock. I'm not sure if much after the first album is essential.

Depeche Mode - I never got it.

Dire Straits - had some great songs. Knopfler is a master player. However, I tend not to think of them as Top Tier Legendary Rockers, but that has not been the criteria for a while, I guess.

Eurythmics - another big influence on 1980s music. Great singer. Not my cup of tea but I appreciate them now more than I did then.

J. Geils Band - wonderful band. You could argue that they didn't break much new ground but they deserve it for the years they put in and their heat as a live band.

Judas Priest - certainly important in the evolution of heavy metal. I would hope to see Rob Halford jam with Peter Wolf and Kate Bush lol.

LL Cool J - I never got it.

MC5 - wild stuff. Certainly a fave of hip rock critics!

The Meters - this may the band I have listened to the most out of all of this year's picks. I sincerely hope they get in.

Moody Blues - I never loved them, but they certainly had one of the best-received "rock band with orchestra" albums.

Radiohead - I love several of their albums. They keep taking chances and pushing music forward. To me, this may be the biggest no-brainer here.

Rage Against the Machine - not my thing, but I get a kick out of their anger. Someone needs to take that Digitech Whammy Pedal away from their guitarist already thought.

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan - I just know the hits, which are funky as all get-out.

Nina Simone - I'm ignorant.

Sister Rosetta Tharpe - I remain ignorant.

Link Wray - I only know a few jukebox instrumental faves, but they are very cool, and plenty of iconic 1960s players cite him as an influence.

The Zombies - I just saw them in the spring and they were amazing. on the one hand, I've always struggled with bands who have a very small body of work, but, their body of work is very cool.

Cars (Enormous radio play, probably TOO much, but that qualifies them)
Dire Straits (Very unique sounding rock and roll band with a heavy Americana influence)
Judas Priest (NO-BRAINER!! Heavy Metal Masters)
J. Geils (Plenty of hits, they should be in)
Moody Blues (I never liked them but they were huge. Most orchestral rock band I can think of)

Radiohead? I know they are big but I tried to watch one of their shows on AXS once..........had to drop out after 20 minutes......just didn't get it.

Nina Simone - I'm ignorant.

YOU are in for a treat. She was a great piano player and a very expressive singer, and also a force for civil rights. Here are a few of my favorites.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
This is her song originally, this live one is the most haunting piece of music I've ever heard.

See-Line Woman

Trouble in Mind

Funkier Than a Mosquito's Tweeter

Four Women

To Be Young, Gifted and Black

Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair

I Wish I Knew

Mississippi Goddam

She was also one of those people who could cover anything and make it hers.

I Think It's Going to Rain Today

Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Still no JOHNNY WINTER??????????

If the site ever starts working I'll vote for Radiohead, Nina Simone and the Meters, and probably Rage. I don't know who would be #5. I know how important Rosetta Tharpe was, but I don't know her music. Kick Out the Jams is an intense record but that's the only MC5 stuff I've heard. Not that anyone's opinion counts other than Jann Wenner.

#5 would be LL. Count on it.

Man, some of you guys are a hard bunch. LOL

Bon Jovi has sold world wide and continue to do so. They are an act from the 'hair Metal" years that never lost popularity and continued to sell both albums and tickets. Countless hits. You may not like them but to question whether they should get in? That is like a baseball player having a 25 year career and batting .400 each season and winning 20 Golden Glove Awards and debating if they are worthy of the HOF. Their success is undeniable.

The Cars were far more than one albums also. Great career sales and tons of hits. Compared to some already in - they are deserving. Success in concert, video and radio. To me they are borderline but much better than many already in.

Dire Straits will get in. Unique sound and hits.

Some great acts after that but not HOFers to me.

LL Cool J should never get in but will be this years rapper. Which only helps prove that this annual debate (while fun) is stupid. A band like Judas Priest will get stiffed over acts like that.

Well I think it's Radiohead for sure getting in. I don't get it. I've never gotten it. Thom Yorke just mopes around and mumbles out some words and looks like the whole world is on his shoulders and people love it. I'll never get it.

My 5 picks are:

The Cars
Dire Straits
J. Geils Band
Judas Priest
The Meters

The 5 I think will get in based on recent Rock Hall inductions are:

Judas Priest
LL Cool J
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Nina Simone

They will add Mark Knopfler in as an individual contributor like they did Nile Rodgers last year instead of putting Chic in.

Well, if I had to pick my 5, it would be:

Dire Straits
MC5
Rage Against the Machine
Nina Simone
Link Wray

Rage are incredible, as are their new offshoot: Prophets of Rage. Saw them a few times and they kick it. Plus Tom played with Springsteen and did a great job.
DS are another great band that deserve it.
MC5 were some of the pioneers of punk
Link is credited with putting the first feedback on record.
Nina, well, she also was incredible.
I also think Moody Blues, Cars, Meters, J Geils, etc. are all good. Never really enjoyed Judas Priest.

Kind of shocked with the lack of love for the Meters on this site. I guess I thought there would be a LOT more. In my opinion, they are the only group on this list with the entire band possessing top notch musicianship. They are the forefathers of New Orleans funk and did as much for funk as James Brown & Sly Stone, they just didn't get the public recognition. Members of the Stones, Zeppelin, & Paul Mc Cartney were/are huge fans if that says anything. They deserve it as much as anyone.

Plus they were Dr John's band on some primo stuff of his.

still no johnny winter, grand funk railroad or mountain. doh.

Bon Jovi has sold world wide and continue to do so. They are an act from the 'hair Metal" years that never lost popularity and continued to sell both albums and tickets. Countless hits. You may not like them but to question whether they should get in? That is like a baseball player having a 25 year career and batting .400 each season and winning 20 Golden Glove Awards and debating if they are worthy of the HOF. Their success is undeniable.

Nobody's denying their success. They're saying they're not one of the greatest bands ever. The baseball player you described would be the best ever by such a huge margin that nobody would even argue about it anymore and nobody thinks that's Bon Jovi's place in rock. They've sold a ton of records and they must be a bunch of people's favorite (btw: their last big hit was almost 20 years ago), but in terms of influence or innovation I don't think that's how most people see them. Maybe they have more influence than I know about since hair metal isn't my thing.

Not that you need me to tell you this, but since this isn't a sport there are no championships or relevant statistics and not much agreement on what the "sport" is, it's hard to argue anybody HAS to be in. Garth Brooks has sold about the same number of records as Bon Jovi, I think, and so has Celine Dion. Neither of them is getting in even though other artists with lesser sales who definitely didn't make rock music are already in. Also: you can argue the best baseball player ever is not in the Hall of Fame. I dunno what that tells you about any of this.

I appreciate it when the hall honors people I like, and when they induct people whose music I don't enjoy, I don't care. So I'm not going to make a case against Bon Jovi other than I find their music not just crappy but almost deliberately boring. I don't know what else you can say about a band that tried to show attitude by writing a song called "Have a Nice Day" (it was sarcastic, get it?). That's the end of the argument for me. But you can't argue that leaving them out compromises the integrity of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because the whole project has none. I don't even mean that in a derogatory way. It's just fundamentally arbitrary and mostly reflects one person's view of music.

Thrilled to see Sister Rosetta nominated. Also great to see MC5.
I see both as more about Rock and Roll than LL or Nina.
Shocked to learn Johnny Winter not in yet, outrageous!

Answer is simple. Make the voting like the baseball hof. Percentage needed rather than five a year.

Answer is simple. Make the voting like the baseball hof. Percentage needed rather than five a year.

Do you feel the biggest problem is that there are too many bands in there? That's the only thing that would solve. There are around 300 inductees but my sense is that most people get more annoyed by who's out than who's in.

There are years great bands have to wait; years like this one where pickings are slim. I think if it was just by votes the strongest candidates would be rewarded and borderline people wouldn't get in during a weak year

What about Steppenwolf and QUICKSILVER mESSENGER Service. They both played Rock and Roll and broke new ground.Bunch of ASSHOLESat the hall. 😛 😛 😛 😮 😮

There are years great bands have to wait; years like this one where pickings are slim. I think if it was just by votes the strongest candidates would be rewarded and borderline people wouldn't get in during a weak year

That would probably reduce that at least a little, maybe not that much. You can tell they're worried about having no inductees in one year or an induction ceremony without much star power.

The comparison to the baseball HOF is interesting. In sports you can attach numbers to a particular player. Make your argument from there. I don't care how many records a band or person sells, it is totally subjective. Who do you like? And are you open minded enough to appreciate the act's influence in the grand scheme of things even if you don't care for them?

There are several bands I really like and if I built my own HOF they would be in but I am not naive enough to think they will be in the R&R HOF.

Love Steppenwolf and Quicksilver; but their time span for influence wasn't that long. Don't think their should be a time limit like the baseball HOF - but for shorter careers you really need to have made a difference (Buddy Holly comes to mind)

Bon Jovi has sold world wide and continue to do so. They are an act from the 'hair Metal" years that never lost popularity and continued to sell both albums and tickets. Countless hits. You may not like them but to question whether they should get in? That is like a baseball player having a 25 year career and batting .400 each season and winning 20 Golden Glove Awards and debating if they are worthy of the HOF. Their success is undeniable.

Nobody's denying their success. They're saying they're not one of the greatest bands ever. The baseball player you described would be the best ever by such a huge margin that nobody would even argue about it anymore and nobody thinks that's Bon Jovi's place in rock. They've sold a ton of records and they must be a bunch of people's favorite (btw: their last big hit was almost 20 years ago), but in terms of influence or innovation I don't think that's how most people see them. Maybe they have more influence than I know about since hair metal isn't my thing.

Not that you need me to tell you this, but since this isn't a sport there are no championships or relevant statistics and not much agreement on what the "sport" is, it's hard to argue anybody HAS to be in. Garth Brooks has sold about the same number of records as Bon Jovi, I think, and so has Celine Dion. Neither of them is getting in even though other artists with lesser sales who definitely didn't make rock music are already in. Also: you can argue the best baseball player ever is not in the Hall of Fame. I dunno what that tells you about any of this.

I appreciate it when the hall honors people I like, and when they induct people whose music I don't enjoy, I don't care. So I'm not going to make a case against Bon Jovi other than I find their music not just crappy but almost deliberately boring. I don't know what else you can say about a band that tried to show attitude by writing a song called "Have a Nice Day" (it was sarcastic, get it?). That's the end of the argument for me. But you can't argue that leaving them out compromises the integrity of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because the whole project has none. I don't even mean that in a derogatory way. It's just fundamentally arbitrary and mostly reflects one person's view of music.

Crappy=judgemental so I doubt that you are biased or even making sense. LOL

How many people do you think find 30 minutes of Mountain Jam boring? Most of the planet. But you will just respond that they are wrong and you are right.

Opinions differ Marley. I know that you are a far better judge of music than the millions world wide that bought their albums and went to shows and still do which is quite a rarity in todays industry. They still sell out arenas and in some cities stadiums. Very few acts can do the tours that they do and have done for 35 years.

Over 130 million albums sold. Uncountable millions in tickets sold. Toured the entire planet over and over. Sustained a massively successfully for 35 years. So they shouldn't get in because Marley thinks they are boring? That is funny. Try and mock when their last hit was? How many did the ABB have Marley? When was the last?

I know - they are bad and don't deserve anything because they didn't influence Marley and he thinks they are crap and boring. Quite a convincing case you made. Just deny the obvious. I hope you never get jury duty.

35 years
130 million sales not including singles, Cds, DVDs etc
Still sell out arenas and stadiums

And you think no one was influenced because you were not? Two guys who were inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame and you think they had no influence? Really? How the hell could you actually believe that?

A career like that and you honestly believe it is debatable? What more do they have to do? Go to space? Cure cancer? They are a R&R band who attained any goal that a band could wish for. Did they change the world? No. Did the ABB? No. You don't like them. I get it. LOL